The Press Tour is a necessary evil in the entertainment industry. Hell, it’s a required element of selling any new product in some form. Even at a party, when someone asks what you’re working on, the smart person will proceed with a very natural sounding sell. Luckily, it’s not on live television.
Media trainers will try to get you to remember a million little things about how to “express the ideas of the movie succinctly” in sound bite form, but all of that is incredibly difficult to remember when it’s 6AM, hot lights are in your face that make it impossible to see anything more than four feet in front of you and Matt Lauer is asking you to tell some story about a your film shoot. Luckily, there are only three absolute rules for the press tour.
Rule number one: Always sell whatever poster is hanging behind you. You might also have a hit TV show or a more anticipated movie coming up, but your job today is to sell the poster that’s hanging right now.
Rule number two: “Just say yes.” Get along with your interviewer, and your costar sitting next to you.
Rule number three: For the love of God, be flirty!
That’s it! With those three ideas, even if you don’t have ridiculously awesome answers, you’ll still be doing your job. BUT- playing by the rules does not always make for good television…
And without further ado, here is an example of great TV, featuring two of the stars from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants II. Listen to the Gossip Girl, but watch Ugly Betty.
Ouch. And YAY!
Also, Happy Birthday Casey! You're 33!
© MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Box-Office Round Up : 8.10.2008
Here’s this weekend’s box-office estimates!
1. The Dark Knight $26 million
2. Pineapple Express $22.4 million
3. The Mummy III $16 million
4. Sisterhood/Traveling Pants $10.7 million
5. Step Brothers $8.9 million
Well, well, well… The Dark Knight has done it again and breaking more records along the way! I was sure that given the opening two days, Pineapple Express would easily win the weekend. Though it deserves to be said that with its Wednesday opening, it has already grossed $40.4 million, which gives Sony it’s first hit of the summer! I’m sure many people over at the Sony lot are much less worried about losing their jobs now that this movie is the first one of theirs to make money all summer. Dag. Hang in there guys. Though Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ gross seems low, it did beat the opening weekend of the first installment of that movie, so congratulations! It’s also interesting that when the first one came out, I had no idea of who these girls were except Alexis Bledel. Now it’s got the main Gossip Girl, Ugly Betty, Rory and Joan of Arcadia! OMFG!
Elegy, the movie starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz (which has a killer trailer, btw) opened with $102,000 on six screens. Not bad - $17,000 a screen for a small movie generally means that the main two nightly shows are sold out! We’ll see how this performs as it gains more screens.
It would just be wrong not to mention, even though The Round Up is not about this. Bernie Mac passed away this weekend at the age of 50 from complications due to pneumonia. Its sadness has a lot to do with it’s complete surprise. I had only heard he was sick on Friday evening and by Saturday morning he was gone. This was one seriously funny man. He had the rare ability to have a serious “angry” edge that was tempered with pure heart, which I think is why America loved him so much. He has quite a body of work, but for my money nothing beats his work in all of the Ocean’s movies. The interrogation scene with him and Matt Damon from Ocean’s 11 is an absolute classic! He left us too soon.
“Nuff Said!”
Also, many people may not know this name, but Bernie Brillstein passed away this week as well. Mr. Brillstein was head of his management company, Brillstein-Grey, which he founded with Brad Grey, who now runs Paramount Pictures. You are well acquainted with the results of his actions and the shows that Brillstein-Grey Television produced. One notable fact (and maybe my favorite) is that early in his career, Mr. Brillstein took interest in a young unknown puppeteer in New York City. Brillstein was his champion, and steered that career from unknown until he died in 1990. That person was Jim Henson. I only got to meet Mr. Brillstein twice, but immediately felt that this person was a class act. He fully understood the realities of this business but never let that interfere with his passion for it. Bernie Brillstein will be missed.
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
1. The Dark Knight $26 million
2. Pineapple Express $22.4 million
3. The Mummy III $16 million
4. Sisterhood/Traveling Pants $10.7 million
5. Step Brothers $8.9 million
Well, well, well… The Dark Knight has done it again and breaking more records along the way! I was sure that given the opening two days, Pineapple Express would easily win the weekend. Though it deserves to be said that with its Wednesday opening, it has already grossed $40.4 million, which gives Sony it’s first hit of the summer! I’m sure many people over at the Sony lot are much less worried about losing their jobs now that this movie is the first one of theirs to make money all summer. Dag. Hang in there guys. Though Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ gross seems low, it did beat the opening weekend of the first installment of that movie, so congratulations! It’s also interesting that when the first one came out, I had no idea of who these girls were except Alexis Bledel. Now it’s got the main Gossip Girl, Ugly Betty, Rory and Joan of Arcadia! OMFG!
Elegy, the movie starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz (which has a killer trailer, btw) opened with $102,000 on six screens. Not bad - $17,000 a screen for a small movie generally means that the main two nightly shows are sold out! We’ll see how this performs as it gains more screens.
It would just be wrong not to mention, even though The Round Up is not about this. Bernie Mac passed away this weekend at the age of 50 from complications due to pneumonia. Its sadness has a lot to do with it’s complete surprise. I had only heard he was sick on Friday evening and by Saturday morning he was gone. This was one seriously funny man. He had the rare ability to have a serious “angry” edge that was tempered with pure heart, which I think is why America loved him so much. He has quite a body of work, but for my money nothing beats his work in all of the Ocean’s movies. The interrogation scene with him and Matt Damon from Ocean’s 11 is an absolute classic! He left us too soon.
“Nuff Said!”
Also, many people may not know this name, but Bernie Brillstein passed away this week as well. Mr. Brillstein was head of his management company, Brillstein-Grey, which he founded with Brad Grey, who now runs Paramount Pictures. You are well acquainted with the results of his actions and the shows that Brillstein-Grey Television produced. One notable fact (and maybe my favorite) is that early in his career, Mr. Brillstein took interest in a young unknown puppeteer in New York City. Brillstein was his champion, and steered that career from unknown until he died in 1990. That person was Jim Henson. I only got to meet Mr. Brillstein twice, but immediately felt that this person was a class act. He fully understood the realities of this business but never let that interfere with his passion for it. Bernie Brillstein will be missed.
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
I just don't know what to think...
I am a really big fan of the Olympic Games in general and a bigger fan of specific events. When I was growing up, I played three different individual sports that have events in the Olympics. To be fair, I am decidedly not an Olympian, but in these sports (gymnastics, diving and figure skating if you must know) it is impossible to train regularly without the idea of the Olympics coming up. Weekly. If you start one of these sports while you are a kid, you will be trained hard so that if you have the ability and the desire, you have the option of being put on the Olympic track. This is not normal for most kids. For a period of about ten years I (and many people around me) thought about the Olympics a lot. Every. Single. Day. People with that similar experience have an understanding about the Olympics and the reason for their existence. And that’s a good thing.
On top of all that, I grew up in a city that was given the gift of being a host to the Olympics. I got to see first hand a city preparing to have the Games and what that meant. We were not simply hosting the Games, we were hosts to the entire world. See, the Olympics are not about nationalism as much as they are about globalism. It is a festival of competition, yes, but more importantly it’s a celebratory way for so many different countries to come together. Yes, Atlanta grew up a lot in preparation for the games. New Stadiums, new parks, better light rail systems, and new architecture just like every other city that becomes a host. But the citizens themselves also had refurbishments. We were inviting the whole world to see our city! That kind of duty was an honor, and we took it seriously. But we could only change so much about the way our city looked, after that we had to learn to be proud of everything Atlanta had to offer, even if it was old. And that which was old was also part of our city’s history that we were proud to share. We had nothing to hide.
There is one thing that I truly question about Beijing hosting the games. Say what you will about China’s politics in general, and I’d probably agree. But my issues with those politics have nothing to do with the Games themselves, because if bad politics were a reason to not host the Games then there wouldn’t be any country that could host the games. What bothers me is this: The City of Beijing has chosen to build temporary walls to hide “unsightly” areas of town that they feel embarrassed by. These walls cover up businesses, and entire neighborhoods of people and their homes. Let me be clear: The City of Beijing is choosing to hide their own people. I cannot express how much that hurts my feelings. It is the exact opposite of what I love and respect most about the Olympic Games. Somehow, that seems to only be the tip of the iceberg…
And that complete lack of honor makes me feel sorry for them, because at the end of the day, they simply don’t get it.
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
On top of all that, I grew up in a city that was given the gift of being a host to the Olympics. I got to see first hand a city preparing to have the Games and what that meant. We were not simply hosting the Games, we were hosts to the entire world. See, the Olympics are not about nationalism as much as they are about globalism. It is a festival of competition, yes, but more importantly it’s a celebratory way for so many different countries to come together. Yes, Atlanta grew up a lot in preparation for the games. New Stadiums, new parks, better light rail systems, and new architecture just like every other city that becomes a host. But the citizens themselves also had refurbishments. We were inviting the whole world to see our city! That kind of duty was an honor, and we took it seriously. But we could only change so much about the way our city looked, after that we had to learn to be proud of everything Atlanta had to offer, even if it was old. And that which was old was also part of our city’s history that we were proud to share. We had nothing to hide.
There is one thing that I truly question about Beijing hosting the games. Say what you will about China’s politics in general, and I’d probably agree. But my issues with those politics have nothing to do with the Games themselves, because if bad politics were a reason to not host the Games then there wouldn’t be any country that could host the games. What bothers me is this: The City of Beijing has chosen to build temporary walls to hide “unsightly” areas of town that they feel embarrassed by. These walls cover up businesses, and entire neighborhoods of people and their homes. Let me be clear: The City of Beijing is choosing to hide their own people. I cannot express how much that hurts my feelings. It is the exact opposite of what I love and respect most about the Olympic Games. Somehow, that seems to only be the tip of the iceberg…
And that complete lack of honor makes me feel sorry for them, because at the end of the day, they simply don’t get it.
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
Friday, August 8, 2008
And We're Back!
After a fantastic holiday, Soccerboy is back in LA! Getting back to LA after being gone for a minute always reminds me of one basic fact. Los Angeles is weird! Obviously, being the center of the Entertainment Universe sets this city apart, but more on that later.
More than any other city I’ve been to, LA has an unusually high percentage of beautiful people. And they’re everywhere! Serving you coffee, pumping your gas, making your copies and generally stopping traffic with their incredibly stupid/selfish decisions. I was at Rock N’Roll Ralph’s early one morning when some dude ran his cart into mine. Accidentally? Absentmindedly? He looked like what can only be described as a bum. Dirty as hell, three months of bedhead and a darkness around his eyes that conjured sleepless nights. As I untangled our carts and moved on, I noticed something. He smelled like shampoo and cologne! I turned around and realized that he was wearing AG Jeans, a shirt from Maxfield and was taking an iphone from his pocket to look at his grocery list. That darkness around the eyes may have been eyeliner! And then it hit me, he chose this look on purpose! I am still surprised that someone was working it so well so early in the morning. I almost applauded.
That’s another thing – this town gets up seriously early. That is mainly because so many people have early calls on set. It’s true, working entertainment professionals make up a very large percentage of this city. So much that when we were hit by the writer’s strike last year, LA had estimated losses that are north of $100 million. My point is, on the weekends, I go hiking early to beat the crowd. I am generally on the hill by 6:30 AM at the latest, and I am in no way alone. At all. This early-to-rise phenomenon complicates other matters as well. In New York City I could roll out of bed at eight to get some breakfast at a restaurant and we’d be one of the five people there. Here, if I get to some restaurants at 8:30, we have to wait in a line that goes out the door! What? You have to be on your game even on Saturday morning!
I will say getting away is an essential aspect of living anywhere for me, and I really had the best time. But – there is nothing like landing in Burbank (the kind of airport where you have to walk on the runway and climb stairs to get to the plane. A pretty fabulous feeling) and seeing the mountains and feeling the soft evening sun and knowing that in twelve hours you’ll be at the beach in your home city to make you ask yourself why the hell you ever needed to leave in the first place.
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
More than any other city I’ve been to, LA has an unusually high percentage of beautiful people. And they’re everywhere! Serving you coffee, pumping your gas, making your copies and generally stopping traffic with their incredibly stupid/selfish decisions. I was at Rock N’Roll Ralph’s early one morning when some dude ran his cart into mine. Accidentally? Absentmindedly? He looked like what can only be described as a bum. Dirty as hell, three months of bedhead and a darkness around his eyes that conjured sleepless nights. As I untangled our carts and moved on, I noticed something. He smelled like shampoo and cologne! I turned around and realized that he was wearing AG Jeans, a shirt from Maxfield and was taking an iphone from his pocket to look at his grocery list. That darkness around the eyes may have been eyeliner! And then it hit me, he chose this look on purpose! I am still surprised that someone was working it so well so early in the morning. I almost applauded.
That’s another thing – this town gets up seriously early. That is mainly because so many people have early calls on set. It’s true, working entertainment professionals make up a very large percentage of this city. So much that when we were hit by the writer’s strike last year, LA had estimated losses that are north of $100 million. My point is, on the weekends, I go hiking early to beat the crowd. I am generally on the hill by 6:30 AM at the latest, and I am in no way alone. At all. This early-to-rise phenomenon complicates other matters as well. In New York City I could roll out of bed at eight to get some breakfast at a restaurant and we’d be one of the five people there. Here, if I get to some restaurants at 8:30, we have to wait in a line that goes out the door! What? You have to be on your game even on Saturday morning!
I will say getting away is an essential aspect of living anywhere for me, and I really had the best time. But – there is nothing like landing in Burbank (the kind of airport where you have to walk on the runway and climb stairs to get to the plane. A pretty fabulous feeling) and seeing the mountains and feeling the soft evening sun and knowing that in twelve hours you’ll be at the beach in your home city to make you ask yourself why the hell you ever needed to leave in the first place.
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Holiday Hooray!
This week, soccerboy has been/is on Holiday. HOORAY! So, Soccerboy In LA will return for Cycle Two on Friday 8 August, 2008.
As you may have noticed, we'll always try to run the regular Sunday feature, Box-Office Round Up, whenever we're away.
Try to Stay Cool during these Dog Days.
Soccerboy
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
As you may have noticed, we'll always try to run the regular Sunday feature, Box-Office Round Up, whenever we're away.
Try to Stay Cool during these Dog Days.
Soccerboy
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Box-Office Round Up: 8.03.08
Here’s this weekend’s box-office estimates!
1. The Dark Knight $43.8 mil
2. The Mummy III $42.5 mil
3. Step Brothers $16.3 mil
4. Mamma Mia! $13.1 mil
5. Journey/Center/Earth $6.9 mil
6. Swing Vote $6.3 mil
I have to admit, that I am not surprised that The Dark Knight won the weekend (again!), but I am surprised at how small a margin it was. I guess I have to give it up to The Mummy, I’ve always underestimated the financial possibilities of that franchise.
Anyway. Everything else seems to have lined up pretty much as expected. Swing Vote, the movie that brings Kevin Costner back to a starring role only got $6.3, but given the budget, it will make all it’s money back in it’s domestic theatrical release! I am a little proud of Kevin for putting his own money up on a picture he believes in and assuming all the risk when no studio would. (Generally, we are advised not to put our own money into pictures to spread around the risk) It’s not going to do gangbusters, but he will reap most of the profits after the costs of prints and advertising. Profits! That’s what makes a movie financially successful. And heck, I’ll even see it. Well… I’ll see it at home.
The X-Files fell 65% from last week, which is not so fun for Fox, but it will make it’s money back, even though it seemed to come out of nowhere. Oh, Fox... What the hell is going on?
The only other entry I think is important to mention is Miramax’s Brideshead Revisited, starring Matthew Goode. They are going for a platform release, starting with a couple of cities, and moving on from there. Today, Brideshead is playing on 189 screens and made $1.3 mil, which is up a whopping 248% since last week! This is a classic Miramax movie, a period piece set in rural England, and they are displaying their knowledge of what they do best with small movies. Make a good movie, choose a good weekend, start small and use word of mouth as part of your marketing model. Expect to keep hearing good things about this movie for the weeks to come.
And that’s the weekend!
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
1. The Dark Knight $43.8 mil
2. The Mummy III $42.5 mil
3. Step Brothers $16.3 mil
4. Mamma Mia! $13.1 mil
5. Journey/Center/Earth $6.9 mil
6. Swing Vote $6.3 mil
I have to admit, that I am not surprised that The Dark Knight won the weekend (again!), but I am surprised at how small a margin it was. I guess I have to give it up to The Mummy, I’ve always underestimated the financial possibilities of that franchise.
Anyway. Everything else seems to have lined up pretty much as expected. Swing Vote, the movie that brings Kevin Costner back to a starring role only got $6.3, but given the budget, it will make all it’s money back in it’s domestic theatrical release! I am a little proud of Kevin for putting his own money up on a picture he believes in and assuming all the risk when no studio would. (Generally, we are advised not to put our own money into pictures to spread around the risk) It’s not going to do gangbusters, but he will reap most of the profits after the costs of prints and advertising. Profits! That’s what makes a movie financially successful. And heck, I’ll even see it. Well… I’ll see it at home.
The X-Files fell 65% from last week, which is not so fun for Fox, but it will make it’s money back, even though it seemed to come out of nowhere. Oh, Fox... What the hell is going on?
The only other entry I think is important to mention is Miramax’s Brideshead Revisited, starring Matthew Goode. They are going for a platform release, starting with a couple of cities, and moving on from there. Today, Brideshead is playing on 189 screens and made $1.3 mil, which is up a whopping 248% since last week! This is a classic Miramax movie, a period piece set in rural England, and they are displaying their knowledge of what they do best with small movies. Make a good movie, choose a good weekend, start small and use word of mouth as part of your marketing model. Expect to keep hearing good things about this movie for the weeks to come.
And that’s the weekend!
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Runyonland
In the Hills of Hollywood, there is a 160 acre oasis of hiking trails with spectacular views of LA called Runyon Canyon. It is a mere four blocks up the hill from Rock N’Roll Ralph’s (more on that craziness some other time). It’s a great place to walk your dog, in fact, you should be a dog person if you want to hike. Since the majority of the canyon is an off-leash area, you will definitely receive love from some dogs at some point on your hike. Which, admittedly, is pretty cool.
But - I must say, that this is no easy hike. You go from just a few feet above sea level all the way up to 1320 feet above sea level at Mulholland Drive. And it’s not a very lengthy hike, which makes Runyon no joke at all. I will compare it to this: On the Riviera in France and Italy, you can drive on a seriously curvy highway on top of cliffs that overlook the Mediterranean Sea. Some friends and I were freaking out about the 200 foot drop into the sea with no railing, when some 80 year old Italian dude on a Vespa flies past us (on the outside!) while smoking a cigarette like it was nothing! Crikey! Well, my first few times up Runyon were akin to that, with less fear but more embarrassment. There I was, huffing and puffing and considering turning around, when some 80 year old man ran right by me! Seriously. RAN. I couldn’t believe it, and the only reason I do now is because I have since learned there are people who’ve been using this canyon for exercise and sightseeing since it was opened as a public park. I’m no athlete, but I’m no couch potato either, I definitely get my regular exercise. It’s been a while since I’ve seriously thought about turning around, but the other day my “heat was up” as we say (namaste) and I was working when a literary agent I know quickly jaunted up behind me, chatted quickly, and was off like the wind. All the while with a baby on his back. On his fucking back!
As you can tell, being right smack in Hollywood makes Runyon Canyon an interesting cross-section of Angelenos. I go often enough to have a good feeling about who is a regular and who is trying it on. One athlete in particular gets his daily exercise by running up and down several times each visit, several times each week! It is not uncommon to see actors or other “celebrities” getting their hike on right along with some random Bubby. Everyone, no matter who, knows that they will not be bothered up in Runyonland.
I will repeat, it is a difficult hike! It is not a gentle stroll in the park. But the views of LA and the hills (including the BEST view of the Hollywood sign) are unparalleled. As a friend of mine said, “I totally thought my heart was gonna to pop, then I saw the most beautiful view of downtown I have ever experienced. I could even see the ocean.”
That is what Runyon Canyon is all about. This city is an urban experience, and I could easily get all of my exercise inside a gym while watching TV but I’d miss the sound of the birds. And the view of the mountains. And the smell of wild rosemary. Or the way only we know what fresh clouds smell and taste like. It’s about balance.
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
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