Quote from: jenkins on November 19, 2019, 07:29:39 PMi can't tell you one goddamn thing about the plot but i watched the whole Return and basically nobody is as singular as Lynch. and he's that thing where the only way you could be like him is to be yourself, but many people trying to be like him are fucking it up by trying to be like him, and you just can't

Well put

Call me  slow but why do films get test screened before they are finished. All i can tell is the final film whether its PTA or someone elses could be dictated by random people who arent even that in love with movies.

Well, there was buzz that they, to put it nicely, have to be very calculated and wise with the spending of their marketing dollars. Cannes isn't cheap.

not details, but variety says cannes is "not happening".
https://variety.com/2025/film/global/cannes-predictions-spike-lee-wes-anderson-kristen-stewart-1236336422/

Oh, to be a fly on those walls.

Apparently they're using a giant puppet for the scenes with the cyclops, Polyphemus, which I think is cool.

I dont know if i've ever told this story, but when TWBB finally came out here, I followed the movie on it's release run, bringing various friends to see it again and again (after having seen a friend of a friend's dvd bafta screener 2 months before it came out in cinemas here) anyways, another friend who used to work in a cinema here would always get us free tickets for this cinema chain in East London. The manager was his friend and he would always speak to us after screenings about what films were doing well and why, and we'd love to hear his opinions and what films he liked, although vastly different from ours he was still PASSIONATE AF about movies and wanted movies to do well. It was such a different time to now, where every mofo knows a movie's box office and test screen results, devoid of any passion or pride about the movies, and the blood sweat and years that go into making them. (The Manager even let us screen Goodfellas on my birthday which was incredible and the first time I saw it on the big screen) Anyways, we come out of what must've been our 4th time seeing There Will Be Blood. It was an incredible screening, friday night, full house, paying punters, not no Prince Charles cinephiles screening, this was a real mix of real people from all over East London...and hearing people debating the movie in the foyer was electrifying. You could hear, "I drink your milkshake" becoming a lil bit of a thing, with people repeating it as they left or saying it in the toilets (my fav line was: "There's a whole ocean of oil under our feet, no one can get at it except for me" god i love that dialogue)

We're waiting outside to talk to the manager, he comes out with Sir Ian Mckellan, whose there with a young dude. They'd seen the movie (I think he was a regular at that cinema when he was in town) The Manager introduces him to us and Ian was the nicest, like so chill and generous. We spoke a little about LOTR for like 2 minutes and then me, being total PTA nut at the time, proceeded to go on and on, on a full rant about Daniel Day Lewis in TWBB and Adamn Sandler in PDL for godknows how long. Ian was gracious but I could tell I'd gone OTT, it's hilarious to me now. I think at the time, I thought DDL's performance was the best thing I'd seen in a cinema on initial release. And Ian's films LOTR and X2 were a big deal for me too, but somehow I forgot all about him even with him being right in front of me and being so damn cool and I just went on and on and on about Daniel Day lol. He loved the movie too and DDL's performance...It was such a cool moment, everyone just gassed from seeing a great movie! I'm so glad I didn't run into anyone during The Master's run. I still think the first 3rd of The Master is a miracle of acting and filmmaking, culminating in the processing sequence which is such an astounding piece of work.

Here are the bits from today's Puck piece that mention PTA and DeLuca

QuoteBut one of the key people Zaslav turned to for advice about the Warners film studio happened to be the very person who had helped place De Luca and Abdy at MGM: Bryan Lourd. The CAA C.E.O. is a very persuasive fellow, and many clients have the bank accounts to prove it. At MGM, for example, Paul Thomas Anderson made Licorice Pizza, which cost about $50 million and grossed a paltry $32 million. Now he's deep into a movie for Warners with a nine-figure budget—much larger than he ever could have dreamed, considering that There Will Be Blood, his highest-grossing film, brought in just $76 million back in 2007.

Zaslav may have tried to prevent a lot of overspending by putting a limit on De Luca and Abdy's greenlight authority. Rumors have varied about the dollar amount, but it had to be lower than $100 million—meaning that Zaslav must have blessed, or at least somewhat blessed, the expensive films that have the town buzzing. So while the rumors rage and a recent Bloomberg article very ominously stated outright that Zaslav was "losing patience" with his studio heads, it's also possible he should have a stern talk with himself.

[...]
But why fire Goldstine now, before this string of risky movies rolls into theaters? Insiders said De Luca and Abdy cited frustration at what they saw as his one-size-fits-all approach... yet Goldstine's team remains, and he is not being replaced. It also appears that Warners, consistent with other divisions of Warner Bros. Discovery in the Zaslav era, is trying to spend less on marketing, which seems particularly risky with original films that aren't presold. (For his part, Goldstine is currently considering options that include becoming a marketing consultant on Greta Gerwig's Narnia movies at Netflix.)


With all this as a backdrop, rumors flew late last week that De Luca and Abdy were out. Asked for comment, Zaslav's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, responded, "There is no truth to that rumor." And that was it. Needless to say, the statement likely will do little to stop the rumor mill from grinding on. Zaslav has been said to be leaning toward replacing them with Peter Safran, the co-chair and co-C.E.O. (with James Gunn) of DC Studios. But simultaneously, there are rumors that Zaslav will initiate a search for new leadership.

As an imminent construction project looms over their beloved baseball field, two New England recreational teams play ball for the last time. As day turns to night and innings bleed together, the players chat, laugh, and squabble as they face the uncertainty of a new era. Named for a rare curveball, Carson Lund's poignant comedy is an ode to sports, community, and the passage of time.

Directed by Carson Lund

Saw this tonight at IFC. Thought it was wonderful.

Bears the trappings of slow cinema - Goodbye, Dragon Inn was a core inspiration - but with wall-to-wall dialogue, and cuts to black on a needle drop that kicked dust up in my eyes.

Just a bunch of dudes who don't want to say goodbye, and who will do anything as baseball-ly possible to express just that without having to say the words.

A home run! :D