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Trailer here. (http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/theboatthatrocked/)
Release Date: August 28th, 2009 (wide)
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh
Directed by: Richard Curtis
Premise: In Britain 1966 recently expelled student, Carl has been sent by his mother to find some direction in life by visiting his godfather, Quentin. However, Quentin is the boss of Radio Rock, a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea, populated by an eclectic crew of rock-and-roll deejays.
Amazing talent attached, but it looks a bit saccharine.
This movie will be trite and perhaps somewhat lame and I WILL LOVE IT WHOLEHEARTEDLY ANYWAY.
Quote from: Ghostboy on April 28, 2009, 11:18:25 AM
This movie will be trite and perhaps somewhat lame and I WILL LOVE IT WHOLEHEARTEDLY ANYWAY.
Ditto.
'Boat' sailing toward Focus
Working with Richard Curtis to create leaner pic
Source: Variety
Focus Features is taking over domestic distribution of Working Title's "The Boat That Rocked" from parent studio Universal and is working with filmmaker Richard Curtis to create a leaner version for American auds after the film's mixed run overseas.
U was set to release the ensemble comedy in the U.S. on Aug. 28. Focus, more adept at marketing less commercial fare, has pushed back the release to some time in November.
The film's so-so performance at the international box office this spring marked a rare disappointment for Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner's Working Title. Pic, which cost upward of $50 million to produce, was expected to play like a broad comedy.
But it drew poor reviews and came in below expectations in the U.K., where it cumed $9.1 million. International gross to date is $25.1 million. It did show promise in France and Australia, indicating that there's a specialized audience for the film.
Focus prexy James Schamus said his team is working with Curtis to trim about 20 minutes from the film, which originally ran 129 minutes. A chief complaint from critics was the film's length.
"It will be a shorter, leaner version. We think it is a real crowd-pleaser. We love a challenge, and we love working with Working Title," Schamus said.
"The Boat That Rocked" borrows a page from British history in telling the story of a pirate radio station that beams rock 'n' roll into the U.K. in the 1960s. Station operates from a tanker on the high seas. Cast includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh and January Jones.
Curtis has penned several of Working Title's most popular titles, including both "Bridget Jones" movies, "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill" and "Love Actually." After "The Boat That Rocked," his only other directing credit is "Love Actually."
Focus has worked with Working Title on several other projects, including "Atonement" and "Pride and Prejudice."
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Title change? I remember seeing the trailer for this months ago. Has that ever happened where a movie's title is changed after it's released?
After the trailer or after the film? I remember seeing the trailer for The Flood a year before it was released as Hard Rain.
Well, both. Has a film's title ever been changed after it's already been released?
Movie Title Changes That Made No Difference
In their quest to keep their jobs, studio marketing departments will usually tinker with movie titles to nearly invisible results.
Source: Premiere
Oh, studio marketing departments. We know you need something to keep you busy, but why do you insist on tinkering with movie titles in a vain effort to make them "more sellable"? Especially when the results are usually "pretty negligible?" Here's a few retooled movie titles—some better than the original, some worse—but one thing is certain: they had no impact on the movie's popularity or box office performance.
10. Movie:Hard Rain
Originally:The Flood
Impact: This Christian Slater "action" movie went from pedestrian to head-scratching real quick. We know they were aiming for Steven Seagal with the change, but they landed somewhere closer to Bowfinger ("Chubby Rain" anyone?)
9. Movie: Scream
Originally: Scary Movie
Impact: None at the time (the "winking" original title would have fit the "winking" take on the horror film) but in retrospect, the change is pretty hilarious. The thinking was that Scary Movie was too comedic and that Scream would better lure in the horror faithful—but as the Wayans Brothers showed, there's nothing funny about Scary Movie.
8. Movie:Big
Originally:When I Grow Up
Impact: A rare case of an upgrade. When I Grow Up sounds like Judy Bloom pitching greeting card ideas, while Big has that quick, easily-remembered, iconic quality. And kudos to both for avoiding any combination of the words "Man", "Boy" and "Inside."
7. Movie:Pirate Radio
Originally: The Boat That Rocked
Impact: Remains to be seen, since this Richard Curtis movie has yet to hit these shores. But to judge a book purely by its cover, The Boat That Rocked is quirky, fun, and intriguing. Pirate Radio makes you think it's two hours of a dude huddled in a basement spitting into a RadioShack microphone. Or worse: a sequel to Pump Up The Volume. (Talk hard, indeed, young man.)
6. Movie: The Village
Originally: The Woods
Impact: Nada. Both are generic and both fail to warn people about what they're in for. Of course, it's not like you can call a movie "Crappy Twist."
5. Movie:Tango and Cash
Originally: The Set-Up
Impact: It's not like Tango and Cash exactly lit the world on fire, so the original title probably wouldn't have changed its fate. Still, the change helps put the focus on the lead pair (Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone) and not on the plot (which, trust us, is a VERY good move). This usually happens when an otherwise generic cop script suddenly has movie stars involved. Or when it might remind moviegoers a Stallone bomb released earlier that year: Lock Up.
4. Movie:Goodfellas
Originally:Wiseguys
Impact: Martin Scorsese didn't want anyone to confuse his mob epic with the 1987 TV series Wiseguy or the 1986 Danny DeVito/Joe Piscopo disaster Wise Guys, so he changed the title of Nicolas Pileggi's novel. Would people have been confused? Maybe, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter since Goodfellas works on every level.
3. Movie:The Invention of Lying
Originally:This Side of Truth
Impact: Again, this movie hasn't come out yet, but this change smacks of ham-fisted marketing interference. The original is odd, but intriguing. It hints at deeper issues. The current title feels like this sort of meeting: "What is the movie about?" "It's about a world where everyone tells the truth, and then this one guy invents lying." "Perfect. There's your title. Who wants lunch?"
2. Movie:The Vampire's Assistant
Originally:Cirque du Freak
Impact: The title Cirque du Freak might not roll off the tongue, but it hasn't hurt the book series on which the movie is based. It also sets it apart by being unique and strange, just like the stories. The Vampire's Assistant sounds like a bad SNL sketch.
1. Movie: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Originally:Watch the Skies; Kingdom Come
Impact: Save! Steven Spielberg may be great at a lot of things, but thank goodness he rethinks his title choices from time to time. Both Watch the Skies and Kingdom Come are vague and TV-movie sounding. Close Encounters is cold, strange, scientific, and much more in line with the movie's "everyman experiences the otherworldly." Still, he could have called this Mashed Potato Mountain and it would have been a hit.
The Most Ridiculous Change Ever
Movie:Speed Zone!
Originally: Speed Zone Fever
Impact: Do you really have to ask? This was originally supposed to complete the Cannonball Run trilogy and early titles included Cannonball Run III and Cannonball Fever. The first two movies pulled in the likes of Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore and Jackie Chan while this one had to settle for everyone from SCTV. After they scrapped almost everything connecting it to the successful franchise (with the not-quite notable exception of Jamie Farr), they must have soured on the "fever" angle, feeling it added too much weight to such a fast movie. It sure didn't slow it down on it's trip to Cinemax.
Oh, I thought this was already released.
Does this look kind of dumb to anyone else? Love Actually is a guilty pleasure of mine (it's so gotdamn sweet and motherfucking adorable) and something I watch every holiday season, but this just seems kind of dumb. The same way the Taking Woodstock trailer felt to me, but supposedly that's awesome, so maybe this will be too.
i enjoyed it. it's pretty similar to love actually, a sweet story with endearing characters, no more no less. soundtrack's pretty cool too.
the plot is clunky as hell and even though it was long you could feel the scenes missing. it's hard to resist the cast though, it was good to see Nick Frost in a memorable role without Pegg by his side. definitely worth renting.
i guess the original cut of this was pushing three hours? i read about a long subplot involving a rivalry with another ship, i would've rather seen that than the kenneth branagh scenes, which could've been cut with no effect on the film whatsoever (he disappears from the film for a half hour or so). when it's just the DJ's interacting on the boat it's a great time.
I loved it wholeheartedly. I grew up and still listen to the music of the 1960's and 1970's and have an encyclopedic mind about that time. Hell, most days I wish I was born in 1948. PSH has the best and most commanding role, but it is the unknown protagonist who really shines here as someone to watch.
It was already released in England under the original title, I'm pretty sure. I remember seeing ads for it there like half a year ago. So I think they changed the title for overseas.
First off, this has the best soundtrack for a film since American Graffiti. Too bad it doesn't juggle the multiple storylines the way that that classic film did. This film really wants to be three films and they are all competing for attention. On the one hand, it wants to be about this group of rebel dj's, but those scenes don't offer much in terms of story; they tend to stop the movie. A more Animal House approach would have done them good. On the another hand, the film wants to be a coming of age story. But the young character isn't fleshed out enough; we barely get to know him and his character feels more of a plot device to introduce the 'pirates.' And on the last hand, the movie wants to show how the government wants to stop the broadcasts. But those scenes are played and parody and don't offer and sense of threat or drama to matter.
There is a great film here. It's just poorly edited. The characters do win you over enough to be enjoyable. As does the music.
i didnt see much of a point to this movie. did it want to be a movie with a point, MacGuffs?? some disc jockeys wanking off, having a laugh, bit of SOS (Save Our Station!) in the end. just a buncha sloppy sequences, many falling flat. there was nothing engrossing in the Kenneth Branagh, trying to take the station down scenes (Save Our Scenes!)
ill watch Phil Parma in anything but this has gotta be the biggest d'oh of his career.