Article: Multiplex Tales by James Berardinelli

As the economy worsens, it's legitimate to ask how this is impacting the motion picture industry, if at all.

It's a curious thing that while my website traffic is up, my revenue is down. Way down. My daily visitor count hasn't been this high since last spring, but I have never seen these kinds of low revenues. It's a combination of low click-through rates and low payments for impressions.

The area of the population dominating multiplex viewing is no longer visiting text-centric movie review sites. Take away the teenagers, and this site is gaining in popularity. Include them, and it's nearly stagnant, with their decreasing numbers offsetting increases across other age groups.

I spoke to a multiplex manager this week and he acknowledged that every year the number of adults attending his theater drops. He said that, except for "event movie" weekends, the Friday night/Saturday night crowd may be as much as 80% under age 20.

For children and young adults to continue seeing a movie per week, they need to be able to make the money and it's an open question whether that will continue to happen. Some get that much (or more) as an allowance, but what happens if one or both parents are laid off?

One would think multiplexes would be doing everything possible to widen their potential customer base in case the bottom of the teen marketplace begins to crumble. But that does not appear to be the case.

If movie theaters begin to suffer, it won't just be the economy. That may be a contributing factor, but poor movie selection and unacceptable quality control will be just as important. Maybe a mass wave of multiplex failures will be just what's necessary to function as a wake-up call. Theaters belong to the service industry. It's time they started delivering true "service." Those who pay for the experience of seeing a movie deserve to enjoy it, not endure it.

Article - ReelThoughts January 18, 2009: "Multiplex Tales"

The First Scene + Bad Luck Govind Case-Study + AB 'Palti'

At least as of now the films are playing online on Bheja Fry: CC2C and a film that Bhumika mentioned the other day, Bad Luck Govind.


First Scene
It's interesting how it's so imperative that the first few scenes need to be absolutely rock-solid, especially for online viewing; if it doesn't hold you...you just want to run away, which I felt like doing in 'Bad Luck Govind'; in fact CC2C was better, as it's not my cup of tea I stalled watching it further but i wonder if it's really as lousy as every critic is tanning it...a la Tashan and Saawariya.

Well you may have a different take:

Bad Luck Govind
http://www.bhejafry.net/badluckgovind.html

CC2C:
http://bhejafry.net/chandnichowktochina.html

We had this questionnaire which we had to answer before making our final Production II film, asking pertinent questions about the opening shot and other stuff.

Essential Production Checklist


Bad Luck Govind
This is a good case-study as Bhumika and I were talking about the strategy to release Rane Sir's (debut) marathi film, KTL.

The low-profile flick luckily got some PR when there were no big releases at plexes; so...they gave this film a show or two, which he wouldn't have received in a normal scenario. Basically stuck for release.

So...happily the producer-director got the prints ready and the film got a release but...how many people came to watch? Average per show could be 10-20! So not only he had invested moolah on the flick, he put in more to make prints, plus he even got them digital-screen ready.

No idea on how many prints he made (each is around 40K), but as per my rough estimate, he would be peacefully down further by 10 lakhs. So...imagine the loss of the person. And...the challenge - in case your film is not good (which i wonder if anyone would accept!) is how to break even?!

Some learning for making flicks that has no one to hype about:

- make it as low-budget as possible

- if the plot is not stunning, at least the characters have to rock; audience needs to fall in love with them

- do not even think of production, unless your script is gripping

- if you think you have managed an awesome script, then...chuck it and refine it to a much better version (script-analysis is the most economical way to ensure that you have a good product to develop)

Well, they had good luck as they got a good release, but it turned out to be a 'bad luck' really. Now...he shall struggle to make another flick. Unless he can raise finance and get some good 'stars'; else...who would like to put in money on his film.

So...be very, very careful if you venture into production or direction...and at least better have a solid first scene :-)


ABji Ki Palti
Oh yes, i found it funny when AB back-tracked on Slumdog! I did check his site and that particular blog; he definitely needs to write more clearly if he meant something else but am not sure about his (diplomatic) ways.

Article: Yale to Dharavi: A real slumdog story

by Ashish Chadha, January 18, 2009

Dharavi is not a slum — it’s a city in itself. It is 20th century India’s effervescent Varanasi. It’s a city with the heart of a village. It’s not an abrasion that must be hidden. It is a heritage to be preserved. Dharavi cannot be wished away — it has to be engaged. It is not where slumdogs quit to become millionaires. It is where slumdogs thrive and celebrate their doggedness.

Article: Slumming it out in Mumbai

11 Jan 2009, Shobhaa De

Slumdog... is Boyle's gift to Mumbai. He has unblinkingly shown us the rather hideous face of this devastated metropolis that still remains the magnet for the rest of India, despite its faultiness. We would naturally prefer to hide this grotesque, menacing aspect which is enough to make every citizen cringe with shame. But, in Boyle's interpretation there is still lyricism, tenderness and love under all that grime. What do you call that? Genius is a good place to start... O Danny Boy, O Danny Boy... we love you so!

Article: Hollywood's monster-sized carbon footprint

Like many celebrities, the people running the entertainment conglomerates, including News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch, proclaim their efforts to go carbon-neutral and to recycle. But as they make films and TV shows, they're struggling to live up to their ideals.

Viewed: REAR WINDOW

If you want to see how the the king of suspense, Hitchcock plays with comedy, do not miss Rear Window where he seems to be having a lot of fun making the film. 

It's a supremely entertaining flick with social comments layered in, about a man (James Stewart) with a broken leg, who has nothing to do and passes time looking at other people's lives through his rear window; one day he witnesses something suspicious in one of the homes and concludes it's a murder. At first his girlfriend (Grace Kelly) doesn't buy his logic but as she is enamored too, along with his nurse they try to 'crack' the case.

Chiefly shot in one room, with a view to other's homes and windows, Hitchcock shows what he can do in minimal setting and yet deliver so much entertainment and a good dose of social commentary on the human urge to 'peek' inside other's lives, to speculate, to draw conclusions and be governed by them. It's interesting to see him take a dig at the timidity of man, courtesy the lack of action when thrown into a crisis.

It's a must-watch if you want to have good fun, along with enough suspense, great dialogues and a comment on our life. It was made in 1954 and every thing works even today. Hitchcock is in full form!

Based on the story (It Had To Be Murder) by Cornell Woolrich
Screenplay: John Michael Hayes
Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Rating ****

[Max ****]

Article: The real slum shady

The way we react to *Slumdog Millionaire’s *depiction of India will determine how much we have culturally matured. *Namita Bhandre* elaborates.

Excerpts:

India shining or not, we’ve always been prickly about our cinematic image, more so when it’s projected to a foreign audience.

To allow a film like this shows a certain amount of confidence: we don’t mind films that show our seamier side because we know that the world is also aware of our shinier side.

Yes, Slumdog is about poverty. It’s also about the triumph of the underdog. And it’s about enduring love and friendship and loyalty. Audiences are free to grab whatever message appeals to them. Do we take pride that a film set in Mumbai with a large crew out of India is sweeping the award circuit?

Bachchan’s insistence on escapist entertainment as the best entertainment is laughable and when he gripes that Slumdog has won awards because it’s made by a ‘Westerner’, my first reaction is: sour grapes?

Big B should have been bigger than what his blog comments have shown him to be.