Posted on 05/10/2006 7:36:59 AM PDT by Blueflag
The real "failure to launch" of Mission: Impossible III at the box office has caused an immediate problem at Paramount Pictures.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
As well it should. They allowed $150 mil to be spent making the third movie in a franchise whose previous two averaged $200 mil in domestic gross. One of the reasons Hollywood likes sequels is they have an idea of what the max audience is and can therefore control spending to make sure the movie is profitable (no matter how much money a movie makes some spend happy idiot can always make sure it loses money). They should have never spent more than $100 mil making a movie with a probable audience of $200 mil, it had pretty much the same opening weekend as the first two so it's looking like it shuld top out around the same, if they were being sequel smart they could have garaunteed profitability, but they weren't being sequel smart and now somebody has to get fired.
I used to like him back him, but the man is not aging gracefully. He's trying to act like he's 22 and he's not. It celebrities can either become sort of the older, wiser, dignified person (see Sean Connery or Fred Asair) or you can try to pretend time has stopped for you and become a cartoon (when's the last time you thought of Bert Reynolds as a sex symbol). Tom is working very hard to take the latter route.
I almost feel a little sorry for the guy. It seems like he's setting himself up (if he hasn't already done so) for a crash.
I think your instincts are correct. As Elmer Fudd used to say: "Dere's something sewiuoswy scwewy goin' on here!"
I am in the business. What you suggest may appear logical but it is not how things work in that world.
Specifically referring to The Da Vinci Code, I'd say it's fun, but not great fiction. It's more like the less well known The Avenger books by Kenneth Robeson, who did the much more fun Doc Savage pulp fiction stuff in the 30s. Pure pot boiler stuff. Like The Avenger books Da Vinci has badly drawn characters, is internally inconsistent but with fairly well done scene depictions. In fact, the best thing about Brown's Da Vinci Code is his place descriptions. He has a good eye for architecture and is competent at conveying that to his readers.
I'd also go beyond "pi$$ poor" all the way to fraudulent to describe his "research." He's not even up to Von Daniken.
If you do enjoy things like Da Vinci I'd recommend Focault's Pendulum, by Umberto Eco. It's tough to get through the opening 50 pages or so (nowhere near as tough as his Name Of The Rose), but well worth the trouble. It covers many of the same themes and even some similar locations to Da Vinci Code. I also heartily recommend The Adept series by Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris. First, I absolutely fell in love with their descriptions of Scotland, including a much better description of Rosalyn Chapel than Brown manages. They also provide much more context about both the real and imagined history of the chapel. I also enjoyed their heros much more than the rather pathetic characters that Brown gives us. If you read these books I think you'll really like Dr. Adam Sinclair. I've always thought it would make a great continuing series of movies for someone like Pierce Brosnan. Oh, and they're basically on the side of believing in God and Christ, not against Them, as I think Brown is. They do, at least, embrace the supernatural in their stories (some of it in the first book is a little silly, but still very much fun).
They even have a spin off pair of books which explain what REALLY happened with William Wallace and how Robert The Bruce became King of a free Scotland.
I hear good things about the upcoming superman returns movie. I'll see that, and probably the new X MEN movie.
Maybe the Miami Vice movie, for nostalgias sake. Other than that none of the other summer movies.
Now, come November, when Casino Royale debuts, I am there. I'm a big James Bond fan.
All of this makes me wonder if a Jewish vs. Scientologist jihad is brewing in Hollyweird.
would someone get tom cruise out of the closet?
What research ? It's fiction for God's sake. Or not for God's sake.
BUMP
You and me both. No reason why I should help subsidize my own suicide by financially aiding people who hate their own country, values and freedom.
Cruise is creepy.
I used to like some of his stranger movies and respect his taking chances in things like "Eyes Wide Shut", "Vanilla Sky" and "Collateral", but the Scientology fascism on his part now is too much. He needs a little humility.
Piss poor writing as well.
This is one "chick" who isn't drawn to him.
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This is another one. There's something about him that just ain't right.
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Actually, I don't really care about his Scientology, his antics or any of that other stuff. He just simply doesn't do it for me. And he's has not really lived up to his potential as an actor.
Jack Nicholson and even Robert Mitchum -- both Hollywood bad boys and not really all that physically attractive. But they were and are, in my opinion, two of the best actors. I would see them in any movie. Cruise? No.
And I'm just flat out terrified of Casino Royale. Everything I've seen and heard tells me it's going to be a disaster. I think this Bond will make George Lazenby look good. Brosnan had made two suggestions for director if he was going to do Casino Royale and the fact that he got turned down on both is what I think led to the breakdown between him and the producers that led to his being replaced. He suggested either Martin Scorsese or Quinten Tarantino. Now I would have paid serious money to go see Casino Royale if made by either one of those guys, particularly with Brosnan.
My wife has NEVER liked him. She disliked him way before I did. Not just personally, but physically, she thought he was very overrated. He didn't do it for her either.
Luckily for me, although we are similar age and heights, we look nothing alike :)
He claims it's based on facts.
The book opens with the following statement BEFORE the fiction starts:
FACT:
The Priory of Sion—a European secret society founded in 1099—is a real organization. In 1975 Paris's Bibliothèque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci.
The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout Catholic sect that has been the topic of recent controversy due to reports of brainwashing, coercion, and a dangerous practice known as "corporal mortification." Opus Dei has just completed construction of a $47 million World Headquarters at 243 Lexington Avenue in New York City.
All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.
The first paragraph is pure lie. The second paragraph is slander. The third is laughable. It is an attempt at popularization of the Gnostic heresy which specifically denies the divinity of Christ. This is the same theme that Heinrich Himmler embraced as part of the core beliefs of his harmless little group of like minded individuals.
It ain't harmless and it ain't "just fiction." I also don't think it's coincidental that it's coming out and being pushed right now. I bet you Ahmadinejad will heap praise on this movie.
Tom Cruise needs some meds. Seriously, this man may be in the midst of a mental breakdown.
Agreed re: Hackman and Duvall. What I like particularly about them is that, even in some really bad movies, their performances always seem to shine through. To me, that's talent. And another thing...they might not have been attractive as young men, but they actually seem to be getting better looking with age. Sean Connery is another.
This is another one. There's something about him that just ain't right.
I'll third the motion! Tom Cruise can take a long walk towards the horizon. He's done in my book and there is no turning back.
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