Hollywood worried, "Kingdom of Heaven" a dud

Quando ^

[Proud_texan]

""They just prefer to ignore the many studies/polls..."

My take is that the money people are just like any money people and that the long lead time from concept to distribution (probably 3 years) it just takes some time to dribble down.

I checked Box Office Mojo and my take is that the top six moneymakers last year were (probably, they don't show ratings) "G" rated with the exception of one; The Passion. The others were movies like Shrek (sp?) and The Incredibles.

So they've probably gotten the message, they just have a lot of crap in the can. What we'll have to watch out for is when they start making what we like; will we want to restart funding their off-screen antics?

[muir_redwoods]

"Ridley Scott, apparently, felt it necessary to tell the story of the Crusades from a point of view that favors the Muslim version instead of the Christian version (or just the historic version)."

Why would anyone but an Islamofascist or an apologist for same go to see this? Why?

[katana]

Glad you caught the allusion to one of the dumber "historical" movies of the last 20 years. It's interesting to know but not surprising that Hollywood thinks the Meiji Restoration, which changed Japan from a feudal backwater and freed the non-Samurai peasantry from serfdom, was a bad thing.

They seem to have a thing for primitive cultures without any understanding about how absolutely brutal life can be in those conditions. Reminds me of my favorite part of Michael Crichton's book, State of Fear where the Martin Sheen character ends up getting sliced up and eaten alive by a bunch of harmless (cannibal) natives living in a state of natural bliss. There was something about picturing Sheen's face in the cheek slicing scene that was just heart warming.

[Rummyfan]

They seem to have a thing for primitive cultures without any understanding about how absolutely brutal life can be in those conditions. Reminds me of my favorite part of Michael Crichton's book, State of Fear where the Martin Sheen character ends up getting sliced up and eaten alive by a bunch of harmless (cannibal) natives living in a state of natural bliss. There was something about picturing Sheen's face in the cheek slicing scene that was just heart warming.

I loved that book too. The character Ted certainly got his comeuppance and learned about the beauty of the so-called 'noble savage'!

[mike182d]

Lucas is a Conservative.

I would love to believe this. Do you have any sources?

[556x45]

Nope, they've had this sort of info for many years. They have no excuse and are proceeding in arrogance hoping that the weight of their spew is enough to change the public's viewing habits.

[AgThorn]

from Hollywood reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/search/search_results_taxo.jsp?id=1115914836044

Overseas gets to 'Heaven,' $53.8 mil from 97 markets
Overseas moviegoers proved again to be the best fans of historical action dramas, as Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" bowed over the weekend with $53.8 million from 7,702 screens in 97 territories, outshining domestic by about 2.8 times as part of a day-and-date worldwide launch.
May 10, 2005 - The Hollywood Reporter

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'Kingdom's' $19.6 mil bow not as heavenly as expected
20th Century Fox's "Kingdom of Heaven" captured the top spot at the boxoffice in North America this past weekend without much of a fight, but the historic epic from director Ridley Scott held that position with a debut of a soft $19.6 million. It was an inauspicious opening for a film that cost roughly $130 million to produce, but "Kingdom" did well overseas, and positive word-of-mouth may help sustain the film on the domestic front.
May 10, 2005 - The Hollywood Reporter

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Of course, belief in the fantasy of this movie (goodness of Islam) is better supported in Europe.

[Jack Deth]

Hollywood Summer time Blockbusters are an extremely poor vehichle for "Message" movies. A week from today, "Revenge Of The Sith" is going to bury "Kingdom Of Heaven" even deeper in the Bomb Crater of Irrelevance.

Until Corporate Hollywood gets rid of its "Suits" and "PC Lawyers", and actually allow directors to direct the films they want and tell a decent story. It is going to continue to experience this spiralling "Crash and Burn".

Personally, I've seen very few "recent" flims. If one does interest me, I usually wait for it to come out on DVD.

Jack.