Greetings and salutations ladies and gentlemen, John here.
This week the audio edition was a LOT of fun. Not only do I have my regular co-host with me (the mighty Canadian Comedian Doug Nagy), but we’re also joined by Audio Edition favorite Sharon Dewitt, and another Canadian Comedian Jesse Boner. This was probably the most fun I’ve had doing an Audio Edition so far (not that it’s the BEST Audio Edition we’ve done so far… I just had a lot of fun doing it).
This week, we cover topics like what went wrong with The Island, the brain dead movie studio executives deciding to up the amount of ads before a film, Wonder Woman casting rumours, the move to digital projection in all movie theatres and a few things more.
To listen to this weeks does of Audio goodness you can just download it here. Enjoy, and don’t forget to leave your comments!
Wow. That was the absolute worst audio edition i ever heard. That sucks because this is my favorite podcast, but once again it had to be proven that 99% women aren’t funny unless theyre hot and in the same room as you. If youre going to have that chick on every week then im going to have to turn to Ebert and Roeper’s. Did you hear me? EBERT and ROEPER!!
I think just about everyone on this site agrees that Bay is a hack, who’s gotten by solely through over-the-top action movies. The problem with saying that’s why the movie failed is that Bay’s films have made serious money in the past. I read in an interview with him in Entertainment Weekly that he’s the younger director to ever gross $1 billion in sales. The crap he’s put out in the past has always made money, regardless of hor much critics hated it. The fact is, the average movie goer loves what he does. In fact, the average movie goer probably wouldn’t even respond to his name, that’s why they have to put, “from the director of the rock and armageddon” on the poster
As for what went wrong, I think that there were a couple big problems. For one, the timing was off. It came out after a summer full of other sci-fi action flicks, all of which had some leagacy to them. The Island wasn’t a remake, or an adaptation, and therefore didn’t come with the guaranteed fanbase of war of the worlds, fantastic four, or star wars. At the same time though, it seemed highly derivative and predictable. Just about everyone who saw the trailer must have though of at least one other movie it reminded them of, and that really doesn’t help.
The next problem was Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johannsen. They’re both excellent actors, and have both made excellent movies, but i don’t think anyone views them as action stars. Yes, Ewan was in Star Wars, and he did do some fighting, but there’s a major difference in what the characters seemed to be. And Johannsen is still a little too “under the radar,” even after Lost in Translation. This helped contribute to that identity crisis John mentions. You have a movie that’s billed as a summer blockbuster, but with two stars who are better known for comedic and dramatic roles.
Another problem that seems to occur across the board is how the movie was made. As I understand it, Speilberg bought the script for $1 million, gave it to Bay, and told him that the movie had to be made for $120 million. So Bay brought in two new writers to change to script so that it could be made within that budget, and effectively kicked the original writer out of the process because it wasn’t working out. Chuck Klosterman has an interesting theory that hollywood used to be all about the actors, back in the “glory days,” then it became more about the Directors as people like Speilberg and Lucas came onto the scene. Today, hollywood is all about the producers and, more importantly, the money. I don’t know if that’s why everybody else didn’t see the movie, but the fact that this movie seemed like a prime example of that theory is part of the reason I didn’t see it.
I can’t put my finger on it but there is something I don’t like about Micheal Bay movies, maybee its what Joe said.
i just think the message of Trey Parkers anti-Michael Bay song just finally got through
Great show people!
Donna A.
Regarding the “confusion” over the failure of “The Island”, I can only say I’ve hated every Michael Bay movie. I mean really hated them. He is the epitome of what’s wrong with Hollywood, imho. Yes, I went to see his movies in the past, but I’ve grown wise. Maybe everyone else has too. The commercial just screamed “another mindless movie with stupid dialogue and over-the-top action scenes designed to makes trillions of dollars”. Been there, done that. Yawn. No more.
This was the most hilarious Audio Edition EVEEEEER! It was well done like, funny, and at the same time very informative.