Evil Dead, Pirating and Magic
Happy Holidays!
December 2004 Movie News
Groooooovy: It seems that Sam Raimi is going back to his roots. Good news for fellow Dead-ites!He unveiled plans to develop another installment in the series, to be released by his production company, Ghost House Pictures. His old friends and colleagues, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell, will join him as producers of the new flick. As fondly remembered as Ash, Campbell starred in the original as a bumbling Everyman who had to fight off zombies, including his friends and girlfriend, and even his own hand, in three movies that were revolutionary for mixing slapstick, horror, and unique camera angles in grisly fun. While Raimi won't be directing due to his involvement in Spider-Man 3, he definitely will have plenty of input, and of course the originals Tapert and Campbell will be on hand. No word yet if Ash will be making an appearance, but come on! What's Evil Dead without our favorite hero?
2004 Fall Box Office Results: Were disappointing. From post-Labor Day to pre-Thanksgiving the studios raked in an estimated $1.39 billion, down 14% from the record $1.63 billion earned last year. Despite two animated winners, Shark Tale and The Incredibles (which pulled in more than $150 million each), the rest of the crop failed to perform well. The Grudge pulled in about $100 million, the third top movie. While this fall lasted only 10 weeks, as opposed to previous year's 11, the extra seven days really couldn't make much of a difference.
On The Brighter Side...: Thanks to the over $150 million gross of The Incredibles, shares of Pixar Animation Studios surged and touched an all-time high of around 93 bucks.
Arrrrg Matey! Caught With The Silver: Well, silver screen magic, that is. A trade group representing seven major studios filed a first set (of what probably are many more) lawsuits against individuals that they claim are offering pirated copies of films over the.. guess what? Internet! Of course. A peer-to-peer based file sharing system, to be precise. Penalties can be up to $30,000 for each picture traded, and a $150,000 fine if proved if "infringement is shown to be willful"... whatever that means. How can you upload a movie accidentally? The MPAA (The Motion Picture Association of America) is helping out, offering programs and other educational media on various websites. "Many parents are concerned about what their children have downloaded and where they've downloaded it from," MPAA president and chief executive Dan Glickman said in a statement.
In associated news the studios have already won a $23.8 million judgment against a California company, along with its Malaysian owner, for operating a web site that offered illegally copied movies.
More Disney News: Who might take over for Michael Eisner, who is stepping down in 2006? Well, it could be a fellow named Peter Chernin. He is president of News Corp., owners of 20th Century Fox and various Fox networks, and his new contract states he must give at least six months' notice to his boss, CEO Rupert Murdoch, but a clause states he can quit without any notice if he takes a job as top officer at a competing company that is public... like Disney. This isn't set in stone, as there are other contenders, but we'll keep watch and see what happens.
Lastly, As Always, Something Bizarre: A living vampire... really! A Scottish man was convicted a while back of murdering his best friend for his blood, which he said he drank to gain immortality. Well, it looks like he failed, as he was found dead recently in his prison cell. Maybe the sun finally got to him, or he ate one too many Italian dishes laced with garlic...
