Greatest Movie List, Star Wars, and
Commercials Before Movies
June 2005 Movie News
Time Magazine List: Two critics from Time magazine have put out their "Top 100 Movies of All Time" list, posted at the magazine's web site. Richard Schickel and Richard Corliss don't expect all their choices to please everyone, nor is that the intent. "100 lists are fun to discuss, fun to argue over," Schickel reported. A few winners: Martin Scorsese turned out to be the most popular director, with three films on the list. Robert De Niro(a favorite of mine and pictured left) leads the actors with five total films. I'd suggest looking this over and have some fun with it. To begin: they award the best film of this decade as 2002's Talk to Her. That one was a real blockbuster.
Star Wars Rap: Speaking of blockbusters. We all know it, but here's the "official" word: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is a mega-smash-power hit. It raked in a whopping $50 million in a single day! There's one for the record books. In four days it pulled in around $160 million, according to tracking records from Exhibitor Relations. It did not, however, break the $115 million record set by the original Spider-Man in 2002. And it also didn't break the slump that has hit the box office over the past few months. While Star Wars Sith drew in the crowds, not much else did. A few choice releases such as War of the Worlds, Batman Begins, and Mr. And Mrs. Smith this month may boost the totals. But we'll just have to wait and see.
Freeman Fights Pirates: No, not a new movie. And certainly no fistcuffs. But actor Morgan Freeman spent considerable time and energy over this year's Cannes festival attempting to convince people that movie piracy can be fought, and not necessarily by the way the studio's are going about it. "I'm in a business that's rapidly changing, and it's being driven by technology- like the rest of the world. If we can position ourselves to change with it, then we can gain from it. And make money. In this new technology lies salvation for everybody. The studios think they're listening to the consumer, but they aren't- they're trying to dictate." Very wise words. It's no wonder he portrays strong, wise men in the majority of his films. I'm willing to add my small voice to his efforts by posting here.
Commercials, Don't Touch That Dial!: Well, in theaters the problem is that there is no way to change the channel. And while nothing is being done about this, the actual start times of films may be posted by Loews. Of course, nothing is that easy. A posting will begin to appear in newspapers stating "the feature presentation starts 10 to 15 minutes after the posted show time." Wow! That'll show 'em. A feeble reed against the rushing torrent of anger, I would say. Why sit through all that crap? If I wanted to see ads, I'd stay at home and watch TV. This seems to be the majority feeling, for those that feel anything at all. But mostly the apathy has helped keep these abominations on screen.
And Lastly.: Another actor? Maybe. Warren Beatty reported that he hasn't "ruled out" the idea of running for governor of California. In a straight-on fight, obviously Schwarzenegger would win. But this is the realm of brains, not brawn. If Beatty does decide to run, it'll certainly be interesting viewing!
