Defying the odds against Dinosaurs, Batman, James Cameron and even Marvel superheroes, Tom Cruise bet on himself and delivered; the highest-grossing domestic movie of the year, his career, and the highest-grossing film in Paramount Pictures’ history. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Screenplay and 4 other Academy Awards when that organization typically overlooks action…
Category: Case
Case 10 – Wonder Woman 1984: A Post-Pandemic Release Strategy
Friday March 13th: Hollywood’s last stand before pulling most major releases from the schedule. One of the last movies released was a mid-range Blumhouse film, The Hunt. It made a few bucks, shuffled quickly onto premium Video On Demand and despite its pedigree, wasn’t very good. Friday November 13th, Universal released a Blumhouse movie: ‘Freaky‘….
TENET should provide Masks as a Cinematic and Social Responsibility
To the Warner Bros. TENET Marketing Department, Christopher Nolan wrote an Op-Ed in March about the social responsibility of supporting local theatres. A cinematic champion, the director received his fair share of criticism trying to promote moviegoing during the pandemic. I think most people detect that this is a director who makes movies and doesn’t…
Star Trek, Paramount and The Pine-Bluff Variant
When Salary Talks Stall Star Trek, It’s Time for the Enterprise to Look Within and Go Where Kirk Is Gone. Star Trek Box Office: #1 BUDGET $150M, GROSS $257M/ $385M WW, NET <$235M after Publicity & Ads. #2 BUDGET $190M, GROSS $228M/ $467M WW, NET <$277M after P&A. #3 BUDGET $185M, GROSS $158M/ $343M WW, NET <$158M after P&A. Star Trek 4 talks…
Throwback: “How Grand Theft Auto III Put Games on the Media Map”
Originally written for Dr. Hazel Atkins ENG 1100 Class / Dated: Monday, October-01- 12 Released in October of 2001, Video Game “Grand Theft Auto III” by Scottish developer Rockstar North came into worldwide infamy. It was banned and censored in one country, and was the subject of two court cases in another and was the highest selling…
Hollywood Misuse of Trailer Card Captions
There is a small unaddressed issue in movie trailers for as many as they have. Many use the Title Card captions incorrectly, failing to capitalize or use name recognition. Often trailer editors use the same film as a marker of success too often thinking they can fool the audience with the same film every time…
Suicide Squad Divide: Critics v. Fans
Contains mild spoilers for Suicide Squad. Not enough to convince you to see the film. Your most loyal friends are the ones that stick with you through thick and thin. I admire those who defend Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice because Zack Snyder is a unique visual stylist who at least tried though failed…
Case Four: The Multiplicities of Polytechnique (2009)
Written for Dr. Boulou Ebanda de B’béri’s ‘Canadian and Quebec Cinema’ by Xi (Samuel) Wang and Will Hume at University of Ottawa. March 2016. Actions and Behaviours Polytechnique (2009) is a retelling of the December 6th, 1989 massacre. A true story in which 14 women are murdered. The deadly attack was until 2020, the deadliest…
Case 3: Crisis Communication – The Microsoft Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death
Analysis/ Context of Microsoft’s Billion Dollar Problem Affecting Stakeholders Figure 1:Crisis framing applied to the Xbox 360’s life cycle The scope of Microsoft’s Billion-dollar problem: ‘Xbox 360’s Red Ring of death’ coined by the early social media age of the mid 2000’s is difficult to discern, because it is so unique in nature. Its place…
Modern Electronic Film Composing in the 2010’s: Case ‘Legacy & Oblivion’
Featuring the music composed by “Daft Punk” and “M83”: Mission Statement: Big-time Hollywood director Joseph Kosinski made his mark on movie history landing an expensive debut with Tron Legacy and following it up with the relatively big Oblivion, an adaptation of his own sci-fi treatment. Both times he collaborated with musicians outside the movie industry….
UPDATE: ‘The Interview’ is back on! The White Elephant: Case/ Solution
Sony gives the people what they want!!! We await Christmas Day Annihilation! UPDATE: The movie will be shown in a number of independent theatres such as the Alamo Drafthouse in Texas and a number of theatres in Los Angeles. An official statement from Sony Pictures Michael Lynton reads: “We have never given up on releasing…