"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[Penton-Man]

Sorry Bullseye,
That's not my field.
Ask kjack, wicky or one of the other mods here.

[Bullseye]

Thanks P.

I watched Tango and Cash last nite on Sky Movies HD and Terry looked well in 1989.

[Penton-Man]

Hey doby,
I just checked out your pic in the newbie forum thread.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=740

Dang, we must move in parallel universes, first it was Grand Cayman and then C-ville.
(see my post to Sir Terrence on his Insider’s Thread).

And do you realize that awhile back, Stefan Lessard got himself a Specialized mountain bike and then recruited all the rest of the band into mountain biking. They all take their bikes on tour to ride during down time.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...deoID=18383372

[Slec]

Originally Posted by Bullseye

Penton I don't know if this is your field but why are CE companies releasing new Profile 1.1 players which do not appear to be upgradeable to Profile 2.0 at this stage? Surely the BDA should insist on all new players to be final profile 2.0.

People need options. You can buy a Nissan (profile 1.1) or an Infiniti (profile 2.0), A Toyota (1.1) or a Lexus (2.0), VW (1.1) or Audi (2.0)..

why do I always revert to car analogies...

I'm one of those who won't use the internet, i just want movies, so a 1.1 player is perfect... I realize I'm not everyone though it's still a valid market position.

[WickyWoo]

Damn, now I have to pick up the game...when it's in the 'please god take it" bin since it's horrific

[neo_reloaded]

I so hope they make The Subtle Knife, and do it correctly. They need to make a movie that sticks to the ideals of the book, and advertise it in an honest manner.

There are plenty of people who will see it if it is good - you can't let these religious over-reactors strong-arm you into not telling a perfectly legitimate story.

[hollywoodguy]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

We approved a provisional budget for the Subtle Knife when New line were still independent, and they had a much better framework for it, i.e. go all the way in pissing of the religious people, they won't watch it anyway. Hopefully WB will stick to that and not shy away from the controversy, as it will make for a much better movie.

Any news how/when they are going forward with The Subtle Knife?

[WickyWoo]

The budget was only approved because New Line made promises that they wouldn't go down the family friendly route again, but with the New Line regime gone and it being internally financed by Time Warner, the future of the series looks bleak.

What's the likelyhood of someone like Canal coming in on it?

[hollywoodguy]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

What's the likelyhood of someone like Canal coming in on it?

That was my thinking, too. European money, lower budget, WB/NL only distribs in NA. As long as nobody lets Boll do it...

[horseflesh]

Originally Posted by hollywoodguy

That was my thinking, too. European money, lower budget, WB/NL only distribs in NA. As long as nobody lets Boll do it...

Golden Compass was a huge success outside North America.

[PaulGo]

PM could you suggest this to Sony about the PS3 remote?

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...0&postcount=54

[hollywoodguy]

Originally Posted by horseflesh

Golden Compass was a huge success outside North America.

I know. That's why I think many people want to see the sequels made.

[savage1984]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Unlikely, the best we could hope for in that regard is that WB decide to sell the license for the books and short stories to Universal or Sony who would have a proper stab at making this movie like it was supposed to be, but that is very unlikely.

If WB can get Nolan on board for both movies (and I hear they are trying) then the outlook will have improved greatly. Then again they also want him for the last Harry Potter movies so it comes down to which series is more important to them. Unfortunately, Harry Potter wins...

Nolan directing the last Harry Potter's... That sounds fantastic. There's nothing unfortunate about that!

Had I read the 'golden compass' books, I might feel otherwise... but sometimes ignorance is bliss!

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by PaulGo

PM could you suggest this to Sony about the PS3 remote?

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...0&postcount=54

I don’t have to.
By you simply stating a request means – you already have.
Just cause they don’t post here, doesn’t mean they don’t read here.

[WickyWoo]

I think what Max means is that while Harry Potter is a total blast to read, no one in their right mind would call it literature. His Dark Materials is literature, and is recognized as such by critics as well as Pullmans literary peers.

JK Rowling got super lucky, and she was learning to be a writer as she went along

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

If you are over the age of 15 and liked Lord of the Rings, I suggest His Dark Materials as a must read, it really is. If you think you don't have time, make time for this.

Totally agreed.

The Golden Compass is the weakest of the three, and starts a bit slow due to having to explain so much about the universe the characters inhabit. Don't give up. The payoff throughout that book, and through all of the 2nd and 3rd books, is absolutely fantastic. This series raises a number of provocative issues, gives insight into the human condition, and succeeds as an interesting story with great characters, all at the same time.

[Esox50]

Are you guys talking Christopher Nolan?

I would rather see him finish off his Batman "Begins" Trilogy than have him direct the last two Harry Potter movies.

Warner Bros. would have to be stupid to let someone else direct a Batman movie right now. The Harry Potter series is ending either way, but do they want to kill off the Batman series again a la Joel Shumacher?

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

The idea would be for him to do both HP7 and Bat3, which is why the Subtle Knife would get frozen out.

Like it or not, Harry Potter is a big franchise and getting Nolan to do it would be somewhat of a coup for WB as he understands movie making for grownups better than anyone atm. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows probably won't be for kids, the readers have all grown up, hell I was only 11 when the first one came out, I'm 21 in a couple of months, so I am well and truly in the Harry Potter generation, and if they made 7 into kids movies, regressing from 5 and 6 which are movies for grownups, and I would be pretty irritated. My gf is a complete Harry Potter maniac and even she would tell you that HP7 wasn't strictly a kids book, it stopped being a kids book at the end of the fourth one.

I'm pretty sure it was already announced that Yates would return to direct both parts of HP7.

[Mr_Bester]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

....

If WB can get Nolan on board for both movies (and I hear they are trying) then the outlook will have improved greatly. Then again they also want him for the last Harry Potter movies so it comes down to which series is more important to them. Unfortunately, Harry Potter wins...

I'm pretty sure they've already announced David Yates for the last two HP movies.

[neo_reloaded]

Personally, I found Yates' directorial style to be sufficient, but pretty bland overall. There aren't many shots in the last two films that I've considered visually appealing. Not that I love the source material (far from it - I see it because the girlfriend wants to see it), but I still attempt to enjoy the movies for what they are.

Nolan, Guillermo del Toro, or Peter Jackson could all do amazing things with the HP franchise if given the chance. But I'm glad none of them are tied down to it, as that means they can pursue other projects that I'm more interested in.