British Film Institute (BFI) Discussion Thread

[Aclea]

That's usually what happens with Oscar or major award winning actors and directors these days - where once they got a chance to make a dream project, now they get paid more money to pretend they've always wanted to make a Marvel movie. "So, Ken - five Oscar nominations is it now? How'd you fancy making Thor?" "Congratulations on your Oscar for Room - how much to play Captain Marvel?" "The Rider and Nomadland deserved all those awards - so, when can you start on Eternals?"

[carldavis]

Originally Posted by Aclea

"The Rider and Nomadland deserved all those awards - so, when can you start on Eternals?"

Yeah, my heart sank when I heard Chloé Zhao was attached to Eternals. After a practically perfect first three films (Songs My Brothers Taught Me really needs to be seen more as well as the two above. Blu release soon?) she is quickly becoming one of my favorite female directors, but Marvel does nothing for me. Still, out of curiosity I did watch the trailer, and... meh.

Fingers crossed Kelly Reichardt isn't ever tempted...

Mind you, David Lowery (A Ghost Story, Old Man and the Gun, Ain't those Bodies Saints) managed to make the Pete's Dragon live action remake for Disney far more entertaining and watchable than I thought possible.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Aclea

That's usually what happens with Oscar or major award winning actors and directors these days - where once they got a chance to make a dream project, now they get paid more money to pretend they've always wanted to make a Marvel movie. "So, Ken - five Oscar nominations is it now? How'd you fancy making Thor?" "Congratulations on your Oscar for Room - how much to play Captain Marvel?" "The Rider and Nomadland deserved all those awards - so, when can you start on Eternals?"

The funniest of these IMHO was when they approached Lucretia Martel to do Black Widow (apparently Johannson had given Feig and co a list of female directors to consider) and she turned them down after hearing they didn’t want her to do the action scenes, just the ‘in-between stuff’.

[Eibon]

Nothing funny about it, that's fairly standard practice for HK movies for example. No reason for a director to be proficient in both action and drama and I would presume we're talking action director rather than joint director credit. It's a great idea to bring nuanced indie drama directors to add weight to otherwise vapid stories.

[Gacivory]

In the BFI email they advertised Girlfriends screenings. Possible future title?

[minister_x]

Would have thought it unlikely Criterion would have lost or given up the rights that quickly!

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

In the BFI email they advertised Girlfriends screenings. Possible future title?

Park Circus are doing the reissue.

Also it's WB

[rapta]

Originally Posted by minister_x

Would have thought it unlikely Criterion would have lost or given up the rights that quickly!

Yeah, no way would that happen. Even if it could, BFI wouldn't bother licensing it just to compete with a very recent edition as it'd be financially unviable to do so.

[JoeFargo]

Originally Posted by Eibon

It's a great idea to bring nuanced indie drama directors to add weight to otherwise vapid stories.

Yeah, and let's get Gordon Ramsay to serve burgers at McDonalds while we're at it

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Darby1985

God, I remember the uproar when people who pre-ordered Horror Express from Arrow weren't all getting booklets. THAT was bad.

Has anyone here ever come across any solid evidence that eliminating the booklets or other swag beyond the first editions has proven to be successful for the labels who do it? I would love to know if this practice has brought about any substantial difference in their sales and bottom line.

[Olmo]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Absolute piss take they refuse to release the film but feel absolutely fine to drop an appearance of it in a bloody kids film.

You think for a minute your regular studio head would be in on any in joke?

I think the it's the baton that every successive WB board has to carry, in that it's a studio decision made decades ago, that with the 'perceived' blasphemy that abounds in the film it'll never receive an official Warners' release.

That said, there are braver, more level-headed, intelligent boutique labels that would snap their hands off. Although I fear the likes of Criterion, Kino perhaps even Arrow & Eureka would want access to the uncut print for their pound of flesh, understandably. Therein may lie the current impasse.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Olmo

You think for a minute your regular studio head would be in on any in joke?

When it hits a publicity level as it did, you’d hope some exces would at least be asking how that slipped past their radar.

Not to lie, Warner has released more than enough non-worthy releases in their time not to allow a famed film such as The Devils not get a look in by some boutique level, whether it be Criterion or someone else.

[sjt]

Originally Posted by Foggy

When it hits a publicity level as it did, you’d hope some exces would at least be asking how that slipped past their radar.

Not to lie, Warner has released more than enough non-worthy releases in their time not to allow a famed film such as The Devils not get a look in by some boutique level, whether it be Criterion or someone else.

And who would foot the bill? Leaving aside all questions of taste and/or censorship, the cost of restoring the semi-ruinous cut footage and reintegrating it into the notional whole would be a major undertaking, necessitating a near-bottomless reserve of time and money. It would certainly cost well into six figures (and perhaps nearer seven); and for a film that has never been anything to Warner's other than a money-losing thorn in their flesh, why would they even consider bothering?

And as for the implied suggestion that if they can't do it why not let someone else have a crack at it, all I'd say is lucky the boutique that could ever manage to scrape together the ruinous cost of so doing, only to satisfy an ever-shrinking physical market largely confined to the UK (the film having bombed spectacularly in America). Just get the BFI's DVD and trust to your all-conquering upscaling algorithms.

[jonali]

Any chance that the BFI could release Peter Greenaways "The Falls" (1980)?

[Cinematt]

Originally Posted by Aclea

That's usually what happens with Oscar or major award winning actors and directors these days - where once they got a chance to make a dream project, now they get paid more money to pretend they've always wanted to make a Marvel movie. "So, Ken - five Oscar nominations is it now? How'd you fancy making Thor?" "Congratulations on your Oscar for Room - how much to play Captain Marvel?" "The Rider and Nomadland deserved all those awards - so, when can you start on Eternals?"

By all accounts Zhao is a nerd and actually did want to make a Marvel film, and approached them. Nomadland was in production when she started on Eternals and she was editing them at the same time so she did all that off the back of The Rider.

But I have no doubt Ken just asked how big the cheque was!

[Foggy]

Sorry guys, did realised Warner bros needed defending, I’ll back off.

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

Has anyone here ever come across any solid evidence that eliminating the booklets or other swag beyond the first editions has proven to be successful for the labels who do it? I would love to know if this practice has brought about any substantial difference in their sales and bottom line.

I know it discourages me from buying releases that may not come with the booklet. Usually I'll look for it used if it's more than a few years old. My guess is most people wouldn't even realize part of the original package is missing.

[xiiidan]

I place a priority on things that have some sort of limited factor in an attempt to save money (is what I keep telling myself). I'm more inclined to pick up older Arrow or BFI titles that no longer have their booklet or extra disc, for example, in a sale for £7.99 or throw them on a Christmas list since my perception is, "Oh they'll always stick around, I'll pick them up sometime." It's why I don't yet own Arrow titles like The Thing or Candyman, they're always among the usual suspects in £7.99 sales or BOGOFs.

But on the other hand, with a label like Eureka who keep their booklets around, I don't seem to pick up many of them either unless I just say bugger it for something I'm in the mood for watching or if I ask for them as a gift, so who knows what's really effective!

[CelestialAgent]

if everything is a LE I’ll have to reluctantly buy everything

but HMV is good for keeping an eye on booklets if you have one nearby

[CrockettandTubbs]

Ingmar Bergman vol.1 review:

http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=6654

(the book is 96 pages long)