Jealousy over Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci

Jun 18 2009 Published by under Film, TV

Kurtzman and Orci

Nikki Finke over at Deadline Hollywood Daily writes:

“If Michael Bay can have a Hate Club, maybe Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci should, too. That’s because, whenever I mention their names to formerly successful screenwriters and producers who can’t get anything going now, a lot of teeth-gnashing and profanity-spewing ensues. Here’s why: Not only did the duo write and produce Star Trek, which has so far grossed over $350M worldwide (and they’ve signed on to write the sequel). Not only are they the scripters of both Transformers and the upcoming Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen. But they also produced The Proposal which comes out this weekend. So that’s three movies this summer alone, along with the TV series Fringe on Fox. And most nauseating of all, their publicist calls them the “Boys of Summer” 2009.”

Talk about tall poppy syndrome.  Since when did it become cool to begrudge people their success?  I could maybe understand it if he was talking about Jason Friedman and Aaron Seltzer (Scary Movie franchise, Date Movie, Epic Movie, Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans) because those guys write shitty movies.  But Kurtzman and Orci write good films and work on one of the best new shows of this season in Fringe.

It just sounds like sour grapes from guys who have fallen by the wayside if you ask me.

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Weekend box office: May 22nd-24th

May 25 2009 Published by under Film

Night at the Museum 2 took in $53 million to edge the latest installment in the Terminator franchise by $10 million and take #1 at the box office this weekend.  Star Trek held onto 3rd place with $21 million which now takes its total gross to over $180 million.

Check out the top 10 this weekend below, thanks to Box Office Mojo.

TW LW Title
Studio Weekend Gross % Change Total Gross
1 N Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Fox $53,500,000.00 - $53,500,000.00
2 N Terminator Salvation WB $43,010,000.00 - $56,382,000.00
3 2 Star Trek Par. $21,951,000.00 -49.00% $183,585,000.00
4 1 Angels & Demons Sony $21,400,000.00 -53.70% $81,511,000.00
5 N Dance Flick Par. $11,113,000.00 - $11,113,000.00
6 3 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Fox $7,800,000.00 -46.90% $163,054,000.00
7 4 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past WB (NL) $3,720,000.00 -44.10% $45,858,000.00
8 5 Obsessed SGem $2,000,000.00 -56.40% $65,908,000.00
9 7 Monsters Vs. Aliens P/DW $1,345,000.00 -57.70% $192,991,000.00
10 6 17 Again WB $1,005,000.00 -70.20% $60,314,000.00

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Weekend box office: May 15th-17th

May 18 2009 Published by under Film

Angels & Demons barely took out the number one spot at the box office this weekend, edging out the JJ Abrams re-boot of Star Trek by only $5 million.  Star Treks haul was 42% off it’s opening weekend, but it has already managed to bring in $147 million.  The terrible X Men Origins: Wolverine managed to hold onto third place with a shade under $15 million.

Check out the top 10 at the box office below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Total Gross
1 N Angels & Demons Sony $48,000,000.00 - $48,000,000.00
2 1 Star Trek Par. $43,000,000.00 -42.80% $147,611,000.00
3 2 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Fox $14,800,000.00 -44.00% $151,091,000.00
4 3 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past WB (NL) $6,860,000.00 -33.10% $40,062,000.00
5 4 Obsessed SGem $4,550,000.00 -30.60% $62,571,000.00
6 5 17 Again WB $3,400,000.00 -19.70% $58,395,000.00
7 8 Monsters Vs. Aliens P/DW $3,000,000.00 -8.00% $190,552,000.00
8 7 The Soloist P/DW $2,425,000.00 -38.60% $27,527,000.00
9 6 Next Day Air Sum. $2,281,000.00 -44.50% $7,649,000.00
10 9 Earth (2009) BV $1,680,000.00 -37.00% $29,071,000.00

[via Box Office Mojo]

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STAR TREK impressions

May 07 2009 Published by under Film, Reviews

Star TrekI just got back from seeing STAR TREK and I loved it.  Now, I’m no Trekkie, or Trekker, or whatever is politically correct to call diehard Trek fans, but I have seen some of the previous films, and in my mind the new reboot blows them all away.  Each of the new actors playing the central roles fits perfectly, but I thought that Chris Pine as Kirk and Simon Pegg as Scotty were the two main standouts.

I went into the film knowing next to nothing about the plot, so I’m not going to give too much away here in case anyone’s actually reading my blog, but I will highlight some of my personal pros and cons of the film.

Pros:

  • A great reboot that sets the stage for future films without the need for retcon.
  • The fight on the drill
  • Brilliant choices for the main roles
  • Eric Bana as a kick ass villain
  • The special effects were absolutely amazing
  • So was the score
  • The whole scope of it is something that I’ve never seen in a Star Trek film before

Cons:

  • The birth of Kirk sequence (that specifically, not the whole opening)
  • The little alien hanging around with Scotty (it reminded me of an Ewok)
  • The standing ovation for Kirk at the end

Final Grade: A-

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