The Film Industry Thread

[Deleted]

How to pitch a movie. (Audio NSFW).

[JeanBean]

A friend just started work at an LA production company and he said there is all this crazy protocol you have to follow. Example: you can't say you're leaving a message for someone on the phone, you have to "leave word." His boss actually reprimanded him for saying "message." Assistants have this whole script they follow while on the phone, meetings are always at one of 4 prescribed times, it goes on and on. It's both hilarious and bizarre.

[diablocody]

Oh God, "leave word" is such an annoying Hollywood-ism. It drives me nuts. I thought it was a West Coast thing that I'd just never heard being from the Midwest, but apparently it's industry-exclusive.

[twodollars]

Based on The Brave One, Invasion, and No Reservations flopping.

Warner Bros president of production Jeff Robinov has made a new decree that "We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead".

Link[/color]

Why is it that female stars get all of the blame for movies underperforming at the Box Office, whereas male stars get multiple flops without any repercussions? And why isn't any blame placed on the studios for greenlighting these crap movies?

[Deleted]

You'd think that there would be some formula, based on the lead's 'zazz-factor, the director's track record, the writer's skill at tapping into the zeitgeist, the subject matter, the release date and the target audience, with which a reasonably accurate prediction could be made of the box office. And that pictures were green-lighted based on that prediction and the cost of production.

You would think that, because you're not an idiot like the people in Hollywood who are concerned solely with the opening weekend's grosses. Not with word of mouth building an audience, not with a modestly-made picture bringing in modest return plus an unexpected surprise windfall, not with cultivating a marketing strategy for that specific film.

That's why.

[tamaradixon]

spider said:

SHE is one model that should be on fashion magazine covers more

I've met her and she is four feet tall. Maybe. Probably why her modeling career was pretty limited.

IMDb lists her as 5' 8 1/2"??!!

That seems pretty tall to lil ol me.

[huntergrayson]

The people in Hollywood who are concerned solely with the opening weekend's grosses

Hmm, The Brave One topped the Box Office with about 13/14 million, Heartbreak Kid could only come in at number two with about the same amount (versus a 24-28 million "prediction"). Does this mean studios should stop making crappy Ben Stiller movies?

How about a simple, "hey, nothing really makes money in August, let's try to fix that" approach?

[marywebgirl]

Does this mean studios should stop making crappy Ben Stiller movies?

From your lips to God's ears.

[forever1267]

No more Lead roles for women at Warner Brothers?

[spider]

IMDb lists her as 5' 8 1/2"??!!

Really? I met her at a bar and she didn't seem much taller than the stool I was sitting on.