Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Thread

[Colly]

35 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

Spot the difference between Dwayne and Scarlett. 

Scarlett isn't a multiple time WWE Champion?

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Yet

[Gabriel]

Outside of all of the lawsuit stuff, which is absolutely legitimate and should be taken seriously because the actors have been screwed out of what they were expecting to earn and they have legal ground to pursue action... what I'm seeing about the whole Theatre Vs Streaming release debate has been a lot of people claiming that it's going to kill the movie business and the cinema experience, but not offering up any real solution to the problem.

On my end of things, I absolutely prefer watching things in my home. That it's an option makes it considerably more likely that I will spend money on things. I don't like the cinema at the best of times... or, rephrasing that, I typically don't like the cinema unless there are only a handful of people in the audience. I get annoyed with people, I feel claustrophobic and my anxiety tends to get pretty high. So I can put myself in an uncomfortable situation and spend a good chunk of money to do so... or I can just stay home. If I don't have the option to give them my money to watch it from the comfort of home, then they are significantly less likely to get my money at all.

The whole debate, to me, seems like a pretty classic example of old men yelling at clouds. The landscape is changing. Evolve or die. It doesn't have to be the end of the cinema experience, and streaming doesn't need to be the be-all, end-all for new content... but you can't keep pushing an antiquated system when the evolution of the business, technology and the world around us is kind of forcing a change.

[Jimmy]

It's easy to point to Disney's releases as an example of a film you're guaranteed to purchase, but there will be a high volume of films you won't. The current streaming module already has a plethora of films get lost in the sheer mix of volume.

An exclusive theatrical window protects our cinema industry and you have to consider how instrumental a theatrical run and its revenue are for independent films and filmmakers in particular, which is imperative for the pyramid of filmmaking and if you want representation and diversity in the kind of films that get made. The UK film industry saw a boon in the box office of UK indies pre pandemic because of targeted cinematic releases, regional tours of films and word-of-mouth. This is hard to replicate on streaming services, where usually the most advertised or biggest films are the ones that get exposure. 

Smaller films (and bigger films) risk losing out on the buzz created from everyone rushing to see films at the same time. A wider access to new releases doesn't necessitate everyone will be watching at the same time, it'll probably mean people will still put films off until they come down in price, you risk less people talking about the same films at the same time, less box office, less exposure and thus less opportunity for that film to find an audience (and those involved to further their careers). 

I mean, I can make a better, more informed argument, but I fully back an exclusive theatrical window. The cinema experience is one we need to protect; it still offers the best quality in the exhibition of films, offers the experience of watching with other people (which I totally understand some people don't enjoy) and it allows us to continue to try and develop a sense of community through cinema and allows a platform to change the industry. 

I fear that will get lost if we get rid of an exclusive theatrical window, I think, culturally, the film industry will be much worse if we don't protect cinemas.

 

[9 to 5]

I still have @Jimmy's interview on the radio about cinema's importance on my phone if you really want to go to war. 

[Jimmy]

1 minute ago, 9 to 5 said:

I still have @Jimmy's interview on the radio about cinema's importance on my phone if you really want to go to war. 

They asked me a bunch of questions I did not expect or have the experience to answer, but I think I said some things that made sense??

[Gabriel]

For the industry as it stands, theatrical releases are still very much a necessity. I won't argue that. I won't even argue that the experience itself is important. What I do argue is that unless you're looking to adapt to the changing times, you're setting yourself up for failure.

There's gotta be a way to evolve AND protect the cinematic experience. If I'm successful at work for a long period, and then start to lose effectiveness, I am forced to adapt to ensure that I'm still providing the best value that I can. No one is going to let me just talk about how the methods I use worked for so long, and it's the people or world who are wrong. They're going to force me to adapt if I don't already, and if I refuse to do that, I run the risk of losing my job to someone who will.

I just think that it's necessary for the industry to change in some kind of meaningful way. To expect people to flock to the cinema when Covid is still around is a bit naive. I guess, further to that point, the second week drop-off in sales that Black Widow saw at the theatre trends similarly to films that weren't released for streaming on day one. So you can point to the Disney+ release and claim that it caused such a dramatic drop (56%, I believe), but every other major release experienced the same thing, whether or not it was streaming.

I would say that the drop-off probably has more to do with the idea that the people who are willing to jam themselves into a packed theatre all hit it up during the first week, continued screenings saw people who are less thrilled with larger crowds going when they weren't as busy, and a large portion of streamers were likely people who would have gone to the cinema to see it (like myself... because it's a Marvel movie and it's something I do with friends, even though I prefer to stay home) but didn't want to put themselves at risk for Covid so that they could watch it.

Things may be opening up more, but there are still lots of people who don't want to be out in public because of the virus. I see it at work too, with less foot traffic than we're used to, but increased online sales and larger per-purchase sales numbers. There are still a lot of people who don't trust what's going on. Me personally, I probably won't be in a theatre seat again until at least 2022.. and there are several films coming this year that I would have loved to have seen without the threat of avoiding spoilers for months.

[Jimmy]

I mean, what you're talking about is ultimately a temporary problem? 

And, while making those films available at home would be good for viewers who don't feel comfortable in the cinema yet, the knock-on effect could be even less people going to the cinema, which could cause permentant closures which are much harder to come back from and much more damaging to the industry than films not doing as well at the box office. 

Unless you see some of these VOD platforms and studious want to give some of their profits to cinemas, then it certainly only exasperates that problem. 

We always need to learn and adapt, but part of the COVID adaptation is making sure there's a cinema industry left to go back to when this temporary problem is over. 

[9 to 5]

1 hour ago, Jimmy said:

They asked me a bunch of questions I did not expect or have the experience to answer, but I think I said some things that made sense??

I don't remember it well but you were good. God knows how that transferred from my old phone!

And to be honest I prefer to watch a film at home than the cinema by far but that's me in a minority and that's fine by me.

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Nah, some stuff is way better at the cinema. 100% made the right call seeing Black Widow and A Quiet Place Part 2 there, looking forward to going again at some point.

[gunnar hendershow]

I prefer the theater experience overall. Especially for independent films and revival runs. Blockbusters are designed with all the effects to look and feel better on a big screen as well.

Also when something is on streaming I can much more easily skip it because there isn't the urgency (usually most titles are up for at least 5 years once they hit a service). The urgency of needing to go to one of the 3 showings I can is a good way of making sure I see a movie. A lot of people will always find neat films, it happened with video rental stores and it happens with streaming. The stuff is out there for those who want to see it. But for the creators themselves it's so imperative their movies get seen right away, and the most effective way of doing that is in a theater. Not to say accessibility shouldn't be considered with direct-to-streaming releases but they're almost always only going to be for big studio releases. Smaller studios and independent directors are nothing to streaming services, but they're something to theaters. They'd be totally wiped out if cinemas vanish.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I love the movie Mad Max: Fury Road and I think I probably wouldn't have loved it nearly as much had my first experience seeing it not been in theaters. I'd still rather stream the majority of movies though

[Gabriel]

It might just be a small town thing, but I know that one of the major reasons we've seen dropping ticket sales leading up to Covid is that we only get the really big films here, and their target audience in my area tend not to be really fussed about most of them outside of the nerd shit. Marvel and Star Wars are always packed. Horror does really well here too, but doesn't get nearly enough play.

The demo that theatres try to hit, in my area, is more interested in event films, nerd shit and horror. If they played to their specific area-based demo's, they'd probably be okay, but because most theatre chains are corporate, you end up with the same films playing basically everywhere.

We have a small theatre here that will show an indy film once or twice a week, and they do pretty well. They also do classic films on the big screen, which draws them a bigger audience than the newer stuff. If they did a classic horror film every week, I'd probably go at least once a month just to get out of the house.

It reminds me of the death of the video stores. I worked at one that kept chugging along and making money because it adapted. Streaming was taking over, so we started focusing on finding titles that weren't available via that method, and the catalog section for horror was grown exponentially. When it did finally close, I was told that it was still making money because they adapted to their clientele.

Covid is a temporary issue, and theatres will need to be protected so they're around afterwards... but there are other issues to deal with as well. Weren't ticket sales on the decline pre-covid anyways? There are adjustments that will need to be made for the industry to be healthy moving forward.

[tristy]

 

[Lint]

Anthony Mackie Closes Deal To Star In ‘Captain America 4’ Film

[tristy]

Shang-Chi has an... interesting... mid-credits scene that will make some people furious and others just go "huh?"

All 'round, though, seems like a pretty good movie, but for some it'll be too "paint by numbers" Marvel formula.

[tristy]

I suspect the No Way Home trailer will be put out any day now, since an unfinished VFX version of it leaked today on TikTok.

[MalaCloudy Black]

8 minutes ago, tristy said:

I suspect the No Way Home trailer will be put out any day now, since an unfinished VFX version of it leaked today on TikTok.

Already got DMCAed on TikTok and the VFX artist who leaked it got IDed as well. Judging from comments on reddit, it's getting taken down almost as soon as it goes up on Twitter, YouTube, etc. as well.

[tristy]

13 minutes ago, CLDY said:

Already got DMCAed on TikTok and the VFX artist who leaked it got IDed as well. Judging from comments on reddit, it's getting taken down almost as soon as it goes up on Twitter, YouTube, etc. as well.

For the moment - it's still up on the marvelstudios subreddit. But I figure it's only a matter of time before Reddit gets a copyright strike.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Being rumored now that the No Way Home trailer will drop tonight at 9:30 PM EST.