March 12, 2005
MAKING MOVIES THE NEW FASHIONED WAY
A small independent film about werewolves decided to ask some fan boards what they wanted in a werewolf film before the script was finished. With over 2M hits on the message boards in 3 months, The film has now been bumped up from a 50K DV video horror, to a 6M theatrical thriller. All because of the fans involvement. Who needs Hollywood development types anyway. :)
Building The Ultimate Werewolf
March 12, 2005 in Fantasm | Permalink | TrackBack
November 29, 2004
FAN FILMS PHENOM
A Colorado man is on the cutting edge of the film industry. He's a leading maker of what are called “fan films.” They're Internet movies that pick up where once-popular T.V. series or movies left off. And in this case, “Star Trek” fans are loving it!
Jack Marshall is part of a growing phenomenon. He is the director and producer of "Star Trek: New Voyages." “For some people that are involved in this---it is about their love for Star Trek. What Star Trek has meant since the '70's. For another part --the production team---it is about the actual work of producing a film,” says Marshall.
Paramount owns the rights to the real “Star Trek.” As long as the fan film doesn't try to make money off the effort, Paramount says, "Live long and prosper." Try to cash in and they would set the phasers to “kill.”
Marshall employs dozens of crewmembers and actors. The second episode, called “In Harm's Way" cost $15,000 to make.
November 29, 2004 in Fantasm | Permalink | TrackBack
October 27, 2004
DO FILM CRITICS STILL MATTER?
Blockbusters Have Become Seemingly Review Proof
...How much influence do reviews really have on a movie’s fate? Virtually none on big action flicks and lowbrow comedies, which can pack in huge crowds despite rotten reviews. Family audiences and horror and sci-fi fans can turn out to see practically anything in their genre, no matter what reviews say...
HLA: Film critics individually may not have much power, but when they're reviews are aggregating as Movies.com, Yahoo Movies and Metacritic do, they can have an effect. Nevertheless, the power of the film critic, particularly on mainstream fare, has been usurped by the power of Internet word-of-mouth, which is probably a good thing.
October 27, 2004 in Fantasm | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 25, 2004
THE NEW JOBLO.COM FANSITE
Well, here it is. After six months and a whole lotta hard work, perseverance, money, testing and of course....drinking, JoBlo.com 7.0 is up and ready to go.
HLA: Very nice job, guys. Good luck!
October 25, 2004 in Fantasm | Permalink | TrackBack
September 16, 2004
JACKSON PUTS FILMING ONLINE
Even if you only have fleeting interest in big apes you're no doubt aware that our most famous movie director, Peter Jackson, is well into his shooting schedule for King Kong.
What you may not be aware of is that he's giving brief insights into the film-making process via the web at Kong is King.
September 16, 2004 in Fantasm | Permalink | TrackBack
July 31, 2004
THE UNCOVERED SECRET OF M. NIGHT SHAMALAMADINGDONG -- THE VILLAGE IS 'CRAP'
Here's an interesting sampling of user reviews from Yahoo Movies:
Overall Grade: F
Crap
by alexpbarrera (movies profile) (Jul 30, 2004)
12 of 25 people found this review helpful
Worst movie of the year. If I stare at the wall for over two hours it would still be more entertaining than The Village
Overall Grade: C-
A below average, misleadly marketed movie
by micvandamm (movies profile) (Jul 30, 2004)
7 of 9 people found this review helpful
The only decent point in this movie was the acting. Like most I feel the trailers were incredably misleading because they made it seem like a horror movie when in... Full Review
Overall Grade: F
Waste of money and 2hrs
by lovnjesus@sbcglobal.net (movies profile) (Jul 30, 2004)
12 of 28 people found this review helpful
This movie was pure crap. Never have I heard everyone in the theater BOO!! at the movie. I was expecting to see a scary horror movie, boy was I fooled.... Full Review
Overall Grade: F
Less to offer than a week old newspaper...
by lawsep (movies profile) (Jul 30, 2004)
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
So a group of people unable to deal with society choose to run away to create their own commune in the woods. The creatures created are only symbolic as... Full Review
Overall Grade: F
Not impressed at all!!
by dragonfly_dreamer_23 (movies profile) (Jul 30, 2004)
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
I was a big fan of M Night. I enjoyed his other movies that he made. I was really excited to go see "The Villiage". Throughout the... Full Review
Overall Grade: B-
Dave's Review (The Village)
by davyancy (movies profile) (Jul 30, 2004)
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
The Village... I personally could have waited to buy the movie from the 2 for $11 pile of DVD's at Wal-Mart! The village was a poor attempt of a horror flick.... Full Review
Overall Grade: C-
Great cinematography, dumb story full of problems.
by xmannyfestox (movies profile) (Jul 30, 2004)
11 of 24 people found this review helpful
Although this film has beautiful sets and stirring shots, it has an almost unbelievably dumb story. The dialog and the acting was stiff. The only good person was ron Howards... Full Review
Overall Grade: A
GIVE IT A MINUTE...
by t.kirby@sbcglobal.net (movies profile) (Jul 30, 2004)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
If you are like me--that is, somewhat dense and not expecting much in terms of July Cineplex, then it may take all the concentration you can summon just to be... Full Review
Overall Grade: F
A Complete Waste of Time
by gomavs13 (movies profile) (Jul 30, 2004)
7 of 10 people found this review helpful
This is movie was terrible. I came in with high expectations and it didn't even come close to meething them. I loved Sixth Sense and Signs, but this was terrible.... Full Review
Overall Grade: F
WTF IS THIS S$^%!
by TarHeels69_69 (movies profile) (Jul 30, 2004)
7 of 10 people found this review helpful
This has got to be by far the worst movie ever. I dont even think that The Blair Witch Project is half as bad as this...and well we all... Full Review
HLA: Can't really same we're surprised. Signs was one of the most insulting movies in years.
July 31, 2004 in Blogbuster, Fantasm | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 24, 2004
THE FAN FILMS STRIKE BACK
The Fan Films Strike Back. Thanks to digital cinema and the Web, geeks are filming their own STAR WARS and STAR TREK stories. "Fan Films" are works that steal characters and situations from a licensed movie franchise without permission.They are usually, but not always, shot by amateurs. The films themselves (which made the bootleg rounds at conventions before the Internet) are now distributed for free online.
June 24, 2004 in Fantasm | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 06, 2004
ONLINE MOVIE RATINGS PREDICT MOVIE SUCCESS
"Movie executives anxious about the financial success of their new releases can get nearly instant answers by checking on-line movie sites such as Yahoo!Movies, according to an MIT Sloan professor who found that on-line ratings posted during the first week of a film's release "can form the basis for remarkably accurate forecasting of that movie's future box office revenues..."
HLA: Ultimately, the movie business will find that it is more efficient to use the Internet audience to determint what movies to make, rather than the present insular system of insider 'relationships'.
June 6, 2004 in Fantasm | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 24, 2004
DEATH OF THE FANDOM MENACE
"How CountingDown hurt movies' spirit.
Dr. Frankenstein would be very interested if he surfed to CountingDown.com.
He might even shout, "It's alive!" — except that's not a sure thing.
The monstrous remains of what used to be one of the Web's most active movie fan sites still shows a few vital signs, including ticking clocks and discussions about Shrek 2. But it's not life as we know it..."
May 24, 2004 in Fantasm | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 02, 2004
GARBAGE HAS A NEW NAME -- VAN HELSING?
"Summer's first blockbuster, 'Van Helsing,' arrives to nasty Web reviews and sniping from rival studios. But can buzz actually drive a stake through its heart?
...But right now, "Van Helsing" is facing a foe far more nefarious than any on-screen villain: Bad Buzz...
...If horror geeks were irked about "The Mummy," they're furious about "Van Helsing." Early test screenings have inspired multiple negative Web reviews on the Ain't It Cool News site, ranging from the disappointed ("Really, really, these films don't have to be this dumb") to the outraged ("It's less painful to poke yourself in the eye for two hours and five minutes").
...Far more problematic is that these Web reviews are read by the media and the film industry, which have turned speculation about "Van Helsing" into blood sport..."
HLA: This will be a real interesting test of the power of the Internet, and particularly of Internet fan sites. This is kinda like a heavyweight fight. In one corner -- we have a major studio with gazillions in marketing power, and in the other corner, the Internet, fan groups, and the power of viral buzz. Maybe that's the real cliffhanger here. Who will win out?
May 2, 2004 in Blogbuster, Fantasm | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
