Aaron Eckhart stars in I, Frankenstein which opens this coming Friday and is the only wide release hitting theaters next weekend. This is likely not a matter of other studios being scared that I, Frankenstein is going to be a monster hit (pun intended). This is more due to the fact that four movies opened over MLK weekend and there’s still plenty of holiday leftovers making money.
Frankenstein‘s release date has been pushed back several times. It was originally scheduled to open almost a year ago. This reimagining of the familiar story that originated with Mary Shelley’s novel and has seen numerous film incarnations doesn’t inspire much excitement from its middling TV spots. Furthermore, while Eckhart is a well-respected actor, he’s not a box office draw.
The film’s best hope for box office success hinges on the fact that it’s got the word Frankenstein in the title. That might not get it far enough along to justify its $68 million budget. On the same weekend last year, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters opened to a decent $19.6 million. Lionsgate would probably be pleased with a similar result here.
The possibility of I, Frankenstein getting past $20 million out of the gate is reasonable, but I don’t think it’ll reach the total that those witch hunters accomplished a year ago. Therefore – I, Todd Thatcher, believe I, Frankenstein is headed toward a so-so premiere.
I, Frankenstein opening weekend prediction: $16.6 million
18 years ago Today in Movie History – January 19 – From Dusk til Dawn opened to #1 at the box office. With a script from Quentin Tarantino, the Robert Rodgriguez helmed picture starred George Clooney, Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, and Salma Hayek. Mixing the crime and horror movie genres, Dawn was a modest commercial success which has since achieved cult status and spawned two direct to DVD sequels. It also has one of my favorite openings scenes of all time:
As for birthdays, Dolly Parton is 68 today. Known most for her huge country music career, Parton made a highly successful transition to film with 1980’s 9 to 5, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She would have another hit in 1982 alongside Burt Reynolds in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, but critics and audiences would reject Rhinestone with Sylvester Stallone in 1984. Parton would become a part of an impressive female ensemble in 1989’s Steel Magnolias.
Going a little outside my typical box for birthday entries, Justin Clarke has been my lifelong friend and he turns 36 today. How many movies has he been in? None – but his brother-in-law Brad Wise directed A Strange Brand of Happy, which recently became available on DVD. You can read my blog post about the film from July here:
The cast includes Oscar winner Shirley Jones and I found a way to connect my good buddy and Dolly Parton in Six Degrees of Separation so let’s get to it!
Dolly Parton was in Steel Magnolias with Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts was in The Mexican with Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt was in Moneyball with Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill was in Grandma’s Boy with Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones was directed by Brad Wise in A Strange Brand of Happy
Brad Wise is Justin Clarke’s brother-in-law
And there you have it – January 19th in Movie History. And happy birthday Justin!
Six years ago Today in Movie History – January 18 – marked the release of Cloverfield, the found footage monster flick which set the all-time January opening weekend record. That record still stands. Produced by JJ Abrams and directed by Matt Reeves, Cloverfield is still looked at as a model of brilliant marketing with its fantastic trailer and insistence on secrecy that Abrams still employs on its features. Its domestic haul stands at $80 million with a worldwide gross of $170 million. Director Reeves is currently working on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, out this summer.
As for birthdays, Kevin Costner is 59 today. From the mid 80s through the mid 90s, he was one of the most bankable actors working in the business. High-profile roles during that period include No Way Out, The Untouchables, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, JFK, and The Bodyguard. In 1990, he would win Best Director with Dances with Wolves, his first feature working behind the camera. The film would also win Best Picture. There’s been some financial disappointments as well: Wyatt Earp, Waterworld and The Postman, among others. Costner has kept himself busy lately with roles in the miniseries “Hatfields&McCoys”, Man of Steel, and this weekend’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.
Jason Segel is 34 today. Many know him best for his gig on the hit CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother”. After a supporting role in Knocked Up, Segel would be promoted to leading man status in Forgetting Sarah Marshall in 2008 and I Love You, Man the following year. Recent pics include Bad Teacher, The Muppets, and The Five Year Engagement.
As for Six Degrees of Separation between the actors:
17 years ago Today in Movie History – January 17 – marked the release of Beverly Hills Ninja with Chris Farley, which topped the box office charts over MLK weekend with a decent $12 million. The critically reviled comedy would gross approximately the same as Farley’s previous vehicles Tommy Boy and Black Sheep. However, those pictures would go onto being considered much better uses for the star’s talent. Less than a year after Ninja‘s debut, Farley would die of a drug overdose. His final movie, Almost Heroes with Matthew Perry, would premiere in May 1998 to lackluster results. Ninja‘s director Dennis Dugan, who had directed Adam Sandler the year prior in Happy Gilmore, would team up with him many more times. His features include Big Daddy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, the two Grown Ups pics, Just Go With It, and Jack and Jill.
As for birthdays, Jim Carrey is 52 today. He broke out in the early 90s on “In Living Color” and in 1994 would make a hugely successful transition to the silver screen. That year alone, he starred in megahits Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. He would play the Riddler in Batman Forever and have other massive comedic blockbusters like Liar Liar and Bruce Almighty. His occasional transitions into drama have worked out well (The Truman Show, Man on the Moon) and not so well (The Majestic, The Letter 23). Lately, box office hits have been hard to find for Carrey but this November’s Dumb and Dumber To could change that.
Zooey Deschanel is 34 today. She’s costarred with Will Ferrell in the now holiday classic Elf and had the unfortunate privilege of appearing in M. Night Shyamalan’s 2008 bomb The Happening alongside Mark Wahlberg. Her most acclaimed role was with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 2009’s 500 Days of Summer. Lately, Deschanel has set movies aside and stars in her own hit FOX sitcom “New Girl”. She sings too!
As for Six Degrees of Separation between the two… quite simple:
Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel costarred together in Yes Man
Lee Daniels’ The Butler has moments of genuine power and insight dealing with our nation’s civil rights history over the past near century. Spanning over 80 years in time, The Butler takes us from the picture’s central character working in the cotton fields of Georgia as a young boy to sitting in the White House as an old man waiting to meet with the first African-American President of the United States. In between those times, Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) becomes quite familiar with 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, working as a butler from the Eisenhower administration through the Reagan administration.
The film is loosely based on true events and The Butler shifts its time between Cecil’s work experience and family life. For the work portion, we get a journey through several decades of political history from desegregation to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to Vietnam to the South African apartheid movement. In many cases, these events coincide with Cecil’s family as his oldest son Louis (David Oyelowo) gets very politically involved in civil rights issues. The irony is not lost on the audience – his father works in the center of the U.S. government but has an occupation where being seen and not heard is the rule. Oprah Winfrey is Cecil’s wife Gloria, a well-rounded character full of imperfections but also an enduring devotion to her husband.
The Butler is really centralized on the complicated relationship between Cecil and David. It is their dynamic that provide the picture’s best moments, as well as several between Cecil and Gloria. When screenwriter Danny Strong focuses his concentration on their storylines, the film is effective and often emotionally satisfying.
It’s the scenes in the White House that often fall far short of satisfying. For starters, director Daniels’ decision to cast recognizable actors as the Presidents backfires. Much of this is due to casting. We have Robin Williams as Eisenhower, James Marsden as JFK, Live Schrieber as LBJ, John Cusack as Nixon, and Alan Rickman as Reagan. None of them make much of an impression and most aren’t given enough screen time to make one anyway. Their casting serves as a distraction more than anything else and we feel like we’re watching the actor, not the POTUS character they’re playing. The same cannot be said for Winfrey, who is outstanding. She reminds us that she probably would’ve had a great movie career over the last couple of decades if not for that whole building a billion dollar multimedia empire thing.
Even with casting quibbles set aside, where The Butler sometimes fails is in its journey through history that could often be described as “cliffs notes”. There simply isn’t the proper time to give these important political issues any real fleshing out. Some of these scenes showing the struggle of the civil rights movement, especially those involving Louis, are powerful. And we do get involved with the characters of Gaines family and we can thank some excellent acting from Whitaker, Winfrey, and Oyelowo a lot for that.
The Butler‘s finest moments are mixed with a lot of disappointing ones, including some unfortunate casting choices and its uneven and too episodic screenplay. It’s the writing of the Gaines family in several scenes and the first-rate performances of the actors playing them that helps out a lot.
10 years ago Today in Movie History – January 16 – marked the release of Along Came Polly, the romantic comedy headlined by Ben Stilller and Jennifer Aniston. The pic would debut to a terrific $27.7 million in its opening weekend, ending the month-long reign of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. With a stellar supporting cast that included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, and a sight impaired ferret, Polly‘s overall domestic haul would eventually stand at $88 million.
Today marks the 66th birthday of director John Carpenter. He is responsible for what I believe to be the greatest slasher flick ever – 1978′ Halloween. There’s also a trio of genre classics starring Kurt Russell – Escape from New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China. Other notables features: Assault on Precinct 13, The Fog, Christine, Starman, and They Live.
January 16th would have marked the 35th birthday of Aaliyah. The R&B singer was certainly known more for her musical career, but she was beginning to branch out to film with roles in Romeo Must Die with Jet Li and Queen of the Damned. Aaliyah was tragically killed in a plane crash in 2001.
As for Six Degrees of Separation between the two:
John Carpenter directed Kurt Russell in Escape from New York
Kurt Russell was in Tango&Cash with Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone was in The Expendables with Jet Li
Jet Li was in Romeo Must Die with Aaliyah
And that’s today – January 16th – in Movie History!
This morning the Oscar nominations rolled in and it’s time to see just how well (or not) I did in each of the categories. Let’s get to the races and I’ll provide some commentary on them as well!
BEST PICTURE
Todd’s Picks: 8/9
As its been in the past two years, nine pictures made the cut out of a possible five to ten. I correctly selected American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyer’s Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska, 12 Years a Slave, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Just one incorrect guess: I predicted the Coen Brothers Inside Llewyn Davis over Philomena. So… not too shabby. As it stands, I would still say 12 Years a Slave is the frontrunner. However, in my past predictions, I’ve identified Gravity as the potential spoiler. While that’s still the case, I would add American Hustle as being on equal footing with it for a “surprise” win, due to its even better than expected showing today.
BEST DIRECTOR
Todd’s Picks: 5/5 (!)
Last year there were tons of surprises in this category when Ben Affleck (Argo) and Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) were shockingly shut out. I only ended up going 2/5 in Best Director in 2012. This time around, I got ’em all: Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity, Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave, Alexander Payne for Nebraska, David O. Russell for American Hustle, and Martin Scorsese for The Wolf of Wall Street. Cuaron and McQueen should fight it out for the win with Russell as a spoiler.
BEST ACTOR
Todd’s Picks: 3/5
For months, the conventional thinking was that six actors – Bruce Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Redford – were vying for five spots. Turns out we should have called it a seven man race as Christian Bale’s work in American Hustle got a fairly surprising nod. Dern (Nebraska), DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street), Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), and McConaughey (Dallas Buyer’s Club) also made the cut and it was Hanks (Captain Phillips) and Redford (All is Lost) left out. In my view, Bale has no chance of winning but the other four legitimately do. McConaughey is what you would currently call the soft frontrunner.
BEST ACTRESS
Todd’s Picks: 4/5
The Hustle love fest continued with Amy Adams’s nomination, which I didn’t predict. Her inclusion was not much of a surprise, but I would’ve figured Meryl Streep (August: Osage County) would have missed the cut with Adams in. Apparently never bet against Streep, however, as she’s in and Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks) was left out. Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), and Judi Dench (Philomena) round out the category with Blanchett as the clear likely winner with Bullock standing an outside shot.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Todd’s Picks: 3/5
This has been one of the tougher categories to predict and my results reflect that. My selections of Daniel Bruhl in Rush and my upset pick of Will Forte in Nebraska didn’t pan out. I correctly called Bradley Cooper (American Hustle), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), and Jared Leto (Dallas Buyer’s Club) and it was Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) and Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street) joining the race. Leto is the guy to beat though a really great night for Hustle could make Cooper a threat.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Todd’s Picks: 4/5
The story here, as it was with the Golden Globes, is Oprah Winfrey’s exclusion in Lee Daniels’ The Butler. I was on the money with expected nominees Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Julia Roberts (August: Osage County), and June Squibb (Nebraska). Sally Hawkins from Blue Jasmine, my runner-up for a nod, made the cut over Oprah. Lawrence and Nyong’o are the favorites here, with J-Law probably ahead.
Well that’s my analysis, folks! For the rest of the categories, I’ll just give you what was nominated and how I fared:
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Todd’s Picks: 4/5
Nominees: American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyer’s Club, Her, Nebraska
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Todd’s Picks: 5/5 (!)
Nominees: Before Midnight, Captain Phillips, Philomena, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Todd’s Picks: 4/5
Nominees: The Croods, Despicable Me 2, Ernest&Celestine, Frozen, The Wind Rises
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Todd’s Picks: 3/5
Nominees: “Alone Yet Not Alone” from Alone Yet Not Alone, “Happy” from Despicable Me 2, “Let It Go” from Frozen, “Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, “The Moon Song” from Her
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Todd’s Picks: 3/5
Nominees: The Act of Killing, Cutie and the Boxer, Dirty Wars, The Square, 20 Feet from Stardom
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Todd’s Picks: 4/5
Nominees: The Broken Circle Breakdown, The Great Beauty, The Hunt, The Missing Picture, Omar
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Todd’s Picks: 4/5
Nominees: The Book Thief, Gravity, Her, Philomena, Saving Mr. Banks
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Todd’s Picks: 2/5 (ouch!)
Nominees: The Grandmaster, Gravity, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, Prisoners
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Todd’s Picks: 3/5
Nominees: American Hustle, Gravity, The Great Gatsby, Her, 12 Years a Slave
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Todd’s Picks: 1/3
Nominees: Dallas Buyer’s Club, Jackass Presents Bad Grandpa, The Lone Ranger
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Todd’s Picks: 4/5
Nominees: American Hustle, The Grandmaster, The Great Gatsby, The Invisible Woman, 12 Years a Slave
BEST EDITING
Todd’s Picks: 4/5
Nominees: American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyer’s Club, Gravity, 12 Years a Slave
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Todd’s Picks: 3/5
Nominees: Gravity, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Iron Man 3, The Lone Ranger, Star Trek Into Darkness
BEST SOUND MIXING
Todd’s Picks: 4/5
Nominees: Captain Phillips, Gravity, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Inside Llewyn Davis, Lone Survivor
BEST SOUND EDITING
Todd’s Picks: 3/5
Nominees: All is Lost, Captain Phillips, Gravity, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Lone Survivor
Some final thoughts:
This was a very good day for American Hustle and director David O. Russell. For the second year in a row, a Russell film has seen acting nominations in all four major categories (last year: his Silver Linings Playbook).
Since her first nomination in 2005, Amy Adams has either been nominated for Actress or Supporting Actress five out of the last nine years. No wins yet.
For a while, it seemed as if Tom Hanks could be nominated twice this year for Actor (Captain Phillips) and Supporting Actor (Saving Mr. Banks). He received neither.
Speaking of Saving Mr. Banks, bad day for that picture. Many expected a Best Picture nomination and especially a Best Actress nod for Thompson. It managed only a nomination for Original Score.
It was a bad day for Lee Daniels’ The Butler with zero nominations.
It was a bad day for Ron Howard’s Rush as it received zero nods. Most, including me, had it at least being nominated in the sound categories.
And there it is, folks! The Oscar nominations are in and you can bet I’ll be writing more posts over the next month and a half before the ceremony predicting the winners. ‘Til next time!
15 years ago Today in Movie History – January 15 – Johnny Mox made his debut in theaters with Varsity Blues, the Texas high school football flick that opened atop the box office on its way to an unexpectedly high $52 million domestic gross. James Van Deer Beek parlayed his success off TV’s “Dawson’s Creek” to the film world with Blues. Co-stars included Jon Voight as the hard-headed coach, Amy Smart, Ali Larter (three words: whipped cream bikini), Ron Lester as Billy Bob, Scott Caan, and the late Paul Walker.
As for birthdays, today would have marked the 101st birthday of Lloyd Bridges. The actor had over 150 film credits and to my generation, he may always be remembered for his role in 1980’s Airplane! (my favorite comedy of all time) and the Hot Shots! movies. He rose to huge stardom in the 1950s TV series “Sea Hunt”. Of course, he is also the father of the brother acting duo Beau and Jeff Bridges. The actor passed away in 1998.
Regina King is 43 today. She may be known best as Cuba Gooding Jr.’s tough as nails wife in 1996’s Jerry Maguire or Will Smith’s significant other in Enemy of the State. King appeared in director John Singleton’s first three pics: Boyz N The Hood, Poetic Justice, and Higher Learning.
As for Six Degrees of Separation between Mr. Bridges and Ms. King –
Lloyd Bridges was in Hot Shots! with Valeria Golino
20 years ago Today in Movie History – January 14 – Jonathan Demme’s groundbreaking drama about the HIV/AIDS virus Philadelphia opened wide in theaters. Starring Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Antonio Banderas, Mary Steenburgen, and Joanne Wooodward – Philadelphia would strike a chord with mainstream audiences to the tune of a $77 million domestic gross. It was also a hugely important picture for Hanks as it transitioned him from an actor known primarily for comedy to an actor who showed his dramatic range. The role would earn Hanks a Best Actor Oscar – a feat he would repeat the next year with Forrest Gump.
As for birthdays, LL Cool J is 46 today. One of the first rappers to make a successful transition to film, he’s appeared in pics from The Hard Way to Toys to Halloween H20 to Deep Blue Sea to Any Given Sunday. Additionally, LL has had a solid TV career with his sitcom “In the House” and currently with crime drama “NCIS: Los Angeles”.
Jason Bateman is 45 today. He’s come a long way from his days on the 80s sitcom “The Hogan Family” and his film debut in the unfortunate 1987 sequel Teen Wolf Too. Over the last several years he’s appeared primarily in comedies including Starsky and Hutch, Dodgeball, The Break-Up, and The Switch. He’s transitioned to comedic leading man over the last couple of years with megahits Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief. There’s also been some non straight-up comedies including Juno, The Kingdom, Hancock, Up in the Air, and State of Play. This is all, of course, in addition to his acclaimed role on the lauded sitcom “Arrested Development”. Bateman directs and stars in this spring’s Bad Words before this fall’s anticipated Horrible Bosses 2.
As for Six Degrees of Separation between the birthday boys:
LL Cool J was in Any Given Sunday with Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx was in Horrible Bosses with Jason Bateman
25 years ago Today in Movie History – January 13 – Barry Levinson’s Rain Man would spend its third out of five weeks in the #1 spot. The drama about long-lost brothers – one an autistic savant, one a hotshot yuppie – starred Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. Rain Man would greatly capture the attention of audiences and critics. It would win Oscars for Best Picture, Director, and Actor for Hoffman, earning his second statue after 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer. Rain Man would end up being the highest grossing picture of 1988 with $172 million domestically.
As for birthdays, two actors known for their appearances in film franchises celebrate today. Orlando Bloom is 37. He’s starred in some of highest-grossing pictures this century due to his involvement in the Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, and Hobbit series. Other notable film appearances include Black Hawk Down, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, and Elizabethtown.
Liam Hemsworth is 24 today. He is most known for playing Gale Hawthorne in the enormous Hunger Games franchise that will continue through 2015. He also appeared in The Expendables 2 and last year’s box office bomb Paranoia.
As for Six Degrees of Separation between Mr. Bloom and Mr. Hemsworth:
Orlando Bloom was in the Pirates of the Caribbean films with Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp was in Public Enemies with Christian Bale
Christian Bale was in American Hustle with Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence is in The Hunger Games films with Liam Hemsworth
All My Life... I Wanted To Be A Blogster 