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[radios shipping overview]

1) Exorbitant Cost In Relation To Niche IP: In regard to Ghost‘s $100M-plus production cost, one slate financier shouts, “This is the amount of money you spend on a sequel, not an obscure piece of IP that only a few fanboys know about! Maybe you spend $35M or $40M on this and make a stylized art house film.”

HI GUYS THIS ISN'T HARD

This would've been the perfect approach. Do it like Under the Skin.

 

[Chumley]

People look at comic book movies and hope anime/games can achieve a similar fate.

What people forget is beyond Marvel, who have the major backing of Disney, and The Dark Knight trilogy, a major outlier that was produced under a talented major director, comic book movies have also been trash.

Gaming studios need to start thinking about TV. I still think a Hitman series would be huge. Tomb Raider is one of the few properties I can justify being a film because the Jolie ones did well.

 

[Frozenprince]

Gaming studios need to start thinking about TV. I still think a Hitman series would be huge. Tomb Raider is one of the few properties I can justify being a film because the Jolie ones did well.

Assassin's Creed would have worked much better as a long form show on like, Starz or something.

 

[kswiston]

Any word on Chinese presales? I am curious if that can save it like they did xXx.

The film opens in about 24 hours in China. Last I checked, presales were pointing to a first day between 40-50M RMB, which would be $6-7M USD. Based on that, and the fact that Fate of the Furious is out soon, I would expect much more than $50M in China. Opening weekend might be $20M USD. Making less than 2x its opening weekend is pretty common in China if a film has a poor reception.

EDIT: XxX 3 made $60M opening weekend in China.

 

[Monocle]

the hostility is rightfully paired with the white-washing. I'm sure that provided a direct hit on it's reception as well.

No, in large part the hostility is people blowing the script's shortcomings wildly out of proportion and using the casting issue to tack on a veneer of legitimacy to their totally imbalanced assessment of the movie. For many, the whitewashing is a convenient way to exploit the sympathies of people who rightly care about Asian representation and fidelity to the source material, all so they can dump on a watered down but still fairly decent adaptation of a series that's too philosophical and nerdy to appeal to the average moviegoer in its original form.

 

[2Smashed4U]

Gaming studios need to start thinking about TV. I still think a Hitman series would be huge. Tomb Raider is one of the few properties I can justify being a film because the Jolie ones did well.

I still think the problem is mostly is that studios don't see a lot of promise in them and dump them off on hacky directors without a good track record. Sam Raimi was able to make a couple pretty solid Spider-Man movies and Nolan knocked Batman out of the park.

I think if a movie studio actually treated a game property like it was worth something, they would have a chance at having something big on their hands. (No guarantee though, see Warcraft for the most recent example.)

 

[Slayven]

The cast is crazy good, Coogler is top notch, Boseman was solid in Civil War.

I think they hit it out of the park.

They got Angela Bassett and Ghost Dog playing a Wakandians, how is that legal?

People look at comic book movies and hope anime/games can achieve a similar fate.

What people forget is beyond Marvel, who have the major backing of Disney, and The Dark Knight trilogy, a major outlier that was produced under a talented major director, comic book movies have also been trash.

The secret to Marvel's success is to actually give a damn about the property. To first understand why it resonated with people in the first place and seek out people to bring that to the screen. Shit is not that hard

 

[BocoDragon]

No, in large part the hostility is people blowing the script's shortcomings wildly out of proportion and using the casting issue to tack on a veneer of legitimacy to their totally imbalanced assessment of the movie. For many, the whitewashing is a convenient way to exploit the sympathies of people who rightly care about Asian representation and fidelity to the source material.

Yeah the movie isn't a philosophical masterpiece like the anime, but it's not "bad". People are talking about it like it's a Resident Evil sequel or whatever. That's just wrong.

It's decent Hollywood fluff, is what it is.

 

[Slayven]

Assassin's Creed would have worked much better as a long form show on like, Starz or something.

Kinda of like first season arrow and the flashbacks., now I am getting hype for something that will never happen.

 

[EdibleKnife]

So much hostility for a movie that was average at worst.

Lot of people are tired of spending their money and time on average. If they saw an average movie in post production, should have just made it a $3 Amazon Instant rental. Nerdwriter1 gets to the heart of it too. A movie that I've seen before, full of cliches I've seen before and beats I've seen before to the point that I could write the movie myself. At that point you have to ask, what was the point in seeing it beyond wasting a few hours away?

 

[Yabberwocky]

Assassin's Creed would have worked much better as a long form show on like, Starz or something.

Ha, we kinda got a sister-show to Black Flag in the superb Black Sails. A tv series based on Ezio would probably have the best chance of working well.

 

[2Smashed4U]

They got Angela Bassett and Ghost Dog playing a Wakandians, how is that legal?


The secret to Marvel's success is to actually give a damn about the property. To first understand why it resonated with people in the first place and seek out people to bring that to the screen. Shit is not that hard

That's why I'm slightly optimistic about the MGS movie as mentioned, that guy seems like a pretty big fan of the series and he expressed pretty much this same sentiment.

 

[Discotheque]

Lot of people are tired of spending their money and time on average.

nope. nope. nope.

marvel movies are killing it at the box office every year. Beauty and the Beast remake is a monster in 2017 etc. etc. Ghost in the Shell is just a very unappealing movie to the general public. it was obvious as soon as the first trailer came out.

 

[PsychBat!]

Kinda of like first season arrow and the flashbacks., now I am getting hype for something that will never happen.

I feel the same way about Moon Knight.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

I look forward to copping this via iTunes in a week.


I mean I wasn't caught up in the controversy or anything. I'm just at a point in my life where few movies can get my ass in a seat.

 

[Replicant]

........ will save anime adaptation!

Speed Racer
All You Need is Kill.....err....Edge of Tomorrow
James Cameron
Ghost in The Shell starring Scarlett Johanssen

Death Note (no-Nippon/Asians version)
Battle Angel Alita not directed by J Cam
Naruto datteba yo!
Akira

Cowboy Bebop
Attack on Titan

 

[Chumley]

Assassin's Creed would have worked much better as a long form show on like, Starz or something.

Make it a co production with Sky like HBO did for Young Pope, shoot it in Italy starring someone charismatic as Ezio, proceed with profits. Boom.

 

[radios shipping overview]

Why should anybody make excuses for something that's just average? There's too much entertainment in the world to spend time or money on just average.

 

[anaron]

The film did care about its source material a great deal though? If there's one complaint that doesn't hold weight, it's that one.

 

[norm9]

........ will save anime adaptation!

Speed Racer
All You Need is Kill.....err....Edge of Tomorrow
James Cameron
Ghost in The Shell starring Scarlett Johanssen

Death Note (no-Nippon/Asians version)
Battle Angel Alita not directed by J Cam
Naruto dateba yo!
Akira

Cowboy Bebop
Attack on Titan

I for one am looking forward to Robert Rodriguez's Battle Angel Alita starring Rose McGowan, Danny Trejo, and Antonio Banderas.

 

[Slayven]

I feel the same way about Moon Knight.

Moon Knight has only 2 paths, crazy dude that throws gold Ankhs at people or Private Investigator. Either way is fine with me

 

[Monocle]

nope. nope. nope.

marvel movies are killing it at the box office every year. Beauty and the Beast remake is a monster in 2017 etc. etc. Ghost in the Shell is just a very unappealing movie to the general public. it was obvious as soon as the first trailer came out.

Marvel movies are above average as a rule, they're just formulaic. Big difference. It's hard to make movies that more or less work on their own, and fit into a vast interconnected cinematic universe. Just ask DC.

This doesn't mean you have to like them, but they're great at what they do.

And Beauty in the Beast is an exceptional adaptation. It nails absolutely everything (with the possible exception of one or two cast members), including new songs that complement and build on the original ones, and story tweaks that improve the characters. It certainly justifies its own existence far better than Cinderella.

Yeah the movie isn't a philosophical masterpiece like the anime, but it's not "bad". People are talking about it like it's a Resident Evil sequel or whatever. That's just wrong.

It's decent Hollywood fluff, is what it is.

Sounds about right.

 

[Slayven]

The film did care about its source material a great deal though? If there's one complaint that doesn't hold weight, it's that one.

"we need to have this scene and that one in the movie" or "how can we convey the message of the original movie?"

 

[J_Viper]

L? dude's the best comic book leading man now that Jackman is gone.

u wot

 

[2Smashed4U]

Marvel movies are above average as a rule, they're just formulaic. Big difference. It's hard to make movies that more or less work on their own, and fit into a vast interconnected cinematic universe. Just ask DC.

This doesn't mean you have to like them, but they're great at what they do.

And Beauty in the Beast is an exceptional adaptation. It nails absolutely everything (with the possible exception of one or two cast members), including new songs that complement and build on the original ones, and story tweaks that improve the characters. It certainly justifies its own existence far better than Cinderella.

I do think Marvel movies get a lot farther with relatively safe/average writing thanks to their enormous budgets that comparable movies can't.

 

[SuperStiltzkin]

Lot of people are tired of spending their money and time on average. If they saw an average movie in post production, should have just made it a $3 Amazon Instant rental. Nerdwriter1 gets to the heart of it too. A movie that I've seen before, full of cliches I've seen before and beats I've seen before to the point that I could write the movie myself. At that point you have to ask, what was the point in seeing it beyond wasting a few hours away?

Nerdwriter always bring up good points, but his video essays feel half baked and don't go deep enough. Like it feels like the video ends before the second act is complete.

 

[BocoDragon]

"we need to have this scene and that one in the movie" or "how can we convey the message of the original movie?"

I don't think it was wildly off the mark of the original message. It's just a completely Diet version of the themes in the original.

When I think truly missing the mark I think of adaptations like Aaron Flux or Resident Evil, that just take the skeleton of the original and then just charge off in a completely inauthentic direction.

 

[Plasticine]

Yeah the movie isn't a philosophical masterpiece like the anime, but it's not "bad". People are talking about it like it's a Resident Evil sequel or whatever. That's just wrong.

It's decent Hollywood fluff, is what it is.

Great. Now I'm wishing we had a Paul WS Anderson directed Ghost in the Shell with Milla Jovovich as the Major.

 

[Cipherr]

And he better hope that Deadpool train never stops. Cause the last few weeks prove Life will not find a way

Jesus Christ this thread is completely savage. Y'all are destroying everyone from Hemsworth to Reynolds in here.

 

[Slayven]

I don't think it was wildly off the mark of the original message. It's just a completely Diet version of the themes in the original.

When I think truly missing the mark I think of adaptations like Aaron Flux or Resident Evil, that just take the skeleton of the original and then just charge off in a completely inauthentic direction.

Good god i had forgotten about Aeon Flux, there was a few years i thought it and Ultra Violet was the same movie but with different names

 

[Kimawolf]

........ will save anime adaptation!

Speed Racer
All You Need is Kill.....err....Edge of Tomorrow
James Cameron
Ghost in The Shell starring Scarlett Johanssen

Death Note (no-Nippon/Asians version)
Battle Angel Alita not directed by J Cam
Naruto datteba yo!
Akira

Cowboy Bebop
Attack on Titan

that's not fair now is it. Comic movies had decades to get it right. you had what? crap comic movies, Superman and super man 2, then a bunch of crap comic movies till Batman 89, then more crap comic movies (A LOT), then Blade, Xmen, and more crap inbetween before you got to Dark knight and Iron Man. and really It was the last two which "got it right."

GitS got caught up in controversy but its not a "bad" movie. its a fairly average movie with a spectacular set/worlds.

 

[anaron]

"we need to have this scene and that one in the movie" or "how can we convey the message of the original movie?"

The art direction, WETA work, the nods to the manga, other properties were all incredibly faithful to the Gits world including the theme of identity regardless of the problematic aspects of it.

The film basically wrapped it all up in the exact same way Marvel does for their films by loosely adapting a storyline and dumbing it down and making sure most of the world and characters are properly realized with actual effort put into it.

 

[kswiston]

I do think Marvel movies get a lot farther with relatively safe/average writing thanks to their enormous budgets that comparable movies can't.

Outside of the stuff with Iron Man in it, Marvel budgets aren't really out of line with summer blockbuster budgets in general.

Doctor Strange's production budget was about $20M higher than last summer's Ghostbusters reboot.

 

[Discotheque]

http://i.imgur.com/7wtLUEy.jpg[IMG]
u wot[/QUOTE]

haven't gotten enough yet. but the batgod is in a comfortable top 3 spot right now with the little amount he was given in BvS.

after batman he may take it though. did the right thing handing it over to Matt Reeves as well.

 

[Got]

Great. Now I'm wishing we had a Paul WS Anderson directed Ghost in the Shell with Milla Jovovich as the Major.

wouldn't be surprised if this was actually floated around at one point.

 

[Chumley]

Outside of the stuff with Iron Man in it, Marvel budgets aren't really out of line with summer blockbuster budgets in general.

Doctor Strange's production budget was about $20M higher than last summer's Ghostbusters reboot.

Their marketing budgets are huge.

 

[Plasticine]

Outside of the stuff with Iron Man in it, Marvel budgets aren't really out of line with summer blockbuster budgets in general.

Doctor Strange's production budget was about $20M higher than last summer's Ghostbusters reboot.

Somewhere a Sony Pictures exec silently weeps...

 

[BocoDragon]

Good god i had forgotten about Aeon Flux, there was a few years i thought it and Ultra Violet was the same movie but with different names

I still get those two confused!

 

[PsychBat!]

Good god i had forgotten about Aeon Flux, there was a few years i thought it and Ultra Violet was the same movie but with different names

i thought i was the only one who thought this

 

[BocoDragon]

The art direction, WETA work, the nods to the manga, other properties were all incredibly faithful to the Gits world including the theme of identity regardless of the problematic aspects of it.

The film basically wrapped it all up in the exact same way Marvel does for their films by loosely adapting a storyline and dumbing it down and making sure most of the world and characters are properly realized with actual effort put into it.

Yup. The "shell" of the movie was very accurate, but they traded introspective philosophy for empty platitudes.

 

[Timbuktu]

nope. nope. nope.

marvel movies are killing it at the box office every year. Beauty and the Beast remake is a monster in 2017 etc. etc. Ghost in the Shell is just a very unappealing movie to the general public. it was obvious as soon as the first trailer came out.

It has a limited appeal, but they probably thought casting Scarlett would bring it up a notch. Still, I think the main problem is that I don't see why it should cost so much. A director like Danny Boyle could have done it for a third the budget. Sci Fi movies have have done ok when they don't have to make $300 million to succeed.

I don't see why this should cost so much more than Looper and even Lucy, by all measures those would the reference movies for this and those have $30-40 million budgets.

 

[Onemic]

While Ghost has been bombarded by protests since the first day of Johansson’s attachment, many distribution executives still believe the whitewash controversy never impacted moviegoers’ ticket-buying decisions...

And nothing changes.

 

[anaron]

The saddest thing is, all Hollywood will take away from this is "oh shit, Scarlett can't carry a movie, bye black widow film"

 

[kswiston]

Their marketing budgets are huge.

Again, unless we are talking about the really big tentpoles like Age of Ultron or Civil War, not really. Deadline's marketing budget estimate for Doctor Strange was the same as their marketing budget estimate for the film we are discussing in this thread. It was also about $20M higher than Deadpool's marketing budget.

 

[Haly]

The Marvel strategy works for Marvel and only Marvel because they built up an ecosystem where every Marvel film adds narrative "value" to every additional Marvel film/property you see. It's like stamps on a card that gives you a free sandwich if you get 5 stamps.

But if your initial offering of sandwich falls flat people are going to go elsewhere for their sandwich needs.

 

[VeryGooster]

Gaming studios need to start thinking about TV. I still think a Hitman series would be huge. Tomb Raider is one of the few properties I can justify being a film because the Jolie ones did well.

It's so funny because I randomly thought the other day how come no one's tried a Silent Hill anthology series a la AHS or something.

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

This is the era where geeky stuff thrives. Nerd culture has been massive for years now, and proven to be a viable market. This project had no reason to fail if it was handled properly.

I really, really hope they'll look at their mistakes and execution going forward and not just think "anime adaptations aren't feasible." From everything I've read about this movie, it sounds like the only reason it was made was cause ScarJo had some success with Lucy. That's not how and why you attempt to adapt anything GitS.

 

[Got]

This is the era where geeky stuff thrives. Nerd culture has been massive for years now, and proven to be a viable market. This project had no reason to fail if it was handled properly.

I really, really hope they'll look at their mistakes and execution going forward and not just think "anime adaptations aren't feasible." From everything I've read about this movie, it sounds like the only reason it was made was cause ScarJo had some success with Lucy. That's not how and why you attempt to adapt anything GitS.

history indicates they'll learn the wrong lessons.

 

[Sami+]

I definitely know people who would only go see a movie because she's in it, same people were super psyched for Ghost in the Shell last weekend lol.

hoooooooowwwwww

I feel like I'm crazy

There's so many more charismatic and likable (on screen, she's super nice in person for all I know) female lead actors imo, this is what I seriously don't get.

 

[endlessflood]

Yup. The "shell" of the movie was very accurate, but they traded introspective philosophy for empty platitudes.

Let's be honest, introspective philosophy wasn't going to make this film a box office success.

It's a shame, I actually really enjoyed the movie for what it was and I'm disappointed that we probably won't see any big budget live action adaptations of anime again.