I overestimated the loyalty of both Sandler’s fan base and Apatow’s. That serious vibe just made them stay away in droves, huh? Monday morning quarterback, but would a fall release have made more sense?
8/7
Wide
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Paralleling the lives of Julia Child (Meryl Streep) as she becomes a chef and modern-day Julie Powell (Amy Adams), who set out to cook all of her recipes in one year.
WILL IT SUCK?
Nora Ephron in both writing and directing mode has been inconsistent. You’ve got decent efforts like Sleepless in Seattle
Early buzz is not so good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Time Traveller’s Wife the following weekend might be a bit of an issue, but this is perfect counterprogramming for G.I. Joe. And Streep is summer chick flick gold. $125mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Well, it worked for Transformers.
WILL IT SUCK?
Granted, Stephen Sommers is lost outside of his Mummy wheelhouse (Van Helsing, anyone?), but the writers have at least contributed to such fare as Pirates of the Caribbean and Four Brothers (which rates higher on the IMDb than I expected). Also, I’m pretty intrigued by the casting. Joe Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander, Christopher Eccleston as Destro, Jonathan Pryce as the Prez (!?), Ray Park as Snake Eyes, Arnold Vosloo as Zartan and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Heavy Duty. I’m sure they’ll be wasted nicely.
I don’t know quite how to say this, but, early buzz is…good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The last action hurrah of the summer, so it’ll have all August to let the box office trickle in, but it will be more trickle than flood. $91mil.
(Delayed from March)
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Couple on vacation vs. killer hikers.
WILL IT SUCK?
As a writer/director, David Twohy (Pitch Black, Below) is usually worth paying attention to (Chronicles of Riddick notwithstanding). And it’s always fun to watch Timothy Olyphant play a bad guy.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
As a writer/director, Twohy’s films tend not to make much money (Chronicles of Riddick notwithstanding). And the move from fairly competition-free March to competition-thick August is not helpful. $14mil.
Limited
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Paul Giamatti plays an actor named Paul Giamatti who has his soul removed by a company (you know, for convenience) but then when he wants it back, he finds out the company has misplaced it.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz has relative newbie writer/director Sophie Barthes as the inheritor to Charlie Kaufman. With David Strathairn and Lauren Ambrose.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Almost certain to be overshadowed by Paper Heart. $4mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
When you’re making a documentary about how you don’t believe in love there’s only one rule…don’t fall in love!
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mad good for this documentary/mockumentary mashup that profiles real-life couples while offering a fictionalized take on the real-life relationship between its star Charlyne Yi (stoned chick in Knocked Up) and Michael Cera. Won the screenwriting award at Sundance. Cameos by friends-of-the-actors Seth Rogen and Demitri Martin.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The box office is there for (relatively new) distributor Overture to lose. $15mil.
Next Week: Believe it or not, I can name one other movie with “District” in the title.
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