The DVD Format Wars Gets Ugly!

Here at ComingSoon.net, we haven't completely jumped on board the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray debate that has been going on for most of the last year, and in fact, we've yet to start doing DVD reviews of either high-def format as of yet. (Something that hopefully will change in '08 as there's more demand for it.) I myself haven't bought a new DVD player in either format yet, because I was around back in the VHS vs. Beta days (yes, I'm *that* old ) and I remember how it was such a tough decision to figure out which way to go because you'd end up investing so much money in the machines and the tapes, and you didn't want to have to rebuy your entire library again. I kind of feel the same way now having bought a lot of movies on regular DVD.

Well, those issues with the next wave in DVD have popped up again as each studios chooses one format or manufacturer over another to back with their extensive film libraries. The latest strike in this ongoing battle started with the announcement by Warner Bros. late last week that they would be supporting only the Blu-Ray format for their movies, something that immediately put the manufacturers of HD-DVD on the defensive. They released two press releases to keep the owners of their technology from freaking out. You can read their response here, but as someone who hasn't bought either player yet, that might be enough for me to go with Blu-Ray because I know there's a lot of movies released by Warner Bros. over the last few years that I know I'd have to own, movies like Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain, Batman Begins, and others which would not be available to me if I go with HD-DVD. The thing about Blu-Ray is that the millions of people who own Playstation 3's can also play them, which may be another reason why Warner Bros. went in that direction. I don't know enough facts to know if this means the end of HD-DVD, but the smart move will be for someone to come up with dual players that allow people to play both or either rather than having to choose one over the other. Either that, or one of them can go the way of Beta.

2008 Box Office Off to a Grand Start

As some might know, I write the Weekend Warrior and every once in a while, I'll write-up the weekend box office as well, and I have to say that I was really impressed with the way that 2008 slammed into theaters this past weekend. True, the top movie only made roughly $20 million, which isn't that great even for the first weekend in January, but look at that little Fox Searchlight indie-that-could Juno by Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody jump up into second place with nearly $16 million, up 49% from last weekend. It's pretty obvious that we're seeing the makings of a true phenomenon, because at one point, I thought this movie might top out at $50 million if it won some awards but it's already crossed that point after just two weeks in wide release and that's even before it started winning those awards (like the Critics Choice Awards it won last night). Even Warner Bros' One Missed Call, which I thought looked like utter crap--and mind you, I'm a fan of the original Japanese movie--made $12.5 million, making my prediction for the entire weekend just on Friday alone. Few of the returning movies were really struck hard by the fact that people were returning to work and school last week. (I mean, jeez... women still want to see P.S. I Love You, which I thought was one of the worst movies of '07!! What am I missing there?) Either way, it seems like the lack of new TV shows has helped the box office as people look for other things to do, and thankfully, that's helped quality movies like Juno and Atonement as well as crap. One can expect that this trend will continue as long as there's a writers' strike and no new shows. Speaking of which...

The Foreign Hack Awards Will NOT Be Televised

Nikki Finke, who has been keeping track of all the WGA negotiations or lack thereof in the last few months, broke the story that the Hollywood Foreign Press' Golden Globe Awards ceremony would indeed be cancelled, and as reported here, they would instead be announcing the awards via a press conference to be telecast at the same time on NBC. Apparently, the inability to hire writers to write those bad introductions and the inability to get actors to cross picket lines to present and accept awards signified death for what has long been considered the first real precursor for the Oscars. This action is going to cost NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press millions of dollars in advertising, and that's on top of all the money that's been lost from the TV season being put on halt. Last night, the Broadcast Film Critics' show went on as planned and it was no better or worse than usual, but it's pretty obvious that this strike is really starting to get ugly, especially if it can't be settled in time for the Oscars, which is the most important night of the year for many people in the industry.

Frankly, I'm kind of glad the Golden Globes aren't happening because like so many others, I'm already sick of the number of awards shows around this time of year, all the red carpet coverage, and all the time wasted watching it to be on top of the recipients as they're announced. Heck, I bet a good amount of filmmakers and actors/actresses are glad they won't have to attend, because it seems more like a publicity obligation than something anyone would want to do if not contracted to do so. The lack of a Golden Globes awards show should send a clear message to the studios and networks that they need to get come back to the negotiation table and work this stuff out soon. No more delaying, no more excuses.

Jennifer's Body Gets Even More Grrrl Power

Speaking of Juno, I interviewed Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman back in December and both of them remained mum on Jennifer's Body, a teen horror movie written by Cody that was being produced by Reitman for Fox Atomic. Rumors that Reitman would be directing his second Cody script were quickly debunked that day, but Variety just got the announcement rights that Karyn Kusama would be helming the horror film which will star Megan Fox from Transformers as a possessed cheerleader (Wa-wa-wee-wa!) Yes, it looks like Hayden Pannettiere and Kirsten Dunst might have some competition in the hot cheerleader category, and I have a feeling that Fox will even be sexy even if she's covered in demonic make-up and starts spewing out vomit ala Linda Blair. (One assumes that sometime in Fox's time in high school, some poor guy had to experience this first-hand.) But this is about the new director Karyn Kusama, who some might remember from the excellent indie Girlfight, which introduced the world to Michelle Rodriguez, and most will want to forget her take on Aeon Flux starring Charlize Theron. One assumes that with a screenplay by Cody and produced by Reitman, this will be a far more intelligent and funny horror movie than what we've seen lately, particularly from Fox Atomic. One should expect this to be a strong female-empowering horror movie unlike the slew of torture porn slasher flicks from the last few years. I'm sure there'll be more news on ShockTillYouDrop.com in the next few months and I'm kinda bummed that I won't be able to cover this one as much as I'd like.

Wayans and Gordon-Levitt Say "Go Joe!"

The "geek sites", of which were are most definitely one, have started to look for new movies to pump up now that Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are finally getting in on the superhero movies in the works, and Stephen Sommers' take on the Hasbro toy line G. I. Joe is a prime candidate. I'm kind of surprised that it's taken so long to make a live-action G.I. Joe movie, because unlike Transformers, it's not like they've been waiting for the technology to catch-up in order to be able to make it. Heck, they could have made a movie about them any time in the last 30 years before there was an actual war going on, but apparently, there's something appealing about making a G.I. Joe movie now that the country is actually at war. (Mind you, most war and movies set in the Middle East have been bombing--no pun intended-- so they might have to take a different approach to this than setting it in the real world.)

Anyway, word is coming in about early casting and the two latest names might surprise some, because they're not the big box office names one might expect. In fact, Marlon Wayans is more known for his comedy from his days on "In Living Color"
to such classics as White Chicks and Little Man, and one might think he'll be bringing a lot more humor to the character of Ripcord--sorry, it's been so long since I read a "G.I. Joe" comic that I have no idea whether this character has any inherent humor. Even if Ripcord will be played more seriously, we know that Wayans can do that because he was so great in Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream. Likewise, Joseph Gordon-Levitt might still be thought by some only as Tommy from "Third Rock from the Sun" but he's proven himself to be a fine dramatic actor in lots of great indies like Brick and The Lookout and he'll be a great leading man for a big-budget tentpole like this, finally giving him a chance to breakout as many always thought he could. It certainly adds more dramatic credibility to the cast which already has an impressive cast including Sienna Miller and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, formerly of "Lost" and "Oz." Actually, now that I'm talking about this cast, I'm actually looking forward to what they can do, especially since Sommers has not exactly become known for making movies with great acting. Hey, if Bay can win over the fans with Transformers, maybe G.I. Joe will be Sommers' chance to be taken seriously after making the awful Van Helsing.