Buscemi's Pros and Cons Part 3: October 2009

I didn't know who Paramore was until I knew of someone (that I no longer speak to) who saw them and Jimmy Eat World at the Shrine Mosque last April.

Yeah, I don't give a damn about Paramore.

geezer9687 wrote:Michael Jackson isn't exactly some new Indie band just trying to break out. His songs have been used in movies, TV, video games, commercials, he is everywhere. I can't stand his music but I've heard a ton of it without ever trying to find it. I just find it hard to believe that people weren't exposed to him prior to his death. They were most likely repulsed by his appearance and allegations of child molestation and if that made them stay away from his music then that is fine. But why does it make it ok now to love him now that he is dead? Its like "Oh he was a freak when he was alive, but now that he's gone lets all go listen to his records." Really people?

This is exactly what I was talking about.

And Banksy, W, and I get Geez and Busci on the same side. We win.

if i picked out my music based on the character and moral integrity of the artists themselves, i'd have to toss out around 80% of my collection

I do that but the opposite. I pick my music based on how depraved the musicians are...

which explains why Donte listens exclusively to the Wiggles

If The Wiggles did hard drugs.

The Wiggles aren't bad...I mean, I prefer their earlier stuff myself. I personally like The Backyardigans way more!

geezer9687 wrote:

johnErle wrote:

geezer9687 wrote:This will be big because all the fake ass people that came out of the woodwork that never cared about Michael Jackson and probably condemned him when he was alive but then when he died were like "oh my god what a tragedy, its so sad, he was like, the king of pop" will see this, just because they want to be cool and feel like they are experiencing a part of history, that was so far before their time they weren't even born yet, but will still want to see it because loving MJ is so in right now.

Are these the same fake-ass people who flocked to see The Dark Knight even though they never gave a crap about Heath Ledger when he was alive?

No... and I realy don't see how that is comparable. First of all TDK was a huge summer blockbuster, and was going to be the biggest movie of the summer regardless of Heath's death. Second of all, it was driven by quality, not by his death. I'm not saying it didn't help, because I'm sure it did, just like it will help The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, but the reason The Dark Knight was so huge was because it was an outstanding film. The legs were ridiculous. If it was about Heath's death, people would have seen it once and been done with it. They wouldn't have rushed out to see it again, and again, and again. If you think that This Is It will be some great feat of cinema, then I guess I can see the comparison. However, I think its just another concert movie that wouldn't have made anything if MJ didn't die.

If Ledger were alive today, there's no way Dark Knight would have passed $400m. $325-$350 would have been the likely ceiling, but Ledger's death spawned the urban myth that he'd given so much of himself for that peformance that it somehow killed him, so it became a must see for lots of people who normally wouldn't bother with comic book movies.

And many of the fanboys who went to see the movie repeatedly were at least partly inspired to do so by Ledger, as if knocking Titanic off the #1 perch would be some kind of posthumous honour.

All the fanboys thought Iron Man was outstanding too, so that extra $200 million had to come from somewhere, and quality alone isn't the answer.

All that being said, why the hell am I discussing The Dark Knight online in late 2009?

Geez, you're just not getting it. Like I said, EVERYBODY knows Thriller and Beat It, probably Billie Jean too. But unless you're a fan, you probably haven't heard a lot of his other songs, the non-singles and whatnot. They played all of his music for weeks after his death, are you saying someone is less of a fan because they discovered an artist after they died? I'm sure they're are kids still just discovering Nirvana, Ray Charles, Tupac, etc etc everyday. Just because you know the name doesn't mean you know the music.

I agree - death made MJ very, very popular again. And maybe it is a fad, although that sounds negative - I'd call more of a trend. But look at how Dirty Dancing leapfrogged on Netflix and IMDb after Swayze died. I think there's nothing wrong with more people discovering good music, I definitely wouldn't dismiss them as fake.

That's just like those small group of people who are fans of a really indie band, and then when the band somehow blows up and gets thousands more fans, the originals are all pissed because now the band has "sold out" and all these "fair weather fans" are jumping the bandwagon.

Is it possible that more exposure = more fans? Why is that bad?

And I agree with john that Ledger's death gave TDK a pretty big boost.

The thing to remember with TDK is that the first trailer (as well as a damn good viral campaign) came out a year before the movie.

With the MJ thing...who cares WHO sees the movie? Michael Jackson is easily the most popular and most revolutionary musician of our time (possibly all time) and Thriller is the best selling album of all time and was even before he died...something like 30 million copies...if every person who bought thriller before he died are the only people who see it This Is It will still make $300mil. The fact is he's a well loved musician in spite of (maybe because of) the weird life and bizarre image he portrayed, and honestly as a fan myself I don't care wether they were listening to him since the late 50s jackson 5 era or just now discovered him since his death, as long as they're remembering him for his music and not the scandals, I'm happy. Fake or not, they're supporting him as a musician and to me that's the most important thing.

The reason I call them fake Banks is because they never cared when he was alive, or even worse, thought he was a freak. When he died it became cool. If they are still listening to him in 6 months when the post-death hype dies down, then I'd give them credit. I just don't see that happening with most people that "discovered" Michael Jackson the day he died. But you can sure as hell bet they will see This Is It to be cool, it still falls in the grace period.

I kinda agree with Geez on this one. It's like when Walk the Line came out, and suddenly every teenage girl professed their love for Johnny Cash's music on their Bebo (remember that?) or Facebook pages. But a few months later did any of those people actually listen to Cash? Nope

numbersix_99 wrote:I kinda agree with Geez on this one. It's like when Walk the Line came out, and suddenly every teenage girl professed their love for Johnny Cash's music on their Bebo (remember that?) or Facebook pages. But a few months later did any of those people actually listen to Cash? Nope

Teenage girls liking Johnny Cash....?

Does anyone else think the MJ movie will get extended like Hannah Montana did? Especially if all of the sellout reports are true. I think it will play to urban audiences like a Tyler Perry film and still play out like a four quadrant blockbuster, and the older audiences will be rushing out on opening weekend which they aren't always expected to do.

With another film opening on 3-D and IMAX screens one week later, it's unlikely. Maybe it will be kept on 35mm and DLP screens (yes, it will be released flat as well) but that's pushing it.

Another thing to add: Sony wants the film on DVD by Christmas. They probably don't want to create a situation where it's playing in first-run while being sold on the shelves at the same time.

If they didn't even wait 3 months after his death to rush the movie into theatres, what makes you think they won't rush it to stores? If it makes money in theatres they'll have it on DVD asap, probably a separate soundtrack too...Kinda sad that death has become a career move.

What I'm saying is that Sony will want the film in and out of theatres quickly so they can have the DVD out for Christmas. Sony knows that there is a market for this film on DVD and they will want to conquer the DVD charts on Christmas.

My best guess is that the DVD will be out on December 15th in one and two-disc editions.

That's not true, studios don't really care if their movie is still in theaters when they release the DVD. If a person decides to pass up on the theater and gets it from a store, they make money either way.

DVD releases while the movie is in first run has been happening more and more lately.

If this film does what I think it will, they will obviously extend the deadline. Maybe they say, "Due to the great demand, we'll extend it two more weeks!" or maybe they'll just scrap the whole deadline. If a film makes money in theaters, they won't just dump it.

Just to pick your brain, what's the highest grossing two week ONLY film ever?

IPKI$$ wrote:The Wiggles aren't bad...I mean, I prefer their earlier stuff myself. I personally like The Backyardigans way more!

Off-topic, I actually saw the Wiggles live back in the day when they thought they could be a normal rock/pop band. They called themselves The Cockroaches back then. Even then they performed a more acrobatic, energetic set than other pub bands of the time.

Never heard of The Wiggles. Should I have???

I rode an elevator with the tall Wiggle. (Does that count as a brush with greatness?)

Keyser Soze wrote:I rode an elevator with the tall Wiggle.

ha, that sounds like code for something horrible