Sunday, May 2, 2010

...And We're Back With This Weekend's Box Office

First off, I don't care how long it's been, I don't want to hear it. OK?

I was just reading the estimated box office receipts for this weekend in the NY Times, and was taken aback by the lackadaisical phrase, " In third place was "Date Night (Fox), with only $7.6 million."

Only.

I don't know about anyone else, but I can't imagine putting the word "only" in front of 7.6 million dollars. I get an unemployment check of 7.1 hundred dollars and get a little giddy- 7.6 MILLION AMERICAN DOLLARS IS NOT "ONLY."

Let's go a step further: "Date Night," after four weeks of release, has taken in $73.6 million. Where does that money go? The studio fronts the money to make the movie, so everyone from Tina Fey to the caterers has been paid months ago. So, the studio recoups it's investment, and then builds schools for underprivileged children in Darfur, right? OK, maybe not- but with a movie like "Avatar," which made 2.something BILLION dollars, I want to hear that something is being done with at least a little bit of that money that has nothing to do with any individual or corporate account.

I've had this pipe dream for years, that Hollywood would take a cue from the music industry and make a "We Are the World" style movie. The biggest actors, directors, producers, writers, cinematographers, FX houses, etcetera, would donate their efforts into making an epic film, with all the proceeds going to various charities, causes and relief efforts around the world. I admit to being a bit of a romantic, but how cool would it be to watch a movie that was literally saving the world?

If only a little bit.
My photo
San Francrisco, CA, United States