Archive for August 21st, 2006
2 items.
I’m starting to get a little static in the THorum for what has developed into my anti-Snakes On A Plane agenda. I don’t care. I’m like a hound dog with a bone. You’re not gonna shake this lose. If there were people out there declaring themselves hard-core S.O.A.P. fans before it hit theaters, I’m allowed to have a dissenting opinion and declare it overhyped. I don’t need to see it to have that opinion confirmed. It’s poor box office speaks for itself.
Snakes On A Plane did $15 million this weekend. It’s nothing to sneeze at, I suppose. Especially considering the overall downturn of American box office tallies. But at the same time, for a film that’s been hyped since February – adopted as the internet’s love child – $15 million doesn’t impress me.
It’ll make it’s budget back and I’m sure it’ll live in infamy as the first big-budget Hollywood movie to be both influenced by and spin the overwhelming interest of the internet to it’s advantage. In that respect, it will be a success. A miniscule triumph of marketing over content.
But Snakes On A Plane could have been so much more! Y’see… that’s what you guys don’t understand about my criticisms. I criticisize because I love!
If New Line had left well enough alone and released S.O.A.P. when interest was at a fever pitch, they could have had a monster on their hands. What people overlook is that the movie wrapped in September of 2005. Word started to leak in February of 2006 and by the time the internet got a hold of it by April, ironic hipsters were in a frenzy. Two months later the mainstream media got a hold of it and the whole country was primed.
New Line should have released S.O.A.P in June. They could have been the forerunner of the ’06 blockbuster season. The biggest, dumbest B-movie that America would have fallen head over heels for since Armageddon. In June of ’06, I was READY to see this movie. I was right there with the rest of you!
But then, like a gallon of milk set out in the hot summer sun, it spoiled. It was overhyped and I lost interest. I got tired of waiting!
Clearly the five week reshoot to add more "rated R" material didn’t help it. A $15 million dollar opening weekend communicates only one thing – that the internet interest in a film doesn’t translate into a box office success. If I was someone who went to the effort of making a parody song or poster, invested all this time believing that the movie was going to be the best thing since sliced bread… I would feel a little used.
I mean, didn’t you get the sense from reading all of these blogs and visiting all of these web sites that talked about how great S.O.A.P. was going to bewere in it partially to show that the internet has real-world influence? That we’re not just sitting in our basements, firing off angry diatribes at Ain’t It Cool News and leaking screenplays to CHUD? That we actually CONTRIBUTE to the filmmaking process somehow? Then the film does $15 million in it’s first weekend after nearly HALF A YEAR of buildup and the influence of the internet is revealed to be a paper tiger.
For someone like myself who communicates his art primiarily through the internet, I can understand why having a dissenting opinion would be unpopular. It smacks of biting the hand that feeds you. And I understand that I’m being harsh by declaring the movie "over" without even seeing it. But I have a real issue with being hoodwinked by marketing – organic, viral or otherwise and in this instance, I didn’t want to play into it. I don’t mind having my strings pulled from time to time. Just don’t let me see the hands of the puppeteer.
I could be all wrong about S.O.A.P. Friends I’ve talked to says it delivers exactly what you want it to. A million different death-by-snake scenarios and an entertaining ride. Maybe word-of-mouth will spur an incredible comeback at the box office for the second week. Who knows? But I think, ultimately, it’ll end up being a big cult film on DVD and by next month most people will have forgotten completely about it.
When you think about it, is that so bad? I mean, hipsters would have made this movie their own regardless of the hype. This time around they got a wild hair up their rear and tried to spread their enthusiasm to the mainstream. They failed, but that’s nothing to be ashamed of.
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Between the e-mails I’ve been getting, the feedback in the THorum and the LiveJournal feed, I’ve been taking a lot of hits regarding my criticisms of Snakes On A Plane so I figured now was the time to clarify some of my points.
1. When I declare the movie is over-hyped, I am not referencing the quality of the movie itself nor am I attacking you personally for enjoying it. I am talking about the marketing of the film and how I felt it is over done.
2. Citing the opening weekend box office of S.O.A.P. was evidence I used to support my point. When analysts such as Box Office Guru, Coming Soon and Entertainment Weekly estimated an opening weekend in the $30 million dollar range ($28 million, $30.8 million and $31 million respectively), there was obviously a wide gap between expectations and results. To me, it was a clear indication that there were others who felt the same way I did – they were once excited about the movie, but now wanted nothing to do with it due to the overbearing promotion.
3. If it helps, consider the analogy of a song on the radio. You hear a song on the radio and you’re into it for the first few months. Then they start playing it to much and you get sick of it. Doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good song. You’re just tired of hearing it. That’s how I felt about S.O.A.P. and that’s what I decided to write about.
4. I am allowed to have an opinon about a movie without seeing it. I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails in this regard. "How can you hate it without seeing it?"
First of all, I never said I hated the movie. It’s very possible that I’ll see it someday on DVD and enjoy it. But if two-thirds of the internet is allowed to geek out and say they LOVE S.O.A.P. based on the title alone, why am I not allowed the same lack of objectivity?
I write the comic from a personal viewpoint. I am not beholden to any kind of journalistic ethics or standards. I am a human being and I am allowed to have my own tastes and opinions. I don’t need to filter that or shield my bias if we happen not to feel the same way about things.
You guys have to give me that breathing room – that freedom to exaggerate – in order for me to keep producing this comic. To insist that I see EVERY movie that comes out before I make fun of it is unrealistic and would put me in a creative straight-jacket.
In addition to investing the time to do three strips a week (for free, mind you), I have a 9 to 5 job and commitments to my wife and family. It’s simply not possible for me to see everything and still have a life for myself.
5. If anyone was offended by the last three comics, I’m sorry. But at the same time, things wouldn’t be very interesting if we agreed on everything all the time, now would it?
I’m not saying that I’m going to stir things up for the sake of it. Frankly, this "fight" has taken a lot out of me. So you can expect a little less politicizing for a while. But, man… we all got to stop taking these things so personally. Let’s just say that yesterday’s Yirmumah strip really hit a nerve with me.
If anyone has questions or concerns, feel free to send me an e-mail. But I feel like I’ve said pretty much everything that needs to be said here.
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