This is kind of a weird approach to a common problem I have this time of year. But I felt it was time to bring Victor out of hiding for a little bit.
Are you like me? Do you get stressed out by the sheer number of obvious awards contenders the studios pump into theaters over the holiday season. To me it’s an embarassment of riches that ultimately makes me feel stagnant. There are so many choices, I don’t know where to start!
Of course the issue is compounded by the fact that studios will “release” the movie in select cities first so they are eligible for awards contention before releasing the film wider several weeks later. I hate this because it makes me feel disconnected from the medium I love. I’ll see an ad for a movie that hasn’t made it to my town yet and they will wallpaper it with critical praise “ON OVER 100 TOP 10 LISTS!” It makes me feel like I’ve missed the boat.
Gran Torino is a good example. It was in limited release on December 12, but it goes wide this weekend. That’s almost a full month since critics first started talking about it. You and I both know how fast things move in the pop culture reference stream. The movie has slipped in and out of the current before it’s ever had a chance to be seen!
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m too close to movies so I notice these things. It’s more than likely that John and Jane Q. Public aren’t bothered by the Hollywood award season marketing strategies. But for me, it makes me feel like I’m better off seeing Paul Blart: Mall Cop and then no one wins!
Is it just me? Am I being over-sensitive or are you guys noticing this shell game, too? Also, what do you think Victor is going to do with those pictures and how exactly did he coerse Jimmy into taking the shots? Leave your comments below.
I feel like I'm praying catch up and it makes me anxious and embarrassed.
It's like that dream where someone gives you a test and you're completely unprepared.
Or like that dream where you're standing in front of everyone wearing only your underwear!
Hey Tom. Good comic. I love what you’ve done with the place, also. I’m glad that you brought Victor into the mix again. now we need some Truman, Jimmy, and Dewey. Maybe even some Goth Jared since the 3rd Underworld is coming out soon.
Ooo! I forgot about that new Underworld movie! Yes… I think Goth Jared might have to make a re-appearance!
Great comic as usual. And yes, I agree with what you say. There’s so much on the market it’s so easy to miss a big contender. In fact, I have been waiting for Frost/Nixon for months and it still hasn’t arrived in my town. Instead, what is my local cinema getting? Bride Wars. Yeeeah, because Hathaway is definitely getting a statuette for that wedding-themed flick.
The whole practice they have with releasing all the good movies at the end of the year in two cities really gets to me to.
I totally agree with the “limited release” vs Wide Release conflict. I have been waiting to see Gran Torino since i saw its trailer way back in Changeling. and after neglecting time after time the reviews that its gotten, just so It wouldnt ruin anything for me, i still have to wait till this Friday to see it… For a guy that works in a movie theatre, people ask me all the time about these movies and i have no idea what to tell them about.. like Slumdog, it has such high praise LONG before it even hit the theatre i work at.
Ugh. Don’t get me started on Bride Wars. The minute the “conflict” was established in the trailer, I pegged the ending. “Double wedding!” They address it in some recent TV spots – make fun of it. (“Why not have a double wedding?” “What are we – 40 year-old twins?”) But, ultimately, you know there is no other way for them to end it. There has to be a reconciliation.
For once, I wish these rom-com’s would take a chance and do something unexpected. The groom’s-to-be ditch ’em at the alter. The girls remain bitter rivals! The groom’s marry each other! ANYTHING but this paint-by-the-numbers crap.
Totally agree Tom. The limited release thing just makes me want to punch something. I’ve been itching to see “Frost/Nixon” for awhile now, but even in its “wide” release I have to go into the city (Philly for me) to get a chance to see it. It’s like the studios assume suburbia either won’t get or won’t care about the “deep message” the film is trying to send, so they’d just as soon hand us Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Kevin James, you’re funnier than that!).
And the Academy wonders why people bash the Oscars.
Totally agree with you on Kevin James, but I guess every generation needs a Fatty Arbuckle.
Exploitation! Scandal! Tom without his pants on in the proper fashion!?! This is clearly the most controversial Theater Hopper page to date! 😉
Another great update here, Tom, and I dig the new website. And the ads aren’t telling me to lose weight today, either. 😀
Great comic.I get so ticked that every GOOD movie in December is in Limited Release because I live in a nothing town so by the time the film gets here we have crap like Paul Blart or Bride Wars so our theater wont take it.
The problem I usually have at the end of the year is that most of the movies comming out I have no interest in seeing, except the ones that are only in limited release, so I never get to see them anyway. I was so excited to see “Let the Right One In” after I read about it, but it’s only released in NY & LA; that means I’ll either have to wait for DVD or the crappy American remake they’re planning…
BTW: Tom’s expression in the 3rd pannel is priceless!
It is a very detailed comic. expressions, flash effects, ugly theater carpet and four different characters. Thanks for all the hard work.
Let’s just hope that if Kevin James is this generations Fatty Arbuckle he does not face the same charges at the hight of his career. (Should be sometime this year.)
I suppose he could get a cat and become the Jon Arbuckle of this generation.
Love the new site Tom. been a fan of yours since mid-2008 when I came across it.
I was so excited when I realized I could see Slumdog Millionare. It amazed me that my local theater actually showed it. mind you though, a friend of mine is still very ticked that Frost/Nixon isnt in theaters in North Jersey ‘burbs yet…
and amazingly Tom, I was thinking the same annoyed thoughts recently. I don’t see how they win money-wise with some of these movies, such as Frost/Nixon, that will get TONS of audience in the suburbs. I just don’t understand limited release, except for rare cases of independent release (no national distributor like Paramount). this worked out very well for the movie Bottle Shock (which is an excellent film btw!)
Love the new website Tom. less dark red easier on the eyes 🙂 Long time reader, first time poster…
And no, you’re not the only one put off by the Awards banquet binge. Granted, there’s not a lot out right now I personally want to see, but I do feel seriously left out of the loop as well when these movies show up, but only run in New York, LA, Miami, etc… As a fellow Iowan, it irks me to see great movies like Gran Torino advertised as “now playing” and knowing the nearest “select city” is at least 350 miles away. Its bad enough getting half-decent movies to this area (forget anything arthouse or anime) any other time of the year… but meh.
anyways, enjoying the new site, keep up the good work, all that.
I like the site redesign, but it no longer says the comic number at the top, next to the title. Was that a conscious decision?
Yeah, I kind of miss the comic number, too. It wasn’t a conscious decision to remove it. Just more circumstance. If anyone has any in-roads on how to bring that back, let me know.
There’s gotta be a way. WordPress tracks all of the posts tagged with the comics.
Tom, I don’t know if you’ve seen Slumdog Millionaire yet, but it is one of the films on the “top movies” lists that everyone should see. I was unsure what to expect going in, especially given the hype, but it didn’t disappoint. It was powerful, heart-warming, visually brilliant, with nuanced acting, and countless other adjectives. Seriously, go see the movie and you will be incredibly happy that you did. My only suggestion is to make sure your ears are finely tuned and ready to go because it’s a little hard to understand every word, especially given the authenticity of the acting with the thick Indian accents and the mixed in Indian language with English.
I would really like to see Slumdog Millionaire. I could use a shot of hopefulness right about now.
I get bogged down this time of year with all the movies coming out too, plus out here in Washington, if you don’t live in Seattle, you have to either wait for the DVD or pray that the movie will have enough mass appeal to be put into a theater near you.
I love the comic keep it up!
Yes, you are taking this too personally. That said, I’m no fan of this limited to wide release pattern either. On one hand you have films like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” movies that need to be released slowly because they live and die on word-of-mouth. But big budget movies like “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” and “Gran Turino,” movies that have big stars and will likely appeal to large audiences, why can’t those get at least 800 screens the first weekend? It’s just a ploy to get the critics cuddling up to it, so that they can tell you how much the critics love it, because…well, wouldn’t you feel stupid to NOT like it?! I guess we can thank the marketing release of “The Deer Hunter” for this.