Fighting Against VOD

Yesterday, 23 directors and producers spoke out against VOD.

Not AIDS. But Premium VOD Services.

The group which includes directors/producers like Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Michael Bay, and more big-name filmmakers sent an open letter opposing the new DirecTV VOD service that provides movies from Warner Bros, Sony, Universal, and 20^th Century Fox in home televisions only 60 days after a film’s theatrical release.

The letter states:

“…We ask that our studio partners do not rashly undermine the current – and successful – system of releasing films in a sequential distribution window that encourages movie lovers to see films in the optimum, and most profitable, exhibition arena: the movie theaters of America.”

Such protest against VOD services is largely due to the fact that the distribution window of movies are significantly becoming shorter than before, concerning many theater owners. Yet analysts speculate that such services will have little impact on the theater industry.

Personally, I think this is an interesting twist of the VOD service from the previous services. Yes, we have streaming videos and things like that, but releasing a film in such a short period of time after its theatrical release is definitely an experimental attempt for both the television and film industry. I don’t blame the filmmakers or the theater owners for their concerns.

You never know how people will take advantage of this system.

Someone with a plasma TV might call few of his or her friends and collect a couple of dollars for the viewing of a $29.99 freshly released-movie. With the movie prices ranging from $11-$20, it definitely saves a few bucks in the midst of this economic turmoil. (Save a few dollars on gas, too. Especially with the gas prices flying through the roof right now!)

But on the other hand, I really don’t believe that the VOD services are going to take the place of the theater experience. Since NATO (National Association of Theater Owners) has been meeting with various segments of the film industry over the past several months to discuss the problems of the premium VOD, it will be interesting to see how the VOD services will turn out in the future.

Coming of Live Streaming Videos

Online streaming videos are really becoming a thing right now.

I’m personally not a big fan of streaming videos, but it apparently has become a popular trend for their fast and accessible characteristics for today’s tech-generation.

YouTubeannounced its live streaming page last Friday on April 8^th, so I’ve tried watching some of the videos available, as of today. The content and the variety of the videos are quite limited and there seems to be a lot of lagging and some bad quality videos in general. (Or it may be just my computer…It’s been driving me crazy!) I’m not a big YouTube watcher, but I guess there was live streaming before this which led to such outcome…

One definite eye-catcher is the Live Webcast of Coachella, which will start broadcasting tomorrow at 11:00 PDT. Having such a huge event streamed-live online can be a great promotion for YouTube. The goal of this webpage was to “stream a number of popular concerts, sporting events, and interviews, but primarily on a one-off basis.” If the results are good, it will probably receive much more offers from sponsors. Who knows? We might even decide to get rid of our TVs in the future.

To think of it, I’m curious as to how YouTube and its sponsors profit from this. Are they planning to flood the video with advertisements when it becomes popular? Will they change it to a paid-per-view type of thing in the future? Or are they really that generous to deliver the best concerts and shows to the mass audience for free??? Now I’m just lost…

Microbudget Films?

Yesterday, Lionsgate announced that it will produce upto 10 microbudget films every year to as a new strategic planning and operations. Microbudget films means that it has a a $2 million dollar budget. Joe Drake,the president of the motion picture group of the company stated that,

“Microbudget films involve minimal overhead and very little risk, but a potentially high reward. This initiative allows us to add another layer to our slate of movies that work both financially and creatively."

 I thought this was an interesting attempt in producing movies.

I did say low-budget movies would be the thing for a couple more years but,  $2 million?? Microbudget???

I don't know... It does seem risk-free like Drake suggests, yet still risky.

Let's face it. What can you do with a $2 million dollar budget?

Pay for the staffs' lunches? Borrow equipments?

Recent low-budget films had a production cost of $10 million minimum, and cutting 80% from the already tiny budget can be an extreme choice in movie making.

With little money to spend on casting and special effects, I'm guessing Lionsgate has an incredible director and script to really pull this off. 

Matt Kaplan, who will oversee all of the productions, commented that:

“It’s clear that movie-goers are hungry for fresh stories told in bold ways. That means big, distinctive concepts, but it also means focusing on the humanity of the story. All the movies we greenlight will push the envelope of what we've seen on screen. The low-budget aspect definitely imposes some constraints, but also forces us to find our value in great characters, explosive situations and excellent writing. And we’re excited that some of the best in the creative community are eager to jump in with us.”

 It's a relief that Kaplan realizes the constraints in the microbudget films. He seems to have a plan or certain standards for the greenlight films, which shows what he wants.

I agree that this attempt to produce more low-budget movies will allow for much more diversity and fresh faces. Starting from writers and actors, there will definitely be a burst of newbies in Hollywood, which will be interesting to see. However, focusing on the "humanity of the story," as Kaplan stated, would be risky in some ways. There has been several films recently that focused on such aspects of the film and have been successful. Yet if the trend continues on for a number of movies, it's soon enough going to be boring.

I'm in no place to judge or jump to conclusions on Lionsgate's decisions.

I'm actually for it in many ways. It's a fresh new attempt to really introduce new concepts and ideas to the public, especially in this time of depression and hardships. It would be amazing to see how these movies breakthrough.

So let us sit back and see the magic happen!

Take Back the Night 2011

Support Take Back the Night 2011 @ USC

"Rise Above Violence" 

Take Back the Night is a week of events dedicated to promoting awareness of and protesting against sexual violence. The purpose of Take Back the Night is to empower men and women to feel safe in their communities, while highlighting the need for institutional change in transforming a rape culture, rather than resorting to reactionary, victim-blaming policies.

Take Back the Night has a long history as an international annual protest against sexual violence. The goal of the program is to protest sexual and relationship violence against all people and to promote awareness of the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors which perpetuate this specific type of violence. 

Find them on Facebook (USC Take Back the Night) & Twitter (@uscTBTN2011)

Start and an End to Black Swan and The King's Speech

I know, I know. 

Everyone already talked about the Black Swan and The King’s Speech for the billionth time in the past few months. And with the Oscars and all, I’m starting and ending all discussions about them in this post.

According to the majority of the people around me, there seemed to be no huge surprises for the Oscars. (Come to think of it, I guessed on The Social Network for best picture since it received like, every critics award.) Unfortunately, I actually didn’t have the chance to watch The King’s Speech. But I’m not worried. It’ll probably stay in theatres for about another week, given that it won an Oscar for best picture. So I really don’t have much to say about this movie… I’m guessing that it’s good. Nevertheless, I can hopefully run down to the crappy Regal Cinemas behind my house this weekend and spend my $11 to good use.

I did watch the Black Swan, however, and loved it. I’m not a huge fan of horror, thriller, drama, or whatever genre you call this type of movie. Yet something about it was just so fascinating! The psychological aspect of the film was tangible to the audience, and it felt like I was suffocating with Portman throughout the whole process. She definitely deserved that Oscar for best actress. (I think she was clever to take a completely different role in No Strings Attached. It really brought out the contrast in a compelling way. Oh, and I recently learned that she graduated from Harvard. Does that have anything to do with this? Being smart and being a good actress? Something to think about…)

Anyways, interestingly, there has been this trend in the film industry with good-quality, low-budget films. Black Swan and The King’s Speech were most recognized, but movies like The Fighter, Another Year, Barney’s Version, Blue Valentine, The Illusionist, Rabbit Hole, and the continuing list, all had their fair share in both profit and recognition. It’s good to see that people are turning to well-made films and not just the hi-tech, blockbuster stuff that people just ooooooooooooh and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah about for its effects. 3D is great and all but, really? Tron Legacy? The Green Hornet? Justin Bieber??????? It’s better to buy a freaking pop-up book than pay 20 bucks for those stupid 3D glasses.

Going back to low-budget movies, the production companies must be very happy with the results. The two films jumped the $100 million mark at the Domestic Box Office, which almost unheard of for these small titles. The major production companies are picking up on this trend and are investing in smaller titles, which carry fewer risks. With the economic depression persisting, it’s most likely that this trend will continue for at least another few years.

What Ever Happened to Video Stores?

I was stopping by Starbucks for my everyday coffee and saw that the Blockbuster next to it was closing. This actually wasn’t my first time seeing Blockbuster close down, so it really wasn’t a huge surprise. Then I realized how “normal” it was to see all these video stores disappear from our neighborhoods.

I mean, who goes to the video store nowadays?

(And then I saw the news about studios suing the bankrupt Blockbuster for some millions of dollars of unpaid fees, which was just really sad... Guys, give the company some break. It just filed for bankruptcy, for god’s sake!)

Anyways, with all the illegal downloading and online resources, it’s a miracle to see someone walk out of a video store, if there are any left in the world. It is convenient and cheap ($0 rental and no late fees!) for anyone who has a computer. Companies like Netflix and Hulu have taken advantage of this system and are continuing to upgrade and develop new and improved ways to provide the newest video content to customers or users.

This Tuesday, Amazon announced that it will join this streaming business system by providing movies and television shows to all the Amazon Prime customers for free. (It’s actually not FREE, free. Amazon Prime customers pay $79 a year for discounts on shipping. If you do the math, it comes out to about $6.58 a month.) The announcement probably pissed off Netflix, which offers a similar streaming service for $7.99 a month. However, Netflix still owns a much extensive list of titles than Amazon and Amazon is also not licensed to release the most popular and current contents just yet. At least for now. Cameron Janes, the director of Amazon Instant Video (the name for this service), quoted that they are positively looking to expand and grow their selections as well as the business. It will be definitely interesting to see how this works out with the rest of the competition. Maybe they will make all these streaming services cheap enough for everyone to legally watch videos and movies online. That will be a revolution.

With all the technology and online services, I’ve even heard rumors about companies getting rid of DVDs and Blu-rays altogether. This is pretty extreme, but I can imagine why such suggestions came up in the first place. There has been this huge change in the film rental system and without a doubt, it will continue to change. Personally, I’m not into the whole renting and online streaming stuff. I usually watch a lot of the movie in the theatre and if I like them enough, I will get the physical thing (I have a fetish for collecting DVDs.) instead of downloading a computer “file.” 

Where’s the fun in that?!

The video stores’ closing down is still a little disappointment, but then again, I’m also the typical American that prefers drive-thrus to moving at all.

No More New Mickey?

The cursed economy has finally reached “the happiest place on earth.” With billions of dollars in their hands, I thought Disney would never have any trouble with money or just simply become stingy. In today’s investor conference in Anaheim, the Disney CFO Jay Rasulo announced that:

“the film studio would focus 80% its resources on franchise properties,”

leaving only 20% for standalone projects.

This means no more surprises from Disney for at least a couple of years.

Even if it had any, it wouldn’t be that great.

 

The news was a big shocker for me. I grew up with classic Disney movies like Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and basically every release that came out since the 90s. (And they’re still my favorites to this day.) The original Pixar films were also admirable with their innovative stories and technologies. I mean, everybody loves Nemo, right? And to disappoint all of these Disney fans with such news! Really? 

We can’t expect to see any of these unique creations come to life because Disney’s afraid to take a chance and lose a few million dollars out of their billions?!?

I don’t know. I think I’m a little bitter.

And the latest Tangled did great with $96.6 million and growing, which is why I’m a little confused with the studio’s decision. I admit that the Rapunzel story was pretty safe, and that it probably wasn’t the best recreation of the classic princess series, but I thought it was a fresh and attractive attempt to draw a large audience with people like me, who were craving for that old-time memories of Disney movies.

And UP! Ahh… yes. The adorable fat boy with the grumpy grandpa. Who would’ve thought? From the ocean to the sky, Pixar definitely takes its imaginations run wild everywhere. Disney and Pixar Studios’ creativity and imagination are what brought them here in the first place. And to see them put such little effort into improving these parts of the studio is a big disappointment.

I guess they had some fun with Toy Story 3, which made over $400 million. But do they seriously expect to make better sequels for other films too? You couldn’t go wrong with Toy Story sequels because they were flexible with the story and the characters (There are a number of toys and a number of ways to play with them.). It’s a rare case to see all three series fulfill the audiences’ expectations.

To prove my point, let me list some great failures of Disney sequels.

1.      Tarzan II (I didn’t know this existed.)

2.      Mulan II (This too.)

3.      Little Mermaid II (Do you see a pattern?)

4.      The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (Now this is just a disgrace.)

5.      102 Dalmatians (The original is 101 Dalmatians, if you don’t remember.)

6.      Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (Huh? Nemo got lost again???)

7.      Tron Legacy (Not doing as well as Disney anticipated.)

8.      Pirates of the Caribbean 3? 4? 5? 6??? (It’s not that bad… but I lost interest and stopped counting after the 3^rd series. And there’s going to be another one coming out?!)

I understand that Disney is trying to be cautious after some of their losses last year. I give credit to the studios for attempting different styles of movies, like Secretariat, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Princess and the Frog, and Alice in Wonderland. Maybe they just lost their confidence in original movies. Or maybe it’s just Bob Iger, the new Disney CEO who has been emphasizing franchises and brand names since he took the job 6 years ago. I don’t know what to think anymore.

But since the announcement has been made, all we can do now is to wait and see if the franchising will do any good to the studios. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Cars 2 are coming out this year to test the waters, and Monsters Inc. 2 is also rumored to make a comeback in 2012.

Hopefully, these films would fulfill Disney’s and the audiences’ high expectations, so that I don’t have to point fingers and tell the Disney executives that they are idiots.

Trilogy

Hello, World! 

With the worldwide web, most people are exposed to and have access to a number of information and materials. Everyone is an expert or a reviewer of something or someone. So, I have decided to follow this trend and become a critic myself. After pondering on different ideas, I’ve decided to write about film, a very general and probably the most common topic among bloggers. It is a broad subject, so I will limit myself to more modern, mainstream movies rather than the independent films or the classics. This doesn’t mean that I won’t bring them up, especially since independent movies are actually becoming more main stream than before. But with the 3Ds and IMAX, it’s impossible for me to avoid those blockbuster movies that have pop-up graphics and big-named celebrities coming right at you. I’m not hard to please and I’m definitely not here to analyze and evaluate films. You don’t go to the movies to study the theme of the movie or to observe how the director portrayed the character’s emotions by certain camerawork, and all the other crap that film critics talk about. I am a firm believer of movies as entertainment. Movies are there for you to enjoy and seek pleasure, not study and interpret. And I think I can speak for the general audience when I say that. Or maybe not. But what I can say is that I’m just an ordinary person who simply enjoys watching films. 

As to personal taste in films, I prefer light and humorous movies to the dark and depressing ones. Life is already full of despair and hardships, so why expose yourself to more gloomy things? However, that doesn’t mean I discriminate these types of movies. If they’re well-made and touching, it can definitely draw my attention. (For example, I actually liked The Black Swan, despite it being a depressing thriller.) I guess I don’t really have a solid opinion on what I like, but everyone’s preferences change as they grow up and develop their views on personal tastes. For example, children prefer Disney and Pixar movies (while I still enjoy both), while women in their 20s might prefer romantic comedies (now I’m just guessing). Hopefully, as I start this blog, I will figure out what my preferences are. 

After all, my decisions are solely based on my interests and curiosities, thus making my posts presumably unprofessional and personal in many ways. However, I don’t want to say that it’s just pure opinion or an unreasonable gibberish. I want to explore how societal trends and business aspects of films affect the types of movies that are produced and marketed today. In order to do so, I will be reading loads of news stories on what’s happening in the film industry, as well as observing the box office numbers. I will probably review films and share my thoughts about them, but honestly, I’m not an expert in this field. I leave that to the real film critics who know what they’re talking about. In the end, I’m doing this for myself, a hopeful future film investor. I would like to find out what movies are making money and why they are successful, which is the reason why I’m focusing on mainstream movies. If I practice doing this now, I might have a shot in the future. (I know. I should probably work really hard before I actually have the money to invest in anything at all.) I know it sounds kind of awful saying that I’m doing this for money (and a school thing too), but sadly, the materialistic world transformed me into what I am today, forcing me to chase after money. But really, it all comes down to money, right?

Profile: What Would ToTo Watch?

Remember when there were actual video stores that you went to, to rent movies? You would ask the worker about which movies are popular and which ones are not worth even renting. TOTO, or Christian Toto from What Would Toto Watch? is just like that worker from the video store, who will give his honest and upfront opinion on what you should watch for your weekend movie. He may sound like an ordinary guy but surprisingly, he actually has a strong background as “an award-winning journalist and film critic with years of experience.” His blog provides news reports, interviews, and “no-nonsense film reviews,” almost daily for his 44,000 viewers. Despite his reputation as an influential journalist, Toto is very down-to-earth and does not have that snobby attitude some bloggers have. He shares his personal life stories and experiences in his posts, allowing the viewers to connect with him in a more likable manner. For example, he reveals that his father is a video store clerk and how it affected his choice of movies in a video store. This is really difficult to see in film critics who like to talk about the artistic traits and interpretations of scenes in a movie, most of the time. And believe me. They are BORING.

Toto also ends the post with a question, displaying his willingness to listen to others. His writing style is also not completely academic but more casual, not because he’s incapable of writing professionally, but because he’s open to connecting with the audience and communicating interactively. When you observe his film reviews, you can tell that he’s well-educated and really knows what he’s talking about. He goes onto deeper details about the movie, which I admire. The depth of analysis that he puts on a review is quite intriguing as exemplified in his recent review of “The Green Hornet.”

While Toto does not specifically delve into the business side of the film industry, I am greatly affected by his writing style. He gives the necessary news and information in a condensed and witty way, making it much more enjoyable for the readers. This is the aim for my blog as well. I may lack professional skills and depth in evaluation, but I hope to have the humorous and friendly voice by incorporating my personal stories and experiences, while also giving out the necessary news and information. My blog however, would focus more on the financial matters of the film industry and the trends of successful movies today, as I mentioned before. The focus of the blog posts would be different from Toto’s, but I am targeting a similar audience group who is willing to listen to my gibberish and share ideas interactively. And who knows? I might end up with 44,000 viewers too!

Voice Critique: The Fanboy Federation

I’ve always thought the grown-ups who love comic books are nerds or some dweebs who are obsessed with dressing up like Star Wars characters and believe in the possibilities of superpowers (Sheldon from “ The Big Bang Theory ” anyone?). I don’t mean to be mean but it is a little dorky. Eric, blogger of “The Fanboy Federation,” is a perfect example of such stereotype. I mean, his blog name pretty much tells it all. However, he does this in an intentionally exaggerated and silly way as if to make fun of himself for being such a nerd. In one of his posts, he starts the post with a trailer of “The Green Hornet” with a comment saying, “Oh hey, look, a post! Oh hey, look, a movie trailer! ” I raised my eyebrows when I read those first two sentences. I don’t mean to be rude or anything but it seems like a very pathetic way to catch your attention. Hey, but it works, right? 

Eric continues to humor us throughout his blog with his geeky jokes that makes us wonder if he really is a big, wacky loser. He uses phrases like “Right on!” “I screamed like a little girl. (Insert of a black-and-white photo of girls screaming.) Like this, but in color,” and “Duh.” His sense of humor seems to be a failed attempt to sound cool and “hip.” It really is painful to watch, but at the same time entertaining, prompting you to finish the whole post. I think it’s a psychological thing where people just like other people making an ass out of themselves.

But despite his ridiculously imbecilic voice, the content of his blog posts are rather deep. He likes to analyze trends and possibilities in films as exemplified in his “Green Hornet” and “The Villain You Deserve” posts. He touches on things that we don’t really think about and analyzes the changing trends in film. In the Green Hornet post, he goes on to observe Asian actors in American big screens and quotes:

"We send out messages with the intention the audience interprets them correctly. But the message sent is almost never the same as it was received, and thus our interpretations can lead to disastrous results. It’s general reinforcement that shapes generations but largely goes unnoticed. What has happened is that by constantly casting Asians in a villainous role, be it Batman or James Bond, or unattractive and unheroic dorks like Short Round and Long Duk Dong it has tampered with progress in seeing the circumstances as anything but. Jet Li took a backseat role in The Expendables, and the only successful mainstream martial arts movie that has come out lately was Ninja Assassin. And Rain’s face was obscured in the poster."

When you read this paragraph, you lean back, review the things that he talks about in your head, and nod in agreement of his interpretations. He also gives a lot of background information, which helps persuade the audience more respectively. Such quality of writing encourages readers to turn back and really think about what he said behind his stupid jokes and geeky voice. At a certain point, you question your opinion about the guy and ask if he’s being really clever, and if he’s simply mocking the readers by his façade of the nerdy fanboy character. While it is difficult to determine his real intentions, the contrast between his voice and content continue to intrigue the readers into following his thoughts and ideas written in his posts.

With Hollywood producing movies like Spiderman, Batman, and Transformers, I guess it’s inevitable for the nerds to be excited about these superpower heroes coming to the big screens and show their enthusiasms on their blogs. Even my older brother said that watching Transformers was like watching his dream come true. There is no choice but to get all hyped up. Now that we covered almost every comic book possible, I wonder, what will they come up with next?

Voice

I ’ ve always thought the grown-ups who love comic books are nerds or some dweebs that are obsessed with dressing up like Star Wars characters and believe in the possibilities of superpowers (i.e. Sheldon from “ The Big Bang Theory ” anyone?). I don ’ t mean to be mean but it is a little dorky. Eric, blogger of “ The Fanboy Federation, ” is a perfect example of such stereotypes. However, he does this in an intentionally exaggerated and silly way as if to make fun of himself for being such a nerd. In one of his posts (http://thefanboyfederation.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/seeing-green-the-importance-of-2011s-the-green-hornet/#more-254/), he starts the post with a trailer of “ The Green Hornet ” with a comment saying, “ Oh hey, look, a post! Oh hey, look, a movie trailer! ” I don ’ t mean to be rude or anything but it seems like a very pathetic way to catch your attention. Hey, but it works, right?
Eric continues to humor us throughout his blog with his geeky jokes that makes us wonder if he really is a big, wacky loser. He uses phrases like “ Right on! ” “ I screamed like a little girl. (Insert of a black-and-white photo of girls screaming.) Like this, but in color, ” and “ Duh. ” His sense of humor seems to be a failed attempt to sound cool and “ hip. ” It really is painful to watch, but at the same time entertaining, prompting you to finish the whole post.

Despite his ridiculously imbecilic voice, the content of his blog posts are rather deep. He likes to analyze trends and possibilities in films as exemplified in his “ Green Hornet (http://thefanboyfederation.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/seeing-green-the-importance-of-2011s-the-green-hornet/#more-254/) ” and “ The Villain You Deserve (http://thefanboyfederation.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/the-villain-you-deserve-who-should-be-the-villain-for-the-dark-knight-rises/#more-218) ” posts. He also tends to have a lot of background information as well. Such qualifications encourage readers to turn back and really think about what he said behind his stupid jokes. At a certain point, you question your opinion about the guy and ask if he ’ s being clever, and is simply mocking the readers by his fa ç ade of the nerdy stereotype. While it is difficult to determine his real intentions, the contrast between his voice and content continue to intrigue the readers into following his thoughts and ideas written in his posts.

Profile

Remember when there were actual video stores that you went to, to rent movies? You would ask the worker about which movies are popular and which ones are not worth even renting. TOTO, or Christian Toto from What Would Toto Watch? (http://whatwouldtotowatch.com/) is just like that worker from the video store, who will give his honest and upfront opinion and help you choose your weekend movie. He may sound like an ordinary guy but he actually has a strong background as “an award-winning journalist and film critic with years of experience.” His blog provides news reports, interviews, and “no-nonsense film reviews,” almost daily for his 44,000 viewers. Despite his reputation as an influential journalist, Toto is very down-to-earth and does not have that snobby attitude some bloggers have. He shares his personal life stories and experiences in his posts, allowing the viewers to connect with him in a more likable manner. For example, he reveals that his father is a video store clerk and how it affected his choice of movies in a video store(http://whatwouldtotowatch.com/2011/01/18/would-you-spend-your-movie-money-on-direct-to-dvd-sequels/#more-12057). Toto also ends the post with a question, displaying his willingness to listen to others. His writing style also is not completely academic but more casual, not because he’s incapable of writing professionally, but because he’s open to connecting with the audience and communicating interactively. When you observes his film reviews, you can tell that he’s well-educated and really knows what he’s talking about. He goes onto deeper details about the movie, which I admire. The depth of analysis that he puts on a review is quite intriguing as exemplified in his recent review of “The Green Hornet.” (http://whatwouldtotowatch.com/2011/01/14/green-hornet-movie-review-toto-wwtw/#more-11996)

While Toto does not specifically delve into the business side of the film industry, I am greatly affected by the way he writes his posts. He gives the necessary news and information in a condensed and witty way, which makes it much more enjoyable for the readers. This is the aim for my blog. I may lack professional skills and depth in evaluation, but I hope to have a humorous yet informative voice. Like Toto, I would also like to bring personal stories like Toto and make a connection with the viewers. But rather than focusing on just the reviews, I would like to bring up the business side of the film industry. My blog would concentrate on the financial status of studios and directors who are making these movies and why certain movies became successful. The focus of the blog posts would be different from Toto’s, but I am targeting a similar audience group who is willing to learn and share ideas interactively.

Hello World!

Hello, World!

 

With the worldwide web, most people are exposed to and have access to a number of information and materials. Everyone is an expert or a reviewer of something or someone, so I have decided to follow this trend and become a critic myself. After pondering on different ideas, I’ve decided to write about films, a very general and probably common topic among bloggers. It is a broad subject, so I will limit myself to more modern, mainstream movies rather than the independent films or the classics. With the 3Ds and IMAX, we are exposed to a lot of good-quality movies, that is, in graphics and sound. The storylines are important, but I’m not hard to please and I’m usually satisfied pretty easily. It doesn’t mean that I’m not picky but I can confidently say that I speak for the general audience. Or maybe not. But what I can say is that I am a very open and reasonable person who simply enjoys watching movies.

 

As to personal taste in films, I prefer light and humorous films to the dark and depressing ones. Life is already full of despair and hardships, so why expose yourself to more gloomy things? However, that doesn’t mean I discriminate all of those movies. If they’re well-made and touching, it can definitely draw my attention. I guess I don’t really have a solid opinion on what I like, but everyone’s preferences change as they grow up and develop their views on certain subjects. For example, children prefer Disney and Pixar movies (while I still enjoy both), while women in their 20s might prefer romantic comedies (now I’m just guessing). Hopefully, as I start this blog, I will figure out what my favorites are.

 

After all, my decisions are solely based on my interests and curiosities, thus making my posts presumably unprofessional and personal in many ways. However, I don’t want to say that it’s just pure opinion or an unreasonable gibberish. I want to explore how societal trends and business aspects of films affect the types of movies that are produced and marketed today. In order to do so, I will be reading loads of news stories on what’s happening in the film industry as well as observing the box office numbers. I will probably review films and share my thoughts about them, but honestly, I’m not an expert in this field. For this reason, I’m really not here to criticize, evaluate the deeper meanings of the film, or discuss the artistic features of the film. I leave that to the real film critics who know what they’re talking about. In the end, I’m doing this for myself, a hopeful future film investor. I want to find out what movies are making money and why they are successful. If I practice doing this now, I might have a shot in the future. (I should probably work really hard before I actually have the money to invest in anything at all.) I know it sounds kind of bad, but sadly, the materialistic world transformed me into what I am today, and forced me to chase after money. But really, it all comes down to money, right?

Hello

Hello World