Rgirvan44
Posts: 18903
Joined: 10/3/2006
From: Punishment Park
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BelfastBoy
quote:
ORIGINAL: Chris Hewitt
Belfast, Belfast, Belfast... where do I begin?
Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is a film we've been excited about for a long time. We're delighted that, in our opinion, the film justifies that excitement. But you know from past experience that any implication that we give films favourable reviews in exchange for access will be stomped on immediately. To quote a great man, I am Godzilla, you are Japan. That does not happen, and never will happen.
Thanks for the reply, Chris. I'm glad to see that you noticed I WASN'T questioning Empire's integrity. I'm sure that if the finished product was, in the writer's opinion, no good, the review would've reflected that. Would you be able to comment, if only in general terms, on whether there's consensus among your colleagues about if it's a 5* film or not?
In simple terms, my basic point was that I personally didn't like being forcefed endless features on a film that isn't going to appeal to a massive amount of the magazine's readership. Then on the website, there's the Scott pilgrim webchat, the Scott Pilgrim Geek Guide, as well as the actual review. In my personal opinion this is total saturation. (But hey, I'm not on the editorial staff, and I'm not going to cancel my subscription. Bygones, etc…) While I understand why Empire staffers may well find the US box office returns disappointing / frustrating, even the story discussing this on the main website page has a "There there, Edgar, it'll be all be OK” feel to it:
"But there was bad news to be found elsewhere as Edgar Wright's adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's comic book series, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, sadly failed to find much love with audiences, getting punched down to fifth place with $10.5 million. The movie didn't even manage to scrape together the cash to reach the low figure that many had been estimating. Still, we take heart from the fact that Scott Pilgrim will be thought about and talked about long after the world has forgotten either of the two box office champs. It'll have to go some to make back its $60 million budget and promotional costs, but we'd guess the DVD sales will help - and word of mouth might yet pick it up in weekend two.”
If, for example, The Expendables had opened at number 4 with $10million, would the same have been said? I find it hard to see how a paragraph like the above can possibly be considered 'objective'.
Endless features?
Nine pages in the magazine is not endless. That is the standard amount that a movie on the front cover (that isn't a summer/winter/year preview) would get.
The online stuff - Empire does webchats on a pretty regular basis. Are you saying that they should have turned down this oppertunity? And again, it is hardly being forcefed. You don't need to go into the webchat. In fact many people on the forums don't even realise when they are on.
The Scott Pilgirm Guide - the Expendables also got a guide thing. They also got front cover, and an article in the magazine. And it has been mentioned just as much as Pilgirm on the forums. Again, the Future Film threads show that SP has 2 pages, and the Expenadables is on page 20 something.
This is hardly the definition of endless features. I would add that other UK magazines have done big Pilgrim splashes - not just Total Film, but SFX and Sci Fi Now. Why? Because it is a movie which does appeal to some of the readership, and is directed by someone who has made some very popular films. There is no bias here, just plan good old excitement for a movie that is coming out.
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It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.
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