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The 2023 Holiday Movie Season Begins: What's Coming Up - Vanity Projects, Oscar Bait...and More!

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  The holiday movie season officially starts this later this week. If you find yourself fed up with the relatives on Thanksgiving Day or dealing with belligerent shoppers on Black Friday, then head out to the movies. You can deal with outrageous ticket prices and stale popcorn instead. Here are a few of the vanity projects and Oscar bait movies to select from.  Edit: The movies below will be released starting late this week through end December. Maestro: The Leonard Bernstein bio pic that's directed, co-written, and stars Bradley Cooper and his fake prosthetic nose. Bradley desperately wants an Oscar, and this movie is his second shameless attempt to convince everyone he’s the next Orson Welles or Frank Capra.  He's going to be campaigning hard for those Academy votes. The real Leonard Bernstein (left) vs. Bradley Cooper with fake nose: Photo: The New York Times Leave The World Behind: A paranoid thriller about a family who rents a vacation home. Think AirBnB + inte...

A Tough Year And A Rough Road Ahead For Disney Studio: A Commentary

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  Photo / Gif: The Daily Beast The Mouse House (Govt Name: Disney) has had a rough year. Between fighting with Florida Governor Ron DeathSatan DeSantis, the WGA-SAG-AFTRA strike, and disappointing box office results for their movies - it's been a trail of mouse droppings for the company. The box office disappointments for 2023 include the live action remake of Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones and Dial for Dollars Dial of Destiny, Antman & The Wasp: Quantumania, and Haunted Mansion. Like other studios, Disney has over played its hand and reliance on tent pole franchises and remakes.  Disney announced they're pushing back the release of Snow White and Magazine Dreams “until further notice”. Two other untitled Pixar movies and a few other live-action remakes (Tarzan, Princess and the Frog to name a few) that were under development have been cancelled. They blame the SAG-AFTRA strike. No doubt that's a major reason but IMO, there are other underlying issues plaguing the co...

Mattel looking to hire Chief Uno Player to hype up game...and potential movie?

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  Mattel, riding high off the fumes of the blockbuster Barbie movie (which crossed the $1 billion mark), has posted a job listing for a Chief UNO Player.  According to reports, "the ideal candidate for this role is "someone who's just as passionate about throwing down a Draw 4 as they are engaging strangers in a game. The new hire is expected to create and star in social content for UNO games and must work out of New York four days a week, four hours a day, for four consecutive weeks. The person hired will be paid $4,444 every week, per Mattel."  Talk about your lazy girl/boy job. Sit around an office for a few hours a day barfing up SM content for the game. Damn, I need to re-think my career choices. Anyway, there's supposedly a movie in the works based on the game. Back in 2021, rapper Lil Yachty was tied to the UNO movie. The premise being pitched was a potty-mouth action movie based on the hip hop scene. However, when the script was shared with Mattel exe...

Mission Impossible 7 having tough time meeting global expectations?

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  Tammy Tom Cruise 7th installment in the Mission Impossible franchise "Dead Reckoning Part 1" staggered to the box office in its global haul over the weekend like a Scientologist drunk on barley water. The movie didn't meet expectations especially in China where it managed to eek out a $25.9 million, which is 66% below Mission Impossible "Fallout" back in 2018. In North America, MI 7 managed to scrounge up $56 million. Seems like the Chinese audience, like many Americans, have grown tired of tent pole franchises and Hollywood's lack of originality. The movie has received good reviews.   Mr. Cruise said a couple of weeks ago that he has not intention of quitting Ethan Hunt. He actually wants to be like Harrison Ford with Indian Jones franchise and keep it going until he's 80 yrs old. Good luck with that. Since it opened, MI 7 has made $235 globally. The movie cost $300 million to produce which does not include marketing costs. I'm sure marketing exp...