tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post5098599573618773164..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: Mini-Major Discussion: New Line CinemaAndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-11394802301043486302015-02-19T11:39:00.591-05:002015-02-19T11:39:00.591-05:00Scott, I'm not a big fan of the LOTR either. ...Scott, I'm not a big fan of the LOTR either. As I've pointed out in my review, Jackson sucked the life out of the book. But yeah, the Hobbit is utter crap. Wow is it crap.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-57028876548520045572015-02-19T06:39:15.120-05:002015-02-19T06:39:15.120-05:00I generally don't pay attention to producers, ...I generally don't pay attention to producers, directors and studios with only a few exceptions, but I do remember enjoying a lot of movies where I saw New Line Cinema at the start. And seeing the list of movies they produced and or distributed they were a large part of my young movie going experience and it is disappointing to hear they are no longer independent<br /><br />You know that they will never reach the same heights that they had previously under the ownership of a large studio. While I wasn't as bigger fan of LOTR as the average person, those movies are masterpieces compared to the piles of crap that The Hobbit movies turned out to be. I don't know if it was Warner Bros that demanded a short book be made into three movies or not but the independent LOTR is worlds better then the major studio The Hobbit 'movies'.<br /><br />Scott. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-78707279661618939092015-02-17T19:34:32.327-05:002015-02-17T19:34:32.327-05:00Rustbelt - TMNT probably was Golden Harvest, and N...Rustbelt - TMNT probably was Golden Harvest, and New Line was actually just the distributor. I try to separate out the movies that get made by the studio from those the studio just distributes, but hey, sometimes I miss a few. :) <br /><br />LOL....thanks for the link! Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-57040022442541120172015-02-17T19:14:48.143-05:002015-02-17T19:14:48.143-05:00Count me as one of those who had't realized Ne...Count me as one of those who had't realized New Line wasn't independent anymore. <br />The output is incredibly varied. From Freddy to the Turtles to Austin Powers...<br />Well, I guess you can me someone who isn't surprised at the lack of a fourth film. 'Goldmember' was mostly a self-parody, which is often the warning sign that a series is spent or the creators just don't care anymore.<br /><br />On 'Golden Compass,' I haven't seen this film and, after reading the comments here, on Andrew's article, and plenty of other articles, I have no desire to, either. (As far I can tell, as angry atheists go, the author of the 'His Dark Materials' books seems to make Penn and Teller look like nice guys by comparison.) <br />Thank God (phrase meany literally) New Line employees can always look back and say they made LOTR, which will always be remembered with fondness.<br /><br />Question: Did New Line actually produce TMNT or just distribute it? I have an old Turtles book from 1990 that says the film was made primarily by Hong Kong-based martial arts studio 'Golden Harvest.' <br /><br />And Jason, since you mentioned the legendary (in a 'Plan 9' sort of way) 'Reefer Madness,' <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vory0ErGW3w" rel="nofollow">this musical number is for you!</a>Rustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-35684624997577250832015-02-17T15:14:38.680-05:002015-02-17T15:14:38.680-05:00Jason, You're welcome. This has been a great (...Jason, You're welcome. This has been a great (and amazing) series! :D<br /><br />I suspect that the profits were probably split a hundred different ways on each of these films, the studio probably didn't make as much as we think. And then you could be right about the accounting too. In any event, it's stunning that such a successful operation could implode.<br /><br />On <i>Golden Compass</i>, I agree. The visuals are great. The story is choppy and incomplete. Politically speaking, it's also insulting at every turn. Nevertheless, the film would have done much better if it told a complete story.<br /><br />AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-175597853864621802015-02-17T15:01:54.773-05:002015-02-17T15:01:54.773-05:00Thanks, Andrew. I sometimes wonder if that famed H...Thanks, Andrew. I sometimes wonder if that famed Hollywood accounting was also a factor. Some of that money may have gone down a few unseen ratholes. <br /><br />I hadn’t commented much on the quality of <i>The Golden Compass itself</i>. I did check it out and I found it on the one hand to be great visually, but on the other the story felt choppy and uneven; the subplot dealing with the armored bears was unnecessary, and the movie had no ending, it just ground to a halt. Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-50650926105305610842015-02-17T14:18:09.990-05:002015-02-17T14:18:09.990-05:00Scott, Not only was Golden Compass a no win, but t...Scott, Not only was <i>Golden Compass</i> a no win, but the film wasn't even a good one. It completely felt like a set up for future films to such a degree that it was almost insulting. Really bad choice.<br /><br />BTW, on which side to offend, remember that the people who are likely to see the film are kids, and that means you need to keep the parents happy. Satisfy your target audience first!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-79713933097615410012015-02-17T14:14:48.076-05:002015-02-17T14:14:48.076-05:00Jason, Sorry for the delay in commenting. I am st...Jason, Sorry for the delay in commenting. I am stunned that the study that made a zillion dollars on LOTR could go broke. Seriously. New Line's catalog reads like my BluRay collection... so many big hits and amazing films. How can a company with such a track record and such profits fall apart? Stunning!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-19319780277827845712015-02-17T09:27:35.313-05:002015-02-17T09:27:35.313-05:00tryanmax –
New Line is still around, but it’s jus...tryanmax –<br /><br />New Line is still around, but it’s just an imprint of Warner Bros. It’s just no longer its own entity and it’s now severely downscaled. And Mini-Major Discussion isn’t purely about dead studios. There’ll be a few coming up that are still alive and kicking. <br /><br />It’s ironic, but New Line was responsible for the first successful adaptation of a Marvel comics property when they put out <i>Blade</i>, way before the X-Mens or the Spider-Mans. Of course, <i>Blade</i> was closer to NL’s kind of movie: horror, martial arts, action, etc. It’d have been great if they could have gotten similar properties like <i>Ghost Rider</i>. <br /><br />There were other fantasy works that were far less riskier that New Line could have gotten. I’d have loved it if they did live-action adaptations of <i>The Chronicles of Prydain</i>. Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-41970301535694491192015-02-17T09:26:52.662-05:002015-02-17T09:26:52.662-05:00ScottDS-
The TMNT flicks were a big part of my c...ScottDS- <br /><br />The TMNT flicks were a big part of my childhood, too. For a time the second movie was actually my favorite over the first, but as I got older the order flipped around. The first film had some surprisingly poignant observations about family and that basically a crime syndicate is not a good substitute for the real thing, brought home when Casey Jones told the kids at the warehouse, “You call this here family?” And Shredder’s reveal in the warehouse, from the tracking shot to the awesome shadow cast by his cape to the music – brilliantly done. It is still the best TMNT movie to date (That’s right, Paramount, I’m looking at you).<br /><br />If you discovered <i>Austin Powers</i> first in the theater, you were way ahead of the curve! The first film was only a moderate hit, it was only when it hit video that it caught fire. I’m surprised Meyers hasn’t tried for a fourth film. His career since hasn’t been all that great (<i>The Love Guru</i>, anyone?).<br />Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-86229024640677008742015-02-17T09:10:26.576-05:002015-02-17T09:10:26.576-05:00When I saw the headline, my jaw dropped. I didn...When I saw the headline, my jaw dropped. I didn't realize New Line was no more. I've seen so many New Line films, that imprint is as familiar as the McDonald's arches to me. <br /><br />If only New Line had steered away from <i>His Dark Materials</i> and instead tried to catch the superhero wave the same way they successfully caught the horror waves of the 80s and late-90s/early-2000s. tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-23689691582913342642015-02-17T08:14:12.224-05:002015-02-17T08:14:12.224-05:00Ah, North. One of my favorite lines from the Friar...Ah, <i>North</i>. One of my favorite lines from the Friars Club roast of Rob Reiner was when one of the comedians said, "You know that movie went straight to 8-track?" :-)<br /><br />The <i>TMNT</i> films were important parts of my childhood, though I cringe at some stuff now. The first film is still effective (and surprisingly dark, more in form than in content), while the second film... well, "Go Ninja go!"<br /><br /><i>Town & Country</i>... one of the all-time Hollywood disasters. Mix one part Warren Beatty perfectionism, two parts scheduling conflicts, three parts constant re-writes, and four parts re-shoots. According to Wikipedia, they started shooting in 1998 but didn't finish the film until 2000!<br /><br /><i>His Dark Materials</i>... as someone who isn't religious, was there any happy ending to this? It seems like the ultimate catch-22: film the text and offend religious people, or soften that aspect of it and offend the fans.<br /><br /><i>Austin Powers</i>... before everyone and their mother was saying "Yeah, baby!" I was there first, on opening night, with friends who had no idea what we were getting in to. I was a fan from day 1 and I still think Dr. Evil is one of the all-time great characters from the last decade of the 20th century.<br /><br />It should also be noted that New Line was one of the great producers of excellent DVDs, with their Platinum Series and later Infinifilm line. Usually great A/V quality, and great supplements. Even a guilty pleasure like <i>Detroit Rock City</i> got the deluxe treatment.ScottDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619078842202925064noreply@blogger.com