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Monday, November 23, 2009
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News Stories About The Alamo
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2004-09-27
Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section, including the co-winners of the DVD Pick of the Week Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Buy from Amazon and Degrassi: The Next Generation - Season 1 - Buy from Amazon.
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2004-06-01
After a rather mediocre May, June looks a lot stronger with two films that should break $300 million. Not surprisingly, these monster hits are being released unopposed during their respective weeks. And also not surprisingly, they are being released at opposite ends of the month. The rest of the films are unlikely to make much of an impact, although a few should cross the increasingly irrelevant $100 million plateau.
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2004-04-12
Only one of the five movies released managed to live up to expectations, and with that I think it's safe to say 2004's winning streak came to an end. The week-to-week drop-off was 9.4%, and while 2004 was up 17% from the same time last year, it's increase of last Easter was much less at just 7.6%. Year-to-date is up 9% but 2004 will have a tough time keeping up with 2003 in May.
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2004-04-09
In my previous weekend prediction story I accidentally left one of the new releases.
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2004-04-08
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. This week saw a deceptively poor crop of site as there were a lot of movie site launched / updated / released, more than 30 in fact. However, very few of them even came close to the being considered for this week's award. It's so bad I've spent the last 3 hours looking for a gem of movie site that I may have missed in previous weeks. In the end it was Kill Bill: Volume 2 - Official Site that won the award with only one or two other that were even briefly considered. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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2004-03-28
With summer just around the corner ... Yes I know Spring started a week ago, but this is the movie industry, we do things differently. So with Summer just around the corner it's time for the Summer Movie Preview, Part 1 - April. In April we have nearly 20 films opening wide over 5 weekends, or almost 4 per weekend. That much variety should please moviegoers, but that much competition will kill the chances of half the movies released.
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2004-03-04
During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates including the winner for the week, The Prince & Me - Official Site . If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
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2003-11-21
es on movie release dates this week, as the studios begin to map out 2004 in detail (and in one case, firm up their plans for Christmas).
- House of Sand and Fog is moved forward one week to December 19, 2003. I've changed this to a "limited release only", since Dreamworks are planning to open it in 500 to 600 theaters only.
- Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! moves up from March 19, 2004 to January 23, 2004
- Eurotrip gets an official release date: February 20, 2004
- The Alamo will open on April 9, 2004
- Around the World in 80 Days will open on June 16, 2004
- King Arthur is moved up from Christmas, 2004 to July 7, 2004
- The Village's release date is pinned down to August 6, 2004
- The Princess Diaries 2 will open on August 11, 2004
- The Last Shot's release date gets narrowed down a little, to September, 2004
- Raising Helen will open on September 17, 2004
- Ladder 49 will open on October 8, 2004
- National Treasure is confirmed as an intended Thanksgiving release next year, opening November 24, 2004
- ...and Dreamworks responds by pushing Surviving Christmas up a week to November 19, 2004
- ...where it is joined by Sony's Last First Kiss (also opening November 19, 2004)
- Finally, The Life Aquatic is now slated as a December, 2004 release (no exac
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2003-10-30
k promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here’s a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
50 First Dates
Current Content: Placeholder site with no content.
The Alamo
Current Content: The flash site was launched just in time for the movie's release to be delayed, so don't expect many updates till we're closer to April of next year. So far the site has the regular features, synopsis, trailer, cast and crew bios, image gallery. And a few extras like a Educator's Guide, (in Adobe Acrobat format) and others marked coming soon like Behind the Scenes and Screen Savers. There's also animated segues and sound effects, but no background music.
Alien: The Director's Cut
Current Content: The movie opened in a few hundred theatres yesterday, but the modern reviews have not been added yet..
Alien vs. Predator
Current Content: Redirects you to the Fox movie page. But the teaser trailer is available at Apple.com.
The Barbarian Invasions
Current Content: Typical Miramax site with the trailer marked coming soon.
Dirt
Current Content: Simple site with just the synopsis, trailer, cast bios and a few reviews. Outside the intro and the trailer there is no sound or animation, which is too bad since the quirky nature of the film would lend itself perfectly to a flashier site.
The Human Stain
Current Content: Typical Miramax site.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Current Content: Flash site launched and it definitely the most fun site this week. Most of the content is there to entertain, not inform you about the movie. In fact, they don't even have a synopsis yet. They do have the trailer, along with two cartoons, plenty of images, sound clips, descriptions of all the major characters, acme gadget, spy car, etc. There are also seven small games to play. Information on the soundtrack is marked coming soon; and when that section is added hopefully so will some background music. There is also a decided lack of subtly with product placements that is a problem. Even so, this site wins this week's whimsical Weekly Website Awards.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Current Content: Just in time for Halloween, monster wallpaper and e-cards were added.
Love Actually
Current Content: The first of two TV Spots was added this week.
Love Don't Cost a Thing
Current Content: A new placeholder site was launched with less content as the last placeholder site. But the flash site is marked coming soon.
The Matrix Revolutions
Current Content: The cast and crew bios were added.
Paycheck
Current Content: Placeholder site with just the synopsis, trailer and image gallery.
The Perfect Score
Current Content: Just a redirect to Paramount's movie page.
Shattered Glass
Current Content: The movie opens in limited release this weekend and the new website was also launched. The site has the usual features including synopsis, trailer, cast bios and crew list (no bios.) There's also a learning guide (in Adobe Acrobat format) and a message board. There's also background music for the opening, but as soon as you enter the main site it stops.
Spider-Man 2
Current Content: A new poster was added to the site this week.
Troy
Current Content: Another redirect.
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2003-10-09
k promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here’s a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
This will be an abridged version due previously mentioned scheduling conflict. But you can't really tell.
The Alamo
Current Content: The full trailer is up, along with the old teaser trailer.
Barbershop 2
Current Content: A placeholder site so far with just the teaser trailer.
Big Fish
Current Content: Typical Sony placeholder site with just the synopsis and trailer.
Broken Lizard's Club Dread
Current Content: Typical Fox Searchlight placeholder site with just the synopsis so far.
Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind
Current Content: The site is based on the company Lacuna from the movie. Right now its just a commercial for that company, but it says to check back tomorrow for further updates.
The Dreamers
Current Content: Typical Fox Searchlight placeholder site with just the synopsis so far.
Dopamine
Current Content: Simple site without sound or animation. There's some interesting content, including some on the role of Dopamine in the brain. But overall there's not enough to keep a surfer's attention for too long.
Elf
Current Content: Another game was added, Stocking Stuffer. But that background music is getting to me something awful. And to think, I've got to listen to every week to check for updates.
Girls Will Be Girls
Current Content: The format is the same as most IFC sites, but there is more content than most of their sites. Trailer, synopsis and cast and crew bios are all there, so are a few clips, image gallery and even sites for the three girls from the film.
Good Boy
Current Content: Another game was added to the site, this one a variation on concentration. Overall, this is a good site especially for its target audience.
House of the Dead
Current Content: The original site was removed due its graphic nature. The new site is toned down, but relatively unchanged.
Intolerable Cruelty
Current Content: Two TV spots and four clips were added just in time for the movie's release.
Kill Bill
Current Content: No changes from last week, and with Volume 1 opening tomorrow I doubt the remaining three character intros will be added till Volume 2 is nearing its release date.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Current Content: The second blog was added to the site, which adds a bit more background information.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Current Content: Did they really need the whole name in the URL? I don't think so. A large portion of the site is called The Journey, which alternates between entries in the Captain's Log and information about life on a ship from the sails to meals. There are also regulars features, but so far much of this is marked coming soon. Synopsis, Cast and Crew Bios, Production Notes and Featurettes are all marked coming soon. That does leave the trailer, images, interviews with three consultants (in .pdf format) and something called The Broadband Experience. The last feature is for Internet Explorer users only, so I can't review it. There are also several international sites, but they are all marked coming soon. The only complaint is the URL, but to deny it an award based on that would be petty, so it wins this week's nugatory Weekly Website Award.
The Matrix Revolutions
Current Content: As expected, there were more updates this week. This time it was information on The Matrix Reloaded's DVD release and a couple more posters, one just for international sites.
Mystic River
Current Content: There were no new additions since the last update. It is still an understated yet compelling website.
Shark Tale
Current Content: New name, new URL, same intro.
The Singing Detective
Current Content: The flash site launched and while it takes a little advantage of the animation flash allows, there is no sound outside the trailer and a clip from E.T. The site does have synopsis and cast and crew bios, but I was looking forward to for some behind the scenes info.
Spider-Man 2
Current Content: Quite a big update this week. A new webisode was added with director Sam Raimi and costume designer James Acheson that is about the changes to Spider-man's costume. The character section was added with brief bios and connections between the characters. In addition, the Ultimate Quiz will quickly show how much time you spent reading Spider-man comics as a kid (for me it was obviously too much.) There were also some more behind the scenes images and another wallpaper added.
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2003-08-20
k promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here’s a list of highlights, plus one last look at websites for films opening this week. If you know of any new movie websites not on this list feel free to e-mail me with the details.
The Alamo
Current Content: After the intro there is just the synopsis, trailer and cast and crew (no bios.) But as the release date nears that should change.
Battle of Shaker Heights
Current Content: It's a Miramax site. Same as all the other Miramax sites.
Beyond Borders
Current Content: Just a placeholder site with only the trailer for now.
Fighting Temptations
Current Content: The flash site launched this week and as expected music was a major focus of this site. There are half a dozen songs from the soundtrack on the site, much better than the usual 6-second-looped clip. There's even the music video for the title track, although that's just a link to the MTV site. As for the rest of the content it has all the usual features (synopsis, cast and crew bios, trailer, images, etc.) plus some more marked coming soon. (Music mixer, movie clips, media player skins.)
Highwaymen
Current Content: The release date is still months away, so the lack of content is not surprising. Synopsis, trailer, e-cards and images are there. But there is no sign of cast and crew bios, for example. There is some background music that helps the site. Hopefully more content will be added later.
House of the Dead
Current Content: A movie site should have a hook, something different that keeps a surfer's attention. For this site it's the diary. "I feel like a real actor now. I have been decorated with fake poo." You don't get that kind of insight with most sites. Besides this features, there's the synopsis, cast and crew bios, trailer (on fangoria.com) and lots of images.
Lost in Translation
Current Content: This is the second site this week with lots of music. This time, however, there are only clips of the songs. Still, this is a major step above most sites that seem to treat music as an afterthought. The transitions between sections is well done and I look forward to when the video clips are added in.
Marci X
Current Content: This movie opens this week and the only content on the site is the synopsis and the trailer. Not a good sign.
The Medallion
Current Content: Not much has changed since the last time I reviewed this site. The content is still good, the background music is still way too short, and the best part of the site is still the side scrolling game you can play.
Mystic River
Current Content: The introduction with the characters is superb. Enough is given to keep you intrigued, but not enough to spoil anything. The rest of the content is given in an understated fashion, which fits well with the tone of the movie. This mood is further enhanced by the background music. There is still some sections marked coming soon, notably crew bios and a section on Clint Eastwood.
The Order
Current Content: There's a big problem with this site. The video clips, which there are a lot, are too quite compared to the other sound effects. So you either can't hear the voices, or get blown over by the sound effects, or you have to change the volume in between every clip. This overshadows what should have been an otherwise good site.
Pieces of April
Current Content: Placeholder site with just the synopsis and the trailer.
Polar Express
Current Content: Not even a placeholder site, just a redirect to the Warner Bros. movie site.
Saved!
Current Content: Just the name. Very, very plain even for a placeholder site.
Shattered Glass
Current Content: Just a placeholder site for now.
Stoked
Current Content: This site is divided into two sites. The main site with synopsis, image gallery, timeline, etc. And the bonus site with trailer, crew bios, and play dates. The main site has animated segues and background music and another song.
Thirteen
Current Content: This is an excellent site that has much more than the usual features. Its main focus is thirteen clips from the movie and interviews with some of the cast. These give a greater insight into the movie. And the way they are presented adds to the experience. The only thing the site is missing is background music. Even so, it wins the enviable Weekly Website Award. Also worth noting, Thirteen opens in theatres today (Wednesday) so if you live in New York City, you can check it out.
Veronica Guerin
Current Content: It's been a while since the placeholder site was first launched, so it's nice to see the flash site up. However, most of the content is still marked coming soon, including cast and crew bios and film clips. There are animated introductions to the section, accompanied by an audio clip from the movie. There is also background music that is long enough and loops well enough to not become repetitive too quickly.
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