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It should be stated at the outset that I'm not unbiased. As anyone who has followed this blog knows, I have been very pro-Twilight. Yet, despite that, all my expectations going in were actually pretty low. Although I've been excited about the film for close to a year since I first began writing about it, I still thought it might turn out to be a bit dull. Based on what I knew, I simply did not expect it to be very good.
Similarly, I did not anticipate positive reviews. Let's talk about that first. As the reviews started rolling in, I was stunned. Not because there were so many bad ones, as I'd expected, but that there were so many good ones. True, the negative have outweighed the positive but one needs to look at where the positive reviews are coming from.
Major, prestigious media outlets and well-respected critics liked the film: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Screen International, Village Voice, The New York Times, New York Daily News, Los Angeles Daily News, Wall Street Journal, E! Online, Cinemablend, CBS Radio, Movie City News, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Toronto Star, Entertainment Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, Rolling Stone, B-D. com, Cinematical, Philadelphia Daily News, and Reelzchannel to name a few. All good or mostly positive reviews. I was shocked.
You see, the conventional wisdom was that all the hype and fangirl frenzy would be just so much bluster and the film would not live up to anyone's expectations. In fact, most reviewers write much of their reviews ahead of time. I know this for a fact. I won't name names. But they do, and I have no doubt that most of the critics for the outlets above went in fully expecting to write negative reviews. I have no doubt that their mindset was, "well, there's no way this film will be as good as the hype so I'm not going to like it." Critics love hating films that the public embraces, especially the tween girl set that this was supposedly going to appeal to. Well, guess what? While a lot of critics did stick to their original plans and weren't going to like it no matter what, many went in expecting to write negative reviews and were thrown for a loop. They liked it. They really really liked it (a Sally Field reference for those old enough to remember). They actually thought it was good. Some even had to go back and miss deadlines because they had to rewrite reviews they had done ahead of time. Now, as I stated, there is little doubt that the film would have done well regardless of its quality. But the fact is that it is a good film, and the positive reviews testify to that. That's why there are so many good reviews from well-respected critics and major media outlets. More than anyone expected.
That said, I put myself into the same category as those critics I mentioned above. As I stated earlier, I also went in expecting to be disappointed. But...it was not to be. I enjoyed it. I thought that director Catherine Hardwicke did an excellent job (they doubted her on Lords of Dogtown, too), the acting was not as wooden as I'd expected, production values were higher than I'd anticipated, the pacing was perfect, the story was compelling, and I was very impressed by what this relatively inexperienced cast and crew were able to pull off on a modest budget.
Like many of the reviewers who are normally extremely critical, I went in expecting something ordinary. I walked out having seen a fine piece of work. I thought I'd hate it. I was wrong.
By now everyone knows the numbers. Final box office figures put the total at just under $70 million. It was certainly enough to greenlight the next film in the series, New Moon. Most likely, that film will be shot back-to-back with Eclipse, book number three. I think the franchise will retain its audience. In fact, the Harry Potter books/films were even more heavily pre-teen and tween than this one if only because the lead characters themselves were pre-teens and tweens -- it wasn't until several films into the series that they finally made it into high school. Twilight begins there. So if the pre-teen and tween fans of Potter didn't move on, and it had staying power, then they are even more likely to stay with Twilight if they are already on board, because as they get older they will actually be aging into the characters, not along with them. And much of the Twilight audience are adults who will likely stay and see it through. Not to mention the new fans that are and will be hopping on board.
That should include me, I suppose. I never got into Potter myself. Personally I thought it was more of a kids' thing. I find, as an adult, that it's quite difficult reading stories about children and being able to relate to them in any way. Young adults are another story. I'm not too far removed from that (I hope).
Some criticism online said that adults cannot relate to the relationship between Bella and Edward because it's unrealistiic and only driven by "lust and teenage hormones," not "true love." To which I reply, "duh." Because as far as love vs. lust and teenage hormones are concerned, some would argue that the two are mutually exclusive. To many, by definition, no story about mid-teens can ever really be about "love." So any romantic story involving teens or younger can only be about "lust and hormones." And what's wrong with that? Look at Romeo and Juliet. So it's not necessarily a problem with the story or the script -- it's a problem with the entire genre of young "love." Although "problem" wouldn't be my word of choice. Personally, I think it defines the experience. Twilight is a classic coming-of-age story. And it's got bite (sorry, I had to say it).
Posted by phileysmiley at 05:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
As readers of this blog know, I've been following the exploding career of young actor Michael Welch for several years here. In February, PROnetworks was the first online to announce that he had been cast in the role of Mike Newton in Twilight, the highly anticipated Summit Pictures release of the film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel. Twilight is due in theaters on November 21.
As excitement about the film, and Welch's role in it, began to grow, an odd episode that can only be called "the socks affair" began to unfold. Allow me to explain.
On March 12, 2008 Twilight Lexicon, the unofficial internet authority on all things Twilight, came up with a seemingly simple proposal.
Now on to something fun, frivolous, and...well...just plain goofy. In our recent interview with Mike Welch, the actor who will be playing Mike Newton in Twilight, he mentions packing and not being able to find any socks. Now, for those of you who read the interview, pretty much one of the first things you notice is the off-beat sense of humor Mike has. So, we had an idea. Why not have the fans send him socks so hes never without?So, if you would like to participate, drop Mike a note and pair of socks. You can order socks through our Amazon shop.. OK, things I never anticipated, Ive been asked his sock size. YIKES! I have no idea. Hes 5 10 so Im thinking he probably doesnt have small feet.
I love you guys. "Ha ha ha!" Did you really send me socks? That's incredible. For those of you who dont know what Im talking about, let me briefly explain. A little while ago, before I began my road trip up to Portland, I mentioned that I was low on socks. I picked up a 12 pack in Berkeley and figured that that would be the end of it. Then Twilight Lexicon tells its readers: "Hey! Lets send Mike socks! Itll be funny!" And they did!!! Not only did the twi-hards dig the idea, they followed through with it. One complete joke from idea to conception, THATS fan commitment. I have so many socks now its ridiculous. You guys are beautiful. I appreciate the gesture very much.Thanks again for the socks you crazy beautiful people!
When we read Mike Welchs blog today and he spoke about receiving the socks spurred on by this post, of course we wanted to know how many socks he got. So we contacted his management who told us 25 or 30 pairs of socks. Which we thought was pretty cool, but somehow we thought more fans than that had responded.Well the next thing you know we get a phone call from Mikes mom...yes, his mom( *waves to Mike's mom!*). It seems that they had the number only partially right. They have received 25 BOXES of socks such as:
* baby booties (Mikes mom is saving those for when Mike has kids of his own.)
* tube socks
* dress socks
* Twilight themed socks
* hand-knit socks
* socks with individual toe holders.Mike hasn't seen them yet since hes been filming, he's only been told about them and the notes attached to them.
So, naturally, when I headed out to cover the Opening Night of Michael's play Speech & Debate at The Blank Theatre in West Hollywood a couple of months ago, I felt it my journalistic duty to examine and verify the receipt of said socks. After the performance, I shot some pictures backstage and at the afterparty. Then I proceeded to a secret location where I would rendezvous with Michael.
What I discovered when I arrived was quite a spectacle. There was Michael, visible only from the neck up, literally buried in a mountain of socks, stockings, and booties of all shapes, colors, and sizes. I whipped out my camera and went to work, documenting the moment for posterity.
Click thumbnails to enlarge
Posted by phileysmiley at 06:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
There haven't been very many awe-inspiring movies opening this fall and certainly not much news to report in the independent film world lately. Perhaps it's because, in contrast, last year's fall festival season was so rich with creativity, I decided to pass up on many of the events I'd normally attend at this time of year, focusing instead on keeping track of the progress (or not) of the films I saw at this year's festivals which have not yet been picked up or are awaiting release. Unfortunately, there have been very few of those either.
Rather than the Toronto Film Festival being the start of something big this year, it seems as if my return from that wonderful trip brought me home to a void. For those reasons, primarily, this blog has been unusually quiet. That's the bad news. The good news is that it has freed me up to focus on my other passion, the presidential election.
I don't write about politics on this blog but there is another forum on the PROnetworks website where I do. I've also been a volunteer in presidential elections going back (ahem) years and have been making phone calls and knocking on doors this fall as well. It will all be over after tomorrow, of course, and it won't be long before we'll be perusing the Sundance and Santa Barbara lineups for January. Film Independent's Spirit awards are approaching as well, and I'm looking forward to getting my ballot in the mail and screening the films I haven't had the chance to see.
But tomorrow we have the chance to change the direction of this country, and I urge all my fellow film fans to get out and vote. Find your polling place, bring a friend, and, most of all, bring a good book. Maybe even a portable DVD player and watch a good movie. Because, as we've heard, there is a chance the lines will be long and the wait interminable. The law states that anyone in line at the time the polls close must still be allowed to vote. But get there early. Participate. Be a part of what our ancestors fought for. Have a voice in our government. Nothing is more important for a citizen of our great country to do than vote. So do it.
Posted by phileysmiley at 06:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
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