THE SHOGUN OF HARLEM!
I think Alpha Flight is most likely to make it to actual movie screens first, and that would be as supporting characters in any Wolverine sequel past the next one based in Japan.
The biggest problem with a Canadian produced Low budget indie film now is that we've sold out our theatrical distribution channels so that even the biggest "names" (like Paul Gross or Sarah Polley) can only get a couple dozen screens across the country Max. Theatres are already block booked with Hollywood product way in advanced, so that the latest Adam Sandler film for example is guaranteed to open on hundreds of screens across the country. The exception being French language cinema which has managed to hold it's own ground.
Case in point. Take This Waltz. A film starring SETH ROGEN, and MICHELLE WILLIAMS, released AFTER her Oscar nomination. Has anyone here even HEARD of this film, let alone realize it had a very small theatrical release? This is a marketable film!
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=takethiswaltz.htm
If Captain Canuck does get shot, you are most likely to see it at a film festival or if you are fortunate enough to live in a big city, but the main audience would find it on DVD/bluray, cable (Cancon!) or the Internet/netflicks.
Here is how the last Canadian superhero film fared... Defendor starring Woody Herrelson, released to three theaters 4 months after Harrelson's Zombieland was a big cult hit. it also co-starred Sandra Oh, who had a huge profile at that point because of Grey's Anatomy. Kick ***, with a similar "home made Superhero" premise was released two months later and did well theatrically.
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=defendor.htm
Last edited by samurainoir; Jul 14, '12 at 8:49 AM.
I know we've discussed this before, and I see your point, but I still think a bigger problem is that there haven't been any stand-out great Canadian movies in a long time. I WANT them to be great - I root for Canadian movies - but they just aren't.
I was actually anticipating "Take This Waltz", but the trailers made it look like an A-typical dime-a-dozen cutesy arthouse style movie - so I decided this was more of a Netflix movie for me. While most critics seem to like it - the audience feedback on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb gave it a barely passing grade. It may be marketable because of it's cast, but having a big cast doesn't guarantee an audience either. Seth Rogen has had flops - for example - and this isn't even a movie specifically for Rogen's fan base anyway.
"Defendor" was a pretty good movie quality-wise, but the marketing was horrible. It was released on the heals of "Kick-***" which made it look like bit of a cheap knock-off, even though it came out earlier. From the ads it seemed very similar to another movie called "Special".
To clarify, here's what I mean by horrible marketing:
From this poster can you tell what this movie is?! Woody Harrelson is not recognizable, even though they're featuring his face. He doesn't look like a superhero, so they're not even pushing the main premiss of their film properly. He's just standing there, it's not very exciting:
You know exactly what this delivers the second you see the poster. Superhero kids, fun and violence:
To be honest, I'm not sure how wide an audience exists for "Defendor" anyway. With that movie's budget they maybe should have compromised a few things to make it more fun and crazy to stand out. Like, instead of making him mentally disabled - which added a little too much pathos (in my opinion) they should have just made him really dumb - it would have been funnier. They could have also made it more gory to give it more cult-movie appeal. Maybe that wouldn't jibe with the director's artistic vision, but to be perfectly honest one of the movie's problems for me was that it thought it was a lot deeper than it actually was - so maybe taking itself a little less seriously would have worked in it's favor.
Hopefully we'll have a few drinks and you'll beat me up for saying this, but HOW does a star of Grey's Anatomy help sell a dark super hero movie? The audience don't cross-over in any way. Besides, it's very rare when TV stars lend cache to movies - which brings me to another thing that irritates me about Canadian movies ---
Paul Gross is NOT a movie star. Producers have to stop treating him like he might be a movie star. Let him do more TV - he's passible as a TV star. It took George Clooney like, 7 movies to change his image from a TV star to a legit movie star, and he was THE biggest TV star around when he started. Gross didn't have that kind of head start - so it's time to just realize he's never going to make it.
Last edited by Brazoo; Jul 14, '12 at 12:21 PM.
The DarkSide Customizer
I thought Wolverine was Canadian.
... I'm The Dude, Playing the Dude,.. Disguised as Another Dude.
WANTED !!! Mego Ironman } Gloves , Belt Trading for SideShow Joes , Neca Predators Series 3-5 & Scout , and Monster High Holt Hyde.
The DarkSide Customizer
I thought Wolverine was Canadian.
... I'm The Dude, Playing the Dude,.. Disguised as Another Dude.
WANTED !!! Mego Ironman } Gloves , Belt Trading for SideShow Joes , Neca Predators Series 3-5 & Scout , and Monster High Holt Hyde.
el Hombre de Acero
Is there an echo in here?
Fear the monkeybat!
>there haven't been any stand-out great Canadian movies in a long time.
Hmmmm.... I think part of the problem THERE is that Canadian films, no matter the subject, tend to get a little arthouse. Anything with mainstream appeal gets bought by an American company right away.
>"Defendor" was a pretty good movie quality-wise, but the marketing was horrible. It was released on the heals of "Kick-***" which made it look like bit of a cheap knock-off, even though it came out earlier. From the ads it seemed very similar to another movie called "Special".
Yeah. For Defendor though, it's NOT a superhero movie. It's pretty much an anti-superhero movie. So for a superhero fan it'd strike all the wrong chords. No word of mouth, coupled with being buried by the company means poor audience turnout.
>He doesn't look like a superhero, so they're not even pushing the main premiss of their film properly.
Yeah, but I could see the ad guys not knowing what to do with it. If you make him look all superheroey, then folks are gonna be cheesed after seeing the film 'cos that's not where it goes. Even Kick-*** gets all superheroey at the end. So if you want to play up the edgier, grittier side of the film folks are gonna get cheesed THERE, too since a lot of it features people talking.
>With that movie's budget they maybe should have compromised a few things to make it more fun and crazy to stand out.
I don't think that's what they wanted though. The film asks the question "who would be a superhero" and answers it with "an idiot." Hence why I say it's an anti-super film; not a sendup, not a parody, not a deconstruction.... it's a statement of how dumb the genre is. (Not that I'm arguing for or against that point; I'm jujst saying that's what it looks like they were going for.)
>to be perfectly honest one of the movie's problems for me was that it thought it was a lot deeper than it actually was - so maybe taking itself a little less seriously would have worked in it's favor.
With audiences, yes. It'd be more like what they expect, but not what the producers wanted. Comparing it to Kick-*** is pretty astute, since they're the polar opposite. Kick-*** was the underdog story, playing up the chop-sockey levels of violence and mayhem, and showing how the hero becomes (bafflingly) the hero at the end. Defendor was about a schmo, who tried being a hero because he didn't know any better, and never really got the hang of it. (I don't want to say too muchn in case someone hasn't seen it yet.) In Defendor, the only reason he doesn't get caught right away is 'cos the bad guys think he's too much of a joke to care about. Kinda like Kick-***, but in this case they're right.
As for your deep comment; I didn't see the film as trying to be particularly deep; although it ended up with a lot of the trappings associated with such things. I found everything right out in the open, but the message was one we don't often see so it was tricky to deal with.
>HOW does a star of Grey's Anatomy help sell a dark super hero movie?
Source Amnesia. You knwo the name, you might not know where, your brain fills in the rest. "I heard of them! They must be good!"
>I thought Wolverine was Canadian.
Depends on who's writing him.
Don C.
Last edited by ctc; Jul 14, '12 at 4:01 PM.
The DarkSide Customizer
Yeah ..., It's called my Computer hasn't really liked this new site upgrade since it launched.Originally Posted by Hector
Is there an echo in here?
... I'm The Dude, Playing the Dude,.. Disguised as Another Dude.
WANTED !!! Mego Ironman } Gloves , Belt Trading for SideShow Joes , Neca Predators Series 3-5 & Scout , and Monster High Holt Hyde.
Yeah, Wolverine is technically a Canadian born character - and movies like "The Incredible Hulk" were filmed here, but they're not Canadian owned properties or Canadian film productions, which is what this article is mainly about.
Maybe Marvel/Disney could try to make Alpha Flight with some kind of Canadian co-production deal - but I don't think it's too probable given the amount of $$$ required.
Fear the monkeybat!
>Maybe Marvel/Disney could try to make Alpha Flight with some kind of Canadian co-production deal
Awwww.... does it HAVE to be Alpha Flight? Y'know; Mr Monster is technically Canadian.
Don C.
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