19 May 2008
Movie Reviews: 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'
Harrison Ford told a news conference at the Cannes Film Festival that he expected critics to turn Indiana Jones's whip on him following this week's release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. "It's not unusual for something that is popular to be disdained by some people, and I fully expect it." He called the film a "celebration of the movies" -- and there are elements of almost every genre represented in it -- from old-time afternoon serials, to Tarzan flicks, to sci-fi to Elvis musicals (it's set in 1957, and we hear Elvis singing over an opening scene) -- even, as Spielberg himself later conceded at a news conference, his as-yet-unproduced Tintin films. "Somehow I just feel inured from professional criticism." Ford added. A good thing, too, since some of the initial criticism does indeed crackle like Indiana's whip. Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune, calling the movie "disappointingly humorless," says that it "is so nervous about falling into the quicksands of camp that it forgets to deliver a good time." Rick Honeycutt in the Hollywood Reporter/Reuters says that the plot "gets swamped in a sea of stunts and special effects that are relentless as the scenes and character relationships are charmless." Peter Bradshaw in Britain's Guardian concludes: "This is a moment for Harrison Ford to hang up the hat." On the other hand, James Christopher in the London Times concludes his review by proclaiming that the film "is, quite simply, exquisite nonsense. Welcome back Indy. Lord knows we've missed you." And, indeed, most critics echo those cheers. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times sums up: "If you like the other Indiana Jones movies, you will like this one." (Clearly Ebert loves this one.) Lou Lumenick in the New York Post has the identical reaction, writing, "Fans of the series -- you can include me -- will lap it up, flaws and all, and likely make it the summer's biggest blockbuster." And Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News describes the movie as "entertaining, inventive and old-fashioned in the best way."
Uneasy Lies the 'Prince' That Wears the Crown
Although a few box office analysts had predicted that The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian would gross as much as $100 million over the weekend and the general prediction was that it would do about $70-80 million, the film fell far short of those predictions. According to studio estimates, it opened with $56.6 million. It was the second week in a row that a big-budget film had failed to fulfill expectations -- although Prince Caspian did not match the disastrous performance of last week's Speed Racer, which opened with just $18.6 million. That film sold only $7.6 million in its second week and dropped to fourth place. Iron Man, which had held the top spot for the previous two weeks, dropped to second place with $31.2 million, as it crossed the $200-million mark to finish the weekend with $222.5 million. What Happens in Vegas slipped to third place with $13.9 million, to bring its domestic total to $40.3 million.
The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, $56.6 million; 2. Iron Man, $31.2 million; 3. What Happens in Vegas, $13.9 million; 4. Speed Racer, $7.6 million; 5. Baby Mama, $4.6 million; 6. Made of Honor, $4.5 million; 7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $2.5 million; 8. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantánamo Bay, $1.8 million; 9. The Forbidden Kingdom, $1 million; 10. The Visitor, $687,000.
More Indy Movies Ahead?
If Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull turns out to be the kind of hit many industry observers expect, it's likely that a fifth Indy film will follow, the filmmakers told a news conference at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. Asked whether he'd make any more Indy sequels, Steven Spielberg replied, "Only if you want more of them." He added, "That's the reason why we made this Indiana Jones," explaining that no one has ever asked him to make a sequel to 1941 or Artificial Intelligence: AI. "So certainly we'll have our ear to the ground this summer and that will decide where we go from here." In an interview with FoxNews.com's Roger Friedman, George Lucas added, "I haven't even told Steven or Harrison this. But I have an idea to make Shia the lead character next time and have Harrison come back like Sean Connery did in the last movie. I can see it working out." That may be the only way Harrison Ford might return. He has previously told interviewers that Crystal Skull will be his last film as Indy.
Woody: Barcelona, Si; Russia, Nyet
Appearing at a news conference in Cannes, where his latest movie, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, had its world premiere over the weekend, Woody Allen was asked by an enthusiastic fan/reporter from Uzbekistan when he might make a film in Russia or Central Asia. To the reporter's chagrin, Allen suggested that he was unlikely ever to do so. A few years ago, he said, he took his family for what was planned as a five-day holiday in Leningrad. "I was there for about two hours and I went to the travel agency in the hotel and I said, 'Get me the first reservation out of here, I don't care where it goes.'" He said that he has been told that things had changed since then, but "it would take a lot to get me back. I don't travel well."
May Sweeps Swoop
Network television is not recovering at the expected pace from the effects of the writers' strike, ratings during the May sweeps reveal. According to TVWeek, overall ratings for the crucial period, which ends on Wednesday, are down 10 percent -- but, more importantly, ratings for adults 18-49, the demographic targeted by advertisers, is down a whopping 17 percent, with several shows performing near or at their all-time lows. TVWeek commented that the situation is not likely to improve during the summer months. "Viewers out of the habit of watching broadcast TV might not return until fall," it said, "and the threat of an actors strike may have networks seeing deja vu all over again this summer."
King To Remain At CNN
CNN President Jonathan Klein has dismissed speculation that Larry King could step down and be replaced by Ryan Seacrest or Katie Couric. In an interview with Saturday's New York Times, Klein said that King would remain in his 9:00 p.m. slot "as long as he continues to get the great bookings and the great ratings and maintains his passion for doing it." Klein said that although he hoped Seacrest would continue as a fill-in host for King, he had given no thought to using him in an expanded role at the cable news network. As for Couric, Klein said, "She's got a job at CBS. She's got a contract over there. That's all there is to say." During an interview with Seacrest on Friday, King noted that "there were even rumors you were going to join CNN, which we can tell viewers, there's nothing to that."
Corporations Cutting Back PBS Funding
With corporations cutting back on sponsorships of public television broadcasts, NewsHour With Jim Lehrer is facing a possible funding crisis, the New York Times reported today (Monday). The recent loss of Archer Daniels Midland as a corporate sponsor removed $4 million from the show's budget, which varies from $26-28 million per year, the newspaper observed. Moreover, it added, other PBS programs may face similar funding challenges as corporations cut back on all forms of advertising and no longer make endowments to public TV. Recently, the Times reported, NewsHour sought and received four international reporting grants. Executive producer Linda Winslow insisted that the grants had been "a great success story," allowing the program to extend its overseas reporting. However, she conceded, "I would not pooh-pooh the fear that it becomes something that steers you to something you wouldn't already do."
Schieffer Won't Retire After All
CBS News President Sean McManus has apparently persuaded Bob Schieffer to put his retirement plans on indefinite hold. Schieffer had originally said that he planned to retire after the presidential inauguration in January. Then he said he would continue to host Face the Nation but "reduce my schedule a little bit." Today (Monday) the Washington Post reported that Schieffer had signed a new long-term deal with the network. The newspaper said that with Katie Couric's future as host of the CBS Evening News in doubt, McManus wants Schieffer to be ready to fill in for her as an interim anchor. Schieffer has played that role before, following Dan Rather's departure from the program. In fact, he boosted the ratings of the program during his brief tenure. They have since plummeted following Couric's arrival.
AFTRA-AMPTP Talks Resume
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists resumed bargaining talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers today (Monday), amid continued speculation that a deal is imminent. The AMPTP has said it expects to resume talks with the Screen Actors Guild by May 28, but those talks are expected to be more difficult as the guild holds fast to its position that actors must give their permission before a movie or TV clip in which they appear is posted online. The AMPTP maintains that the costs of gathering permissions would be greater than what they could hope to earn from the clips. SAG also insists that actors should have the right not to participate in product-placement scenes in TV shows.
Report: O'Reilly Was "Unleashed" Against NBC, GE
Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes phoned NBC chief Jeff Zucker last summer and threatened to "unleash" Bill O'Reilly against NBC and its parent, General Electric, unless Zucker reigned in MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, who was regularly attacking O'Reilly (as "the worst person in the world") and Ailes himself, the Washington Post reported today (Monday). The complaints were later echoed in phone calls to Zucker from Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp, which owns Fox News, the Post said. After the appeals failed, O'Reilly began an assault on GE chief Jeffrey Immelt, accusing him and his company of supporting the Iranian government. "If my child were killed in Iraq, I would blame the likes of Jeffrey Immelt," O'Reilly said during one broadcast. GE spokesman Gary Sheffer insisted that "nothing we supply ... to Iran is in any way endangering U.S. troops." He said that News Corp execs "tell us if the attacks on O'Reilly end, the attacks on GE will end."
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