Archive for the 'Sony' Category

Filed under: Action & Adventure, Tribeca, Sony, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

It’s official: Spider-Man 3 will be taking over New York City for one full week of movie marketing, before premiering — as we expected — at the Tribeca Film Festival. “Spider-Man Week in NYC” will run from April 30 through May 6, and will feature all kinds of different Spidey-related activities. From — I kid you not — Spider-Man inspired raps at the Apollo Theater in Harlem (I wonder how many of those raps will include a number of different definitions for the word ‘Mary Jane’) to Spidey Chats at the Central Park and Bronx Zoos — The Big Apple will turn, well, webbed later this month.

The actual Spider-Man 3 premiere will most likely take place mid-week and, according to reports, will take place in Queens — home to Peter Parker. Now, I could be wrong (and correct me if I am), but isn’t Peter Parker from Forest Hills? Or did they just shoot scenes in Forest Hills? Either way, I live in Forest Hills — and so it would be a real fun treat to be able to catch the flick in Spidey’s hometown, and not have to spend two hours on a train commuting back home. If you’re not able to catch the premiere in Queens, apparently there will be several different screenings taking place throughout the city. Some other stuff taking place that week: You’ve got a street festival and cast appearance at Rockefeller Center on April 30, original Spidey comic books will be on display at the New York Public Library, and there will be some Green Goblin mask-making at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, as well as lots more. So put in for time off now folks, cause Spidey is coming to town.

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Sony, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who’s not excited about Spider-Man 3. In the five years since director Sam Raimi first introduced us to Tobey Maguire as the webbed crusader, we’ve experienced what is, perhaps, one of the greatest comic-related superhero trilogies of all time. And, if what we’ve seen so far of the third film is any indication, it’s going to positively knock our socks off. In preparation of the film’s release, we’ve collected a slew of information from Cinematical, AOL Movies and Moviefone and decided to provide you with a Spidey 3 FAQ … featuring an all new character guide. Not sure what the story is about? Wait, a black Spider-Man? Who is he? And what about this blonde girl Gwen Stacy? Does she really think she’s going to steal Mary Jane’s man?

For you Spidey fanatics, consider this FAQ just another reason to get pumped up about the film. And, for those who don’t know much about the superhero — and may have missed one or two of the other films — but still want to make it appear as if you’re “in the know” (oh, you know who you are), then feel free to use us as your primary Spidey resource. Spider-Man 3 officially swings into theaters on May 4.

So, what’s the film about?

From the official Spider-Man 3 website: In Spider-Man 3, based on the legendary Marvel Comics series, Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care about him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves.

Continue reading Everything You Need To Know To Prepare For Spider-Man 3

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sony, Warner Brothers, Box Office, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

Though we’re still two months away from summer, 300’s $70 million opening weekend — coupled with 60-degree weather here in New York City — has folks like myself questioning whether the season has already begun. And, with a summer chock-full of sequels, I almost wish that a fresh, original (but not necessarily good) pic would have kicked things off. The Hollywood Reporter is calling 2007 “The Year of the Sequel,” while you’d be hard-pressed to find a studio who doesn’t think this will be the biggest summer ever. Folks from Sony, Warner Bros. and Fox all think so; they feel this summer will be one for the record books. But is that a good thing?

On one hand, you say you’re sick of all these damn sequels — that Hollywood needs to find some new material. Then again, how can you not be excited about Spider-Man 3, Live Free or Die Hard, Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? Heck, if I were a 14 year-old kid right now, I’m not sure I’d even survive the anticipation. When you’re a kid, sequels are a blast; a chance to curl up with your favorite characters for one more adventure. When you’re a film critic, you look at a summer full of sequels as the perfect time to catch up on all the festival films you missed from earlier in the year — searching for the tiniest bit of intelligence to fill your brain so that big-budgeted special effects don’t somehow dumb you down. Or, perhaps, you’re somewhere in between; perfectly capable of tapping into those fanboy feelings, but also weary about a giant sequel-filled summer — after all, if this does turn out to be the biggest summer ever, does that mean Hollywood will continue to fill our screens with more sequels than we can count.

So, I ask you: Will this big the biggest summer ever? And, if so, is that a good or a bad thing for the future of movies?

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Filed under: Drama, Tech Stuff, Distribution, Newsstand, Home Entertainment

In any war, real or started because of misleading or faulty information, there are usually two sides. The war between competing High Def DVD formats is no exception. The battle between HD DVD and Blu-Ray has raged since before either format was officially launched. More recently, there’s been controversy and speculation as to what format of High Def DVD — HD DVD or Blu-Ray — is going to dominate a certain market. That market, of course, is porn.

As it did with the Beta vs VHS war of many years ago, porn’s adoption of one High Def DVD format over another will most likely be a huge factor in whatever one eventually comes out on top. We’ve been covering this story here at Cinematical and as I recently wrote, it seemed as if High Def DVD was finally going to get the leg up it needed to dominate the porn market. The porn industry, it seemed, was poised to adopt HD DVD over Blu-Ray. The reason? Sony was purposely going to prevent adult content from being put onto Blu-Ray disks. But now, according to an article at EE Times, Sony is saying its not true and that they, in fact, are fine with porn producers releasing content on the Blu-Ray format.

Continue reading Sony: We Won’t Put Porn on Blu-Ray DVDs, But You Can

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Sony Beta was felled, in large part, because of Sony's refusal to let porn studios use the format for their movies. So, those studios went with VHS. And as porn goes, so does the industry. Tech blogger Robert Scoble has a flashback:

When I worked at LZ Premiums in the 1980s, the Beta vs. VHS video tape formats were in full swing. Our store rented video tapes, including a fairly large selection of adult videos. Many many VHS sales were decided on because of the much greater availability of adult entertainment in the VHS format.

As porn was driving a major percentage of video sales and rentals, it dictated the market. While the reasons Beta failed were numerous, the porn issue was probably a big factor. (LaserDisc also banned porn, btw.)

Fast forward to today, and Sony is once again locked in a format war -- this time over the next generation of DVDs. And once again, Sony appears destined to make the same mistake again.

Sony Corp. said it will not work with the adult film industry to help put its movies on its Blu-ray Disc format, although the company will not try to stop it completely.

The company will not allow its disc-replicating subsidiary, Sony DADC Global, to handle adult film titles, it said this week. In markets where Sony operates around the world, it won't duplicate any movies that are above a certain rating or that have not been certified by a local motion picture association.

Sony wouldn't disclose exactly where it draws the line, but the rule means that adult movie makers will have to find someone else to reproduce their films in bulk. While other companies offer such services, the adult industry feels it is being cut out of the Blu-ray camp altogether.

There is one obvious counter-argument -- In the 80s, video was the lone place for porn outside of skeezy adult movie theaters. Now, the internet has more than enough for anyone's fill. Just like adult mags have been decimated by the internet, I'm sure someone has stats somewhere showing a similar decline for porn sales and rentals.

But it still seems silly for Sony to lock out a key market segment -- and one that often leads adoption to new technologies.

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Deals, Sony, Newsstand

He’s made us laugh, he’s made us want to destroy aliens and, with Bad Boys, he’s made us briefly forget that Martin Lawrence has starred in a crapload of, well, crap. Recently, Will Smith has added a new one to his acting arsenal, finding yet another way to separate us from our hard-earned money — by making us cry. Yes, The Pursuit of Happyness — a film everyone was somewhat iffy on before it came out — has officially struck box office gold ($138 million and rising) and, if anything, has made it clear that the Smith family will be entertaining us on the big screen for a long time to come.

Today Variety reports Smith, his Overlook banner and Sony have snatched up Sisters of Mercy, a spec script (yes, a spec script!) written by Steve Bloom (Overnight Delivery). While the article doesn’t state whether or not Smith will star, we’re to assume he will — the story seems right up his alley, one where he might be able to utilize the acting talents of his entire family. Mercy follows a recently widowed father who looks to the members of his deceased wife’s book club to help him rearrange his life, only to watch them slowly take it over with a slew of parenting and dating advice.

I’m curious: In what types of films do you think Will Smith is at his best? Would you rather see him in stuff like The Pursuit of Happyness, Hitch, Men in Black or Bad Boys?

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