Matt's Blog

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 July 2013

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Would you pay $50 to see a movie?  That could be a reality as cinemas look at new ways of attracting filmgoers.  A friend linked me to this article a few weeks ago that talks about how Paramount tried to lure the public to advance screenings of World War Z with the heftier price tag.

The reality is that until now, cinema has beaten off much of the competition and continued to grow.  We had the arrival of television followed by the huge rise (and subsequent decline) of VHS and DVD.  Despite all of these new mediums, the international box-office has continued to increase and the public have been prepared to part with their dollars to see a movie in a darkened cinema.

However, with the simplicity with which movies can now be downloaded, has cinema finally met its match?  I’ve made reference to the fact before that the number of cinematic releases is on the decline in Brisbane.  Back in 2006, a total of 238 movies could be seen in our cinemas.  Last year, that number had fallen to 183.

The funny thing is that it’s easier than ever to show movies in a theatre because it’s all done digitally.  You don’t have to worry about joining film reels and paying projectionists.  Yet, we are seeing most cinemas in Brisbane scale back the number of different movies they are screening.  The main reason is obvious – money.

Boutique cinemas (e.g. Palace, Dendy) used to screen a lot more of the smaller stuff – American indies, foreign language flicks, Australian films.  They would pop up at film festivals around the globe, small distributors would buy the rights and then they’d try to find a window to release them a few months down the track in Australia.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t work anymore.  Because these movies are so easily available online (legally and illegally), people aren’t prepared to wait.  They’ll just watch it in the comfort of their own homes.  By the time the film does reach Australian cinemas, many will have already seen it and hence the box-office is down.  It’s therefore no surprise that the likes of Palace and Dendy now screen a lot more of the bigger product (e.g. Man Of Steel, Pacific Rim, The Heat) because these films have a simultaneous release date around the world (so it’s not available online) and they know it will put bums of seats.

The cinema industry has tried to reinvigorate itself with the likes of 3D but one must ask how long this fad will last.  I know many people who prefer to see the 2D version of films and avoid the extra $3 surcharge.  Cinemas are also now screenings ballets, operas and plays from around the globe.  We’re also seeing an ever-growing number of film festivals that come complete with big opening/closing night parties and events.  These are all designed to give the public an experience they can’t get at home.

In response to the $50 mega ticket idea, both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have weighed in with their own thoughts (see the full article here) and they’re not impressed.  They believe the film industry is set to implode.  If you keep pushing prices up, more and more people are going to stay home.  I put the question out to some friends on my Facebook page and got similar responses.  The other worrying aspect is that only big blockbusters are going to be guaranteed a release.  Smaller stuff may no longer have a place in cinemas and instead, people will access it online.  Perhaps I’m old fashioned but I don’t think it offers the same experience as watching a movie in a packed theatre.

As to how it will all play out… I can only respond by saying to watch this space.  I don’t have a crystal ball but I have a strong hunch that the industry will change significantly over the next 10 years.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 06 July 2013

One of my favourite parts of any film year is award season. It begins in December and culminates in late February with the Academy Awards.

Since I'll never be a member of the Academy, I decided back in 2000 to create a way of recognising my own favourite films and performances. It was somewhat self-indulgent to call them the Toomey Awards but meh, it was the best I could come up with at the time so I'm sticking with the name for now.

You can click here to see the winners and nominees for the past 13 years. I always go off a fiscal year and so the 2013 awards include all films released in Australian cinemas between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013.  This is because (1) I'm an accountant by day, and (2) it helps line up with the staggered release of "awards season" contenders in Australia through December, January and February each year.

On that note, you can check out the 2013 nominees by clicking here.  The winners will be announced in 3 weeks!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 June 2013

Armie Hammer was recently in Sydney to promote his new film, The Lone Ranger.  It was great to speak with him face-to-face (he is very, very tall) and talk about his background and the movie itself.  You can download the full audio by clicking here.

Matt:  Armie Hammer, welcome to Australia.

Armie:  Thank-you Matt, I appreciate it.

Matt:  Have you been here before?

Armie:  I have, yeah.  The first time I came I decided that I’m going to take a motorcycle and ride it across the Nullarbor so that’s still in my plans.

Matt:  I was trying to tell some non-film folk who you are and the best I could come up with is that you played the Winkelvii twins in The Social Network.  Their first response was – which one was he?  Do you get that a lot?  Do people still think you have an identical twin brother?

Armie:  Yeah, I do get it quite a bit.  Here in Australia I’ve been getting it more than anywhere else which is funny.  It’s never terrible to be known for your work, especially if it’s something that you’re proud of so yeah, it doesn’t hurt.

Matt:  The Social Network was your big foot in the door in Hollywood.  Have you found that things have really opened up for you since then?

Armie:  Yep.  I’ve been fortunate, I’ve been busy and I’ve been working pretty steadily.  It’s the dream goal of any actor out there.

Matt:  You’ve worked alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar and then Julia Roberts in Mirror Mirror.  You’re on a pretty good roll?

Armie:  It’s been fun.  I’ve been getting really good at riding people’s coattails. 

Matt:  Do you like reading a lot of scripts or is it something you generally leave to your agents to do and to filter?

Armie:  Yeah I do like to read scripts but obviously my agents vet out a few before they head my way.

Matt:  So let’s talk about The Lone Ranger.  Given the magnitude of the film, is it an easy decision to take on a role working with Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp.  But what does go through your mind?  Are there pros and cons you have to weigh up?

Armie:  There were other projects and I was actually talking about doing a project down here with an Australian director, Paul Curry.  It didn’t get up happening because of The Lone Ranger.  This film was one of those things where if they come calling, you have to drop everything else.  It’s like “wherever you need me, I’ll be there!”

Matt:  There have been so many sequels released in cinemas over the past two months that it’s nice to see a big blockbuster with some fresh characters but of course it is based on the radio show from the 30s and 40s and the TV show from the 50s?  Did you have to familiarise yourself with that?

Armie:  I did.  I figured there’d be a lot of people who grew up with the show.  I wanted to know it so we could pay respect to what we were doing and bring elements of that into what we’re doing now.

Matt:  Do you get lots of people trying to give you advice from the older generation who knew the series?

Armie:  Not necessarily advice but as an example, my wife and I have a bakery in Texas and whenever we’re there, people will come in and give me Lone Ranger pens and stamps and comic books and they’d say “I’ve had this since I was a kid and I want you to have it”.  It’s really cool and amazing. 

Matt:  And you’re working alongside Johnny Depp – one of the most bankable stars in the industry.  We’re used to him playing such quirky characters so what’s the real Johnny Depp like?

Armie:  Compared to his characters, he’s relatively boring.  He’s a normal, nice, great guy.  He’s smart, he’s creative, he’s a class-A dude.

Matt:  From what I’ve seen of the film so far, you look absolutely filthy.  The dusty clothes, the dirt beneath the finger nails, the mud on your face.  Does it take a lot of time in the make up chair to look that filthy?

Armie:  No.  We were all just putrid from camping in the desert for 8 months.  It’s a good thing you didn’t smell us while we were making the movie.

Matt:  8 months – that’s a long time for a shoot.  What took it so long?

Armie:  When you see the movie you’ll realise that a lot went into this.  We all worked really hard.

Matt:  Talk us through the stunts.  How do you decide how much you get to take on?  Do you get much of a say or are they trying to protect you so you don’t get injured?

Armie:  Everyone gets a say and mine was always “shit yeah, I wanna do it, let’s go” and everyone else would be “woah, woah, woah, let’s see if this is safe”.  Ultimately, what we’d show up and see the stunt.  Gore Verbinski would say to Jeremy, my stunt guy, “go jump off that train” and he’d do just that.  If Jeremy survived then they’d usually let me try it.

Matt:  So you actually go to jump off a train?

Armie:  Oh yeah.  We jumped off trains, we jumped into trains, we jumped off buildings onto moving horses.

Matt:  Superb.  Now the film doesn’t come out for another month.  Is there a lot of promotion you have to do?  Is there a lot of travel you have to do and a lot of cities to visit?

Armie:  Yeah.  We’re here in Sydney and I think we go back to America before heading off to Beijing, Tokyo, Moscow and then through Europe.

Matt:  I’ve heard we’ll be seeing you next in a remake of The Man from UNCLE with Tom Cruise.  What can you tell us about that?

Armie:  I can say that Tom Cruise is no longer on the project so we’re going to do it with Henry Cavill. 

Matt:  Well The Lone Ranger is the film we can see you in now so Armie, thanks for speaking with us this morning.

Armie:  No worries Matt.  Have a good one.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 June 2013

Zack Snyder has some decent sized credits to his name including Dawn Of The Dead, 300, Watchmen and Sucker Punch.  That said, Man Of Steel is his biggest film to date and while in Sydney for the Australian premiere, I was fortunate enough to speak with him about the experience.  You can listen to a 2 minute extract from the interview by clicking here and check out my review of the film by clicking here.

Matt:  We saw this series go through a reboot in 2006 with Superman Returns and here we are 7 years later, doing it again.  What’s the deal?  Why another reboot?

Zack:  I think that movie was still a continuation, to some degree, of the Richard Donner storyline.  For me, when Chris Nolan and I were talking about it, we were “let’s just say that no Superman films had ever been made and then how would we approach it.”  That was the challenge but also the fun.  There hasn’t been an origin story for Superman since 1978 and I remember my kids going “wait, what, Superman comes from another planet?”

Matt:  This is a dream role for any actor and I’m sure plenty of big names would have been interested in pulling on the cape.  The name Henry Cavill will be unknown to many so what was it about him that made you think he was the right fit?

Zack:  As an unknown, he’ll now become Superman for a whole generation.  When they watch the movie, they’ll see Superman first and not a big-name actor behind.  I also think Henry has the persona of Superman and the look of Superman.

Matt:  As is the case with an origin film in any series, there’s a lot of background material to cover in addition to telling a current day story.  As a filmmaker, how do you weigh that balance up?

Zack:  I’m a fan of the character so I’m looking for the fun stuff more than anything else.  I am interested in the backstory of Superman and understanding the “why” of the man is a big deal to me.  It’s tough though because you don’t want to go off on a tangent that you can’t get back from but I did want to spend as much time as I could learning about Krypton and Kansas and all that stuff.

Matt:  Well I liked the way you’ve told it by way of flashback.  Instead of keeping it all in chronological order, you stay interested in both the current day story and the past day story at once.

Zack:  Right.  It was important to me.  It helps the audience understand the decisions he’s making as he makes them because you’re getting that little reflection from the past to inform you.

Matt:  Superhero movies have been all the rage over the past decade.  We’ve seen lighter films like Iron Man and Spider Man, but I notice here you’re going with something a little darker like the recent Batman trilogy.  Did a lot of thought go into the film’s tone at the outset?

Zack:  I guess so.  Superman was the first and the most powerful superhero.  All superheroes are derivative of Superman.  I just felt that there’s a gravitas to his mythology that I wanted everyone to understand.

Matt:  Do you think the idea of super hero movies will reach a saturation point?  There seem to be so many at the moment.

Zack:  Yeah, I don’t know.  I guess it’s possible but superhero movies are modern mythology.  We use them to understand the world in some ways and since modern problems don’t seem to be going away, I don’t think there’s going to be any backlash against superhero movies in the near future but who’s to say?

Matt:  Since it was a comic book, many have made reference in the religious undertones in the story – the whole idea that this guy comes down from the sky to save the world.  I noticed that you’ve slipped in a few references here such as a scene where Clark Kent seeks guidance from his local priest.  Is this something that you want the audiences to be thinking about?

Zack:  Totally.  I wanted to shine a light, as I said, on the mythical power of Superman and what he’s able to bear on his shoulders in context to the story.  It’s vastly more than other superheroes can.  If you were making any Christ-like references in another superhero movie, I don’t know if that could work but because he’s Superman, you understand that it’s in his DNA and it’s how he was created.

Matt:  We know that superhero movies often spawn numerous sequels.  When putting this film together are you already thinking that far ahead?  Deliberately leaving a few loops open and knowing that you’ll be closing them down the track?

Zack:  To some degree but we really did try to shoot all our bullets in this movie and then have the problem in the second movie be like “oh, what do we do?”  I feel like that’s the way to make the best movie – by not holding anything back.  In the end, you have this amazing character and I’d be naïve to say that we didn’t hope to spawn another movie or so.

Matt:  You shot the film in 2D but then the 3D effects were added in post production.  Why is that?

Zack:  With what they’re able to do with conversion today, I don’t understand why anyone would want to shoot in 3D.  It’s so good and I feel it is the only way to do it.

Matt:  You’ve been in the industry for a while now with credits like Dawn Of The Dead, 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch.  As a director, how do you gauge your own performance?  Do you look at box-office takings?  What critics think?  What the public say in internet forums?

Zack:  I feel like the only way to do it is to sit down at the end, watch the movie and go “did I like it and did I do what I set out to do?”  All those other things are variables that you can’t control.  It’s great if a film is commercially successful but as an artist, you have to look at it and go “is this my intention?” and then see how you feel after that.

Matt:  What plans do you have going forward?  You’ve done a lot of action-based stuff so far.  Is there a desire to go off to do something completely different, like a romantic comedy, or is this a genre you like sticking with?

Zack:  I don’t really look at movies that way.  I rather make movies that I think are interesting and fun for me to think about.  I don’t necessarily go “I need to make an action movie”.  If I wake up in the middle of the night and writing something or drawing something about an idea, they are the ones I tend to stay with because they’re the ones that keep me awake at night.  I think that’s the only way you can decide what to do because you have to be passionate about it for a long time to make a movie.