The Cabin In The Woods – Why So Late?
There is a film that was released this weekend in the United States and the United Kingdom. It’s name is The Cabin In The Woods.
That’s about all I can tell you. Well, except for the fact that it’s a horror film and it has an amazing twist. What is the twist? I don’t know… and I don’t want to know.
It’s incredibly frustrating because The Cabin In The Woods isn’t released in Australia until mid July (the week before The Dark Knight Rises). Given social media is as prevalent as ever, how can I possibly avoid all knowledge of the twist until then? It’s an odd strategy for Roadshow Films and I wonder if it the “spoiling” of the film over the next 3 months will impact its box-office here in Australia.
If you’re one of those people that can’t wait, feel free to Google the film and find out what the fuss is all about. Perhaps the hype surrounding the twist is overrated. Don’t tell me though. I’m going to have my hands over my ears for quite a while.
Battleship – Why So Early?
If you think that’s strange… then brace yourself for another bizarre release story.
Battleship was released in most of the major markets this past weekend – here in Australia as well as in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan. Notice anything missing from that list?
Despite being a big Hollywood blockbuster with a $200m budget, the film isn’t being released in the United States and Canada for another 5 weeks.
Why? I don’t the answer to that question either. It’s not the greatest of films – evidenced by its Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 45% and a score from the public on the Internet Movie Database of just 6.6 out of 10.
Why wouldn’t Universal want to hold onto the film for so long in the United States? Isn’t there a risk that these mediocre reviews will have an impact on the box-office back home? Isn’t that why many blockbusters are released around the world on the same weekend – to make the most of the marketing budget and to get people’s cash before negative sentiment starts to spread?
If anyone has the answer, I’m all ears.
Gold Coast Film Festival
I touched on it above but if you can’t wait until July, The Cabin In The Woods is screening as part of the Gold Coast Film Festival! I’d love to be there myself for the screening but I fly out to Adelaide with the Queensland golf team – I’m a manager, not a player! J
The Festival runs from 19-29 April 2012 and features a small but interesting mix of films. They include the new Daniel Radcliffe film (The Woman In Black), an Aussie sci-fi comedy about Nazis who have set up a base on the moon (Iron Sky) and an action flick with Jason Statham (Safe).
If you’re interested in attending, full details can be found on the Gold Coast Film Festival website - http://www.gcfilmfestival.com/. I was hoping to get along to opening night but regrettably, all tickets are sold out.
Festival Of German Films
Running parallel with the Gold Coast Film Festival is the Festival of German Films which is being held in Brisbane at the Palace Centro and Palace Barracks. It kicks off this Thursday night (April 19) and runs for a week with 16 different films being screened. I haven’t had a chance to preview any myself but hope to get along to see a couple.
Tickets are now on sale and you can find out more at http://www.goethe.de/ins/au/lp/prj/fia/ffg/ffb/enindex.htm.
Contemporary Australia: Women In Film
But wait! There’s more! If you can’t find anything in the above mentioned film festivals, you should try your luck with the Contemporary Australia: Women In Film program that kicks off this weekend (April 21) and runs for 3 months at the Queensland Gallery Of Modern Art at Southbank.
It gets underway on Saturday at 5pm with a special Q&A session involving Margaret Pomeranz and three Aussie directors – Gillian Armstrong (Oscar & Lucinda), Ana Kokkinos (Blessed) and Louise Alston (Jucy).
The quantum of great films being screened as part of this retrospective is amazing. There’s Look Both Ways, Lantana, The Boys, Animal Kingdom, Suburban Mayhem, Love Serenade, Somersault, My Year Without Sex, Praise, Muriel’s Wedding, Better Than Sex, Looking For Alibrandi, 2:37, Jucy, Japanese Story, Burning Man, Blessed, Samson & Delilah and The Jammed.
If most of these films sound unfamiliar to you, now’s your chance to remedy the situation. You can find out more by clicking here - http://qagoma.qld.gov.au/cinematheque/current/contemporary_australia_women_in_film.
That’s it from me until next week!