Originally Posted By leobloom Almost all the reviews I've read mention that the level of violence is surprising. I think it was the review at HitFix that said it's surprising it's not rated R. *minor spoiler from review* Lee, how graphic is the heart-eating scene? I'm curious about it now that I've seen it mentioned several places.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Lee, how graphic is the heart-eating scene? >> It is shown in shadow - I didn't like it and thought it was gratuitous and unnecessary. The violence is a step up from POTC - it is a PG-13 and I think that is the right rating.
Originally Posted By utahjosh I'm seeing it this weekend, thanks only to a free pair of tickets from cars.com. I am still shocked the advertising hasn't used the William Tell Overture.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance "Box office tracking has been all over the place this summer but it is still very soft. 4 day weekend gross could be as low as $35m according to some." I know nothing about how they come up with the estimates going into movie openings, and I'm just curious what kind of methods they use to come up with the estimates?
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Google has claimed they can predict opening weekend gross using searches and a math formula...
Originally Posted By leemac <<I know nothing about how they come up with the estimates going into movie openings, and I'm just curious what kind of methods they use to come up with the estimates?>> It isn't foolproof that is for sure. The trackers look at forecast screen count (which can move even in the week of release), advance ticket sales (folks like Fandango do release that info) and social media tracking. The advance ticket sales is usually the most reliable measure but folks don't tend to book that far in advance unless it is a major release. One thing is for sure - The Lone Ranger is way behind all of the recent tentpoles in that respect. A colleague told me today that The Lone Ranger has cost $280m now. Insane number - it just can't turn a profit.
Originally Posted By leemac Not the most bullish comments about the feature from Alan Horn: <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/alan-horn-lone-ranger-risks-577825" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.c...s-577825</a>
Originally Posted By leemac <<I am still shocked the advertising hasn't used the William Tell Overture.>> It isn't used until towards the end of the movie - I think the marketing folks want to deliberately distance themselves from the previous versions.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>Not the most bullish comments about the feature from Alan Horn:<<< Interesting interview. I really wish Disney would make films like Argo again. They did that with Miramax, but unfortunately they sold the studio. They could use the Touchstone or Hollywood Pictures lable to produce such movies. Does Allan Horn have a chance to become the next CEO? He has a movie studio background, like Eisner and Wells back in the 80s. Maybe under him the franchise system would be shelved again.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Does Allan Horn have a chance to become the next CEO? >> No chance - he is already 70. He is a solid studio exec - nothing spectacular.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>No chance - he is already 70. He is a solid studio exec - nothing spectacular.<<< Okay, so is it fix that Tom Staggs will become CEO or is there a slight chance that they will bring someone in from outside the company. That's what I would prefer. What about Kathleen Kennedy? I guess also no chance, because she hasn't run a huge corporation like Disney.
Originally Posted By leemac Under MDE there was a lot of viable CEO candidates that eventually left the company to pursue other opportunities. Disney had some very strong CFOs in particularly - Stephen Bollenbach was one (he was a successful CEO at Hilton for a decade) and Richard Nanula was another - although his recent troubles are an eye-opener for exec excess. Steve Burke (Comcast) was MDE's assistant for years. Meg Whitman was one of many alumni from Peter Murphy's Strategic Planning Group. Iger has also done nothing to groom potential successors either. The entire management team bar Staggs and Rasulo are experienced managers in their own team but lacking operational experience. None of the business unit heads are deemed qualified enough for the CEO role. If Staggs isn't the anointed successor then they will have to look externally. He was supposed to do two years at WDP&R to gain operational experience and then become Company President. That hasn't happened and that role continues to be vacant. Companies like Disney should have a COO or President.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>If Staggs isn't the anointed successor then they will have to look externally. He was supposed to do two years at WDP&R to gain operational experience and then become Company President. That hasn't happened and that role continues to be vacant. Companies like Disney should have a COO or President.<<< Isn't Iger President and CEO? What's exactly the role of a President? Why wasn't Staggs appointed President/COO? I just hope that Rasulo doesn't get the job. Under his tenure DLP was a mess. He is too much of an accountant. I don't know much about Staggs, so I can't comment on him becoming CEO. 2015 can't come soon enough.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Isn't Iger President and CEO? What's exactly the role of a President? >> Nope - Chairman and CEO. Good corporate governance has those two roles being split - not at Disney. <<Why wasn't Staggs appointed President/COO? I just hope that Rasulo doesn't get the job. Under his tenure DLP was a mess. He is too much of an accountant. I don't know much about Staggs, so I can't comment on him becoming CEO.>> Disney hasn't had a president since Iger held that role. Before him was the debacle with uber-agent Mike Ovitz. BTW Rasulo isn't an accountant - that is the nutty thing. He is a classic MBA - but he isn't a CPA and doesn't come from that world. Staggs is a classic investment banker - loves deal-making.
Originally Posted By leemac <<What about Kathleen Kennedy? I guess also no chance, because she hasn't run a huge corporation like Disney.>> Kathleen is a funny one. She has set up two very significant production houses in Amblin and Kennedy/Marshall. A lot of folks were surprised that she took the Lucasfilm job being that she has spent her entire career as a producer rather than executive. I guess Lucas sold her the role on his eminent retirement. She is a smart producer but I'm not sure she has the capacity to run a corporation like Disney.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>Disney hasn't had a president since Iger held that role. Before him was the debacle with uber-agent Mike Ovitz.<<< I've read about him in the book Disney War. His tenure turned into a nasty court trial. >>>BTW Rasulo isn't an accountant - that is the nutty thing. He is a classic MBA - but he isn't a CPA and doesn't come from that world.<<< I didn't know that. However I still think he isn't the best choice to become CEO. But maybe I'm wrong. Why isn't Disney introducing the President job again? Didn't some shareholder demand that during the last shareholder meeting?
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 On the bright side maybe we won't get TLR shoehorned into Big Thunder Mountain
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance What ever happened to the movie that was suppose to be made based on the Haunted Mansion? I'd actually be interested in seeing that.
Originally Posted By leemac <<What ever happened to the movie that was suppose to be made based on the Haunted Mansion? I'd actually be interested in seeing that.>> There are a host of Disneyland attraction movies that are stuck in development. Guillermo del Toro is still attached but he is so busy theses days that I doubt he will make it any time soon. It has had a number of writers work on it so far. jon Favreau's Magic Kingdom is also stuck in pre-production hell. Jungle Cruise is meant to be officially dead though.
Originally Posted By leemac <<On the bright side maybe we won't get TLR shoehorned into Big Thunder Mountain>> There was no chance of that even if the movie became Avatar-big. There is absolutely no chance that Disney would allow DreamWorks Animation-owned IPR into the parks. There are folks that are already spitting feathers that DWA will get royalties from The Lone Ranger.
