This Week in the Mercury
Monday, August 16, 2010
Film Scott Pilgrim Bombs. It's All Your Fault.
Posted by Erik Henriksen on Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 11:43 AM
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is fantastic. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World made only $10.5 million this weekend, finishing in fifth place behind—wait for it—The Expendables, Eat Pray Love, The Other Guys, and Inception.
CinemaBlend has a pretty great breakdown of how a movie this good could've fared so poorly, but if you ask me, it boils down to a few things: Old people were confused/frightened by it, young people don't pay for movies anymore, and people of all ages would rather see something that's a known quantity (The Expendables, Eat Pray Love) than take their chances on something weird and new. (Don't get me wrong, I'm glad as hell Inception's doing as well as it is—but it's fair to say nobody would've given it a chance, or even made it in the first place, if it hadn't been for The Dark Knight.) God help me, I actually agree with a movie studio—take it away, Universal.
"Regardless of the perceived outcome, we are proud of this film. Studios need to continue to offer audiences good and original ideas/films," Uni said today [before continuing on, meekly and depressingly]. "We do wish a greater number of people went to see the film." [ :( ]
Scott Pilgrim's a pretty goddamn original piece of storytelling—but if it reminds me of anything else, tonally and narratively, it's The Big Lebowski. Back in 1998, Lebowski didn't do so great either (opening weekend: $5.5 million), but it's since blossomed into a huge cult hit and a perennial moneymaker on video—it's so popular, in fact, that it really doesn't even count as a cult-type deal anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if the exact same thing happens with Scott Pilgrim—and once people see what they missed in theaters, they're going to be pissed that they didn't see this on the big screen when they had the chance. Here's hoping that's what happens, anyway; otherwise, studios simply don't have a reason to make these sort of films anymore.
In related news, work is "already underway" on The Expendables 2.
1
Who doesn't wait for a movie to come to cheap theaters here in Portland (and other cities/towns w/cheap theaters)?? i think they should include those numbers in the grand scheme of things when figuring out how well a movie does...maybe they do?
maybe once every 1.5-2 years i go see a brand spankin' new movie and it's usually with my parents...which means it's not an awesome movie.
maybe once every 1.5-2 years i go see a brand spankin' new movie and it's usually with my parents...which means it's not an awesome movie.
2
I haven't seen the advertising budget, but besides the Merc's constant flogging, I think I saw exactly two TV ads for this, and they didn't really make it look all that great. The other reviews I've read weren't that compelling, either.
As a person who's never read the books (i.e. the broader audience the movie needs to be financially successful), nothing ever succinctly said to me, "it's fine that you never read the books, the movie is totally self-contained, visually cool and a lot of fun, and here's the gist of it, and you'll totally not regret spending $10 to go see it."
I'm also calling shenanigans on your comparison with The Big Lebowski. Those are very big loafers to fill.
As a person who's never read the books (i.e. the broader audience the movie needs to be financially successful), nothing ever succinctly said to me, "it's fine that you never read the books, the movie is totally self-contained, visually cool and a lot of fun, and here's the gist of it, and you'll totally not regret spending $10 to go see it."
I'm also calling shenanigans on your comparison with The Big Lebowski. Those are very big loafers to fill.
3
Is anyone else not seeing it because Michael Cera doesn't appear to be a very good actor, and because it is growing more and more annoying to see him "portraying" someone who increasingly seems to be himself? See also: Jason Schwartzman. I am burnt out on sniveling man-child hipsters. Now I have to see it because of the Big Lebowski comparison. It will probably make me hate you Erik, but I hope you are right. I want to like Scott Pilgrim, I'm just so very afraid.
4
Edgar Wright makes great movies that aren't don't get great box office receipts. This should've come as no surprise to anyone.
7
Complaining about Michael Cera being too much of a man-child hipster in this movie is like complaining about The Dude being too stoned in Lebowski.
Get over yourself and go see this movie already. Jesus. ("You said it, man.")
Get over yourself and go see this movie already. Jesus. ("You said it, man.")
8
I think it was playing on two screens this weekend south of 82nd. And this is Oni Central/That One City With A Comics Month. No, I'm pretty sure the studio shanked this one.
9
I agree with a lot of these comments. I'm as sick of seeing Michael Cera play himself as I am seeing Tom Cruise or Jack Nicholson play themselves. Your Big Lebowski comparison is probably off, but time will tell. I'll be seeing Scott Pilgrim, but not till it hits the beer theaters.
Oh, and Christopher Nolan also made these little movies called Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, and The Prestige. He didn't exactly need The Dark Knight on his resume to get Inception made.
Oh, and Christopher Nolan also made these little movies called Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, and The Prestige. He didn't exactly need The Dark Knight on his resume to get Inception made.
10
It's not even playing at Pioneer Place. How am I supposed to get my embarrassing Forever 21/less embarrassing Gamestop shopping fix pre-movie?
11
How can something derived from a comic book be described as "weird and new" or as an "original idea?" Its still derivative from and somewhat constrained by the original source material.
12
@atomic. 82nd runs North/South. It's kind of impossible to be "south of 82nd". But yeah, I agree with your sentiment.
14
Did anybody else notice that fewer theaters were showing it (or was that just my imagination)? Maybe that has something to do with it bombing.
Movies can't make money if they aren't given the chance to.
Movies can't make money if they aren't given the chance to.
15
I'm with Erik.
I only went to see Scott Pilgrim because the lovely Mrs. Archer wanted to check it out. (And, given my Michael Cera fatigue, I kind of expected to not like it.)
That said, it was awesome. It's certainly not Lebowski-esque in tone. But I could see Erik's point about it picking up fans. Children by the million.
In that light, this movie is very much like The Big Lebowski. Or Alex Chilton. Or virtually anything cool that most people don't get until the underground steam engine lays tracks to their doors.
Given the visuals, SP was totally worth seeing it on the big screen. Or I guess you can wait a few years, be part of the masses, and tell 'em you knew it was amazing all along.
I only went to see Scott Pilgrim because the lovely Mrs. Archer wanted to check it out. (And, given my Michael Cera fatigue, I kind of expected to not like it.)
That said, it was awesome. It's certainly not Lebowski-esque in tone. But I could see Erik's point about it picking up fans. Children by the million.
In that light, this movie is very much like The Big Lebowski. Or Alex Chilton. Or virtually anything cool that most people don't get until the underground steam engine lays tracks to their doors.
Given the visuals, SP was totally worth seeing it on the big screen. Or I guess you can wait a few years, be part of the masses, and tell 'em you knew it was amazing all along.
16
Don't let Cera ruin the movie for you. It was a great movie, that is, if you like girls, video games, are in a band, or love violence. Seriously, go see the movie!
17
If you rearrange the letters in "lew archer," you get "Alison Hallett & Erik Henrikson, Pilgrim Poodles."
Nice try, Mercury!
Nice try, Mercury!
19
if it doesn't do well in the box office, how will i get a dvd packed with all the extra comics features i want?
20
@ Bones - actually, if you like boys, you'd like Wallace as the deadpan snarker.
I saw it Friday night with comic geeks (I hadn't read the comics, though). I enjoyed it, although Cera played Scott as a quasi-autistic dork through the early stages, and the early relationship of Scott and Knives creeped me out. Sort of like Scott was that creepy guy with huge glasses in the trailer park, or Mayor of Portland.
So many quotable lines, though (like Lebowski), and the movie is a musical only with video game breaks instead of song breaks (or both, with the fight against Patel).
I also thought the writers should have put in an Arrested Development quote during the Scott-Ramona-Roxie fight (especially something like Scott calling Roxie "Egg" or "*Her*?"), and Alia Shawkat (aka Janeane Garofalo Jr.) should have played Kim Pine.
I saw it Friday night with comic geeks (I hadn't read the comics, though). I enjoyed it, although Cera played Scott as a quasi-autistic dork through the early stages, and the early relationship of Scott and Knives creeped me out. Sort of like Scott was that creepy guy with huge glasses in the trailer park, or Mayor of Portland.
So many quotable lines, though (like Lebowski), and the movie is a musical only with video game breaks instead of song breaks (or both, with the fight against Patel).
I also thought the writers should have put in an Arrested Development quote during the Scott-Ramona-Roxie fight (especially something like Scott calling Roxie "Egg" or "*Her*?"), and Alia Shawkat (aka Janeane Garofalo Jr.) should have played Kim Pine.
22
I haven't been dying to see it because every review I've seen (including all the fawning masturbatory commentary on here) gives the strong impression that you'll love it if you like video games or comics. And I don't like video games or comics. Nor do the majority of movie-goers, I'll bet.
I love Edgar Wright's previous work (if anyone hasn't seen Spaced yet, get thee to Netflix immediately), but not enough to make this film sound appealing.
There's nothing wrong with making a film that's loved by a few, instead of making one that's reasonably liked by many. In the long run, it'll do just as well financially for the studio. Just don't complain that the mass market doesn't like a niche film.
I love Edgar Wright's previous work (if anyone hasn't seen Spaced yet, get thee to Netflix immediately), but not enough to make this film sound appealing.
There's nothing wrong with making a film that's loved by a few, instead of making one that's reasonably liked by many. In the long run, it'll do just as well financially for the studio. Just don't complain that the mass market doesn't like a niche film.
24
"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad as hell Inception's doing as well as it is"... and there goes your credibility.
I loved Scott Pilgrim, but how am I supposed to take a reviewer seriously if they thought Inception was at all engaging?
I loved Scott Pilgrim, but how am I supposed to take a reviewer seriously if they thought Inception was at all engaging?
25
I'm kinda sad that Eat Pray Love is beating anything, but I'll support Expendables as strongly as Scott Pilgrim since Stallone seems like a really nice, intelligent dude who fully deserves the success of his comeback, based on the surprisingly candid question and answer session he's done in collaboration with Ain't It Cool News over the last few years. (Google "stallone questions harry" for pretty quick access to the majority.)
I'm sad that Scott Pilgrim isn't doing better, but only really because I had hoped it would expose more people to the book behind the film, which is way, way better by virtue of decompression alone.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the exact same thing happens with Scott Pilgrim—and once people see what they missed in theaters, they're going to be pissed that they didn't see this on the big screen when they had the chance."
Erik, methinks this sentence is a bit of a misconception. I won't speak for everyone, but personally, I fucking hate going to the theater no matter how sensationally awesome the movie might be. The general public who assemble at the theater, especially for any movie aimed at teens/twentysomethings/mainstream America live up to every idiotic, screeching, filthy stereotype you could imagine. These dumb bitches shout at characters on the screen, let their cell phones go off mid show and talk to their friends throughout about totally asinine shit.
I spent less than $1,000 on my home A/V set up like 4 years ago and between the PS3 Blu-Ray, Xbox 360 Netflix Instant and 37" HDTV, I get a much better experience sitting on my bed watching a film than I would dropping $10 to catch a subtly out of focus flick at Lloyd Cinemas.
Plus, at home I can do shit like eat a rack of ribs that I picked up from Fred Meyer for $7 instead of a bucket of disgustingly oversalted popcorn at the same price point.
I do sorta like places like the Kennedy School, but those pub theaters are hindered by only getting the really big movies once enough time has passed for them to hit DVD/Blu (or Demonoid at the very least).
More...
I'm sad that Scott Pilgrim isn't doing better, but only really because I had hoped it would expose more people to the book behind the film, which is way, way better by virtue of decompression alone.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the exact same thing happens with Scott Pilgrim—and once people see what they missed in theaters, they're going to be pissed that they didn't see this on the big screen when they had the chance."
Erik, methinks this sentence is a bit of a misconception. I won't speak for everyone, but personally, I fucking hate going to the theater no matter how sensationally awesome the movie might be. The general public who assemble at the theater, especially for any movie aimed at teens/twentysomethings/mainstream America live up to every idiotic, screeching, filthy stereotype you could imagine. These dumb bitches shout at characters on the screen, let their cell phones go off mid show and talk to their friends throughout about totally asinine shit.
I spent less than $1,000 on my home A/V set up like 4 years ago and between the PS3 Blu-Ray, Xbox 360 Netflix Instant and 37" HDTV, I get a much better experience sitting on my bed watching a film than I would dropping $10 to catch a subtly out of focus flick at Lloyd Cinemas.
Plus, at home I can do shit like eat a rack of ribs that I picked up from Fred Meyer for $7 instead of a bucket of disgustingly oversalted popcorn at the same price point.
I do sorta like places like the Kennedy School, but those pub theaters are hindered by only getting the really big movies once enough time has passed for them to hit DVD/Blu (or Demonoid at the very least).
27
I think unfortunately some people have pigeon holed this movie because of the comic book/video game themes as an inside joke kind of movie. This couldn't be farther from the truth. I'm not really into comics or video games (though I am a monster geek in other ways) and I thought this was the best movie I've seen this year.
The video game/comic book-esque visual aspects were integrated very creatively into the real life scenarios in a way that makes sense and doesn't go down the road of cheesy, obvious references. In fact I'd say that's what makes the movie.
Amazing, well thought out, visual candy paired with sharp witted, fun script writing and phenomenal acting.
Go see it!
The video game/comic book-esque visual aspects were integrated very creatively into the real life scenarios in a way that makes sense and doesn't go down the road of cheesy, obvious references. In fact I'd say that's what makes the movie.
Amazing, well thought out, visual candy paired with sharp witted, fun script writing and phenomenal acting.
Go see it!
Most Commented on Blogtown, PDX
-
City's "Overnight Sleeping" Program Finds First Host—and Neighbors React in Ugly Fashion by Denis C. Theriault
-
Oh, Did You Think The Great Gatsby Movie Was Going to Be Good? by Alison Hallett
-
Happy World Goth Day! by Marjorie Skinner
-
Feds Dish Out $745.2 Million to the Light Rail by Alex Zielinski
-
Game of Thrones Recap: Calm Before the Storm Edition by Joe Streckert
-
Good Morning, News! by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
-
Portland Button Works Opens on Killingsworth by Alison Hallett
-
We're Number One! by Alex Zielinski
-
Ye Olde Underground Loo by Alex Zielinski
-
Mapping Destruction: City Releases Locations of Portland Hazards by Nathan Gilles
Our Friends
- UrbanHonking
- Culture Shock
- Portland Roundball Society
- Steph Cassano
- Cort and Fatboy
- Street Roots
- Powell's Books Blog
- Portland Transport
- Portland Afoot
- Bike Portland
- Eater: PDX
- Portland Food and Drink
- Mr. Movie
- Sunday Softball
- BlueOregon
- Sightline Institute
- Ultra: Arts Portland
- Bitch Magazine
- Blazer's Edge
- Reading Local: Portland
- Portland Food Carts
- Stumptown Vegans
Our Enemies
The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.
Bands Page
Housing
Jobs
Musicians
For Sale
Wheels
Services
Health
The Arts
Friends 'N' Neighbors
Bulletin Board
Personals
Adult
RSSGoing to Seattle?
Comments (27) RSS