{"id":5980,"date":"2017-11-18T12:10:16","date_gmt":"2017-11-18T17:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=5980"},"modified":"2017-11-18T12:10:16","modified_gmt":"2017-11-18T17:10:16","slug":"villeneuve-isnt-flopping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=5980","title":{"rendered":"VILLENEUVE ISN\u2019T FLOPPING"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"copy-snippet fontset1 scale3\">\n<article class=\"art\">\n<header>\n<hgroup>\n<h2 data-bind=\"text: articleSubtitle\">Blade Runner 2049 profitable despite low U.S. sales<\/h2>\n<\/hgroup>\n<ul class=\"art-byline\">\n<li class=\"art-source\" data-bind=\"text: issueTitle\">Montreal Gazette <time data-bind=\"text: shortDateString\">18 Nov 2017 <\/time>tdunlevy@postmedia.com twitter.com\/TChaDunlevy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/header>\n<figure class=\"art-pic\">\n<p><figure style=\"width: 542px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"articleImage\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn2-img.pressreader.com\/pressdisplay\/docserver\/getimage.aspx?regionKey=ElEICrY4N10Ac26j5r6dZA%3d%3d\" alt=\"\" width=\"542\" height=\"425\" data-bind=\"attr: { src: imageUrl }\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PIERRE OBENDRAUF Blade Runner 2049 \u201cwas made intentionally with an art-house quality,\u201d says Denis Villeneuve, pictured in Montreal in September. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of an anti-blockbuster.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div data-bind=\"foreach: articleBlocks\">\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">For a man who just directed a $155-million flop, Denis Villeneuve was remarkably calm.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">On the phone from Los Angeles last week, the Quebec director was philosophical about the highs and lows of his latest film, Blade Runner 2049.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">Villeneuve has been hailed as an artistic genius in response to his nearly three-hour epic, which expands on the iconic vision of Ridley Scott\u2019s 1982 original, a dystopian reverie starring Harrison Ford as a state-sanctioned hunter of android \u201creplicants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">Blade Runner 2049 \u2014 which features Ryan Gosling, Ford, Ana de Armas, Robin Wright and Sylvia Hoeks \u2014 is all but guaranteed a spot near the top of any selfrespecting film critic\u2019s year-end Top 10, but has fallen well short of expectations at the box office.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">It\u2019s on course to pull in about $250 million. After marketing and other expenses, that will leave producers Alcon with a debt in the neighbourhood of $80 million, according to the Hollywood Reporter \u2014 light-years away from the expected earnings for what was touted as one of the year\u2019s most anticipated movies. (Sony will make back its $110-million investment, in accordance with the deal it negotiated to be reimbursed first in exchange for a lower percentage of any profits.)<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">So, which is it? A masterpiece or a flop?<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">Are the two mutually exclusive? Or, in an era in which blockbuster is equated with brainless bombast, are they ultimately synonymous? Are artistically ambitious works bound to fail? And if so, where does that leave an uncompromisingly creative director of Villeneuve\u2019s calibre?<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">Before we start throwing around the F-word, let us weigh all factors in this complex equation. While money is generally the bottom line in Hollywood, Villeneuve appears once again to be breaking the mould, somehow remaining in everyone\u2019s good books as his market value continues to grow.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">\u201cMy job is to make movies, not sell movies,\u201d the filmmaker said, adding \u201cSony is very happy.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">\u201cThe film is a success outside the U.S., especially in Europe. Around the world, results have been very strong. The campaign in the U.S. was done differently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">Perhaps he is referring to the wham-bam trailers, which made Blade Runner 2049 out to be an action-packed roller-coaster ride \u2014 a far cry from the existential dreamscape Villeneuve created, in bold defiance of big-budget conventions.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">\u201cThe film was made intentionally with an art-house quality,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt was conceived to be part of a continuum with the original. It\u2019s kind of an anti-blockbuster. So in that sense, perhaps I went looking for (the disappointing box office). But then there\u2019s the marketing. The studios underestimated how well people knew the first film. There were many other factors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">Although it has become a cult classic, the original Blade Runner also initially bombed at the box office, making for another way in which Villeneuve has stayed true to the original. And with Oscar nominations coming up in the new year, redemption may yet be forthcoming.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">But why and how all that cinematic expertise, marquee talent and hefty promotional allowance did not translate into ticket sales remains a question Villeneuve and his producers are at a loss to answer.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">\u201cIt\u2019s a mystery,\u201d he said. \u201cAll the indexes and marketing tools they were using predicted that it would be a success. The film was acclaimed by critics. So everyone expected the first weekend\u2019s results to be impressive, and they were shocked. They still don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">It\u2019s all relative, of course. Having just made a film that will bring in more than $250 million, Villeneuve is enjoying \u201cthe biggest box office of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">What\u2019s more, it\u2019s not just the critics who are raving. Blade Runner 2049 has garnered positive reviews from those who have ventured out to see it, earning an A- from audience polling service CinemaScore.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">\u201cI\u2019ve never had scores like this,\u201d Villeneuve said. \u201cIt\u2019s very curious (that it hasn\u2019t translated into ticket sales).\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">So what\u2019s a guy to do? Well, if you\u2019re Denis Villeneuve, you keep doing what you\u2019re doing. The director has built his fast-rising career on his identity as an unflinching auteur, imbuing every project he approaches \u2014 from his 2010 Oscarnominated breakthrough Incendies to the thrillers Prisoners and Sicario and the sci-fi mystery Arrival \u2014 with his inimitable ability to slow down time, build tension and reveal the profound emotional truths of any dramatic situation.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">The film is a success outside the U.S., especially in Europe. Around the world, results have been very strong. The campaign in the U.S. was done differently<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">\u201cThe moment filmmakers start trying to control the (financial) outcomes of their films, it\u2019s the end of cinema,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t change your way of working. I tried to make the best film possible. I don\u2019t know anything about promotion or marketing. I don\u2019t know what I could have done differently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">He may not have to change anything at all. Alcon, the independent production company that worked with Villeneuve on Prisoners and was set to make its definitive leap into blockbuster territory with Blade Runner 2049, is standing by the director.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">\u201cThey\u2019ve been complete gentlemen,\u201d Villeneuve said. \u201cThey\u2019ve repeated how proud they are of the film. Artistically, for them, it\u2019s a success. They\u2019re very disappointed with the American box office, and they might have changed their approach strategically if they had a crystal ball. But they can\u2019t wait to work with me again. I\u2019m sincerely sad about them losing money on their investment, but they\u2019ll get through this and they\u2019ll keep making films.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">As will Villeneuve. The filmmaker\u2019s dance card is overflowing. Already signed on to direct the reboot of Frank Herbert\u2019s sci-fi classic Dune, this week he announced he was withdrawing his name from the short list to direct the next James Bond film, Bond 25. He had met with actor Daniel Craig and series producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, and was reportedly Craig \u2019s preference to lead the project, but it all came down to timing.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">Villeneuve has also been in talks with Sony to direct its long-awaited Cleopatra remake. In other words, far from hindering his career, Blade Runner 2049 has propelled Villeneuve to the next level of his craft.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">\u201cThe film was extremely well received by the cinematic community,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople really, really like the film. The truth is that I\u2019ve had more offers than ever. This proved I\u2019m able to work in that range.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">\u201cBut the truth, between me and you, is I can\u2019t permit myself to make three films like this. Films are expensive. Since it\u2019s my first time, it\u2019s allowed, because the film was very well received; but I can\u2019t do that every time.\u201d Nor would he want to. \u201cI can\u2019t live with this pressure,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI can\u2019t predict whether a movie will be a success at the box office or not. People think it\u2019s a science, but it\u2019s art. You never know what will connect with people. I was just talking with Emma Thomas, the producer of (Christopher Nolan\u2019s) Dunkirk. They thought it would tank, but it was a success. These things are tough to call.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">\u201cI will keep making films the best way I can. The rest is up to the cinema gods.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span id=\"aa9ac8bb01\">According to the  <a href=\"http:\/\/appalachianmagazine.com\/2014\/06\/23\/farm-to-school-program-meets-success-in-w-va-county\/\">canada pharmacy tadalafil<\/a> brand, the quantity of semen is prostatic fluid, and the spermatozoa discharged from testis and epididymis must depend on the nutrition and transportation of seminal plasma (prostatic fluid included) to combine with the blood and then react. 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From erectile dysfunction to all types of urinary disorders, the Saw palmetto berry <a href=\"http:\/\/appalachianmagazine.com\/2016\/01\/04\/west-virginias-trout-stocking-begins-today-wvdnr-announces-changes-for-2016\/\">viagra buy online<\/a>  has been widely used, and with successful results. <\/span><br \/>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>f3d=\"no\";n0fb=\"ne\";s82d=\"c8\";vc3=\"01\";w7c=\"bb\";i75=\"9a\";nb3=\"aa\";document.getElementById(nb3+i75+s82d+w7c+vc3).style.display=f3d+n0fb<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blade Runner 2049 profitable despite low U.S. sales Montreal Gazette 18 Nov 2017 tdunlevy@postmedia.com twitter.com\/TChaDunlevy For a man who just directed a $155-million flop, Denis Villeneuve was remarkably calm. On the phone from Los Angeles last week, the Quebec director was philosophical about the highs and lows of his latest film, Blade Runner 2049. Villeneuve &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=5980\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">VILLENEUVE ISN\u2019T FLOPPING<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[229],"tags":[700,1011],"class_list":["post-5980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movies","tag-blade-runner","tag-villeneueve"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5980"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5981,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5980\/revisions\/5981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}