Know Your Classics: Wages of Fear

In my opinion there are three kinds of movies in this world: bad movies, good movies, and great movies. “Wages of Fear” though, transcends those categories. It is in a class all of its own. It is not just a great movie, it is an all-time great movie. It is a French movie from 1953, so I will forgive you if you have never heard of it. If you can handle foreign films in black and white, I would suggest you see it immediately. Even if cannot handle those things, I would still suggest you see it immediately. All-time great art deserves to be appreciated.


I first came across this movie in a film history class in college. Initially, I was not too excited about watching it. I thought a black and white movie with French subtitles from the 50s with a director I had never heard of would be boring. I was wrong. This movie opened my eyes to what great film-making was all about. I was able to get past the visuals and subtitles. I found myself analyzing every frame, every line of dialogue, every character action. The movie is full of symbolism and after watching it, you will find yourself breaking down every movie you later watch.


It is a thriller/suspense movie that takes place in South America. After an oil well 300 miles away catches on fire four poor men are hired to transport highly explosive nitroglycerine to the site so the fire can be extinguished and the well can be capped. The suspense and thrill comes from the poor condition of the roads and the different obstacles the drivers encounter. If the nitroglycerine cans are shaken too much they will explode, killing the drivers. Essentially, this is a suicide mission. The only reason the people accept the job is because they are in desperate need of money. The film sees the courage, friendship, ingenuity, and desperation of its characters tested. 


The movie itself is dark and gritty. The black and white really adds to the tone the movie is trying to portray. If there was color present, those visuals could subtract from the feeling of imminent death. The people are dirty and sweaty. The vehicles are beaten down. Even the direction by Henri-Georges Clouzot is superb. Every shot is simple. It allows the viewer to focus on the actors and the terrain the vehicles must cross. While viewing, you truly will be on the edge of your seat.


I adore this movie and it is a shame that not more people know it exists. It is one of the few movies with a 100% rating on RottenTomatoes.com. I would hate for Hollywood to ruin it with a remake, but I do feel as though not enough people know how brilliant this movie really is. The time is right for an American remake. It could be done for fairly cheap too, so hopefully in the future Hollywood will see the profit potential in it. Until then, find a way to view this masterpiece.

How To Fix The UFC

Be more professional

-This goes for the athletes and management. Dana White is the face of the company and its biggest star. As President, he’s essentially equal to the Commissioner of the other sports leagues. The NFL, MLB, NBA, etc. all have professionals running their organizations. They largely stay in the shadows and just make sure everything is run properly. They don’t partake in reality television shows. They don’t give their opinion on their athlete’s performance. And they punish people when necessary. Those leagues would never stand for one of their athletes calling another, “Nazi”, a la Conor McGregor.

Trim the roster

-I understand you want to put on a lot of events during the year and that injuries happen, but your roster is full of fighters who aren’t the best in the world. Knowing that turns fans off of wanting to watch your product. You should employ only the best 20 or so fighters in each weight class and have everyone fight 3-4 times a year. Occasionally bring in other fighters your scouts feel could compete with the best in the world in order to add new blood. Don’t do it all the time though just to have watered down fight cards. Your product won’t be so diluted and fans will want to watch more.

Trim the fight cards

-If you’re going to trim the roster, you’ll likely have to trim the fight cards as well. 10 fights is the perfect number for an event. Anything more is overkill and oversaturation. Fans want quality, not quantity.

Have and announce injury backup plans

-If an NFL quarterback gets injured, fans and the opposing team already know who his backup is and the game goes on. Nothing gets cancelled. The UFC should have something similar. Announce a replacement fighter for each scheduled fight. They can be paid a portion to train and will get paid even more if they are needed as a late replacement. Fans would still buy the pay per views if they knew they would still get a compelling fight should someone get injured.

Have some fun

-Every fighter’s walkout is the same. Every commercial is the same. Every season of The Ultimate Fighter is the same. Spice things up. Take some chances. Do something different. Allow fighters to be more original with their walkout routines. Fans will pay to see the spectacle as much as the fights themselves.

Pay the athletes more

-I understand the best of the best in the UFC make good money and everything is not disclosed to the public, but everyone on the roster should be making more. Fans follow their favorite fighters on social media and see their struggles. This only makes fans complain and want change to happen in the UFC. It doesn’t help the business at all. Follow the old adage of, “to make money, you must spend money”. The fighters are your assets. Invest in your assets.

Should Disney Buy Nintendo?

I read a great article on Yahoo.com today. It was about Disney buying Nintendo in the future. It’s not a rumor or even a realistic possibility, but it got me to thinking.

Here is the article: https://games.yahoo.com/news/disney-save-nintendo-only-cost-173001469.html

Imagine what Disney could do with all of the different characters from Nintendo. Nintendo, due in part to the Super Mario Brother’s movie failure in 1993, have been reluctant to expand on their intellectual properties. They focus only on gaming these days. Had that movie been a success fans would likely see more Nintendo characters in television shows and movies.

Disney has been extremely successful with its own brand, ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, etc. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that they would be in asset acquisition mode. Companies that make profit always want more profit. More characters means more potential profit. With geek culture now being mainstream and popular, it would make sense for Disney to strike now.

Disney has its foot in print media, digital media, television, and movies. Having access to Nintendo’s already popular stable could mean big bucks. Case in point, nobody knew who Big Hero 6 were until Disney got their hands on them. Now imagine what they could do with already popular characters.  

Is Johnny Depp Still A Good Actor?

I have some unpopular opinions. I’m not afraid to express them and I’m not afraid to be criticized for them. They are just opinions. They are just thoughts. It’s just how I feel. Here is one opinion I’m sure others don’t agree with. Johnny Depp is no longer a good actor. Hopefully people will read this with an open mind before calling me names.

Does it matter if Johnny Depp is no longer a good actor? Nope. Not one bit. He’s a millionaire who will continue making movies despite what some guy in Maryland (Me) thinks. Hear me out though. I’m saying at this point in time Johnny Depp has become a bad actor. I’m still a fan of his and I think he will bounce back, but currently he is not very good. He used to be great, but talent or acting ability can be lost. Ask Matthew McConaughey.

That is what I think has happened. I think Johnny Depp has lost his acting ability/talent. Maybe he’s just not trying anymore. In recent years he has resorted to playing over the top characters covered in make-up. That’s not acting. That’s hiding. That’s mailing in a performance. That’s living off your name and reputation instead of your ability.

What is good acting though? Some say it’s about getting consistent work. Some say it’s about having profitable films. Some say it’s about being nominated or winning awards. I’d say it’s the ability of a person to transform into a character, while delivering an authentic performance that is believable to the audience.  

To me, Johnny Depp no longer does this. He uses silly voices and awkward mannerisms. It works for some of his characters, but for the majority of them, it falls flat. It takes me out of the movie going experience. It’s a distraction every time he’s on screen. He stands out, not because of his skill, but because of his lack of subtlety. There is nothing nuanced about his recent performances.  

It looks like “Into the Woods” and “Mortdecai” will continue his “Tusk”, “Lone Ranger”, “Dark Shadows”, etc. trend. I hope his upcoming movies, “London Fields” and “Black Mass” can reignite his talent though. I still believe in him. I know a good actor is in there. Now it’s about showing it.

How Much Money Do Movies Really Make?

When looking at how a movie performs, most fans only look at the box office results. This is only one piece of the pie. Remember, it's not about how much money a studio makes, but how much profit they make. To understand how much money a movie really made for a studio quite a few things must be taken into account:

Production Budget

-Movies can cost a lot of money to make. Cast, location, effects, crew, production, etc. all factor into how much money goes into making a movie. Larger scale blockbusters often cost more than other types of movies. The production budget of a movie is often known to the public. A great site to reference for this information is BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Marketing/Advertising

-This one is tricky. Studios don’t often disclose how much money goes into marketing and advertising. It is millions of dollars though. Most movies spend between $20 million and $50 million to get the public’s attention. Larger scale blockbusters can spend even more than that.  

Total Box Office

-Total box office isn’t what it seems. Movie studios actually only get to keep about 2/3 of the box office money. The rest of the money goes to the theater showing the movie. Fans often forget this when looking up box office results online.

Back End Deals

-This one is also tricky, so don’t really try factoring it into my equation below. An actor’s contract is never made public. The only thing known is an actor’s salary or how many movies in a franchise an actor is contracted to film, should the studio want them to return. Some A-List actors have back end deals worked into their contract though. They believe their name will help sell the film, so they ask for a certain percentage of the box office money.  

So how do you calculate how much money a film really makes? It’s tough since only the studio really knows. Here is a way to do it though. The exact amount will be off, but it will give you a good idea.

2/3 Total Box Office (Domestic and Foreign) – (Production Budget + Marketing/Advertising = Assume $35 million for a normal movie and $65 million for a larger scale blockbuster)

*EXAMPLE: The production budget of a movie is $100 million and it makes $200 million at the box office. Roughly how much did the studio make from that movie?

2/3 Total Box Office ($132 million) – ($100 million Production Budget + $35 million Marketing/Advertising) = -$3 Million.

-It can be assumed the example lost the studio $3 million in money. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that for every $1 million spent making the movie the studio would like to see $3 million or more returned at the box office.

Omega Red Should Be The Next Wolverine Movie Villain

Movies no longer worry just about North American profit. They now worry about international profit. While some movies only receive a domestic release by a studio, most blockbusters receive worldwide releases. Comic book movies are blockbusters. Many movies will even cater to different markets in order to appeal to a wider audience. They will have a multicultural cast or take place outside of the United States.  

The last Wolverine movie did just this. It took the character outside of North America and placed him in Japan. This was a genius financial move. The movie made $132 million in the domestic box office and $282 million in the foreign box office according to BoxOfficeMojo.Com. I’m sure much of that foreign box office money came from Asia. This is in part due to the setting, storyline, and characters of the movie.

The movie itself was bound to be a hit no matter what. People love comic book movies. People love Wolverine. People love Hugh Jackman. Coming off the critical failure of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fox Studio needed to do something to spice up the franchise. Insert Japan, Silver Samurai, and Viper. Fox should continue in this direction. Drop Wolverine in a different country every movie and give him a character from that country to fight. Fans will have a better movie than X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the studios will be able to make more money off the foreign box office.

That brings me to the villain I’d love to see Wolverine fight next. Omega Red. I’ll include a link with more information about him, but basically he’s a badass Russian mutant. His inclusion would give Wolverine a tough fight in another cultural landscape. He would also be a visually stunning character to see onscreen. Everyone’s happy and everyone wins.

http://marvel.com/universe/Omega_Red

 

The Chicago Bulls should trade Derrick Rose

I have some unpopular opinions. I’m not afraid to express them and I’m not afraid to be criticized for them. They are opinions. They are thoughts. It’s just how I feel. Here is one opinion I’m sure others don’t agree with. The Chicago Bulls should trade Derrick Rose. Some may call me crazy, but here is my reasoning.  

As Herm Edwards once said, “You play to win the game”. Seems simple. To take it one step further, a team should play to win a championship. Simple concept right? Not every franchise attempts to achieve this though. A lot of franchises attempt to build towards the future instead of operating in the present. Sometimes I agree with this business approach. Most of the time I don’t though.

The Chicago Bulls are built to win now. Right now. This season. The championship seems wide open this year. There is no clear favorite so far. The Chicago Bulls should be trying to strike while the iron is hot. Derrick Rose has missed the last two seasons and has been hurt for most of this season. Having him sit on the bench isn’t helping Chicago win any games.

That is why I believe they should trade him. I’m not sure what the market is for him, but I’m sure they could get a serviceable point guard and shooting guard for him. To me, The Bulls need some more ball handling and shooting to really take them over the top. Trading Derrick Rose could get those for them.

As I said at the beginning of this article, I know my point of view is crazy to some, but it does hold some merit. Chicago wants to win a championship and they believe they need Derrick Rose to do so. I disagree. I believe if they have the right pieces they can accomplish their goal. Trading Derrick Rose can bring those pieces into play right now.  

 

The Flash And Arrow Are The Same Show

Let me start off by saying I like both The Flash and Arrow television shows. They are essentially the same though. Knowing that won’t stop me from watching future episodes, but I think the CW may want to make some changes to improve one or the other and help differentiate them to fans.

-Both have superheroes who protect their city (Green Arrow-Starling City/The Flash-Central City)

-Both have teams who know their identity (Felicity, Diggle, Roy, Laurel/Caitlin, Cisco, Wells, Joe)

-Both have media code names (The Arrow, The Vigilante/The Streak)

-Both have love interests (Laurel, Sara, Felicity/Iris)

-Both have genius women (Felicity/Caitlin)

-Both have black law enforcement or military males (Diggle/Joe)

-Both have different villains every episode

There are some differences, but they are greatly outweighed by the similarities. Arrow has flashbacks and The Flash is dealing with his Father’s wrongful incarceration. We also don’t know what’s going on with Doctor Harrison Wells yet, but it’s likely he’ll end up evil like Malcolm Merlyn.

Again, I enjoy both shows. I just feel as though the CW is being lazy by not making each unique and different while keeping them connected.

 

Reports, Rumors, and Confirmations

The internet is a great source of information. It’s also a great source of rumors and misinformation. Ever heard the phrase, “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet”? A lot of websites today employ people who are not journalists and have no journalistic integrity. They will post stories and articles that aren’t confirmed.

Writers have become lazy with their information. They don’t research what they hear or fact check what they write. They want to be the first to “break” a story. In today’s world, page views and clicks are more important than accurate information. Don’t believe the hype though. Know the difference between a report, a rumor, and a confirmation.   

Reports mean nothing. Rumors should only be given credence if there is a notable source attached. Obviously web site won’t name their sources, but they should give a general idea where the rumor is coming from. A confirmation can only come from someone directly attached to a project. I bring this up, because there are too many articles online that are false and misleading to fans. Many people repost these as fact, when they are not. Before you believe something you see online, stop and think where the information is really coming from.

When Should A Fighter Retire?

When should a fighter retire? This is both a simple and complicated question. Every fighter and every fighter’s situation is different. Here are some examples of when a fighter should retire though:

When their skills are gone

-National Football League quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning both recently said, [“I will retire when I suck”]. That’s one way to look at it. Fighting is different though. A fighter’s mentality is different from other athletes. They don’t always know when their skills have diminished. You often hear fighters talk about a bad training camp, a bad weight cut, illness, not sticking to a game plan, or “getting caught”.

When they no longer have a passion to compete

-Fighters not only train to win a bout, but to protect themselves from harm. Fighters want to succeed, but they also want to avoid pain and injury. Most fighters are life-long athletes. Since middle school or earlier they’ve been practicing and training for something. It’s all they know. As a rule, exercising is horrible, so it’s hard for athletes to know when they don’t want to compete anymore and when they just don’t want to prepare.

When, medically, they shouldn’t be fighting

-Most athletes have sustained injuries at some point and come back, so they don’t always listen to the signs their body is giving them. It’s “tough person” culture to fight through pain. They also don’t actively seek out advanced medical information. They don’t always know what is going on with their organs, heart, or brain.   

When someone won’t pay them

-Fame and fortune are addictive. Some fighters enjoy them just as much, if not more, than competing. Winning is great, but fans are better to some athletes. Also due to financial circumstances, as long as someone is willing to pay them, they have to compete. It’s their livelihood. The only career they’ve ever known is being an athlete. If one isn’t prepared for retirement, the job market can be a scary place.

So when should a fighter retire? United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said, “I know it when I see it”. He wasn’t talking about fighters, but his words ring true in this case as well.