Before we get to record-setting horror movies that cost nineteen dollars to make and Milla Jovovich’s doomed film, a word about the People’s Choice Awards (nominees are getting selected as I write this).
Have you voted for the PCA nods yet? It’s fun, it’s quick, and we actually listen to what people have to say.Who else does that? Where else can you vote and make an impact without being forced to punch holes in a chad and then weigh in on a deliberately confusing “referendum”? This is one of the few voting situations where it pays to participate.
Now…did you see any movies this weekend? Were you part of the aiding and abetting process that brought a cool $54 million dollars into Paranormal Activity 3’s bank account? Not only was it a record for October – reportedly it’s the biggest horror opening ever, too. Does this surprise you? (Or did you see it twice and still can’t get enough of those two adorable little girls and the unseen being with whom they share a home?) All I know is that one afternoon a dear friend of mine recounted the events of the first Paranormal Activity and his verbal description alone was so unsettling that I couldn’t sleep that night; a trip to part 3 is not happening. Given its huge success however, I suspect everyone else on earth will give it a try.
Meanwhile the other two weekend starters -The Three Musketeers and Johnny English Reborn- didn’t do particularly well in light of PA3’s astonishing success. BUT – something peculiar is happening with The Three Musketeers. At first I thought it was inane, but now I don’t. The actress Milla Jovovich has gone after the studio that released the film and via Twitter she’s accused them of failing to promote the movie. She says they just sat back and did nothing. Hmmm…sour grapes or a legit point?
Okay, so not only is Milla one of the film’s stars, she’s also married to the film’s director – it’s fair to say she has more than a vested interest in the project. When I heard about it I was puzzled, because usually actors don’t get involved in this sort of thing publicly – lest their careers suffer, they look like idiots, and frequently both. Nor is it ever a good idea to take on a movie studio like Summit Entertainment (who made The Three Musketeers) because they’re riding super high these days on account of a little property called Twilight.Summit made – and will continue to make – boatloads of cash and can pretty much do as they please with the Bella/Edward/Jacob shekels they’ve accrued. However, when I thought about poor Milla’s complaint, it dawned on me perhaps she actually had a point.
When you think about it, there wasn’t a ton of advertising for The Three Musketeers. I don’t remember a single commercial. Not even with Orlando Bloom on board. You’d think at least the Pirates fans should have been alerted…
I see a movie most weekends, and I watch TV all week long; consequently I’m exposed to dozens of trailers and ads. I don’t know about your town but in LA they I think began advertising The Debt in 2009. You all see plenty of commercials too, and are probably just as familiar with what’s out there. Were you surprised by the lack of ads on behalf of a beloved swashbuckling tale? It’s weird. To be fair, the movie’s not gotten good word of mouth. Still, you gotta wonder about whether or not their lackluster performance – at least on opening weekend – is connected to the studio that didn’t do much to advertise. It would be nearly impossible to prove legally, and obviously studios can advertise stuff whenever and however they choose. But I have to say that Milla Jovovich may be absolutely correct; perhaps Summit just felt like they had bigger fish to fry. Like a certain big fish set in the tiny town of Forks, Washington that opens on November 18th. How come we’re all in the know about that movie?
Today’s poll:
1) The Exorcist
2) The Sixth Sense
3) What Lies Beneath
4) The Blair Witch Project
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I saw a couple of commercials, and thought the movie looked a bit goofy for my taste. However, I love Milla. she has done a large body of good work that goes far beyond the Resident evil franchise. She would be the only reason I would think about watching Three muskteers.
I saw a gazillion commercials for this. and you know why I didn’t go watch it? Because there are already a ton of Muskateer movies! Why in the world do I need to go watch ANOTHER one. The old ones are fine. I’d rather spend my money to watch something fresh and new instead of a rehash of the same old same old. Milla needs to wake up and realize that a movie sucking has nothing to do with promotion and everything to do with what it’s actually about.
bad timing to release it with PA3 and they didn’t market it to the younger audiences who may have gone to see it bec of logan lerman, the comedic aspects and the romance
Milla may have a point because in the countries where Constantin Films was doing the promo and not Summit the film did okay was even no1 in some territories. But in the US even on it’s twitter Account Summit was pushing Twilight even way before 3M. And no appearances on the talk shows except for a less than 5 min appearance by logan lerman on Ellen
They should have also used more Logan Lerman in the trailers as he’s very popular with the younger audiences
I know only about the movie because i saw a piece on a German website about some of the scenes being filmed in Wuerzburg, Germany ( that’s not the Louvre in the movie but the Residenz in Wuerzburg, the same place Germany celebrated Dirk Nowitzki after his championship win).That’s why I want to see it! I am homesick!
I say that if this was Bruce Willis or some other guy they would be getting more respect for the RE movies. Even the one movie she did with BW, The Fifth Element, most people don’t really trash that movie.
I saw a bunch of these commercials and every time I say “they have got to be kidding me!” Seriously- Milla pulling her Resident Evil moves while bound in a corset? SERIOUSLY? Ive seen the same moves in most of her movies, (and Angelina Jolie’s as well). And since when did women joing the Musketeers? I adore Bloom, but I think I’ll stick with the many other Musketeer remakes I’ve already grown to like so much. This one looks ridiculous and I wouldn’t pay to see it. Enough remakes already.
I didn’t see that many promos for the movie and the only reason I knew about it was because I am a fan of Orlando and checked out the trailers online. I have to side with Milla here. Did you see the absolutely horrible promos for the movie? It was awful to even watch them! Summit Entertainment is really drunk with money/power now with Twilight in its bosom!
By the way, on the Entertainment Tonight episode, the best thing that Orlando Bloom had to say about the movie was:
“When I read this script, I thought, ‘This is just a good contemporary action movie.’”
Milla’s comments regarding the director (her husband):
“He has a real vision and he works very hard to make sure the technical aspects of the film are perfect.”
Technical aspects. That’s what this movie is all about.
I’ve seen loads of advertising for this terrible movie, plus one episode of Entertainment Tonight was pretty much an infomercial for it. I’m sure a lot of people DID go to see PA3 instead, but I’m sure there are just as many who didn’t go see it because it’s yet another mindless action flick from Paul WS Anderson. As others have commented, the trailers just show a series of over the top stunts that are really ridiculous. Why bother sticking to the complex and emotional plot of the original books when you can just have Milla Jovovich doing back flips and dodging bullets and Orlando Bloom firing a gatling gun from a zeppelin? There is a growing contingent of people out there who are tired of seeing this crap, especially after what Michael Bay did with Transformers. Don’t forget The Green Lantern and Thor, which both were critical failures. Plus, let’s not underestimate how many people there are out there who refuse to see any of Anderson’s movies after he turned Resident Evil into a series of plot-free, substance-free action flicks. Seriously, the last RE movie was just 2 hours of Milla running around shooting things and jumping off of other things. No thanks!
I have not seen one commercial about The Three Muskateers. I only knew the movie was out because Ellen had one of the up and coming actors on her show last week. I watch TV all week long, way to much of it truth be told, and have seen many, many trailers for the new Twilight and it’s not due out for several weeks yet. Milla does have a legit right to complain and I don’t blame her!
Plenty of commercials on TV, noticed Orlando Bloom on a talk show. Commercials not appealing at all, and the movie did not need a remake. The previous remake with sheen, odonnel, and keifer was pretty good
Why does Milla Jovovich think shes the creative twist to everything? Resident Evil would have been a good film without her but she had to corn it up and lez it up, and now shes taking the three musketeers and adding herself to the equation. Go back to giving De Niro head Milla.
I didn’t even know this movie was out. I hadn’t seen a single ad.
Too bad. Saw it. Wasn’t as horrible as I’m seeing here.
But if you wanted it to be a better movie, there should have been less camp and more attention to the acting and timing, especially of humorous lines. And maybe try not to stick in as many humorous lines in the middle of almost getting killed in battle.
If you saw it as a return to the high-action, tongue in cheek humor of the old Saturday matinees, then it was at least a good time.
I didn’t notice a lot of advertising, well, not as much as you’d see for the latest “Pirates”, DiCaprio or Cruise movies anyway.
I’ve seen TONS of Musketeers commercials! What I haven’t seen is the actors doing the rounds of the talk show routes to promote the movie. Curiouser and curiouser.
I have seen commercials of Three Musketeers, and I don’t understand why it has been remade yet again. I think that made me tune out the commercials. Yes, movies are either remakes, sequels, badly made 3D’s and in general boring. I have been a die hard movie fan and used to see nearly every “decent” movie. I hardly ever go now, and most times I am disappointed. Films used to be more daring and smart. I admit I have a good chuckle with the Apatow movies and Will Farrel. So I guess I have gone to the inane and silly for my film fun.
Solid stories trump CGI anyday. For die-hard Dumas fans and history buffs, The Three Musketeers book included swashbuckling sword fights, camaraderie and beautiful dames. On the contrary, Dumas did not pen in his novels with men almost gliding in the air Kung Fu style and sci-fi contraptions. I dare say to Milla Jovovich, publicity or not, know your audience and fans. The latest film adaptions of The Man in the Iron Mask and The Count of Monte Cristo were some of the best ever made, both of which remained true to the author’s stories and era!
I have seen a TON of commercials for this movie and strangely none for Twilight..
I’ve seen several commercials for this movie… had couple of friends go to see it, they left with an hour left because it was so bad…
I have seen a couple of commercials for ‘The Three Musketeers’ but every commercial break there is a commercial for ‘Twilight’ no mater what channel I’m watching. I am so sick of these movies! Paranormal Activity was silly, spoiler: all the scenes from the commercial are not in the movie!
Who’d waste money on such a stupid film? I saw the commercials, and that was more than enough. After seeing the fabulous Musketeer movies by Richard Lester in the ’70s, which were true to the original stories by Dumas, the very thought of a steampunk/kung fu approach to such a classic story is nauseating and revolting.
I disagree with you. I have seen tons of commercials for this movie for weeks now. I agree it doesn’t look too good and I am an Orlando Bloom fan. I have also seen interviews with him on E! and I saw him on the cover of some magazine at the grocery store. Plus he was on the headline ticker on MSN over the weekend. Sounds like sour grapes to me.
Maybe it’s because the film was so horrible. I just walked out of that movie about 30 mins ago. I can’t believe she would want people to be reminded she was in that film, but then again she is more model then actor.
my opinion doesn’t matter. neither does yours. have a nice day.
It just looks so silly. Beautiful woman in big big dress kicking butt. Really?
I totally disagree! I have seen the ads for the Three Musketeers a number of times. I remember because I thought how stupid it looked and how unfortunate that they were showing the scenes with Mila sliding and avoiding the bullets or whatever. Then there are also ads with just the men. I know we have seen a few because I mentioned the movie to my sister and we both agreed it looked stupid and why did they have to do the slow motion shots and that crap. They advertised it all right! It just looks ridiculous!
I agree as well. Though I did see a few commercials with Milla, they only mentioned Orlando Bloom in them. But I have to say that I have only seen the Breaking Dawn trailer twice since they came out with it. Maybe Summit isnt doing anything as far as advertising and promoting films b/c they know the Twilight series will carry their butts. And also, I don’t mind seeing remakes and sequels b/c they always have a twist to it or there is just something alittle bit different about it. Red Riding Hood was an awesome movie, Footloose kicked butt and I am sure The Three Musketeers will be awesome as well. I will let you know when I go see it!;)
I have to disagree. I have seen so many commercials for this movie and Paranormal 3 that if feels like both movies have been out for weeks. Perhaps the problem is that the public is tired of remakes? My husband and I have spoken about the lack of creativity in Hollywood today and it seems 1 in 4 movies is either a sequel or re-make. Why go to the theaters and waste the money when you already know the plot and likely the outcome?
You are absolutely correct: the studio didn’t really advertise the Three Musketeers. I am a huge Orlando fan and I watch TV all the time and I didn’t even know about the movie until I saw a poster at the movie theaters. So, Milla is right to go after the studio.