Robert Pattinson sci-fi ‘Mickey 17' opens in first place
LOS ANGELES, March 10, (AP): 'Parasite' filmmaker Bong Joon Ho's original science fiction film 'Mickey 17' opened in first place on the North American box office charts. According to studio estimates Sunday, the Robert Pattinson-led film earned $19.1 million in its first weekend in theaters, which was enough to dethrone 'Captain America: Brave New World' after a three-week reign. Overseas, 'Mickey 17' has already made $34.2 million, bringing its worldwide total to $53.3 million. But profitability for the film is a long way off: It cost a reported $118 million to produce, which does not account for millions spent on marketing and promotion. A week following the Oscars, where 'Anora' filmmaker Sean Baker made an impassioned speech about the importance of the theatrical experience - for filmmakers to keep making movies for the big screens, for distributors to focus on theatrical releases and for audiences to keep going - 'Mickey 17' is perhaps the perfect representation of this moment in the business, or at least an interesting case study. It's an original film from an Oscar-winning director led by a big star that was afforded a blockbuster budget and given a robust theatrical release by Warner Bros., one of the few major studios remaining.
Struggle
But despite all of that, and reviews that were mostly positive (79% on RottenTomatoes), audiences did not treat it as an event movie, and it may ultimately struggle to break even. Originally set for release in March 2024, Bong Joon Ho's follow-up to the Oscar-winning 'Parasite' faced several delays, which he has attributed to extenuating circumstances around the Hollywood strikes. Based on the novel 'Mickey7' by Edward Ashton, Pattinson plays an expendable employee who dies on missions and is reprinted time and time again. Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo also star. It opened in 3,807 locations domestically, performing best in New York and Los Angeles. Premium large format showings, including IMAX screens, also accounted for nearly half of its opening weekend. Internationally, it did especially well in Korea, where it made an estimated $14.6 million. Jeff Goldstein, who heads domestic distribution for Warner Bros., said, '47% of the audience saw it in premium format, which shows that there's a big interest from cinema fans to see the movie.' 'Director Bong is one of the few marquee directors out there along with Denis Villeneuve, Quentin Tarantino and Chris Nolan whose fans really drive moviegoing,' he added.
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Arab Times
19 hours ago
- Arab Times
Film festival showcases what AI can do on the big screen
NEW YORK, June 9, (AP): Artificial intelligence's use in movie making is exploding. And a young film festival, now in its junior year, is showcasing what this technology can do on screen today. The annual AI Film Festival organized by Runway, a company that specializes in AI-generated video, kicked off in New York Thursday night with ten short films from around the world making their debut on the big screen. "Three years ago, this was such a crazy idea,' Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela told the crowd. "Today, millions of people are making billions of videos using tools we only dreamed of.' The film festival itself has grown significantly since its 2023 debut. About 300 people submitted films when it first began, Valenzuela said, compared to about 6,000 submissions received this year. The one and half-hour lineup stretched across a range of creative styles and ambitious themes - with Jacob Adler's " Total Pixel Space " taking home the festival's top prize. The 9-minute and 28-second film questions how many possible images - real or not - exist in the digital space, and uses math to calculate a colossal number. A stunning series of images, ranging from the familiar life moments to those that completely bend reality, gives viewers a glimpse of what's out there. Meanwhile, Andrew Salter's "Jailbird," which snagged second place, chronicles a chicken's journey - from the bird's perspective - to a human prison in the United Kingdom to take part in a joint-rehabilitation program. And "One,' a futuristic story by Ricardo Villavicencio and Edward Saatchi about interplanetary travel followed in third place. The 10 films shown were finalists selected from thousands submitted to Runway's AI Film Festival this year. The shorts will also be shown at screenings held in Los Angeles and Paris next week. How AI is used and executed is a factor judges evaluate when determining festival winners. But not every film entered was made entirely using AI. While submission criteria requires each movie include the use of AI-generated video, there's no set threshold, meaning some films can take a more "mixed media' approach - such as combining live shots of actors or real-life images and sounds with AI-generated elements. "We're trying to encourage people to explore and experiment with it,' Valenzuela said in an interview prior to Thursday's screening. Creating a coherent film using generative AI is no easy feat. It can take a long list of directions and numerous, detailed prompts to get even a short scene to make sense and look consistent. Still, the scope of what this kind of technology can do has grown significantly since Runway's first AI Film Festival in 2023 - and Valenzuela says that's reflected in today's submissions. While there are still limits, AI-generated video is becoming more and more life-like and realistic. Runway encourages the use of its own AI tools for films entered into its festival, but creators are also allowed to turn to other resources and tools as they put together the films - and across the industry, tools that use AI to create videos spanning from text, image and/or audio prompts have rapidly improved over recent years, while becoming increasingly available. "The way (this technology) has lived within film and media culture, and pop culture, has really accelerated,' said Joshua Glick, an associate professor of film and electronic arts at Bard College. He adds that Runway's film fest, which is among a handful of showcases aimed at spotlighting AI's creative capabilities, arrives as companies in this space are searching for heightened "legitimacy and recognition' for the tools they are creating - with aims to cement partnerships in Hollywood as a result. AI's presence in Hollywood is already far-reaching, and perhaps more expansive than many moviegoers realize. Beyond "headline-grabbing' (and at times controversial) applications that big-budget films have done to "de-age' actors or create eye-catching stunts, Glick notes, this technology is often incorporated in an array of post-production editing, digital touch-ups and additional behind-the-scenes work like sorting footage. Industry executives repeatedly point to how AI can improve efficiency in the movie making process - allowing creatives to perform a task that once took hours, for example, in a matter of minutes - and foster further innovation. Still, AI's rapid growth and adoption has also heightened anxieties around the burgeoning technology - notably its implications for workers. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees - which represents behind-the-scenes entertainment workers in the U.S. and Canada - has "long embraced new technologies that enhance storytelling,' Vanessa Holtgrewe, IATSE's international vice president, said in an emailed statement. "But we've also been clear: AI must not be used to undermine workers' rights or livelihoods.' IATSE and other unions have continued to meet with major studios and establish provisions in efforts to provide guardrails around the use of AI. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has also been vocal about AI protections for its members, a key sticking point in recent labor actions. For Runway's AI Film Festival, Valenzuela hopes screening films that incorporate AI-generated video can showcase what's possible - and how he says this technology can help, not hurt, creatives in the work they do today. "It's natural to fear change ... (But) it's important to understand what you can do with it," Valenzuela said. Even filmmaking, he adds, was born "because of scientific breakthroughs that at the time were very uncomfortable for many people."
Arab Times
21 hours ago
- Arab Times
Tony Awards laud 'Maybe Happy Ending' and 'Purpose'
NEW YORK, June 9, (AP): "Maybe Happy Ending,' a rom-com about androids that crackles with humanity, had a definite happy ending at Sunday's Tony Awards. It won best new musical on a night when Kara Young made history as the first Black person to win two Tonys consecutively for "Purpose,' which also won best new play. Starring Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen, "Maybe Happy Ending' charts the relationship between two decommissioned robots, becoming a commentary on human themes and the passage of time. It won a leading six Tonys. With "Purpose,' a drawing-room drama about an accomplished Black family exposing hypocrisy and pressures during a snowed-in gathering, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins caps a remarkable year: In addition to winning back-to-back Tonys - his "Appropriate' won best play revival last year - he earned the Pulitzer Prize for "Purpose.' (That win came the day of the Met Gala, where he served on the host committee.) Jacobs-Jenkins is the first Black playwright to win the category since August Wilson for "Fences' in 1987. He urged viewers to support regional theaters; "Purpose' was nurtured in Chicago. "Theater is a sacred space that we have to honor and treasure, and it makes us united,' Young said in her own acceptance speech. "Sunset Blvd.,' with Nicole Scherzinger as a fallen screen idol desperate to reclaim her fame, won best musical revival, handing composer Andrew Lloyd Webber his first competitive Tony since 1995 - when the original show won. The current version is a stripped-down, minimalist production. Scherzinger also won for best lead actress in a musical, muscling aside a considerable challenge from Audra McDonald in a remarkable career pivot for the former lead singer of pop group Pussycat Dolls and TV talent show judge. "Growing up, I always felt like I didn't belong, but you all have made me feel like I belong and I have come home at last,' she said. "So if there's anyone out there who feels like they don't belong, or your time hasn't come, don't give up. Just keep on giving and giving because the world needs your love and your light now more than ever.' Criss, who has starred in everything from "Glee' to "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,' won his first Tony for "Maybe Happy Ending,' which he also co-produced. He said he shared it with Shen, who was not nominated. Sarah Snook won leading actress in a play for her tireless work in "The Picture of Dorian Gray,' where she plays all 26 roles. "I don't feel alone any night that I do this show,' Snook said, dismissing the idea of it as a one-woman show. "There are so many people onstage making it work and behind the stage making it work.' Downtown cabaret star Cole Escola won best actor in a play for their deranged, repressed and over-the-top ahistorical version of Mary Todd Lincoln in "Oh Mary!,' beating such Hollywood stars as George Clooney and Daniel Dae Kim. Sam Pinkleton won best director for "Oh, Mary!' and thanked Escola, saying they taught him, "Do what you love, not what you think people want to see.' Francis Jue won best featured actor in a play for the revival of "Yellow Face.' He said he was gifted his tuxedo from another Asian actor who wanted him to wear it to the Tonys. "I'm only here because of the encouragement and inspiration of generations of wonderful deserving Asian artists who came before me,' he said. Jak Malone won best featured actor in a musical for the British import "Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical,' playing a woman every performance. He hoped his win could be powerful advocacy for trans rights. "Eureka Day,' Jonathan Spector's social satire about well-meaning liberals debating a school's vaccine policy, won best play revival. The original cast of "Hamilton,' including creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, did a victory lap dressed in black to mark the show's 10th anniversary on Broadway, with a medley including "My Shot,' "The Schuyler Sisters,' "History Has Its Eyes on You' and "The Room Where It Happens.' First-time host Cynthia Erivo kicked off the show from her Radio City Music Hall dressing room, unsure of her opening number. As she made her way through the backstage warren, she ran into various people offering advice until she reached Oprah Winfrey, who advised, "The only thing you need to do is just be yourself.' Erivo then appeared at the stage in a red, spangly gown with white accents, hip cocked, as she launched into the slow-burning original "Sometimes All You Need Is a Song,' written by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Initially alone with a pianist, Erivo's soaring voice was soon joined by members of the Broadway Inspirational Voices choir, all dressed in white, making her look like a powerful strawberry in a bowl of whipped cream. In her opening comments, she singled out first-time nominees Escola, Louis McCartney, Sadie Sink, and "an up-and-comer that I think you're going to really be hearing quite a bit about - George Clooney.' She noted that the 2024-2025 season took in $1.9 billion, making it the highest-grossing ever and signaling Broadway has finally emerged from the COVID-19 blues. "Broadway is officially back,' Erivo said. "Provided we don't run out of cast members from 'Succession,'' a nod to appearances this season by former co-stars Snook and Kieran Culkin and last season by Jeremy Strong. She and Sara Bareilles dueted for a moving in memoriam, singing "The Sun Will Come Out' from "Annie,' and honoring its composer Charles Strouse as well as George Wendt, Richard Chamberlain, Athol Fugard, Joan Plowright, Quincy Jones, Linda Lavin, James Earl Jones and Gavin Creel. Erivo was an amiable host, at one point appearing in the second mezzanine to comment that everyone likes the view from theater balconies - except perhaps Abraham Lincoln. She had fun with Winfrey later on, telling her to check under her chair, where she found a gift bag with a toy automobile. "You get a car!' Erivo cracked. The best book and best score awards went to "Maybe Happy Ending,' with lyrics written by Hue Park and music composed by Will Aronson. Its director, Michael Arden, won - "Happy Pride!' he said - and it also picked up best scenic design. Justin Peck and Patricia Delgado won for choreographing "Buena Vista Social Club' and Peck noted a song from the renowned original album was played at their wedding. The musical takes its inspiration from Wim Wenders' 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary on the making of the Cuban album. It won four Tonys. Best costumes in a play went to Marg Hornwell for "The Picture of Dorian Gray,' while "Death Becomes Her' won the musical counterpart for Paul Tazewell months after he became the first Black man to win an Oscar for designing costumes. Harvey Fierstein, the four-time Tony winner behind "Torch Song Trilogy' and "Kinky Boots,' was honored with a lifetime achievement Tony and became emotional during his speech. "There is nothing quite like bathing in the applause of a curtain call, but when I bow, I bow to the audience, with gratitude, knowing that without them I might as well be lip-syncing showtunes in my bedroom mirror," he said. "And so I dedicate this award to the people in the dark.'
Kuwait Times
6 days ago
- Kuwait Times
'The Matrix is everywhere': Cinema bets on immersion
In a Los Angeles theater, a trench coat-wearing Neo bends backwards to dodge bullets that spiral over the viewer's head, as the sound of gunfire erupts from everywhere. This new immersive experience is designed to be a red pill moment that will get film fans off their couches at a time when the movie industry is desperate to bring back audiences. Cosm, which has venues in Los Angeles and Dallas, is launching its dome-style screen and 3D sets in June with a "shared reality" version of "The Matrix," the cult 1999 film starring Keanu Reeves as a man who suddenly learns his world is a fiction. "We believe the future will be more immersive and more experiential," said Cosm president Jeb Terry at a recent preview screening. "It's trying to create an additive, a new experience, ideally non-cannibalistic, so that the industry can continue to thrive across all formats." Cinema audiences were already dwindling when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, shuttering theaters at a time when streaming was exploding. With ever bigger and better TVs available for the home, the challenge for theater owners is to offer something that movie buffs cannot get in their living room. Boxes of "The Matrix" popcorn for guests are seen during the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix" on an immersive dome screen inside Cosm Los Angeles at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California. - AFP photos Computer code surrounds viewers during the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". The character Neo appears on screen with an extended display of the power plant towers during the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". Attendees watch the character Morpheus appear on screen during the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". Attendees watch the character Morpheus appear on screen during the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". Attendees watch the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". Prestige projects like Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning" or Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning "Oppenheimer" increasingly opt for the huge screens and superior film quality of IMAX. But Cosm and other projects like it want to go one step further, collaborating with designers who have worked with Cirque du Soleil to create an environment in which the viewer feels like they are inside the film. For filmmakers, it's all about how you place the cameras and where you capture the sound, said Jay Rinsky, founder of Little Cinema, a creative studio specializing in immersive experiences. "We create sets like the Parisian opera, let the movie be the singer, follow the tone, highlight the emotions... through light, through production design, through 3D environments," he said. The approach, he said, felt particularly well suited to "The Matrix," which he called "a masterpiece of cinema, but done as a rectangle." Attendees watch the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". The character Morpheus appears on screen during the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". Attendees watch the character Morpheus appear on screen surrounded by computer code during the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". Attendees watch immersive computer code appear during the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". Attendees watch immersive computer code appear during the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". Jeb Terry, President and CEO of Cosm, looks up at the dome while speaking after the first shared reality screening of the movie "The Matrix". For the uninitiated: Reeves's Neo is a computer hacker who starts poking around in a life that doesn't quite seem to fit. A mysterious Laurence Fishburne offers him a blue pill that will leave him where he is, or a red pill that will show him he is a slave whose body is being farmed by AI machines while his conscious lives in a computer simulation. There follows much gunfire, lots of martial arts and some mysticism, along with a romance between Neo and Trinity, played by the leather-clad Carrie-Anne Moss. "The Matrix" in shared reality kicks off with a choice of cocktails -- blue or red, of course -- which are consumed as the audience sits surrounded by high-definition screens. Shifting perspectives place the viewer inside Neo's office cubicle, or seemingly in peril. "They're sometimes inside the character's head," said Rinsky. "The world changes as you look up and down for trucks coming at you." The result impressed those who were at the preview screening. "It just did feel like an experience," influencer Vince Rossi told AFP. "It felt like you're at a theme park for a movie almost."—AFP
