Latest news with #Goetz
Los Angeles Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Hollywood's all-important summer box office has never been less predictable
Summer movie season is here, which means another season chock full of sequels, 're-imagined' classics and, yes, a smattering of risky originals. If you already believe that Hollywood is out of ideas, you won't find much contradictory evidence at the local multiplex in the coming months. As much as audiences say they crave originality, how they actually spend their money tells a different tale, with 2024's full-year top 10 completely dominated by existing intellectual property. So studios are sticking with what has worked before. Will it work again? Some studio executives anticipate that the summer box office — which runs from the first weekend in May through Labor Day — will generate close to $3.75 billion in domestic ticket sales. That would be up slightly from last year, but still down significantly from pre-pandemic levels. Others anticipate a total of $3.5 billion, which would mark a decline from a year ago. Executives say that the lineup is strong on paper, though uncertainty abounds and August is lacking in compelling titles. Despite the challenges, the summer months remain an important gut check for the film industry, producing around 40% of the annual totals in the U.S. and Canada. The last time summer movies tallied $4 billion in revenue — once a typical haul — was two years ago, the year of 'Barbenheimer,' and that was a unique post-COVID 19 pandemic phenomenon. Kevin Goetz, founder and chief executive of entertainment data and research firm Screen Engine/ASI, predicts a 'solid' summer, though he doesn't expect the industry to get back to 2019 levels. 'I don't think we ever get to that place again where we say, 'Oh, we're back,'' Goetz said. 'We're certainly in full-on recovery mode. But in the course of this last five years, audiences have shifted and changed.' That said, there's still room for surprises. Box-office performance has become increasingly difficult to predict for the studio 'tent pole' releases, film executives say. Distribution chiefs do their best to forecast opening weekend results based on data from audience-tracking firms, which help studios see whether their marketing efforts are working and gives them a chance to change course. But those models aren't picking up what's causing certain movies to overperform these days — the late-breaking viral buzz and last-minute marketing decisions that drive young people to the theaters with a fear of missing out, or FOMO. That's what happened with Warner Bros.' 'A Minecraft Movie,' one of the year's biggest surprise hits. Goetz said that's a function of the nature of audience tracking. It's not broken, he argues. It's misunderstood. 'Tracking was invented not a parlor game but as a way to measure the efficacy of your advertising flight,' Goetz said. 'It is not meant to predict a finite number.' After a quiet Mother's Day weekend, theaters are hoping a series of highly anticipated movies gets the momentum back on track. Thanks to the performance of 'Minecraft' and Ryan Coogler's breakout hit 'Sinners,' box office so far this year is up 16%, according to Comscore. Warner Bros.' next effort, the horror reboot 'Final Destination Bloodlines' is shaping up to do impressive business this weekend 14 years after the last one. Rival studio execs say it could open with $40 million in sales. The studio also has its DC Studios strategy on the line this year with the release of James Gunn's 'Superman,' a character that has sometimes proved difficult to make compelling on the big screen. Walt Disney Co. has a big franchise-filled summer ahead, with some major gambles on the schedule. The Burbank giant officially kicked off the season with 'Thunderbolts*,' a middling performer for Marvel Studios commercially, though the studio can take heart that reviews were strong and audiences enjoyed it. The improvement in quality contributed to a solid second weekend for 'Thunderbolts*,' which declined 55% to top the domestic charts with $33.1 million, a pretty good hold for a superhero movie these days. The upcoming live-action 'Lilo & Stitch' is expected to win a busy Memorial Day weekend, likely easily beating Paramount's expensive 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,' which debuts at the same time. The original 'Lilo' is one of Disney's few non-Pixar animated films of the 2000s with a lasting cultural footprint (I'm not counting the cult of 'The Emperor's New Groove,' though I see you, fellow millennials). It's way too soon to know what Pixar's 'Elio' will do at theaters. The last time Pixar put out an original movie was 2023's 'Elemental,' which opened to weak numbers but recovered enough to eventually collect $496 million worldwide. 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' is Marvel's mega-swing of the year. Kevin Feige is attempting to succeed at a task no one has yet accomplished: making a good 'Fantastic Four' movie. Universal Pictures will have one of the biggest releases of the year with 'Jurassic World Rebirth,' yet another installment in its killer dino franchise. Hopes are high for 'How to Train Your Dragon,' the company's attempt to follow Disney with a faithful live-action version of the popular Dreamworks Animation property (which has its own themed land at Universal's soon-to-open Epic Universe park in Orlando). Besides 'Mission: Impossible,' Paramount has two revivals on offer: 'Smurfs' and 'The Naked Gun,' a rare pure comedy from a major studio, which could be an advantage. Sony is counting on 'Karate Kid: Legends,' as well as returning horror titles '28 Years Later' and 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' to fuel its finances. As for spinoffs, Lionsgate has 'Ballerina,' a 'John Wick' offshoot featuring Ana de Armas' character. Apple's film unit is bucking the I.P. trend with the big-budget 'F1,' a racing drama starring Brad Pitt, which will be a serious test of the iPhone maker's big-screen ambitions. It's a wild card that analysts are hoping plays more like a burnt-rubber version of 'Top Gun: Maverick' (from the same director, Joseph Kosinski) and less like Apple's other cinematic outings. With originals like 'Elio' and 'F1' especially, quality is key, as is the strength of the brands behind them: Pixar and Formula 1 racing. 'Even though those movies present more of an original idea, they still have marketable elements that are compelling to lean into,' Goetz said. President Trump's movie tariffs idea threw Hollywood into chaos, but there are some in the industry who are trying to make the most of the moment. This week, Trump's Hollywood 'ambassadors' Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone joined the film and TV business unions and trade groups to call for tax provisions that they say will help make it more affordable to shoot in the U.S., The Times' Samantha Masunaga reported. In a letter to the White House, which was obtained by The Times, the groups said they support Trump's proposal to create a new 15% corporate tax rate for domestic manufacturing activities that would use a provision from the old Section 199 of the federal tax code as a model. The letter also asks Trump to extend Section 181 of the federal tax code and increase the caps on tax-deductible qualified film and TV production expenditures, as well as reinstating the ability to carry back losses, which the groups say would give production companies more financial stability. These are modest ideas compared with Trump's proposal for 100% tariffs on foreign-made movies and Gov. Gavin Newsom's demand for a $7.5-billion federal incentive. As a reminder though, California's problem isn't just that productions have moved to Canada, Britain and Hungary. Other states are taking business as well. Late last week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the state's budget, which increased the cap for its film tax credit to $800 million a year, up from $700 million. That would top Newsom's proposed increase, which would raise California's incentive program to $750 million. Listen: New music from Swedish goths Ghost. Read: The best of the Chicago pope memes.
CBS News
30-04-2025
- CBS News
Suspect arrested in connection with explosion near Southeast Baltimore Home Depot
A man has been arrested in connection with an explosion that happened in Southeast Baltimore over the weekend near a Home Depot. The explosion happened Sunday near the Wendy's and the Eastern Avenue entrance to The Home Depot. On Monday, bomb squad and arson investigators said they had identified a person of interest. Detectives said they reviewed surveillance footage showing a Toyota Camry pull up to the shopping center parking lot where a group of individuals were gathered. The vehicle was still for some time, before moving towards the Wendy's, according to court documents. As the vehicle turned right toward Eastern Avenue, a commotion appeared among the people gathered in the parking lot. Around 1:20 p.m., the sedan approached the group, and a man later identified as 23-year-old Brent Goetz, threw what detectives suspect was a hand grenade at the individuals, before speeding off toward Eastern Avenue. After reviewing the video footage, police used Camry's license plate to link the vehicle to Goetz. Goetz was arrested on Monday and is charged with possessing a destructive device, and second-degree assault.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
York area drainage project keeps floodwaters away
When last week's severe storms and days of epic rainfall swept over the region, one place that didn't see flooding was in the Shifley-York neighbors off Bittel Road. 'Actually, there is no flooding at all since they've done the construction,' former City Commissioner Mark Castlen said Tuesday. In 2022, commissioners approved a $5-million stormwater project in the Shifley-York area, using American Rescue Plan Act dollars the city received for pandemic relief. The final sewer work is expected to be complete next month, Assistant City Engineer Jack Goetz said Tuesday. 'We are moving ahead well,' Goetz said. 'We are in the process of installing the last line of the sewer system. 'We are hoping to wrap up all the storm sewer (work) by early May,' Goetz said. The project included creating a three-acre drainage basin, widening York Ditch from 2 feet to 8 feet, and installing sewer lines to take neighborhoods out of the combined sewer system, which handles both sewage and rainwater. The new lines will keep sewage and rain water from overwhelming the storm water lines during heavy rainfall. Although not complete, the system is already working, Castlen said. 'I was pleasantly surprised after the rain there was no pond' at places that formerly flooded in the neighborhood, Castlen said. Castlen was on the City Commission when commissioners and Mayor Tom Watson unanimously supported the drainage project. 'I'll be happy when it's over, but I'm more happy it's making such a difference for my neighbors,' Castlen said. 'Everything fell into place, and I feel good about that.' After the final sewer line is installed, crews will do some site restoration in areas where construction took place, Goetz said. The work caused some disruption in the neighborhoods, Castlen said, but that it was 'a minor price to pay for the betterment of the community.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Local victims of TBI share their stories
ENDICOTT, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – March is Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness month, and local victims of TBI gathered in Endicott today to share their stories. The organization Compassionate Care of Central New York has been in Endicott for over 20 years and provides home care and a day program for victims of traumatic brain injury. The program is meant to empower people of all abilities to live their own, independent life, teaching daily skills like cooking, money management, and safety. While socializing with each other, playing games, taking trips into the community and volunteering. The President of Compassionate Care, Stephanie Goetz, says many people who suffer from a traumatic brain injury actually celebrate the day of their accident as their day of rebirth. 'They may have had a brain injury, but they're still the person that they were. They should be accepted they should be celebrated. And whether that be here, or again, in their homes so they can live a regular, quality life, we try to make that happen for them,' said Goetz. Goetz says over the next six months, Compassionate Care plans to expand its footprint and open up satellite offices in six different counties. Compassionate Care says at least 5.3 million Americans live with a TBI related disability, which is one in every 60 people. Their website is Binghamton man sentenced to prison after failing to update sex offender registration Local victims of TBI share their stories Trump moves against Department of Education: What to know Comedian Trae Crowder coming to Binghamton Akshar: Broome County will assist ICE in immigration enforcement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Affordable housing bills ‘legitimate government concern,' judge rules
Montana needs more affordable housing units, and the Villagio, pictured here, and Trinity both opened in 2023, together bringing 402 new homes to Missoula. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan) Four bills the Montana Legislature adopted in 2023 in a quest to create more affordable housing in the state will stay on the books — at least for now — despite a lawsuit arguing they are unconstitutional. In an order Monday, Gallatin County District Court Judge Mike Salvagni said statutes restricting public participation in one bill, Senate Bill 382, are facially unconstitutional. However, Salvagni denied other requests the court find all four bills unconstitutional. The bills came out of Gov. Greg Gianforte's housing task force and were sponsored by Senate Republicans last session. They addressed land use legislation, including duplexes, urban infill, and accessory dwelling units, or backyard units, and they had bipartisan support. '(Monday's) ruling by Gallatin District Court to uphold critical pro-housing reforms is a victory for all Montanans striving for affordable, attainable housing,' said Gianforte, a Republican, in a statement. 'These bipartisan measures … address our state's housing crisis by increasing supply and expanding access to homeownership, a key part of the American dream.' Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, one of the sponsors, also praised the outcome Tuesday. 'The ruling reinforces the legislature's authority to make common sense solutions to help with Montana's housing crisis,' Hertz said in a text message. The lawsuit was filed by MAID, Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification, a group of homeowners. MAID argued the bill package unfairly targets certain towns and counties, cuts the public out of its right to participate, usurps some of the control given to cities and counties by the 1972 Constitution, and treats some property owners differently, such as municipal residents in developments with or without covenants. The judge protected public participation rights but otherwise said the legislature was properly doing its job. 'Clearly, each of the challenged new laws are reasonably related to achieving the purpose of addressing the affordable housing problem,' the order said. 'Considering them collectively in the overall scheme of the Legislature's purpose does not diminish their Constitutionality. Through the provisions of these laws, the Legislature has enunciated its means for achieving its purposes. 'It is not the Court's function to second guess the prudence of the Legislature.' Tuesday, Jim Goetz, one of the lawyers who represented the plaintiffs, said he was unsure whether his clients would want to appeal the order. However, Goetz said he was pleased to see the judge protect public participation in his ruling. 'It will force the state to go back to the drawing board and make sure that the public is involved, and that's very important on land use decisions,' Goetz said. Goetz said some people unfairly dismiss critics of developments as NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard), but he said it's an unfair characterization, and it's also beside the point. 'People have the right to have a voice in developments next door and in their neighborhoods, and that's very important to us,' Goetz said. The Montana League of Cities and Towns is among four defendant intervenors, and its lawyer could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Montana has lacked an adequate supply of housing, especially affordable housing, for years, and the bills address different aspects of development. Senate Bill 382, the Montana Land Use and Planning Act, was a substantial part of it, and it intends to help cities modernize project development. The order characterized SB 382 as a 'massive overhaul' of subdivision and zoning regulations, and it said the bill defined public participation in site-specific developments — the latter portion which the judge deemed unconstitutional. Senate Bill 323 requires cities with populations of more than 5,000 to allow duplexes on lots zoned for single family residences. Senate Bill 528 mandates cities allow a minimum of one ADU by right on a lot or parcel with a single-family dwelling. Senate Bill 245 states cities designated as urban areas and with populations over 5,000 must allow multiple-unit dwellings and mixed-use developments in commercial zones. 'Although the term 'affordable housing' is not used in SB 245, SB 323 and SB 528, the Legislature's concern to allow additional housing in larger municipalities and ADUs in all cities is a legitimate purpose,' the order said. ' … Clearly, housing affordability is a legitimate governmental concern, and the new laws at issue related to that concern.' The lawsuit was filed over all four bills. In late 2023, a district court judge temporarily blocked SB 323 and SB 528 from taking effect, but in September 2024, the Montana Supreme Court reversed that order, and the case went back to district court, according to a timeline from the Frontier Institute, which supported the bills. 'Today's order upholding SB 323, SB 528, and SB 245 is a victory for private property rights and the legislature's efforts to address Montana's housing crisis by giving landowners in cities more freedom to build homes,' said Kendall Cotton, president and CEO of the Frontier Institute, who served on the governor's housing task force. 'At the same time, we are disappointed that the court struck down innovative provisions of SB 382 that improve the public input process and speed up housing approvals.'
