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Scroll.in
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
Book versus film: How Alfred Hitchcock transported the spine-chilling ‘Psycho' to the screen
'Norman Bates heard the noise and a shock went through him.' Thus begins Robert Bloch's best-known novel Psycho, which inspired the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho. Published in 1959, the book about a serial killer with a mother fixation was quickly snapped up for a screen adaptation that came out in 1960. Hitchcock's money-spinning version inspired three sequels, a remake and a contemporary series. Bloch was a prolific writer in the genres of crime, science fiction and fantasy ('Things were very quiet in ladies' underwear that morning' is the opening line of his novella The Miracle of Ronald Weems). Bloch churned out more Psycho books too, which had nothing to do with the film sequels. While the movie diverges from the book, the two Psychos are united in their concentrated impact. Hitchcock's genius lies in locating the correct tone and visuals to match Bloch's chilling prose. Hitchcock's Psycho will be screened on July 24 at Mumbai's Regal cinema by the Film Heritage Foundation, as part of its annual restoration workshop. The foundation previously showed the suspense maestro's North By Northwest, and will screen Rear Window (on July 31) and Vertigo (on August 7). View this post on Instagram A post shared by Film Heritage Foundation (@filmheritagefoundation) A landmark of the horror genre, Psycho remains the subject of numerous dissections and debates. The black-and-white movie's gruesome centrepiece is a roughly 45-second sequence in which a woman is knifed to death while taking a shower. The stabbing was one of the most explicit portrayals of violence in cinema at the time. In an interview in 1990, Bloch recalled telling the director, 'Mr Hitchcock, I think this is either going to be your greatest success, or your biggest bomb.' Bloch dreams up a worse fate for the showering woman, Mary Crane. Mary spots a 'crazy old woman' peering at her through the curtain. 'Mary started to scream, and then the curtains parted further and a hand appeared, holding a butcher's knife,' Bloch writes. 'It was the knife that, a moment later, cut off her scream. And her head.' It was the 'suddenness of the murder in the shower, coming, as it were, out of the blue', that intrigued Hitchcock, he told filmmaker Francois Truffaut for the conversation book Hitchcock/Truffaut. Psycho supplied Hitchcock the opportunity to get audiences 'aroused by pure film', he said. Bloch's crisp writing and vivid imagery gave Hitchcock and screenwriter Joseph Stefano ample cues to create graphic, abrupt scenes. Bloch based Norman Bates on Ed Gein, the American serial killer who in the 1950s made souvenirs from the body parts of his victims. Norman's reading list includes a book about the Incas, who have fashioned drums out of human skin – a foreshadowing of Norman's subsequent actions as well as a link to Ed Gein. In an essay The Shambles of Ed Gein from 1962, Bloch wrote, 'The real chamber of horrors is the gray, twisted, pulsating, blood-flecked interior of the human mind.' In Bloch's novel, readers meet his deranged creation in the first chapter itself. Norman is unnerved by a sound that turns out to be that of rain, not of 'someone tapping on the window pane'. Norman has lived his entire life in the house adjoining the Bates Motel. The only other occupant, who looms large over Norman's fragile mind, is his beloved and hated mother Norma. Bloch writes: 'Here everything was orderly and ordained: it was only there, outside, that the changes took place. And most of the changes held a potential threat.' Norma disapproves of 40-year-old Norman's stay-at-home behaviour, his sexual impotence, his submissiveness. 'Mothers sometimes are overly possessive, but not all children allow themselves to be possessed,' Bloch observes. Mary Crane wanders into Norman's isolated world by accident. She is on the run after having stolen money from her employer in order to help her boyfriend Sam Loomis pay off a debt. Heavy rain forces Mary to stay the night at Bates Motel, where Norman, his collection of stuffed animals – he is a taxidermist by hobby – and Mother await her. After Mary's disappearance, the detective Arbogast, Sam and Mary's sister Lila arrive at Bates Motel. The book's final chapters are replicated in the film adaptation. The movie finds innovative ways to transport Bloch's observations to the screen. A line that compares Norman's house to a jail inspires Saul Bass's opening titles, in which the names resemble distorted bars in a prison cell. Hitchcock made some key changes to the book. Mary Crane is now Marion Crane. Norman doesn't have a plump face, thinning sandy hair or rimless glasses. He is tall and slim, with a full head of hair, piercing black eyes and a boyish appearance. The film begins with Marion, rather than Norman. The camera hovers over a city and then moves downward and through the window of the room where Marion (Janet Leigh) is in bed with Sam (John Gavin). Voyeurism, the act of seeing what is meant to be shielded from the gaze, will be echoed later in the film, culminating in the shower. '…the public always likes to be one jump ahead of the story; they like to feel that they know what's coming next,' Hitchcock told Truffaut. 'So you deliberately play upon this fact to control their thoughts. The more we go into the details of the girl's story, the more the audience becomes absorbed in her flight.' The movie withholds the introduction to Norman – a necessary device for creating suspense. The movie's Norman is a cipher, without any indication of his proclivities. In the book, Norman has an outburst when Mary suggests that he should institutionalise his ailing mother. In the film, Norman doesn't visibly react to Marion's remark. Rather, his mental state is revealed through camera angles and subtle editing. Cinematographer John L Russell moves around and closer to Norman and the stuffed birds in the background during his conversation with Marion. The film's iconic bit of dialogue 'We all go a little mad sometimes' is a reworking of Bloch's line 'I think perhaps all us go a little crazy at times.' Norman's poignant statement about his loneliness is an invention of the film: 'We scratch and claw but only at the air and each other. And for all of it we never budge an inch.' Hitchcock's mastery is most evident in the opening section, the build-up to Marion's killing and the shower sequence. While the woman's beheading is excised for the movie, Hitchcock conjures up an equally terrible end for the character. Hitchcock told Truffaut that he deliberately cast Janet Leigh as Marion. By killing a well-known actor so early into the narrative, Hitchcock was 'directing the viewers', he added, 'playing them, like an organ'. Marion's murder is sliced into numerous shots that last mere seconds and match the frenzied stabs on her naked body. Bernard Hermann's strings-heavy background score mimics the sound of shrieking. A match cut links Marion's eye to the drain into which her blood is flowing. The shoot took a week, required 72 camera set-ups and involved 52 editing cuts. Marli Renfro played Leigh's body double. Renfro was among the actors, filmmakers and critics interviewed by Alexandre O Philippe for his insightful documentary 78/52 (2017). Director Karyn Kusama notes in 78/52 that Psycho was 'the first modern, pure expression of the female body under assault'. Hermann's iconic tune – which was partially lifted by composer Sandeep Chowta for a scene in Ram Gopal Varma's Satya (1988) – could not be heard in cinemas because of the audience's screams, Peter Bogdanovich recalls in 78/52. Play The stabbing montage eclipses Hitchcock's other feats in the movie. The truth about Norma and Norman comes off better in the novel. Despite peaking a bit too soon, the film distils the twisted spirit of Bloch's novel, while also giving a face to Norman Bates that is impossible to forget. Anthony Perkins, the father of horror filmmaker Osgood Perkins, brilliantly played Norman in Psycho and its sequels, his interpretation of the maniac overshadowing his other roles. Film scholars have pointed to Psycho 's predecessors, among them Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter (1955). Michael Powell's Peeping Tom, which was released two months before Psycho in 1960, is considered a worthier and weightier exploration of deviance. Yet, Psycho 's contribution to the serial killer genre is vast and enduring. In 1998, Gus Van Sant directed a shot-by-shot remake in colour. His Psycho starred Vince Vaughn as Norman, Anne Heche as Marion and Julianne Moore as Lila. The film is a curio, adding nothing to the original production. The continuing fascination with Norman's house of horrors also inspired the long-running television series Bates Motel (2013-2017). The prequel takes place in the present and explores Norman's formative years. Freddie Highmore plays a young Norman, while Vera Farmiga is Norma. The show is aimed at completists who want to know every inch of the twinned Norman-Norma. But Bloch's novel and Hitchcock's adaptation are adequate as starter and main course. Each is complete in itself, best consumed in one terrified gulp.
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
More commercials are playing before movies: Are theater chains testing your patience or saving the box office?
The business model for movie theaters has been under threat since at least the 1980s with the widespread adoption of the VHS. DVDs, streaming, and the COVID-19 pandemic have only compounded the issue. According to Octane Seating, 63% of Americans watch movies at home, which isn't happy news for big chains such as AMC, Cinemark, and Regal. This is in addition to video games, smartphones, prestige TV, and every other form of media that competes for your attention in the 21st century. Popular movie chains have been forced to get creative to stay afloat. Tactics such as luxury reclining chairs and top-shelf alcohol haven't been enough. A new controversial way to bring in needed revenue is to add additional non-trailer advertisements in the preshow, increasing the length from 15–20 minutes to 30. So if you want to see a summer blockbuster flick, plan accordingly. Let's take a look at the timeline for this change and if it has impacted audience behavior. Cinemark and Regal lead the way In 2019, Cinemark and Regal reached an agreement with National CineMedia to add additional commercials in the preshow slot. One of these was dubbed a platinum spot and would play right before the attached trailers. The movie chains reportedly received 25% of the revenue collected from these prominently displayed ads. National CineMedia CEO Tom Lesinski promised that this would not deter audiences, as a similar practice was already standard in Europe. 'We don't believe it will be a significant issue for exhibitors or consumers,' he explained in an interview with Deadline at the time. AMC jumps on the longer preshow bandwagon AMC initially rejected the idea, but six years later is changing its tune. On July 1, AMC joined Cinemark and Regal. The chain also made sure its patrons were aware of the change by emphasizing it in a disclaimer for ticket buyers. When news of AMC's change of policy broke, the movie chain issued a statement explaining the decision. AMC claims this change will not keep audiences away from theaters but doesn't explicitly say anything about watching trailers. 'While AMC was initially reluctant to bring this to our theatres, our competitors have fully participated for more than five years without any direct impact to their attendance,' the statement explained. 'This is a strong indication that this NCM preshow initiative does not negatively influence moviegoing habits.' How has this impacted the audience? While theater chains may claim the practice hasn't impacted attendance, the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic and entertainment industry strikes make it difficult to isolate the exact reason for any changes in audience behavior. Thanks in part to the ' Barbenheimer ' phenomenon of two summers ago, 2023 was the best summer box office since all of this drama came about, bringing in $13.6 billion globally. Last year, meanwhile, saw a 10.3% decline domestically over 2023, according to Comscore. In June of this year, as reported by Deadline, Gower Street Analytics predicted the summer season would make around $12.4 billion in global box office revenue. Moviegoers appear to be holding steady. However, even though audiences are still showing up, they are starting to skip the trailers. According to Steve Buck's firm EntTelligence, only 60% of audiences were present for them this year. The numbers get lower in the movie-centric cities of Los Angeles and New York. Only 42% of Angelino cinephiles were present for every trailer, down from 55% last year. Only 42% of New Yorkers saw each trailer, down 5% from the previous year. These statistics to reveal a potential catch-22. While theater chains have to stay open to new sources of revenue, they may risk repeat business as fewer audience members are exposed to their full slate of coming attractions. 'What if a trailer plays in a movie theater and no one sees it? What good does it do?' Tom Rothman, Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman and CEO, mused to Deadline. 'It's incredibly self-defeating and shortsighted. Since the beginning of the movie business, the single best inducement to see movies is trailers in movie theaters. And now, nobody sees them.' Only questions remain. Will 'the skipping the trailers' trend continue and even grow? Will this lead to opting out of going to the movie theater altogether? Time will tell. For now, be armed with the knowledge that you have extra time to get your popcorn without missing the movie should you so choose.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Odyssey Imax Tickets Sell Out a Year Early, Resale Prices Soar
A year ahead of its theatrical debut, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has already triggered a ticket-buying frenzy. Imax 70mm screenings for the July 17–19, 2026 weekend sold out within an hour of going live at midnight ET on July 17. The rapid sellout reportedly generated around $1.5 million in sales and set off a wave of high-priced resales across major platforms. The Odyssey Imax tickets being resold for $400 Buyers immediately began listing tickets for The Odyssey on platforms like eBay due to the high demand. A source told The Hollywood Reporter that resellers are pricing tickets between $300 and $400, with some listings reportedly hitting $500. One Dallas screening ticket appeared at 400% above its $25–$28 retail value. Another listing reportedly offered two seats to a July 19 screening for $399, while four AMC Lincoln Square tickets opened bidding at $1,000. Imax tweeted the offer alongside the message: 'Get tickets now to experience the first IMAX 70mm screenings of The Odyssey Movie – A film by Christopher Nolan. In theaters 7 17 26.' Major U.S. venues such as AMC Lincoln Square (New York), Universal Cinema AMC (Hollywood), and Regal Irvine Spectrum (Orange County) reported sellouts. Imax locations in San Francisco, Dublin, Ontario, Fort Lauderdale, Buford, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, King of Prussia, and Dallas also reached capacity. Canadian theaters like Cineplex Mississauga Square and Vaughan sold out quickly. In the U.K., London's BFI Imax and Science Museum locations sold out as well. Additional sites in Melbourne and the Czech Republic reported near-full or full capacity. Fans reacted with frustration online, expressing disappointment over the inflated resale prices and limited ticket availability. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey adapts Homer's Greek epic and stars Matt Damon as Odysseus. Nolan is shooting the film entirely on Imax cameras, marking the first time a commercial feature has used the format exclusively. The cast includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, Mia Goth, and others. Although production is still underway, Universal premiered a teaser in theaters ahead of Jurassic World Rebirth earlier this month. Nolan's previous film Oppenheimer grossed $975.8 million globally, with Imax accounting for $190 million. The Odyssey has a reported net budget of $250 million. Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on SuperHeroHype. The post The Odyssey Imax Tickets Sell Out a Year Early, Resale Prices Soar appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Solve the daily Crossword
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Sushma Seth: Never the Garden Variety
Long before she became a household name with India's first soap opera, Hum Log, Sushma Seth was a young girl staging plays in her garden, casting her siblings, directing them, and performing for family and neighbours. Having grown up in a joint family in the capital city, the veteran actor remembers collecting props from home, and staging small plays with the assistance of older family members. 'I always loved acting and music,' Seth adds. Soon enough, the young girl's talent was noticed—her uncle, Maheshwar Dayal, wrote two plays for her. One of them was performed on the Regal cinema's stage. A scholarship eventually took Seth to Briarcliffe College in New York, where she studied drama. Seth was ecstatic that the course included acting, direction, stagecraft, voice training, set and costume design. She was cast in all the important roles, was president of the student council, and crowned May Queen. The Dean raised a scholarship for Sushma to transfer to Carnegie Mellon University, one of the top drama schools in the US, where she also performed and toured with a children's theatre company. 'After four years, I returned to India. And within a fortnight, I was offered a play,' she tells TMS. That first play was Rustom Sohrab, directed by the renowned theatre exponent Habib Tanvir. 'The production was excellent with stylised costumes, music, and powerful performances,' she says. After that, she was offered roles in plays directed by other stalwarts such as Joy Michael, Inderlal Dass, Sai Paranjpye, and Rajindernath, in English, Hindi and Urdu.
Sky News AU
4 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Sydney builder banned by corporate watchdog after being involved in collapse of three construction companies resulting in $93m debt
A Sydney builder owing $93m in debt has been banned for five years by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). ASIC announced on Friday construction director Anthony Azizi, based in NSW, would be disqualified from managing corporations until July 14, 2030. The decision comes after a trio of construction company collapses, which Mr Azizi was involved in. He worked as the director of Trinity Constructions and Regal Consulting Services and as a shadow director of Trinco between January 2001 and September 2021. All three companies have since collapsed, taking with them a total of $93,708,563 racked up in debt to more than 300 unsecured creditors. This included statutory debts owed to Australian Taxation Office, NSW Office of State Revenue, Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in relation to the Fair Entitlements Guarantee, and the NSW Self Insurance Corporation. Several small businesses are also owed money. ASIC's decision said it found Mr Azizi to have "acted improperly and failed to meet his obligations as director" through a number of ways. These included failure "to exercise due care and diligence to ensure that the companies met their statutory requirements," how he "failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the companies kept written financial records" and that he "improperly used his position to cause detriment to the companies". ASIC also said Mr Azizi had failed to ensure companies did not trade while insolvent. It also found he failed to lodge a report on company activities and property with the liquidator of Regal within 10 days of finishing up and failed to provide "reasonable assistance" to the liquidator of Regal as he did not deliver all the books "as soon as practicable after winding up". Supplementary reports from the liquidator of Trinity, Graeme Beattie of Worrells, and the liquidator of Trinco, Henry McKenna of Vincents, assisted ASIC in its decision to disqualify Mr Azizi. Mr Azizi has the right to seek a review of ASIC's decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
