Tartan Spartan
Gerard Butler watcher
THIS. IS. TARTANSPARTAN!
Posts: 210
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Post by Tartan Spartan on Jan 7, 2013 11:40:48 GMT -5
Just got back from seeing PFK. Nice little movie with Gerry on screen in virtually every scene! Not going to win any Oscars but certainly didn't deserve some of the criticism it has been getting.
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Post by annettek on Jan 7, 2013 11:41:54 GMT -5
Just got back from seeing PFK. Nice little movie with Gerry on screen in virtually every scene! Not going to win any Oscars but certainly didn't deserve some of the criticism it has been getting. you must buy it and out it next to your football
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Tartan Spartan
Gerard Butler watcher
THIS. IS. TARTANSPARTAN!
Posts: 210
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Post by Tartan Spartan on Jan 7, 2013 11:52:36 GMT -5
Just got back from seeing PFK. Nice little movie with Gerry on screen in virtually every scene! Not going to win any Oscars but certainly didn't deserve some of the criticism it has been getting. you must buy it and out it next to your football Lol sounds like a good plan for the future annette! My Liverpool/Celtic scarf is keeping it warm ATM
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Post by jhawk on Jan 8, 2013 19:23:15 GMT -5
I just preordered CM, it is out on DVD Feb 28, 2013. I also put PFK on wish list & to be notified when it is available at Amazon. Everything helps.
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Post by pothos on Jan 9, 2013 7:06:40 GMT -5
Spent the last few days trying to get some information as to the box office performance of PFK in the UK. I emailed the UK Film Distributors Association as they not only release the actual top 15 movies in the UK but release the cash earnings and apparently the new figures come out today.
Very frustrating as it seems the three sites that I have been keeping an eye on all give out their data on different days of the week. Unfortunately up until today PFK missed the top 10 altogether with The Impossible (Ewen McGregor) and Quartet (Billy Connolly) both hitting the top 5.
It is even more upsetting as the movie had a full release schedule here in the UK and if you you discount that some of Gerard's movies had (at least here in the UK) limited releases so you cannot compare like with like, this is the poorest performing movie Gerard has had in 10 years.
Surely the movie was not that bad and I do know it did hit the top 10 in US but compounded by the apparent weight of the movie being dropped onto Gerard and the incident with Mark Kermode which is deeply shocking, I am finding it all rather upsetting at the moment.
I will continue to attempt to get the appropriate UK figures as I do know some fans enjoy tallying up the cash returns of Gerard's movies.
J
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Post by pothos on Jan 9, 2013 13:26:41 GMT -5
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Post by Audrey on Jan 9, 2013 16:56:33 GMT -5
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Post by pothos on Jan 9, 2013 17:59:21 GMT -5
No it got a full saturation release here in the UK. OK the movie is not his best but I think a lot of outside factors did not help. He had to carry the film himself and the Kermode fiasco lost business. What was so unfair about the review was that Gerard took all the criticism with the other cast members hardly being mentioned. I wonder if the movie had been in with a shout of going to number one would they have been noticeable by their absence. I cannot recall any doing press in the UK. I know some people on the boards liked it some did not. I hope it gets some good press in mainland Europe and at least is able to balance it budget.
Trying to stay positive and hope that it hangs in there.
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Post by Audrey on Jan 9, 2013 18:05:41 GMT -5
It's really sad, Pothos To be honest I don't think here in Italy will be a huge success, the review aren't very positive. But there is a huge tv promo of the movie, so maybe people will be curious to see it and this will help the movie.
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Post by maryquitecontrary on Jan 9, 2013 19:09:04 GMT -5
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Post by norwigi on Jan 10, 2013 12:29:01 GMT -5
I think i remeber reading somewhere that Geryss standard pick up line is " do you want the money or can buy you a drink" ?).
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Post by pothos on Jan 14, 2013 13:38:31 GMT -5
I am fascinated if anyone has opinions why the UK release was such a mess and the movie missing the top 10 compared to the US and mainland Europe. I have a couple of theories but would like to read other posters thoughts on this.
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Post by catty on Jan 15, 2013 2:29:52 GMT -5
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Post by pothos on Jan 15, 2013 7:39:08 GMT -5
On paper it should have been a massive hit in the UK. I thought the Number 6 placing in the USA top 10 was a good omen as Soccer is not one of the major sports but I was surprised at how little press other than Biel did for the project then came the UK press tour and to be honest it was one issue after another.
The Gala opening sets alarm bells off as he was on his own for that. Not one actor or the director came to show their support and as far as I can tell no one gave any press other than Gerard.
The marketing went downhill from there. Gerard was literally hung out to dry and I think he was exhausted and demoralized. I quite admire how he tried to keep his head held high but then you got The One Show appearance which I think in UK terms was a massive problem. Now we know how ribald his humour is we know he can be very naughty and hand on heart I still have not had the courage to watch.
The One Show goes out live at 7pm on BBC1 and is classed as family viewing so if the Teddy bondage event happened as described he lost the wider audience for the movie. What was even sadder was that the immediate aftermath of the interview was followed by the flurry of tweets that questioned whether he was drunk or high. Under no circumstances do I believe he was either but for that outcome to happen after a massive TV appearance was a disaster.
Then came the bad reviews and which kept him on the back foot, however this was nothing compared to the Mark Kermode press debacle that left me in tears.
Mark Kermode is a reviewer for the BBC on believe it or not a sport and politics channel but over the last decade with his on air partner Simon Mayo has in my opinion become not only the number one reviewer but the most powerful reviewer in the UK industry and he is also a member of the BFI (British Film Institute).
Kermode gets the live interviews from Spielberg, Scorsese, Streep, Hanks et al when they are in the UK to do press and whether people like Kermode or not he is a major player.
So he comes on air to review the movie and to be honest I was not expecting a decent review, but what I heard staggered me. He explained that when he made the request to access the press screening and that someone from the publicity company had told Kermode that the screening was full. He felt this was not the case and after some esquires managed to gain access into the screening where there were five reviewers in the theatre. He claimed he was lied to. Kermode then lost his temper on air and demolished not only the movie but Gerard, with little to no mention of the rest of the cast or the Director only Gerard the actor, Gerard the producer and sadly Gerard the man. His venom was so intense that he at points in the movie review stopped referring to George the character and substituted Gerard's name so Gerard was accused of being self aggrandizing and a misogynist. I actually broke down as Gerard in all honesty surely would not have been daft enough to try and stop Kermode getting a press entry so he took the hammering for someone else's decision.
I also noticed how tabloid the entire press tour seemed to be in the UK and this has wider implications for Gerard's career. Now to be fare there is nothing wrong with this approach as long as the movies end up being hits. Gerard since the early days of his movie career was always been kicked by the critics but here in the UK the hits kept coming. TR2 critics made worst film of the year (number 1 at UK box office) Rocknrolla (No 1) POTO. 300, P.S. I love You, The Ugly Truth, Nims Island, Bounty Hunter, LAC, all kicked by the critics but they all went at least top 5 ; many went top 3 and did great business. What ever tacticsare now being used to market Gerard they are now failing him.
I am shattered at how badly PFK has performed here, and the ramifications involved. The long term damage with Kermode is a massive issue and for the life of me I cannot see a way forward out of this mess.
The wider audience are not paying to see his movies, the critics think he is a joke and for once Gerard's lack of interest in indie movies and sticking to commercial vehicles thus painting himself into a corner seems to be reckless as this tactic surely only works if the hits keep on coming.
I am dreading OHF as I gather there were re shoots. Please let it be a hit but I can feel the critics booting up their computers already.
I am so pleased that PTF did well in the US and Italy, I hope Evil Twins is in good shape financially but at least in the UK the tabloid tactics are failing him, surely this must be addressed .
It is a joyless experience being a fan in the UK at the moment PFK should have been a massive hit without the critics help, but the public went elsewhere. I log onto Gerry's sites with such a heavy heart these days. It is so frustrating and depressing. He has such talent and seems a decent bloke but everything seems to have backfired so fast.
I think if Gerard can answer yes to the following question;
1 * Do you still really enjoy acting (not the fame or money) but acting.
Then there is light at the end of the dark tunnel.
Funnily enough it crossed my mind that Gerard's best work has come when he has really departed from his comfort zone. Such as Dear Frankie, POTO, 300, MGP, Coriolanus, Please.
It also problematic as many of you are getting such a differing experience at the moment.
Trying to stay strong and positive.
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Post by Audrey on Jan 15, 2013 12:18:00 GMT -5
I'm sad to read it Pothos, but I think that the major problems about this movie in that both in the USA and UK they decide to don't show it at the press and to do a promotion just based on Gerry and his personal life.
Here in Italy the movie is having a great succes, is first at the box office since the first day of the release.
Italian audience love Muccino, and he has done an amazing promotion of the movie ALONE, without Gerry or another members of the cast . Muccino was honest enough to speak about all the problems of this movie, the fight with the producers, all the redone scenes, he was very humble to explain all this but at the same time he was really motivated to promote the movie with the same passion of his others previous americans film. Here on the press we just have read about the movie, no gossip, no private life. Muccino said that with another kind of promotion , choosing the right moment to release this movie, a better trailer and without all the problems with the producers surely PFK would have had another fate in USA .
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