comment #1

Josh Massey says ...

So when American Gangster still makes $150 million, will those who blame Sicko's failure on pirating please go away?

comment #2

Dave says ...

Josh-- ditto.

comment #3

actionman says ...

$150 million for AG would be amazing. I haven't seen it yet but I bet it's great. Denzel, Russell and Ridley can't be beat I'd like to think. But with a runtime close to 3 hours, amazing film or not, I'm thinking it will do more like $75-85 million domestic. I hope I'm wrong as I'd like to hope that an R-rated, Ridley Scott gangster movie could make well over $100 million in the US alone.

comment #4

Daniel Tayag says ...

Not only has American Gangster been online in "crap" quality but Things We Lost in the Fire as well. As for the quality being "crap" I believe that the piraters shrink the video quality so it could fit onto a 700 MB disc.

Here's some pics I found of the pirated "Things":
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/8038/23r0ferrt7.png
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3752/dfwwv9qs8.png

Crap? Maybe if you're blowing it up on a theatre screen.

I even read that the screener for American Gangster doesn't have any watermarks or text running across the screen at all.

comment #5

D.Z. says ...

American Gangster ain't making $150 million. It's $80 million tops. And Sicko failed, because it was released during tentpole season.

comment #6

agrayesq says ...

Well I watched it today on a site that had a wonderful transfer. Although decent, AG doesn't come close to living up to the hype. This site also had "No Country for Old Men" which was just as good a transfer as AG.

comment #7

T. Holly says ...

Hope you did it borrowing your neighbor's free wireless connection so you don't get caught, esq.

comment #8

Rothchild says ...

A.G. is going to make 125-150. Rule of thumb, take D.Z.'s number and multiply it by two, unless it's an obscure Hong Kong film.

comment #9

malibugigolo says ...

If you make a movie that glorifies criminal behavior why the shock that it attracts criminals.

You attract what you are.

Or in one of the best lines of No Country is when Woody Harrselon's character is told by Chigurh....(something like )the rules that you followed led you to me

comment #10

D.Z. says ...

Roth: If The Departed couldn't make $150 million here, what makes you think it'll happen with AG?

comment #11

Mistress Malevolent says ...

Denzel brings a black AND white audience.

comment #12

D.Z. says ...

Mistress: But he ain't a $150 million draw yet.

comment #13

rocco says ...

You mean to tell us, Wells, that you've never stuck it to the man by stealing cable or wifi, keeping quiet while a cashier undercharged you at The Home Depot or a waiter left your mojito off your tab, or by downloading anal porn using bittorrent or limewire? I call bullshit. In fact, I know you're full of shit.

Those who don't sell for a profit take glee in dowloading because they've been ripped off and let down for years by studios and record labels...not really surprised to see you taking such a corporate, red-state, hard-line stance ("good, i hope they arrest the guy...") against online disobediance now that it's your town on the line...

comment #14

T. Holly says ...

Master: I didn't know Denzel attracts the chimney smokers.

comment #15

Mistress Malevolent says ...

Delbomber, I haven't done any of those things either. That's not "sticking it to the man," it's sticking it to the wages of the people who work 9-5 and have to make up the losses out of their own salaries. Some people would say that doing those things makes you, oh what's the French term? Oh yes: a cheap cunt. I am more generous: I think you're both an asshole AND a cheap cunt.

comment #16

rocco says ...

yeah, mistress, I'd take you so much more seriously if you didn't have a link to your very own myspace page.

Pushing this fact aside and assuming you're not a 16-yr old highschool freshman, I was calling Wells' self-righteousness by giving examples of things many people do very, very often, and I KNOW Wells has stolen porn as he's admitted it here in the past. Your assumption that I myself am guilty of these things is endearing in a first-grade-reading-comprehension kind of way...

comment #17

T. Holly says ...

I think she means just refresh the search every few hours because dummies give it away for free.

comment #18

christian says ...

Calling the cops to protect AMERICAN GANGSTER...

As George Axelrod would say: "Irony!"

comment #19

Mistress Malevolent says ...

T. Holly I just thought it would be amusing for people to waste hours and hours of their time pointlessly hitting the almost 500,000,000 hits for "Washington" on Google to no end result. I made the part about AG being available for download somewhere under that word up. I'm evil. That's what people like us do.

comment #20

malibugigolo says ...

Wouldn't Axelrod say: Phffft!

comment #21

Mistress Malevolent says ...

I like "phfft!" I heard someone at the Barnes & Noble in Union Sqare today say "bah!" It quite made my day.

comment #22

T. Holly says ...

Hey Miss Male, you've been a dud. First, update the name, it's so afflicted. Now, actually be mean, or something.

comment #23

Mistress Malevolent says ...

But why would I want to be mean to you, dear, dear, T. Holly? You have never said anything to incur my wrath, said anything to give me pause, or, indeed, said anything interesting at all.

comment #24

BurmaShave says ...

"Well I watched it today on a site that had a wonderful transfer. Although decent, AG doesn't come close to living up to the hype. This site also had "No Country for Old Men" which was just as good a transfer as AG.

Posted by: agrayesq at October 24, 2007 05:53 PM"

Scumbag.

Roth: If The Departed couldn't make $150 million here, what makes you think it'll happen with AG?

Posted by: D.Z. at October 24, 2007 06:40 PM

Uh, the people who say it has a lot more urban appeal have a point. DEPARTED almost made it there without it.

comment #25

T. Holly says ...

Oh dear, we're all doomed, I never did like you mistress/master types, terribly boring.

comment #26

Mistress Malevolent says ...

But darling, liking us is hardly the point, is it? We don't do "like;" we do pain.

comment #27

T. Holly says ...

Ah, Ian Sinclair with the pre-Halloween chicanery. When you got nailed impersonating a different persona from your play, you broke character again. Tsk, tsk. Man, that was a drag.

comment #28

Mistress Malevolent says ...

The Mistress rarely breaks character, darling, but if and when she does, unlike yourself, she has character to to spare.

comment #29

muteprotest says ...

What the hell are you babbling about?

comment #30

T. Holly says ...

jeffmcm busted "her," it's Ian, who's really Hunter, a playwrite. No biggie.

comment #31

jeffmcm says ...

There are few things worse in the world than incorrigible theatre geeks.

comment #32

agrayesq says ...

Oh God!!! You mean Brian Grazer's cabana boy might be fired because of my downloading of AG??? Oh no!!! I feel sooooo rotten for what I've done! I must head to church immediately and ask forgiveness! Wait! A couple more downloads first...Won't take too long...Has Hollywood made this the eleventh commandment? Oh I feel like the evil Dathan now.

comment #33

EDouglas says ...

That's what we need around here. More posters who talk about themselves in the third person. EDouglas approves.

comment #34

EDouglas says ...

agrayesq, I'm guessing you're joking but just wait until the MPAA starts going after movie downloaders the way the record industry went after file-sharers and we'll see who's laughing during the 15 minutes they're let out of their cell to use the internet.

comment #35

JaySmack says ...

T Holly. What do you mean, "Denzel attracts the chimney smokers?"
You should probably go back to your village, they just called and said they're missing their idiot.

And other than Gladiator, will someone please name for me the Russell Crowe film that made more than 150 mil at the box-office?

Denzel is what you call a guaranteed box-office draw. He may not be Mr Blockbuster, but he always brings in 90 million. He's never sought out genere vehicles either, instead he does solid acting in solid stories. He knows what works, what he does well, and he does it.
Compare that to Crowe's experiemts like Proof of life, Cinderella Man and...what was the name of that romance flick he did with Ridley Scott? I didn't see it, and apparently neither did anyone else.
If American Gangster does well, it will be totally due to Denzel -he's playing the kind of role Pacino did twenty five years ago. If it does poorly, then I'm placing the blame solely on Crowe.
That should tell everyone something.

comment #36

T. S. Idiot says ...

"keeping quiet while a cashier undercharged you at The Home Depot"

Wells at Home Depot? Funniest post of the year.

comment #37

Jay T. says ...

Anyone who thinks this film won't top 100 million has no clue about audiences in this country. Denzel Washington + Russell Crowe + crime + good reviews = big money.

On another note, I don't get the whole pirated copy thing for a movie like this. I could have the film sitting on my computer right now and I wouldn't watch it - I'd much rather see it on a big screen in a theater.

comment #38

christian says ...

Throwing people in jail for watching a paen to tough gangsters on their computers...Yes, that's how to maximize use of our justice system.

comment #39

Edward says ...

Will they put the evil downloaders in the same prison as the evil potsmokers?

comment #40

Josh Massey says ...

"And other than Gladiator, will someone please name for me the Russell Crowe film that made more than 150 mil at the box-office?"

Um, A Beautiful Mind?

comment #41

OddDuck says ...

OK, maybe I'll go to Guantonimo for this, but I was curious and downloaded it - there are over 3000 seeders for the torrent file so pretty easy and quick download. But I couldn't watch more than the first five minutes of it because the quality is so bad. It's obviously a screener and not a camcorder deal, but still the picture quality is awful, all washed up and pixelated - NOT a fun way to watch big movie like this. So I stopped and just ended up just deleting all 1.4GB of it from my drive. But man, the first minute!! Damn!!! All I can say is Ridley knows how to start a film and I'm THERE opening day.