comment #1

Rich S. says ...

"marginally hip under-30 women -- far and away the shallowest, most clueless demographic on the face of the planet "

You do have a knack for expanding your fan base.

comment #2

Nick Rogers says ...

It's a pretty strange movie if that same young actress goes by two different names.

comment #3

The InSneider says ...

Completely disagree on the title. It's great. Everyone knows that vampires can't just walk into your home, they have to be invited inside. Ever seen The Lost Boys, Jeff? C'mon!

comment #4

karatechimp says ...

I just saw "Let the Right One In" a couple of hours ago and it's as good as the word of mouth. It's a truly original film.

The pace is slow but there are so many great moments that they're worth the wait.

Check it out as soon as you have a chance.

comment #5

Richardson says ...

"It just hit me that two movies about young mortals in love with young vampires will soon be upon us"

Why don't they just remake 'Near Dark'? It's got enough problems that it could be remade to "fix" them and enough right about it to be worth trying again. I mean, they'd have to hire Lance Henrikssen again, but that could work easily.

comment #6

LexG says ...

TWILIGHT IS GOING TO OWN YOUR ASS, KRISTEN STEWART IS TOTAL OWNAGE.

125 MILLION IN ITS FIRST THREE DAYS.

Guaranteed.

comment #7

The Winchester says ...

Richardson, I thought they were remaking Near Dark as well, no?

comment #8

actionman says ...

The Near Dark remake has been rumored for a while, and might've been written about in Variety at some point. I want to say that Bay is producing it.

comment #9

DarthCorleone says ...

Yeah, Twilight is going to pound the box office, I'm afraid. The books - regardless of how insipid I have been told that they are - have quite the following. Certainly not to the tune of 125 million, but it will do well.

comment #10

LexG says ...

BOW to Kristen Stewart.

KNEEEEEEL before her.

Predicting here and now that Spielberg and/or Bay or Bruckheimer will snap her up for something HUGE very soon.

comment #11

Chase Kahn says ...

TWILIGHT will NOT do $125 million in three days. It doesn't have the mainstream following and appeal of Harry Potter and those movies don't even bring in that.

comment #12

Joe B. says ...

Anyone mentioned True Blood yet? (new HBO show with young-un Anna Paquin lusting after a VERY old vampire in Louisiana)

comment #13

huntermdaniels says ...

I've had this DVD screener for a few months now and the film just amazing. It plays brilliantly, even on the small screen.

Lovely, magical, romantic and scary. And very, very good with the vampire rules.

comment #14

D.Z. says ...

Chase: I have a similar feeling about Twilight, but like Titanic, it could end up being a successful date movie. [Not *that* successful, mind you, but you get the picture.] But it's going up against Madagascar 2 during the holiday season, so it still might not do that well.

comment #15

janeygotagun says ...

"Let the Right One In" is the title of a song by Morrissey. What is it with Americans and their overly literal tendencies and failure to understand wit?

comment #16

actionman says ...

Twilight will do $50 million domestic, tops. The only people who care about it are the girls who read the books. That's it.

Kristen Stewart has indeed become a hottie. I'd love to see Bay camera-fuck her like he did Scarlet in The Island.

comment #17

JChasse says ...

I don't think "Madagascar 2" will have any influence on "Twilight" box office numbers.

comment #18

D.Z. says ...

actionman: If the budget's as low as it looks, [Though that's rarely the case in Hollywood, nowadays...] $50 million might actually be a big return for Twilight.

comment #19

actionman says ...

yeah, it might be profitable, but a'int doing much more than $50 million.

I think it looks like pure ass-cream

comment #20

ketut says ...

As an anecdotal bit, my daughter is 12. She is highly intelligent and gifted (I know all parents say that ) she plays 3 instruments, 1 for the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony, had a movie play at the Walker Art Center as part of the Girls in the Directors Chair series and does Math on-line as part of an accelerated High School course.

That said, she has been talking about the Twilight movie for months. Not only will she be first in line, but her and her friends have stated that they will see it many times the first weekend even if it sucks. Thats how head over heels they are about this.

comment #21

Pwrgirl says ...

I disagree, Actionman. Did you hear about what happened at Comic Con? The panel was screamed at for 40 minutes by over 6,000 fans. As far as I've read, that has never happened there, ever. Add to that the popularity of the books (most of the TWILIGHT saga has been on the top of the best sellers lists), the fact that many women of all ages love the books, and the love story, and yes. I think it will do better than 50 million total domestic. They will have repeat viewers for sure. Plus, the stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are getting a lot of buzz. Directed by Catherine Hardwick, she knows how to do films about teens in a edgy, cool way.

I don't know why guys who write about films automatically write of this film. I'm not an expert about box-office predictions, but this film has success written all over it.

Oh, and Mr. Welles, your comment: "I haven't seen Twilight, but I'm naturally suspicious of any film aimed at marginally hip under-30 women -- far and away the emptiest, most clueless demographic on the face of the planet -- on top of the usual young-male horror crowd." That was insulting a pretty big demographic. Women with college degrees dig these books, so stop with the sweeping generalizations.

comment #22

actionman says ...

Catherine Hardwick has yet to make a fully commercial film. This one will outgross all of her other films combined.

Nobody, other than women, will be heading to see this film. The only men that will go see this will be the ones that are dragged by their girlfriends/wives.

It looks like Blood and Chocolate: Part 2.

comment #23

actionman says ...

"Did you hear about what happened at Comic Con? The panel was screamed at for 40 minutes by over 6,000 fans. As far as I've read, that has never happened there, ever."

And yes, this has happened. I witnessed it happen during the 300 panel. It also happened during the SoaP panel. This shit happens all the time at Comic-Con. That's sort of the point of the whole thing.

I am sure Twilight will make money and be a profitable film for Summit, but why isn't this film being released by one of the majors? Why didn't any of the majors believe in it enough to get the rights? Kristen Stewart, as hot as she is, is a nobody at this point. If anything, she's still Jodie Foster's daughter from Panic Room. Sure, her career will get a nice boost from this film (if it's indeed a hit), but nobody is going to this film because they are Kristen Stewart fans.

comment #24

Pwrgirl says ...

I've read that Paramount had the rights to TWILIGHT for a while, but the script was completely different than the book. (Same problem that Blood and Chocolate had, only they kept it that way, hence the fan reaction to it.). Apparently, Bella was a track star (?) in the old script, instead of the ordinary shy, clumsy girl she is in the book. And the FBI got involved in the previous script, too, which is hilarious. So the rights eventually got sold to Summit. When Hardwick read the script, then read the book after, she realized that the book was so much better. So the changes were made to keep it as faithful as possible, and the author was involved with advising. That fact is why fans are so excited to see it.

Since women make up 50 % of the population, I fail to see your argument about only women seeing this as some negative. Most male targeted films draw big boxoffice, why wouldn't it work the other way around. But I disagree, again. It will be a cool date movie since it's a love story, and it actually has some action scenes for the guys, to boot.

But it's still up in the air, I suppose. We'll see in a couple of months, right? I just don't understand why guys automatically think it will fail, simply because it's geared towards women. Strange.

comment #25

actionman says ...

Listen, I NEVER said it would fail/bomb. It's just not going to make over $100 million or anything like that. It's a niche film, and I am sure it will satisfy those who are anxious and excited to see it. It does not, however, hold any appeal to a broader base than fans of the book and goth girls who like vampires. It probably had a low budget, and again, a $50-60 million domestic haul followed by a shit-ton of DVD sales/rentals will make the film profitable and allow for sequels. I am assuming there's more than one book in this series, right?

I am an outsider with this film. I have no real affinity for vampire shit, and the trailers have given me the impression that it looks low-rent and cheesy, not scary or sexy. For the many fans of the book, I hope I am wrong and I hope it lives up to what all of you want it to be.

If Bad Boys 3 were about to be released, I'd be saying more-or-less the same thing. It would appeal to guys and guys only (for the most part) and the only females going to it would be the ones who are dragged by their bf's. Granted, Big Willie style pulls in the chicks, but it's all about the intended target audience.

comment #26

actionman says ...

And also, for what it's worth, and even in the face of what I just said about my lack of interest in vampire stuff, Let the Right One In sounds incredible and I will definitely check that one out.

comment #27

Richardson says ...

"And yes, this has happened. I witnessed it happen during the 300 panel."

... aren't you the one saying it *won't* do abominably huge numbers? Maybe not the best comparison to make...

comment #28

actionman says ...

What I was saying was that Comic-Con is a breeding ground for fanboys, and now, apparently, fan boys. Reaction from anything at Comic-Con can't be taken seriously. 300 got a huge response and it was a massive blockbuster. SoaP got a huge response and it was a bomb. Shoot 'Em Up got tons of applause it was a bomb. Everyone hooted and hollered for Iron Man and it was ginormous. It's because Comic-Con is a bunch of uber-fans. Twilight's success or failure won't hinge on what 6,000 people thought of it based on extended trailers and clips.

And again, I never said Twilight would fail at the box office. I am sure it will do respectable business. But it's not going to become a blockbuster. If it does, I will cook and eat my shoe Werner Herzog-style.

comment #29

actionman says ...

"and now, apparently, fan boys"

meant to say fan girls. blogging at work is difficult sometimes...

comment #30

Richardson says ...

You could make the argument that attracting a huge crowd of fan-girls at Comic Con is impressive, and could translate to wider appeal than expected. And, if the crowd attracted fanboys too, then it would certainly counter Jeff's opinion that only women will go, and young women are all stupid.

But I don't know, I wasn't there. I hope it does well for personal reasons, but the truth is, I don't think there's ever been a great vampire movie, and neither one of these sounds like the first.

comment #31

actionman says ...

Interview with A Vampire is my personal favorite. The Lost Boys is also silly fun.

comment #32

tdh004 says ...

Women under 30: "far and away the emptiest, most clueless demographic on the face of the planet" ?!
What a way to show that you are a male chauvinist pig! To classify an ENTIRE gender and age group basically as mindless twits was highly unprofessional and offensive to your women readers. I for one am a 22 year old college graduate who will be going to see Twilight for it's lead actor Robert Pattinson who is exceptionally talented. The story is interesting enough for me to watch....you may not identify with love stories or female driven films but that's YOUR problem not mine. I don't see any articles written about the chest thumping neanderthals who watch plotless mind numbing action drivel that is pure and utter shit like 10,000 BC or the garbage Star Wars trilogy!!

comment #33

Richard's Son says ...

action - I actually put 'Near Dark' at the top of my list, but even that, I think it has problems. It's just that, when it works, it *really* works. By the time I saw 'Lost Boys', it was too hyped, but I do wish I'd seen it when I was younger, like when I liked "Monster Squad". 'Interview' is cool. It's funny, a few years ago, when we were going through the zombie cycle, I started writing a vampire movie. It wasn't deliberate, as I don't like vampires, it was just the story, as a whole, came to me, and the vampires seemed like a more interesting backdrop than zombies. I started writing with a friend, and I told him that by the time we made the movie, vampires would be having a resurgence. And, here we are now, putting our package together to pitch it, and we're right in the middle of the resurgence. I'm just hoping we get the money together before it peaks.

comment #34

D.Z. says ...

Pwr: "Did you hear about what happened at Comic Con? The panel was screamed at for 40 minutes by over 6,000 fans. "

The Coreys had a lot of screaming female fans, too, but that didn't do much for "The Lost Boys".

"Add to that the popularity of the books (most of the TWILIGHT saga has been on the top of the best sellers lists), "

Lemony Snicket and Eragon were successful fantasy books, too, but that didn't translate well into box office.

Richardson: "You could make the argument that attracting a huge crowd of fan-girls at Comic Con is impressive, and could translate to wider appeal than expected."

Justin Timberlake has a lot of fan-girls, too, but he isn't exactly a movie star at the moment.

comment #35

Phoenix says ...

Hmmm, I never post on here, but I have to say...I think you HIGHLY underestimate the cult following of Twilight. From everything I've seen about the film so far, they have gotten as close to the book as possible...and that's what people ( like those "marginally hip under-30 women -- far and away the emptiest, most clueless demographic on the face of the planet" that you speak of) want to see. To see the visions they see in their minds as they read these books on film, just like Harry Potter did.
Yes, the rest of the series is rumored to be made as well. So? If you knew just HOW many fans Twilight has (there are thousands of fan sites in every language, and fan fic sites dedicated to this series), you would realize that the box office sales won't wane with any of them, if anything they will grow (people who have not read the books and see the film will no doubt start reading the series). Fans have been looking forward to this for YEARS, and there is no doubt in my mind that it will make more than 50 million, and tat it will be the biggest movie of the fall.
So what if it gears towards females? Look at the Hannah Montana crap enterprise and High School Musical bs....they make billions all because of their female fans, not to mention adults love these books too ( I should know). Also, this series is going to launch these fairly unknown actors faster than you can possibly imagine.
All I'm saying, is don't underestimate the Twilight fans. And I wouldn't suggest going to the movies that weekend to see anything else, you won't get a parking spot.

comment #36

D.Z. says ...

Phoenix: "Hmmm, I never post on here, but I have to say...I think you HIGHLY underestimate the cult following of Twilight."

Buffy had a "cult" following, too, but that didn't do much for Serenity.

"So what if it gears towards females? Look at the Hannah Montana crap enterprise and High School Musical bs....they make billions all because of their female fans,"

Hannah Montana has family appeal, while High School Musical has some guy appeal.

comment #37

Pwrgirl says ...

Ok, Actionman, and D.Z. You're right. The male dominated genre of horror/sci-fi will always be more successful, and films like Twilight, will never cross over because it has a female protagonist, and it's focus is the love story.

We get it. But you are underestimating it's appeal. We'll see Nov. 21st.

comment #38

dd says ...

Why don't they just remake 'Near Dark'? It's got enough problems that it could be remade to "fix" them and enough right about it to be worth trying again. I mean, they'd have to hire Lance Henrikssen again, but that could work easily.

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