comment #1

StoneFan1 says ...

"Body of Lies" has dropped to $20 million from $27-30 million in tracking for the opening weekend gross.

comment #2

huntermdaniels says ...

Am I the only one that thinks the idea of a iraq war movie when the Iraqis are played as Xenomorphs sounds uncomfortably racist?

comment #3

scooterzz says ...

i love this one-sheet but, still, no one will pay to see the movie...i know it and you know it....and it's disingenuous to pretend otherwise....
afa: body of lies....it's just not very good...but it'll make moe than 'hurt locker'......

comment #4

BurmaShave says ...

Most misguided attempt at something striking I've seen in awhile. Looks like a teaser for SAW VI.

comment #5

eoguy says ...

Compelling poster, but when am I going to see the English trailer?

Also, where is the Slumdog Millionaire trailer? Isn't that movie less than two months from release?

comment #6

The InSneider says ...

poster of the year? perhaps?
but you're right burmashave, it reminded me of a saw poster instantly. and why is it always 3 seconds. make it 4 and it avoids cliche. by the way, i can't wait to see that movie. bigelow is the shit, plus she's kinda hot.

comment #7

actionman says ...

Love the poster. The film still won't make any money in the theaters.

Body of Lies will be luck to gross over $60 million domestic. As much as I want to see it, most people just don't want to see sand movies. It sucks, but it's true.

comment #8

MDOC says ...

It's a tough subject. I do feel guilty watching an action movie on a Saturday night knowing on the other side of the world people are in the middle of it. These need to come out a few years after the war is over, like in 2105.
Casulties of War was released in 1989 and it grossed 18 million, was it considered a failure? I can't remember. It still grossed more than Depalma's other war movie.

comment #9

gruver1 says ...

Wells to scooterzz, actionman: Scooterzz has said "no one will pay to see the movie...I know it and you know it....and it's disingenuous to pretend otherwise," and actionman says that "the film still won't make any money." I need to ask you guys something so please listen up. Why are you saying this? Have you seen the film? When I read such statements it feels like the oxygen is being sucked out of the room. I'm dealing with an elephant-sized disconnect here.

I was riveted in a thriller-chiller popcorn sense when I saw The Hurt Locker in Toronto, and it would be disingenuous of me to not say this because it's the truth. Did I parachute down from the planet Mars at age three? Did you?

MDOC says he feels "guilty watching an action movie on a Saturday night knowing on the other side of the world people are in the middle of it." What the fuck is that supposed to mean? It's happening, it's real, you're real, the movie is playing and you go, "Oh, I don't think I can do it...I feel too guilty, it's too real," etc. Are you a man or a mouse?

This movie gets you and holds you -- it makes you feel the adrenalin-junkie anxiety of bomb defusing and the death-flirt dance that Jeremy Renner is curiously caught up in. It's not reassuring but man, it's a ride and a half. Okay, HL has some third-act problems but that's not the issue. The issue is that viewers, you say, are STILL committed to an avoidance syndrome regarding Iraq-based movies no matter how gripping or urgent or well sculpted.

I feel so much contempt for this ostrich attitude I can barely put it into words. It almost makes me physically sick.

comment #10

actionman says ...

Wells -- I haven't seen Hurt Locker, but am VERY excited to see it. The fact of the matter is that there are zero major stars in HL, it's an Iraq war movie, and all of the previous topical action thrillers that have been released have either completely flopped or underpreformed.

I wish this wasn't the case, as I have been a fan of almost all of them so far. The Kingdom should have done twice the business it did, Rendition should have been a solid hit, In the Valley of Elah should have been treated better by both critics and audiences, and it's gross that NOBODY went to see the great Stop, Loss.

I am all for movies, either action-thrillers like Hurt Locker, Body of Lies and The Kingdom or dramas like Elah or Rendition, that deal with topical political issues. I am not afraid of the "sand" movies as so many people seem to be. They resonate more with me than a simple throw-away actioner and it's depressing that people don't want to engage themselves in entertainment than is both socially relevant and thought provoking.

comment #11

SaveFarris says ...

People won't go to see it because there have already been 3,874 Iraq movies all with the same message: George Bush sucks and our soliders are monsters.

By being so uni-political, Hollywood has undercut any dramatic tension that a movie might otherwise have. Why watch it? We already know how it will end...

comment #12

scooterzz says ...

wells -- late to respond, sorry.... but action said it better than i could....
and i'll toss in a couple more titles: 'stop loss' and hbo's 'generation kill' should have found crowds but were ignored completely...how many movies dealing with this subject matter have to fail before you abandon YOUR ostrich attitude and admit audiences won't support them?
sorry it 'almost makes you physically sick' but you need to man up and face facts.....

comment #13

actionman says ...

Generation Kill, other than Mad Men and Friday Nigth Lights, is the best piece of dramatic television I have seen in years. Wells -- if you didn't get into it this past summer, definitely get the DVD set when it's released. It's f'ing incredible.

comment #14

actionman says ...

And Wells...not that Anne Thompson gives us anything all that insightful, check this out (unless you've already made note of it):

http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2008/10/body-of-lies-ye.html

And Steve Mason is predicting an opening of $17.5 million for Body of Lies, which while solid, won't get the film anywhere close to breaking even on its budget, based solely on its domestic performance:

http://news.fantasymoguls.com/originalcontent/2008/10/final-tracking.html

Again, I am going to see Body of Lies tomorrow, and I expect to love it -- I love Ridley, I love Crowe, I'm a Leo fan, and I love the subject matter. It's just that most people want mindless escapism as opposed to a movie that might challenge their intellect.

comment #15

pchu says ...

I still thinks this movie should been release this year. Jeremy Renner gives a great performance which deserve Oscar nomination...

My questions:

When are they releasing this film (I know it's 2009, but what month..)?

How are they going to release it (limited)?

Didn't the Kingdom make good money in the Box office? I know it's not an Iraq film, but it's the same genre...

comment #16

actionman says ...

The Kingdom did just under $50 million domestic, a similar number over seas, but has cleaned up on DVD.

comment #17

Mr. Peel says ...

Forget about mindless escapism. I''ve seen the Body of Lies trailer and I have no idea what it's about. Does anybody? Is it too much to ask that a trailer at least gives me that much? All I know is that it's got Crowe & DiCaprio yelling at each other, that Ridley Scott fusion-of-sound-and-fury thing that I'm sick of and that it's set in the middle east. Is it Iraq? I honestly don't know. This type of marketing makes me want to go see something else this weekend. However, the good things said here about The Hurt Locker make me want to see that.

comment #18

actionman says ...

I thought the trailer was very easy to understand. Leo is a field agent. Crowe is pulling the strings from WDC. It's set in the middle east. There are betrayals and explosions. I don't understand the notion that people have been confused by the trailer.