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Post by Lauryn on Jul 28, 2007 13:04:09 GMT -5
Ace has made several of these points better than I could but I just have to vent. The story of this film with Lionsgate is so bizarro world that you hardly know where to begin. If they tipped their hand to Video Business and truly don't intend to expand distribution beyond an in-name-only stab at a theatrical release why not at least dump the film in a real movie and media market like NY or LA where even a half-assed publicity effort is easier to cobble together and they can get a better per screen avg in theaters and maximize their limited number of prints? Oh, forget it. It's pointless anyway even to engage in these questions since they haven't stirred themselves to do any publicity near the time of this release.
BOAW-S doesn't even fit the profile of the usual dumped film. It hasn't lain on the shelf for ages, seems to have gotten positive reactions in screenings, no warning bells, had a number of suitors for US distrbution before Lionsgate nabbed it and wrapped up most of its foreign distribution handily. Maybe Lionsgate had bigger plans initially for the film but has gotten gunshy after being spanked in the marketplace for giving wide releases to a string of howlers like Delta Farce et. al. But honestly, if they're that undercapitalized and unleveraged at this juncture they might as well close up shop for the year. Heck, there needs to be some market push to gain audience awareness to make decent coin on DVD where anticipation and recognition of a title means a lot. Shunt BOAW-S off to the shelves like this and even those who might pick it up due to the cast or genre may pass thinking it's a dud since they've never heard of it -- or what they have heard is that it barely got released.
This is mis-management served up with whipped cream and a cherry on top. It's as if Lionsgate is being willfully blind to market reality and willfully blind to opportunities -- as well as woefully unprepared. Trailer and poster just now coming out. No screening for critics. Brilliant. Had they used their heads they might have cross marketed the theatrical push to Butler's "300" coming out in a few days on DVD, but the limited release in Miami is a total botch job as regards publicity so it seems like they're not prepared to do much. If that rollout in that city had shown signs of effort or competence I might have been convinced that someone in the bowels of Lionsgate actually thought it was a viable strategy (for whatever silly reason).
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Post by Lauryn on Jul 28, 2007 13:21:26 GMT -5
As part of the earlier Video Business article (dated July 16th) Lionsgate also gave their upcoming DVD schedule. Shattered already has a DVD release date of Dec 25th. So they had the release date even before their "test" release. But then it's 5 months away which is a wide enough window to even accommodate even a wide release done in Sept, if they wanted to exert any effort and bother. Somehow I missed this post before I made mine. It does appear there's time for expanding the release and Sept would be a better time for a thriller for adults if Lionsgate can come to their everlovin' senses.
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Post by Ace on Jul 28, 2007 13:32:10 GMT -5
As part of the earlier Video Business article (dated July 16th) Lionsgate also gave their upcoming DVD schedule. Shattered already has a DVD release date of Dec 25th. So they had the release date even before their "test" release. But then it's 5 months away which is a wide enough window to even accommodate even a wide release done in Sept, if they wanted to exert any effort and bother. Somehow I missed this post before I made mine. It does appear there's time for expanding the release and Sept would be a better time for a thriller for adults if Lionsgate can come to their everlovin' senses. If is a very strong presumption. I think they're releasing 3:10 to Yuma in Sept so their resources for that month might be stretched. Now they also have the excuse that the film probably didn't do well enough in Miami so there was no need to expand. They'll most likely ignore that they shot it in both legs, blindfolded it, gave it no provisions and dropped it in Death Valley. Someone at the theater told one of the fans that it was indeed a test run for the film but they didn't know how long it would run. This after Lionsgate told the Icon rep that it was "official". Of course then Lionsgate also told some theaters asking for the film that it wasn't on their release schedule. Either Lionsgate has multiple personality disorder, lies like a rug, or one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. Ace
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Post by Lauryn on Jul 28, 2007 13:56:50 GMT -5
Alright troops. Hands in the air for all of the above, LOL!
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Post by Ace on Aug 6, 2007 13:37:37 GMT -5
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Xenia
Nomad
*SNIKT!*
Posts: 33
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Post by Xenia on Aug 6, 2007 14:18:40 GMT -5
Those are nice stills Gotta admit, that earlier when I saw that Icon's site finally got a bit of an update, it made me happier. Now to just our hands on the large 'Butterfly on a Wheel' Poster. Hehe My day is getting better.
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Post by Ace on Aug 6, 2007 14:53:09 GMT -5
Well it looks like Icon is gearing up for at least Non US distribution. Maybe they'll send these stills (in larger versions of course) to the film sites and bypass Lionsgate. But still sign the petition to Lionsgate (it doesn't matter that it's a love letter to Butler if it gets the job done). They are getting updates may be teetering on the fence after their latest disaster of a wide release - Bratz. Maybe they won't think quality adult film is a dirty phrase. Frankly they really missed the boat in not gearing this up for a late August release -- the schedule for the end of the month is rather weak, especially for adult films. www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?11132007
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Post by Lauryn on Aug 6, 2007 17:13:28 GMT -5
Well it looks like Icon is gearing up for at least Non US distribution. Maybe they'll send these stills (in larger versions of course) to the film sites and bypass Lionsgate. But still sign the petition to Lionsgate (it doesn't matter that it's a love letter to Butler if it gets the job done). They are getting updates may be teetering on the fence after their latest disaster of a wide release - Bratz. Maybe they won't think quality adult film is a dirty phrase. Frankly they really missed the boat in not gearing this up for a late August release -- the schedule for the end of the month is rather weak, especially for adult films. www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?11132007Snipped from an article in Variety No Horror Story for Studio Genre Labels www.variety.com/article/VR1117969286.html?categoryid=2508&cs=1Indie Lionsgate sparked the most recent horror craze. The new genre labels hoped to repeat Lionsgate's success, anchored around the hardcore "Saw" and, to a lesser degree, "Hostel" franchises.
Lionsgate prexy of theatrical distribution Tom Ortenberg saw that the horror market would become saturated. Hence, Lionsgate is adjusting its gameplan. Studio is looking to mix things up and make psychological thrillers, for instance, as opposed to only hardcore horror.
"We are going to continue to be leaders in the horror genre for the foreseeable future," Ortenberg says.Acquiring BOAW-S would appear to be part of that strategy of diversifying away from schlock / horror and other cheapies, eh? Um, guys, quality adult film! psychological thriller -- uh, hell-oo!! I guess strategy meetings are where they catch up on their sleep, LOL!
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Post by Ace on Aug 6, 2007 17:43:54 GMT -5
Ha! Mind boggling insult to injury-- the date of the article is July 27th. Ace
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Post by Andrea on Aug 11, 2007 13:45:21 GMT -5
Hi! I was just checking the net for some information about the BOAWrelease here in europe (hopefully!)...and found THESE movie stills on the site of the Belgian distributor. There are some more than at ICON's site. Really nice! /url]
Enjoy!
ahm
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Post by Ace on Aug 11, 2007 15:05:51 GMT -5
These are fantastic. Thanks!
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Xenia
Nomad
*SNIKT!*
Posts: 33
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Post by Xenia on Aug 13, 2007 2:42:49 GMT -5
Yesterday, I saw an article at The Vancouver Sun that gives a very brief blurb of 'Butterfly' and one of it's location shots. Article is actually quite interesting to read, especially since I've driven past a few of these locations. lol Anywho, here's what it said. August 4, 2007 The best of B.C. on location
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Post by Ace on Aug 14, 2007 0:59:04 GMT -5
Xenia, thanks for the info. It's fun to spot places in films. especially when they're not where the film is pretending there are.
In some Lionsgate news - BOAW/Shattered is not listed as one of their upcoming theatrical releases. (but they don't mention other films being released after Oct either) As for their spin -- maybe their first quarter (or really first 3 quarters) was bad because their product sucked and they wasted money (badly) marketing crap.
Reuters: Marketing expenses drive down Lionsgate
Published: Friday, August 10, 2007
Independent film and television studio Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. reported a wider net loss for the first quarter on Thursday, due to higher expenses related to advertise and promote more films.
Lionsgate, a Canadian-domiciled company with offices in Vancouver, saw its shares fall briefly in after-hours electronic trading, but recovered and rose 19 cents above Thursday's closing price of $9.31 US on the New York Stock Exchange.
The net loss was $53.1 million US, or 45 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $3.6 million US, or 3 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 15 per cent to $198.7 million US from $172.5 million a year earlier.
The 45-cent loss was more than the average Wall Street estimate of 23 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Quarterly revenue was also below the average analysts' estimate of $207.4 million.
The company said the majority of the first-quarter loss came from a $47-million US increase in theatrical marketing expenses for an expanded slate of films.
Lionsgate executives have scheduled a conference call with analysts for this morning.
JP Morgan analyst Barton Crockett said Lionsgate results are difficult to predict because of the cyclical effects of costs and box office results.
The company's upcoming films include War starring Jet Li and Jason Statham; a remake of the classic 3:10 to Yuma starring Russell Crowe; Good Luck Chuck starring Jessica Alba; a third sequel to the horror franchise Saw and Why Did I Get Married by writer-director Tyler Perry.
"Our first quarter is always our worst quarter and everything is certainly backloaded, but . . . we feel very good about the next five release dates," Lionsgate vice chairman Michael Burns said.
Overall, motion picture revenue rose three per cent on the performance of the quarter's main film releases: Slow Burn, Away From Her, Hostel 2, The Condemned, Delta Farce, and Bug.
Home entertainment revenue dropped 10 per cent to $103.8 million US. The company's film library revenue was $53 million.
Television production revenue spiked to $28.4 million US in the quarter from $7.3 million, driven by episodes of The Dead Zone, Wildfire, The Dresden Files and TV syndication of House of Payne and South Park, as well as international sales of some of those shows.
In May, Lionsgate said it expected a net loss of $50 million US on revenue of well over $1 billion in fiscal 2008 as it expands its film slate to 20 titles and ups the number of wider-distributed releases.
The losses for fiscal 2008 will result from accounting rules that require the company to expense marketing costs for a larger and more expensive 2008 theatrical and DVD slate, even though those costs will be shared with film-financing fund investors, the company said.
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Post by Ace on Aug 18, 2007 14:50:53 GMT -5
Butterfly On A Wheel selected for Belgium's Filmfestival Oostende (Sept 5-11) in the Avant-premières section. (specific date and time not yet known) Films (and what an eclectic bunch) in the Avant-premières: 1408 28 Weeks Later 9th Company A Mighty Heart Atonement Boxes Butterfly on a Wheel Comme à Ostende Evening G.I. Jesus Hot Fuzz I Served the King of England Knocked Up Komma (reprise) Planet Terror Rescue Dawn Stardust Straightheads The Bourne Ultimatum The Return Trade When Darkness Falls
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Post by Ace on Aug 19, 2007 15:34:16 GMT -5
Lionsgate has completely screwed over this film. They're premiering it on TNT. Has anyone seen commercials for this? More importantly who gets this station? Lauryn? Yuliya? If so I need a copy. *makes puppy dog eyes* www.tnt.tv/title/?oid=646426Shattered (2007) Pierce Brosnan, Maria Bello, Gerard Butler, Claudette Mink A happy couple with a seemingly perfect life has their daughter abducted. Over the course of a day, the kidnapper dismantles the family's lives with brutal efficiency. Upcoming Airings: Sunday, September 2, 9:00PM ET Sunday, September 2, 11:00PM ET Saturday, September 8, 10:30PM ET
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Post by Lauryn on Aug 20, 2007 12:55:56 GMT -5
TNT!? The NASCAR channel? My, they really are aiming low. Sure, if they bombard their viewers with enough commercials for it (they're sure used to those) it'll maybe get some peepers, but hey, throw us a bone. We don't even get the cachet of, say, an HBO premiere like many other self- respecting dramas that have major stars but (for various reasons) no theatrical release. Now I get to look forward to watching it in pan and scan dreck-o-vision with Pepsi ads popping up like zits.
Oy! Save me from studio geniuses who do decision-making while in their shorts drinking beer and tripping over over stacks of Girls Gone Wild videos.
"Hey, TNT is an action channel and this movie has action and that Bond guy! And Maria Bello is hot! Whaddaya say? Huh? Yeah, I heard ya, bub, I'm passin' the Cheetos, but does it sound like a plan?"
Ace, if you still need someone to copy it, I'll be glad to but it'll be on VHS and you'll have to transfer to DVD.
They probably won't bother but I wonder if they'll pluck up the nerve to ask any of the stars to do commentary tracks on the DVD. To be safe, they'd better be calling from Katmandu or wearing kevlar.
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Post by Ace on Aug 20, 2007 13:11:57 GMT -5
VHS would be great. Thanks! I assume I'll be buying the DVD when it comes out. I'd like a non Pan and Scan version without some assume annoying TV logo in the corner. TNT probably has higher ratings than HBO. I know The Closer is the highest rated show on cable TV (drawing more than the Sopranos) and I think Sunday is their time slot. Is it? But a film should never first be seen cut up with commercials and in pan and scan - it's bad enough its seen like that eventually. But I bet TNT paid Lionsgate the most money upfront and that's what they want -- film be damned. The stars (or at least PB) might do a track for the DVD for the director and for the film-- but Lionsgate might not want to pay for the studio time and few extra days to do it because they're cheap incompetent morons. I wonder when they'll start running ads. That new Holly Hunter show is on that station, and they've been running ads on network TV for it for a few weeks already. Ace
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Post by Lauryn on Aug 20, 2007 13:37:54 GMT -5
VHS would be great. Thanks! I assume I'll be buying the DVD when it comes out. I'd like anon Pan and Scan version without some assume annoying TV logo in the corner. TNT probably has higher ratings than HBO. I know The Closer is the highest rated show on cable TV (drawing more than the Sopranos) and I think Sunday is their time slot. Is it? But a film should never first be seen cut up with commercials and in pan and scan - it's bad enough its seen like that eventually. But I bet TNT paid Lionsgate the most money upfront and that's what they want -- film be damned. I'm sure it was a bottom line decision, but that doesn't mean that I can't make fun of it, LOL! BOAW-S will get more audience eyeballs, no doubt, on TNT than HBO, but, oh, what a frickin' nightmare of a viewing experience! To premiere that way is just depressing. We're all just little rays of sunshine today, aren't we, LOL! I do hope that PB does offer to do a track, though it may be throwing pearls before cheap, ungrateful swine. Whatever happens I hope along the way he puts an indelicate word in someone's shell-like ear about the travesty of this film's direct to TV/DVD fate.
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Post by Andrea on Aug 20, 2007 14:19:59 GMT -5
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Post by Ace on Aug 20, 2007 15:29:31 GMT -5
Oooh goodies! Thank you! Is "il" for Israel? They're supposedly releasing the film Aug 23rd so do they have an official site these came from? I really like that they made his eyes blue in the poster instead of keeping him all red -- much more dramatic and visually appealing. (not to mention more realistic) Direct link here: mad.walla.co.il/archive/358098-5.jpg
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