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Denver, 5:27 AM
Sun Nov 22
17 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/20/09
If they decided to go with Silent Hill 3, the girl from the signal would be the perfect Heather.
Not to mention she's a really good actress.
Shame there's no chance in hell that will happen.
11/20/09
I wouldn't do that if I won the lottery though, I'm too intent on getting the rights/cast for Firefly season 2.
11/20/09
I approve this sequel, I just hope they dont water it down too much, and keep the tone and atmosphere of the first movie.
11/20/09
11/20/09
Yeah... despite all the critics, I liked the first movie.
And it's important to stress that I didn't play any Silent Hill game.
I had to read some wiki entries to understand the whole thing a bit, but the movie was good the way it was.
11/20/09
11/20/09
I know the first film had major studio distribution in the US (Tristar, I believe, which is owned by Sony), but the production company, Davis Films, has a track record of releasing some decent, fairly non-commercial pictures. They backed True Romance and Good Night and Good Luck (although they've made plenty of crap - Resident Evil, Domino, Lassie, etc. - as well) so I was optimistic when they were announced for the project, even if they didn't have much of a horror CV. Plus Konami were involved in a production capacity.
But it seems that the first movie, despite some good intentions, was pitched at the wrong level. I got the feeling when I was watching it that some people fairly high up the chain of command didn't really have any idea what kind of an intellectual property they were dealing with, and it seems that that problem has only got worse.
The thing is, it doesn't take a huge budget to make a great horror film. Silent Hill is a story that takes place in a regular town, with regular people, and although it has some monsters and other supernatural phenomena, by far the most dominant special effect is fog, and you can get that for free if you know where to look. And there is no need whatsoever to cast big name actors in a picture like this.
So when Carmody says "They're not cheap, these things.", he's talking out of his arse. Rosemary's Baby, The Descent, 28 Days Later, The Orphanage, Halloween, Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, REC, Suspiria - these films all have two things in common; they're great horror films, and they were made on small budgets (by Hollywood standards, at least).
If this film was put in the hands of the right people - people who actually knew how to make sophisticated psychological horror - and they were allowed sufficient creative freedom, then the results could end up being worthwhile. But that hasn't happened, so it will probably be terrible.
11/20/09
It is quite unfortunate as being a lover of both the game series (which has more than it's fair share of problems) and film in general, I see every one of those missed opportunities in the film. Nothing in film is more aggravating than watching something you love turned to mediocrity.
If only there existed an Argento/Lyne/Lynch-esque director out there.....
11/21/09
That attitude never produces high quality films. Some great films have been huge successes (we had a nice little thread going about Gone With The Wind the other day), but breaking box office records is never their raison d'etre.
If you set out to make the best film possible, and succeed, and your property happens to have populist appeal, then you'll make a lot of money. Now Silent Hill doesn't have that populist appeal, and obviously the studio thinks that's a problem. What they don't seem to realise is that if you try and make a film popular by dumbing it down, rather than by making it as strong a picture as possible, then the overwhelming likelihood is that you will fail to produce a film that's worth anyone's time or money.
11/20/09
11/20/09
-Toilet humor like farts and shit to appeal to all the kids.
-Megan Fox because she's such a phenomenal actress much like Jessica Alba to appeal to all the desperate fanboys.
-50 Cent so we can appeal to the hip, urban crowd.
-Pyramid Head will take off his mask and be played by [insert incredibly lame boy-actor who happens to be famous this week].
-And Milla Jovovich to make things that much more predictable.
OH! Did I mention Paul W.S. Anderson is the new director? Guess you didn't get THAT memo.
11/20/09
You know, I was thinking the same thing. Afterall, "Wider Audience" is a euphemism for "Shit Sandwhich".
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
translates into
"Videogame Movie"
And to keep with the theme set by other "Genre Movie" films, Superhero Movie, Scary Movie, Epic Movie, Date Movie etc etc, Its most likely going to be a big pile of steaming turd.
You heard it here first.
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
And that movie had nothing else going for it. Poor plot, poor acting, poor characters, etc.
11/20/09
"I think we need to make it a little more stupid and watered down to the movie-going focus groups", he told STYD. "Silent Hill is not a simple game we can toss the storyline out the window like most other games out there. It's a game that if we attempt to try, will make us look like morons. It has lots of smart people who like the series. They're not stupid and they'd smell a stink bomb a mile away. You have to appeal not to the fans, you have to appeal to a wider audience who consider 'Harold and Kumar' and 'Transformers 2' to be the best films of the past 10 years. So we have to spell things out to the point that it would make children's puppet theater look nuanced. I think that's all happening. Of course, [the story] is going to be my own personal fanfic without any respect to the canon and the main character - without giving too much away - is a young teenager who says all kinds of internet slogans, representatives to the idiotic public who will just buy a ticket on the name alone."
11/20/09
I thought the main issue (apart from the 'stellar' acting) with the film was that it tried to explain too much - and it wasn't satisfying.
A loose narrative thread, hitting a couple of, 'Ohhh - I gotcha' points, like the film the entire series was based on - Jacob's Ladder - or even a David Lynch film - would bring the film a heck of a lot more success.
But... ah. At this point, the magic eight ball would say: Outlook. Foggy at best. Bring knives.
11/20/09
11/20/09
Such a waste of good resources.
11/20/09
Exactly. It hurts because they were so close.
Sigh. And about to get further, it would seem.
11/20/09
The first film did a good job at capturing the game's tone. It faltered in the second half, but this is the chance to fix it, not make the whole movie that way. Don't turn it into "Friday the 13th Part 11: Jason Has A Pyramid On His Head".
11/19/09
Making a movie "Accesible to the movie-going public" will, y'know, RUIN IT. Idiot.
The first movie appeals to anybody who likes semi-scary horror thrillers. Just because it's very, very loosely based on a game doesn't change that.
There's no reason to change anything. If you DO want to change anything to "appeal" to more people, you're just in it for the money, and should quit before you even start. The point of a movie is to tell a story. If your main worry is whether or not it's going to appeal to a lot of people, then you're obviously not in it to tell the story and nobody should give you any support...
11/19/09
11/20/09
People in general try to sell their smelly dingleberries to the highest bidders in the highest amount.. A general rule is if your dingleberries smell less putrid then the rest you might make more but in the end, it is still dried feces.
Now if you would excuse me, I must go back to my dark castle and ponder *poof*
11/20/09
But people WRITE movies to tell a story. And if your focus when writing it is to make sure it appeals to mindless masses instead of telling a good story...then you're a moron and nobody should give you the time of day.
11/20/09
The "writer" wouldn't have a job if he didn't keep its audience in mind.
Specifically you are arguing that they should write a "good" story in your view.. well ok.. that "good story" in your opinion might not make a single dent even though it is held to your standards. It would seem
Apparently the people producing this product feel that the story in its current form is not up to snuff to what people would like to see in a MOVIE. It might be garbage, but if thats what people want to thrown at them and are willing to pay for it, what can you do?
I think you should turn your criticism towards the movie goers instead and hold them accountable for their taste..
11/20/09
Movie makers do not have to appeal to everyone.
11/18/09
The word "Pringles" is in this article, and yet no one has made the obvious joke yet?
This is beyond disappoint.
I am ashame.
Way to miss an easy layup, commenting section.
11/18/09
..... ummm.....
HES SO PRINGLES!!!!.......
11/19/09
Häagen-Dazs!
I mean CURLEH MUSTACHE!
11/20/09
Well too bad, I don't think anyone wants to play your twisted little mind games here. You should be ashamed. a-SHAAAAA-med...
Or not, your call really. Ooh, look, chips!
11/20/09
11/18/09
Only quite possibly the GREATEST GAME IDEA EVARS!
So I figure that Harry/Chris runs inside a creepy building, finds surprising pristine can of Pringles, eats said Pringles which alerts Lara aka Pyramid Head to do sexy strip tease and.....then tears off his skin and fucks his corpse.
Because...really, how else is that going to end?
Eidos, Konami, Capcom...make it happen. I'll buy two copies and five cans of Pringles.
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
No....but you will get a can of Pringles. That has to be good for something.
11/18/09
That's the most sexiest and deadliest combination right there.
I'm thinking a Pyramid HeadxLaraxSheva?
Wait....that just went to a dark place. A sorta...hot place...but a dark place nonetheless.
And somewhere, on the interwebs...there's already a picture of it being made.
11/19/09
11/19/09
Besides, he's overcompensating. Sheva and Lara deserves better. THEY DESERVE EACH OTHER. 8V *sex face*
11/19/09
11/19/09
Yeah... to be honest I at least thought she was really going to be a SH Nurse. I am wondering what the hell just happened at the end of that ad.
11/19/09
Hell yeah my good man! Dig for it!
11/19/09
Pyramid Head is a man that likes anything that moves, mannequin legs, moldy nurse, petite African chicks, British treasure seekers...
Cows....a radish or two.
And hey, only a guy uncomfortable about his size will complain about another man's size...especially when that man is like 10 ft tall with a pyramid sculpted out of meat.
....it's a battle you don't want to be proven WRONG in.
11/19/09
It's okay...when that happens I always press the restart button.
11/19/09
This ad was going all over the place, but I have to admit at the end of it...I was thoroughly enjoyed. It's not a film piece, it's a ad for potato chips and it has a minute and what..11 seconds to make that point.
I, for one would've loved to see if this commercial was like...5 minutes long.
11/19/09
Or maybe I'm just jealous of the sweet, moldy quarry he keeps cornering, 8V~! *moar sex face*
*gets slapped*
#speakup
11/19/09
No sir, I AM uncomfortable about my size...I don't have one at all!
Imagine my pain....all I have is a sweet rack, which is good for like catching potato chips in.
Don't hate on the PH, he has a bevy of women/men/fish to satisfy...
Everything is greener on the otherside of the fence....^-^
11/19/09
...actually, it's not. Maybe I should shut up now.
The fish sex made me laugh, though. But do you know the sickest thing about that? Konami would probably not hesitate to include a scene of such nature in a future SH.
Gonna try and finish up dinner now.
#speakup
11/19/09
11/18/09