SEPTEMBER, 29


WONDER WOMAN

Action / Superhero / Epic
Cast: Colbie Smulders, Josh Lucas, Catherine Z. Jones, Josh Brolin, Carrie-Ann Moss, Michelle Williams
Director: Jon Favreau
Screenwriter: Dawson Edwards

Box Office: 146 mill.
Net Gains: 130 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: There was a time in CMP when making a box office of 146 millions was considered a major success. It is true that now we are getting used to box offices’ numbers above the 200 millions barrier. But still a box office of 146 millions is an outstanding result. So yes, Wonder Woman didn’t reach the amazing numbers of Silver Sable, but it is a wonderful box office I feel more than satisfied with.

THE DARK TOWER: WASTE LANDS

Action / Mystery
Cast: Russell Crowe, Jake Gyllenhaal, Angela Bassett, William Mosely, Ian Holm, Arnold Vosloo
Director and Producer: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick

Box Office: 212 mill.
Net Gains: 228 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: This third episode of the saga hasn’t been able to equal the spectacular numbers of ‘The Drawing Of The Three’ (B.O: 285 / Net Gains: 349). But, anyway, the movie has been a mega-success. I love it when quality and box office’s success come together. This franchise is becoming movie after movie one of the most important products coming from the Studio. I look forward for the next episode!

FIREFLIES IN THE JELLY-JARS

Drama
Cast: Abigail Breslin, Daniel Day Lewis, Robin Wright-Penn, Logan Lerman, Jeffrey Wright
Director: James Mangold
Producer: Grand Island Movies


Box Office: 30 mill.
Net Gains: 8 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: Dramas rarely become a box office hit. They are not expected to be so neither. I like to produce quality movies not worrying for the money. And that’s the case with Collins’ dramas. I feel proud of these kind of movies. CMP has profitable movies enough. It is quality what I look for in these dramas. And you bet this is a quality movie. Great job, Collins.


WONDER WOMAN

‘Dawson Edwards always chooses characters with a kitsch touch for his superheroes movies. Now he has chosen the most kitsch one of them all: Wonder Woman and her impossible costume… There’s a nice campy spirit in the whole production: the Russian are again the bad guys, the superheroine’s outfit has tried to be actualized but still has a nice old fashion look and there’s an innocent approach to politics and international conflicts in the storyline… The result of that all is a movie that wakes up my sympathy due to all the naivety that surrounds it. At the end, ‘Wonder Woman’ is less pretentious than expected but a nice return to entertainment without complexes.’
-Anne Roman

‘Colbie Smulders accepted a challenge that could have taken to the stars or ruin her prestige for years. And I must say she has survived to the challenge. She has built up a correct Wonder Woman, less sophisticated than Heigl’s Silver Sable but more consistent than the old Lynda Carter’s recreation of the character. Anyway, my favourite character of the show was Catherine Z. Jones playing a tough mother, a sexy version of a mix between the evil of White Snow’s mean stepmother and the greatness of Queen Victoria. The only problem for Colbie was that Catherine’s screen presence ate her alive when both women were sharing the screen.’
-Vic Carter

‘Favreau has made what could be described as a vintage superheroe movie. He has taken all he learnt making ‘Iron Man’ and has upgraded that experience making an entertaining show more oriented to young audiences than to adult comic’s fans. The movie is a bit childish – as it happened with ‘Aquaman’, another Edwards’ superhero pitch – and less epic than other similar products like the Avengers’ movies. But probably that’s part of its charm. Favreau has avoided the fight against the Avengers, The Flash, Silver Sable, Hawkeye and the rest of CMP’s superheroes. He has deliberately chosen to make a light production, leaving aside big peys and betting for a pleasant and simple adventure.’
-Andrew Stampton

THE DARK TOWER: WASTE LANDS

‘This third episode of the adaptation of Stephen King’s books saga is without doubt the best of the three. It has taken three movies for Raimi and Kubrick to find the perfect tone to tell this story. This new episode has gained in suspense, mystery, action sequences and soundness of the storyline in relation with the two previous installments. The peculiar minor characters – wonderful, as always, Ian Holm -, the strange creatures, that intriguing train and the whole production design finally recreates with the needed epic and ‘grandeur’ the strange world imagined by King. And, at the same time, the plot is much more absorbing and entertaining and less confusing than it was in the two first movies. So Raimi and Kubrick have finally made the great movie this great story deserved’.
-Charlie Kiggs

‘The Dark Tower is probably the most peculiar CMP’s franchise. It is not the classic action or sci-fi saga. In fact, it is a hard to define story. It mixes touches of sci-fi, horror and mystery in a dense and often confusing plot that hypnotizes even if you don’t get to completely understand it. And that’s probably its main default and its main appeal. The problem with these movies is that you know they won’t give you answers to the intrigue unless you keep watching the whole saga and that can be frustrating at some moments. But, on the other side, you know you are going to watch a movie different from all others, visually absorbing and perfectly paced to keep you wanting more. ‘Waste Lands’ has put the quality level of these movies to a point that will be hard for next instalments to equal. But it has also guaranteed that the fans of the saga will keep watching them’.
-Roy Winslow

‘Matt Kubrick keeps growing as screenwriter lately. His latest stories – the disturbing thriller ‘Foul Karma’, the brilliant and sadly undervalued ‘Kingdom’ or this ‘Waste Lands’ – show a mature author that perfectly knows how to build great stories of any genre. In ‘The Dark Tower’, Kubrick has known how to overcome the difficulties of adapting the complex original material. The faults in ‘The Gunslinger’ and ‘The Drawing Of The Three’ – too confusing storyline, undefined characters, irregular pace – are left aside in ‘Waste Lands’. Raimi has introduced here some action sequences that cheer up the dark plot and has reinforced the fantasy elements of the story with peculiar characters and creatures that makes it a more enchanting show than the two previous episodes.’
-Jackie O’Callaghan

FIREFLIES IN THE JELLY-JARS

‘Something has changed from past Collins’ dramas to this one: self control. Since the hyper-dramatic situations of movies like ‘Blink’ or ‘After The Storm’, Collins has now learnt to content drama. And the good thing is that doing it the dramatic intensity does not reduces but grows. In this movie, the drama is more implied than graphically expressed and that provides the story with a deepness and an emotional power superior to those other stories where the tears or the repulse was so directly chased. ‘Fireflies…’ is the work of an author that has learnt to move the threads of his stories to take the audience exactly where he wants to take it.’
-Anne Ratched

‘Is there any doubt that Abigail Breslin and Daniel Day Lewis will fight (and probably win) for the next acting GMAs? Abigail keeps growing up in front of our eyes both as a girl and as an actress. She is quickly beginning to be far away from the girl that starred ‘Babes In Toyland’. Here, Abigail offers us a wonderful performance. It is great when a talent is able to express the most intimate emotions just with a look or a half-smile. Day Lewis is a guarantee. He builds up his character with his usual intensity and you just get to hate that mean father unable to give any kind of affection to his daughter and wife. And Robin Wright-Penn also deserves a special mention here. I have always thought that Hollywood has never taken the best of her. She proves again here her strong screen presence and her dramatic skills.’
-Lilly Stevens

‘Thanks God we have Josh Collins. Without him we would be condemned to watch a superhero movie or an epic fantasy story coming from CMP one week after another… Collins keeps adult audiences interested in CMP’s films daring to bet for a most difficult genre as drama is. Here, he returns to his natural element: dysfunctional families, abused children, the difficulties of growing up… The same way that happens with people like Woody Allen – who has made dozens of movies talking about the same issues -, Collins knows how to go back to the same references making each movie look as something different and new. ‘Fireflies In The Jelly-Jars’ is one of those movies with young girl included – in the line of ‘The Secret ife Of Bees - that makes you think without taking you to emotional extremes. There’s hope in this story and, at the end, you know that Abigail’s character will find her way no matter the losses and absences in her life. A brilliant movie.’
-Tim Reeve


WONDER WOMAN

CRITIQUE: Dawson redeemed himself tremendously after his last superhero fiasco, Aquaman. Wonder Woman succeeds in doing the legendary heroine justice. I admired how it followed the comics more closely than the Carter era. Colbie did a fantastic job and I wouldn't mind seeing her again. The only stupid thing in the film is something Edwards couldn't really control it himself is the ridiculous truth telling lasso. OMG I GOTS TA TELL DA TOOTH I BE LASSOED. It was smart to get Iron Man's Jon Favreau behind the cameras also.
ACTING/CAST: B+
DIRECTION: A-
WRITING: B+
PLOT/CONCEPT: A-
PRODUCTION VALUES: A
REWATCH VALUES: A+
OVERALL: A

THE DARK TOWER: WASTE LANDS

CRITIQUE: These are always good to watch. They have a big fan following, they make lots of money, I liked this one a lot better than the second installment, and just as much as the first. I won't say 'stop Matt' cuz this, like the Harry Potter series, just needs to have film adaptations of all the stories. Some will be great, others will be bad, but this one I found impressive! I also feel that Kubrick has been growing a lot with his releases. He's becoming his own and not just the slasher/superhero guy.
ACTING/CAST: B+
DIRECTION: B+
WRITING: A
PLOT/CONCEPT: A
PRODUCTION VALUES: A
REWATCH VALUES: A+
OVERALL: A

FIREFLIES IN THE JELLY-JARS

CRITIQUE: So many scenes in this film left me with a haunted feeling. Collins hasn't been doing too many uber depressing dramas in a while, but he still does them. I know we've seen these sorts of dramas before, but hey, don't we see like every story a million times. I am impressed, hypnotized by Breslin and am excited to see what she can do next. Her and Day-Lewis carried the film and I would be heartbroken to see them left out of awards. Acting was good, the direction of Mangold was impressive, but the film still kept itself safe with other films like it.
ACTING/CAST: A+
DIRECTION: A
WRITING: B-
PLOT/CONCEPT: C+
PRODUCTION VALUES: B
REWATCH VALUES: D- too haunting and depressing to see more than once, but good enough to see at least once.
OVERALL: B+

Mr. Thumbs' Certified Must See of the Week:

Once again, I can say this week

drumroll....

SEE ALL THREE!


HARRY STARK
CMP’S 300 RELEASES

CMP reaches its 300 releases this week.

3 years releasing movies every week.
128 movie directors.
19 screenwriters.
363 actors.
221 actresses.
352 posters and adds.

It’s been quite an adventure… And to celebrate this first 300 releases, CMP’s President Harry Stark speaks for the first time about the insides of the Studio and reveals quite a few interesting secrets…

1.Where did the idea of creating CMP came from?

For a few months I had been part of an online game with some similarities with Crazy Moon Pictures. It was about putting up tv shows instead of movies. And it was so much fun. It was my first experience with an online game and I got really hooked to it. But, suddenly, one day the Game Admin disappeared without even saying goodbye and that was it. It was very frustrating.

I looked for similar games on the net and I found a few. But they were all too complex. And that’s a mistake. A Game Admin may end up hating the game if he has to take too many rules into consideration. Some times simple things are the funniest ones.

So I decided to try creating my own game. I had the perfect tool for it: the wonderful pc game Hollywood Mogul. As the movies junkie I am, I had been playing with HM since its very first version back in the 90s. Why not turning it into an online experience?

I had only one premise: KEEP IT SIMPLE. I didn’t want to create a complex game full of rules. It had to be easy both for me as Game Admin and for the players. I have always had that in mind with CMP and I have kept that premise as the essence of CMP. No complexity and not drowning into a deep ocean of rules. The game had to be based in two main pillars: creativity and imagination. That’s all.

I don’t know much about computer programming or anything. So I needed a very easy way of managing the game. A blog. I had no experience in blogs when I started but it looked as something easy enough to manage even for a computing programming ignorant like me.

Ok, that was it. It was October 2006 and Crazy Moon Pictures was born and not even I knew if it would last a few weeks or a few years…

2.Tell us something about you…

Who is that guy? I won’t break the magic of the mysterious President of CMP… hahaha.

Stark comes from Spain. And that means one thing: his first language is Spanish. And that means another thing: language is a strong limitation some times. It is frustrating not being able to express what you want in English. Sorry for the mistakes! I just do my best (with the help of my dictionary).

Stark has made his living out of writing. He works as a journalist and communication expert for a company and he has also published a few novels.

His only knowledge of the movie business before CMP has been meeting Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith (an extremely nice couple). He also has shaken hands with Daniel Craig during the Spanish premiere of Quantum Of Solace (…and I almost congratulated him for his work in CMP’s ‘1066’). Oh, yes, and once Harry was standing in a red light in the streets of Madrid and he realized the girl besides him was no other than Penelope Cruz. Not much background for a Movie Studio’s President…

But that was all before he became the powerful President of CMP…

3.Is it too hard making the weekly posts?

You bet it is a hard work… But not as hard as it may seem. I use to work on CMP mainly twice per week, usually on Monday and Thursday’s evenings. Most of the posts’ contents are just copy and paste – plots, some reviews, interviews… - from what the screenwriters and journalists send me, so having the posts ready is much faster than it may seem. But still takes some hard working.

Anyway, it is pretty relaxing for me to abandon reality for a few hours every week to enter into the imaginary world of CMP. Some weeks, it is not so easy to find the time, but I try my best to keep posting two issues per week, Tuesday and Friday. Planning, anticipation and regularity are essential. And I know the game would just not work if you didn’t know when the next issue will be posted.

Sections of the posts change from time to time. Mainly, the game has grown a lot from the first posts back in 2006. Movies’ plots are much more elaborated now and that’s great. And also movies reviews are more developed now. Some sections have come and go depending on how much I liked them.

I always try to make CMP as much interactive as possible. That’s why I like so much the ‘Making Of’ section and that’s also the reason why I have created lately the 5 questions section so you all can have a stronger presence in the game.

4.What is the best of CMP for you?

As I always say, CMP is 99% based on imagination. You have to imagine the movies, how they would be like, everything… CMP is an experience for highly imaginative people.

I have always liked pc games. But I have never been interested in those games where there’s no room for adding things by yourself using your imagination. That’s why I particularly like simulations and strategy games. That’s the basis for CMP. 99% of it is in our imagination.

Another thing I like about CMP after all this time is that, in so many ways, it has its own life… I mean, some talents are bigger (or smaller) in CMP than in real life but, at the same time, what they do in CMP fits with what they do in real life. Talents have their own career in CMP but also those careers can perfectly match with their real life careers. So there is a nice kind of ‘internal coherence’ in CMP’s world.

Another thing I like is that, although I am the game admin, I don’t control what goes on in CMP. I mean, what happens on CMP does not depend exclusively on me at all but on what all the players do and what happens with Hollywood Mogul.

That way I am as intrigued about what will happen as you are.

In that sense, I cannot even control what will work and what won’t in box office. Not even I know if the new releases will be a hit or a miss until I develop them in my Hollywood Mogul’s game on Monday’s evenings. So I know that almost at the same time than you all. I can only guarantee that I always do my best to make every movie work in box office, no matter if I like it or not.

5.And what is the worst of CMP for you?

The hardest part is making the movies’ posters. After more than 350 posters designed – including the old ‘coming up’ posters I abandoned due to lack of time – it is so hard and challenging finding the right concept to create the image of the movie. It is as difficult as challenging and fun.

But, most of all, it is very frustrating. I create the posters in a bigger size than what you see at the blog and some of them just look spectacular. But then, they look so small at the blog… It’s a shame because they lose a lot of their strength when posted.

6.What can you tell us about CMP’s screenwriters?

That’s the most important element of the CMP’s experience: The screenwriters.

When I started CMP back in October, 2006, I had no idea if anybody would be interested in it. I had Joey Stark and that was it. But Matt Kubrick quickly showed up. And he is still here! It was great to have him on board since the very beginning. After 11 Seasons together, I just cannot imagine CMP without Matt.

Most of the authors of those first times are not in the game anymore. Daggle only sent one pitch and disappeared. Brian Kelley, Tom Figgs and later Bill Cougan also released a few stories before they went without a goodbye…

But other people joined. I contacted Marcus Trax, a creative mate from my previous experience in an online game, and he joined CMP. He stayed for a few Seasons and left some CMP’s classics like his Star Wars trilogy or his movies with David Mamet and Johnny Depp. But I haven’t heard from him for long – his last release was ‘The Land Of Nod’ back in Season 9 - so I’m afraid he has definitely left us. A shame, cause I think he was a very interesting author.

John Daws was another pioneer. Although not very active, he stays around. I am happy that, after all this time, a movie from him, ‘The Gunpowder Plot’, has finally won the Best Picture award.

I invited two personal friends to join the game from the very beginning. James Bradley and Steve Connors. Two great guys. My colleague Bradley is a mostly creative man and you can notice that in his stories. And Connors is just the perfect friend for any adventure. The problem is they hardly speak or write English so I have to make extra job translating their plots. But it’s worthy.

Jack Hammer also joined the game soon with his iconic trilogies – Uncommon Valour, Last Lawman, Great War Series… - but then he left. I am so happy to have him back cause he is another highly creative brain.

Seasons later, new and splendid writers have joined us. Josh Collins – unfairly known as Mr. Drama, cause he has proved to be a most versatile author – has become one of the most active (and successful) writers of the Studio. And guys like David Makalaster, Dawson Edwards, Ben Tyler and Richard Franzwa keep growing as authors movie by movie. New promising talents like Chad Taylor and Max Arilius are the latest additions to the game and great things can be expected from them. And a newbie, Trent Nielsen, will make his debut next Season.

I just hope that although CMP has abandoned the Hollywood Mogul’s forum, we will still have the chance of recruiting new screenwriters from time to time. I just don’t know how.

Twelve screenwriters, like CMP has now, is almost the perfect number of players. It provides variety and diversity. I know some times it takes too long from the moment your stories are sent to the day they are finally developed and released. But I always try to keep all screenwriters active with some story in development and I think it is much fun and challenging having a wide number of writers than just three or four. But I would’t want more than a dozen authors or so around.

7.Most of CMP’s movies seem to become blockbusters lately and the number of flops has decreased so much. Why? Have you introduced any change in the way you manage ‘Hollywood Mogul’?

I have no idea why! That’s the truth. No, I haven’t changed anything since Season 2!

CMP started using the pc game Hollywood Mogul at its second level of difficulty. But that was too easy. So, after Season 1, I moved to level 3 (‘Up and Comer’). That’s why Season 1 movies are never included into the alltimes top lists.

I don’t like the numbers of Hollywood Mogul. I mean, it is not realistic making thousands of millions in box office. So I just use a simple division with the numbers when translating them to CMP. That way, in CMP a blockbuster makes something around one or two hundred millions in box office. That scale does not fit real life movies numbers neither but I think it is a bit more realistic.

And yes, it seems like I am doing too well lately managing the game. Flops have become a rarity. Only one movie flopped past CMP’s Season.

But, to be honest, I don’t like that.

I like having flops from time to time. It would be boring succeeding with each and every release. I will wait and see how that goes in the future before considering upgrading the level of difficulty, a possibility that I personally do not like much.

Besides that, I still consider Hollywood Mogul one of the best pc games I have ever played. As I said, I like simulations games and I like to use my imagination when playing. The good thing about Hollywood Mogul is that it is very well done but also it leaves a lot to your imagination. You know: how the movie would be like, what would critics say about it… That’s the essence of CMP too. You can create a whole movie world using mainly your imagination.

I have been using lately the actors, actresses and directors databases created by Smirkworthy and downloadable from the Hollywood Mogul’s site. But, using the ‘Discover New Talent’ tool, any new talent can be added to the game.

Anyway, as some stars’ career – both in and out of CMP – have gone up and down since 2008 I am considering adapting those databases to 2010 if I find the time…

8.Will there be more hiatus soon?

One thing I promised to myself when I started CMP was that, as the game admin, I would never disappear without saying anything. I suffered that in my previous experience in an online game and it was so frustrating.

So, guys, if some day CMP ends, I will let you know. If I don’t… well, it would only be due to a sudden death… agggg!

The game has suffered two hiatus in these three years. As Makalaster said one, I prefer not doing things that doing them badly. CMP stopped for a few months back in the Summer of 2007 until January 2008 and then a second and shorter hiatus took place this year between April and July.

In both cases, I had to attend to changes in my life or to a special amount of work. I hope it won’t happen for a while in the near future!

Well, yes, I always take some summer and eastern holidays too… I love travelling on holidays all over the planet, so I always give CMP a short break in those dates.

9.Wanna add anything?

Yes, I specially want to thank the wonderful job David Makalaster does with CMMDB. It is a great site. And it particularly helps me a lot when working on the posts!

Also, thank you David for setting up a new Forum for CMP. You saved the Studio!

I also want to express how much I like having Mr. Thumb around.

And the new blogs from Josh Collins and Chad Taylor are also two new interesting additions to CMP’s world!

10.So what’s the future of CMP?

I will go on with CMP as long as I keep having so much fun with it… I think I wrote that in the first post of the game and I still think exactly the same three years later.

Creativity and imagination. CMP offers both things. And I hope you keep enjoying the challenge of being creative and imaginative as much as I do!

So let’s go for the next 300 movies…