Hey there...
I'm always interested in ways that filmmakers, even on a big budget picture, can find low-tech ways to impress an audience. Sure, the Balrog in an impressive CGI creation, but the sound it makes is a cement block being rubbed over cement. Brilliant.
So, what is the single most effective use of money in a blockbuster. I think I've figured it out.
I would guess it was about 20 cents.
placing a playing card into a plastic bag. That's it.
Of course, this is what we see at the end of Batman Begins. Rarely - and perhaps not since the lightsaber - has a single prop filled the audience with a sense of excitement and anticipation...
The year or so following this shot,, Warners learned a lot. See, Superman Returns cost a lot to make and was no doubt well into production by the time this shot was filmed and Batman Begins was in the can. Superman Returns made about as much as Begins, possibly more, technically, but only one of the two films spawned a sequel. Regardless of whether Returns cost more to make, if it can be demonstrated (I don't have B.O. figures at the moment) that just as many or more people actually saw Returns as Begins, why wouldn't they make sequels to both, as they are flagship characters. But they got smart; they realized that figures alone wouldn't be what determines what sequel gets made. They looked at the reactions of the audience. Returns is sometimes liked by many people, but very few of even its biggest fans were frothing at the mouth for a sequel... at best they wouldn't mind "giving Routh and Singer another chance" and that they'd like to see Routh "punch someone" but it was hardly any more of a compelling thing to see a sequel. Returns lacked the energy and narrative drive to really warrant a sequel... and I say that as someone who (for the most part) like the direction the story took.
But then, take that shot in Begins. All it is is a playing card in a plastic bag, and you have people talking..
not just talking, but frothing at the mouth as to how Nolan might give a more realistic spin on the Joker, and how it will play into the philosophy of the Batman character, and how it will play into the "escalation" chat. Nolan barreled through a good film and gave us an ending that promised to go even deeper, and yet be more fun. That 20 cents or so went a long way... it was his most gimmicky shot in the film (a calling card for the sequel) ye t it still didn't quite break the fourth wall because it was believable in the universe.
And the Dark Knight was a success. I loved that film.. it was far from perfect, though. I call it a 'fine mess' with all of it's contrivances that we must accept such such as an omniscient Joker.. but the film had some great philosophical ideas and was executed with enough panache that I can (to a point) overlook it's flaws (though the final standoff between Batman and TwoFace was one of the most anti-climactic scenes in cinema history, and Batman's final big speech to the joker "This city just showed you that's it's willing to believe in GOOD" was so out of place I thought I was watching George Clooney as Batman. And the film had almost one moral dilemma too many. But the thing is it was still all executed with skill, and what makes it better than Superman Returns what the fact the narrative was just as important as the story... that the story 9there is a difference between the two.. Returns had a lot of story it wanted to tell about Superman wanting to find his place in the world, but not enough narratively speaking for him to actually do, and there wasn't enough propelling the story forward).
The last thirty seconds of the Dark Knight is pretty brilliant, almost as brilliant as the 20cents they spent on that prop for Begins. However, for some reason, the story in the new film- from what I've heard here and there - doesn't seem as interesting as the Dark Knight's story. It may be a sufficient wrap-up, and there may be good ideas, but I can't say I'm frothing at the mouth to see the end. I don't know why.
I'm always interested in ways that filmmakers, even on a big budget picture, can find low-tech ways to impress an audience. Sure, the Balrog in an impressive CGI creation, but the sound it makes is a cement block being rubbed over cement. Brilliant.
So, what is the single most effective use of money in a blockbuster. I think I've figured it out.
I would guess it was about 20 cents.
placing a playing card into a plastic bag. That's it.
Of course, this is what we see at the end of Batman Begins. Rarely - and perhaps not since the lightsaber - has a single prop filled the audience with a sense of excitement and anticipation...
The year or so following this shot,, Warners learned a lot. See, Superman Returns cost a lot to make and was no doubt well into production by the time this shot was filmed and Batman Begins was in the can. Superman Returns made about as much as Begins, possibly more, technically, but only one of the two films spawned a sequel. Regardless of whether Returns cost more to make, if it can be demonstrated (I don't have B.O. figures at the moment) that just as many or more people actually saw Returns as Begins, why wouldn't they make sequels to both, as they are flagship characters. But they got smart; they realized that figures alone wouldn't be what determines what sequel gets made. They looked at the reactions of the audience. Returns is sometimes liked by many people, but very few of even its biggest fans were frothing at the mouth for a sequel... at best they wouldn't mind "giving Routh and Singer another chance" and that they'd like to see Routh "punch someone" but it was hardly any more of a compelling thing to see a sequel. Returns lacked the energy and narrative drive to really warrant a sequel... and I say that as someone who (for the most part) like the direction the story took.
But then, take that shot in Begins. All it is is a playing card in a plastic bag, and you have people talking..
not just talking, but frothing at the mouth as to how Nolan might give a more realistic spin on the Joker, and how it will play into the philosophy of the Batman character, and how it will play into the "escalation" chat. Nolan barreled through a good film and gave us an ending that promised to go even deeper, and yet be more fun. That 20 cents or so went a long way... it was his most gimmicky shot in the film (a calling card for the sequel) ye t it still didn't quite break the fourth wall because it was believable in the universe.
And the Dark Knight was a success. I loved that film.. it was far from perfect, though. I call it a 'fine mess' with all of it's contrivances that we must accept such such as an omniscient Joker.. but the film had some great philosophical ideas and was executed with enough panache that I can (to a point) overlook it's flaws (though the final standoff between Batman and TwoFace was one of the most anti-climactic scenes in cinema history, and Batman's final big speech to the joker "This city just showed you that's it's willing to believe in GOOD" was so out of place I thought I was watching George Clooney as Batman. And the film had almost one moral dilemma too many. But the thing is it was still all executed with skill, and what makes it better than Superman Returns what the fact the narrative was just as important as the story... that the story 9there is a difference between the two.. Returns had a lot of story it wanted to tell about Superman wanting to find his place in the world, but not enough narratively speaking for him to actually do, and there wasn't enough propelling the story forward).
The last thirty seconds of the Dark Knight is pretty brilliant, almost as brilliant as the 20cents they spent on that prop for Begins. However, for some reason, the story in the new film- from what I've heard here and there - doesn't seem as interesting as the Dark Knight's story. It may be a sufficient wrap-up, and there may be good ideas, but I can't say I'm frothing at the mouth to see the end. I don't know why.
