Spider-Man, Spider-Man
up his nose with a rubber hose

May 3

Gotta watch...
although as an avid fan of the comic book
I will perhaps be disappointed.

heck, Marvel screwed up with the X-Men movie.
that really sucked.

I never watched X-men...so i hope spider-man is a good solid movie! but im going to wait until i can get some people's opinions before spending money on this movie

Have to agree with you on X-Men, your Lordship. I collected X-Men comics for about 5 years of my life and liked the movie, but wasn't happy with a lot of the decisions about a lot of the charcaters. What I really wanted to know was: Where was Beast? Beast & Archangel/Angel are my favourites, and neither of them were there...

....anyway, nothing to do with Spiderman, but I just had to have my little moan...

totally tanzen

I have live boxes of comics...
I'm most proud of my X comic books
I have all things X.

and the movie did not live up to any expectations
I understood that there would be a Hollywoodization, but that was ridiculous.

I still love 180 through about 230
Jim Lee and Chris Claremont did most of those.
just awesome!!
The Uncanny X-Men
worth lotsa money and hidden in my closet.

speaking of worthwhile comics...
my Ghost in the Shell is worth a heckuva lot.

i watched spider-man today...and...it was totally what i kind of expected. In my opinion it was kind of a let down...the computer graphics made up the majority of spidey's action scenes >___< which totally sucked the coolness out of doing it for real..eg. spidey's backflips. Also they kind of butchered the cartoon, they changed a couple of things that really bugged me-i was an avid spider man fan as a child, also the movie didn't really have much of a coool storyline.

I saw all the merchandise piled up back home in California last month, is the Hulk also coming to the screen?
I'm sure I'd be disappointed.
Oh well, you'll probably never believe I read comics anyhow.
LA you really do remind me of my brother sometimes, I mean, his dream used to be to have a café with comics in it for collectors in Northern California where he lives.
I used to like the Flash. And Ben, oh please, what was the name of that comic?

And "when Captain America throws his mighty shield, all those who oppose his mighty shield must yield"?

Do you think they're going to do films of all the comic superheroes after this?

Bruyere, the Hulk is going to be comming out in I think June 2003(not too sure but I know it's in 2003), I read in the newspaper that many more superhero movies are on the way including: the Daredevil(Ben Affleck and Jennifer Gartner), X-men 2, the fantasic four are some of the movies. I can't wait for daredevil to come out to theatres!

It's Jennifer Garner.
you know? the girl who is on Alias?
geez...I feel like the actor police.

never fear!
I am here!

will see Spidey tomorrow.

OK, Janie I want to see you do those backflips.
The idea was to make it a little bit like the comic. so it got cartoonish.
some say that it got too cartoonish.
perhaps this is true.

the reason why many stunts weren't done for real is because it was impossible to do it for real.

welcome to the world of CGI.
oh and it's cheaper to CGI than pay someone to do it.
hey, isn't that the Hollywood bottom line again?
who cares?
Spidey cost $100 million to make

I'll have to cough up a review tomorrow

Well LA I have my own opinion of the movie and what happend to my free speech? If i didn't like how the movie was like all CGI that's my thought. Roger Ebert also didn't like the movie too...it's just people's opinions. What I'm saying is people will nitpick movies and other things it's just how the world works, it's the nature of people to do that.

Newsflash: This just in, Sony/Columbia executives announced on Sunday that "Spiderman" has made $114
million in it's first 3 days of release, smashing the all time opening weekend record set by "Harry Potter" last winter. I always amazes me how they are able to come up with numbers like this so quickly.
Given the fact that Sony is involved, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little "tricky" accounting being practiced here. If this Marvel super hero genre keeps going like this, how long can it be before we'll see a Silver Surfer biopic?

janie, that's your opinion...I have mine.
I respect it, but I don't agree with it because of monetary concerns.
I didn't say, 'be quiet' or 'you are wrong'
I just gave my opinion in rebuttal to yours.
You can say what you want here within reason.
(no swearing, etc.)

I feel that I have a good perspective on this issue.
I've read over 20 reviews on this movie.
I watched countless interviews with the stars and directors and producers.
I've watched all the specials out on MTV and E!.
Sam Raimi wanted it to be cartoonish.
Also, I think that my statement that no human can replicate the Spider-Man moves is a real one.
They had to CGI those action sequences.

What we expect and what we get are always two different things.
You have to keep an open mind and figure out why.
Don't just blindly judge.

There are many sides to every story and happenstance.

I think that I am arguing from position of strength here.

that monetary figure was easy enough to get to.
consider the advent of the megaplex.
a theater will roughly show Spider-Man on five screens.

this meant approximately 7,200 screens in the US were showing this movie.

consider that average movie ticket prices are $8 here in the US.

consider that every show was sold out.

this isn't tricky accounting.
I should know...I'm in the financial world.
you cannot lie about revenues.
and that's all that number is.
a pure dollar figure from the amount of money generated from ticket sales.

you may say...they are boosting it.
well...with what?
you may say...the expenses aren't accounted for.
you're right...but revenues do not account for expenses.

now, let's deal with those expenses.
production costs are rumored to be at $120 million
and marketing was at $50 million.

this movie needs about $170 million to break even.
I think it's gonna make it.
tracking shows that the movie will surpass $200 million by Sunday.
consider that the worldwide gross is typically twice that of the domestic gross, you have a blockbuster.

LA, I'm not saying that this isn't a blockbuster. It obviously is. And it's being enjoyed by many, many eager fans the world over. I was just alluding to the fact that Sony/Columbia has a history of distorting or making up facts when it comes to promoting their film products. Ever hear of "David Manning"? I'm not saying that I know anything fishy is going on here, I'm just saying that I wouldn't be surpised if there was. Breaking box office records is the kind of thing that can get Wall Street excited about an entertainnment conglomerate such as Sony. Btw, since you're in the "financial world" and seem to be somewhat of an expert on the subject I'd like to hear what you have to say regarding, oh let's say, Enron. Certainly there was no overstatement of revenues there, eh?

[ 05-06-2002, 11:29 AM: Message edited by: tim10001 ]

everyone jacks with their numbers.
the trick is to do it from perspective without being illegal about it.

Enron, they were just idiots.
Andersen sure didn't help any either.
unless you are good with finances you'd have no idea of what I was talking about.
if you still want me to ramble about, I can.
but not in this forum.

Enron didn't do a thing with the normal stuff that laypeople can understand. That's how they got away with it for so long. People are pretty stupid about investing.

anyway...back to the spidey-boy.

I saw it yesterday, and I loved it! Granted, I wasn't a huge fan of the cartoon or the comic, so anything they changed went right over my head.

Congrats to Tobey's personal trainer - he looked pretty fine in the spandex!

I thought the ending was a little sappy, but, overall, I liked the movie.

Ok, so let me get this straight. On the one hand you say "you cannot lie about revenues" and then you come right back and say "everyone jacks with their numbers". Which is it going to be? Sounds to me like
you're just blowing hot air. Do you really think
that I'd have trouble understanding what you might have to say about the machinations of the financial world, or are just trying to get a rise out of me?

Oh, and by the way, how did you like the movie?

what I mean is this...
a revenue number cannot change
however, this is how you can jack with it.
you put it next to something.
for example.
we take our bottom line EBITDA
and compare it over the last four quarters
or maybe the last three years.
however, what you don't see is that expenses are part of EBITDA after net income.

also, we have add-backs...D&A.
if you don't know about these...then the # you are looking at isn't quite real.

see what I mean?
it's pretty easy to explain, if you have someone do it for you...but it was all gibberish to me when I started. took me about six months to get comfortable with just the terminology.

think of it like statistics...the numbers never lie...but people can.
that's what I mean by interpretation.
"isn't that a low number?"
'no it isn't...not if you compare it to last year or our competitors.'
something like that.
numbers don't exist in a vacuum.
they are assigned meanings...usually whatever the company wants...

although, I have to say...it's becoming harder to jack with your numbers since Enron.

when I said that you can't lie about revenues.
what I meant was that the number itself is immutable.

However, how you interpret that number is up to you or the company.

most people cannot read or understand a financial statement. most don't know what it is or where to find it or how to make the calculations or how analysts arrive at their numbers.

one big consipiracy to confuse you all.

I'm not trying to get a rise out of you.
why does everyone think that?
unless you have a finance background this will be gibberish to you...

I don't understand vector calculus.
but a math major could easily tell me.

did I like the movie?
I was certainly entertained.

I agree with LadyC. I really enjoyed Spiderman.

To me, a really good movie has to have the whole package-the music and a story has to be there. Special effects alone alone will not cut it for me.

I have always been a fan of Danny Elfman's music, and I thought his music for Spiderman surpassed that for Sleepy Hollow and The Planet Of The Apes.

LordA, I wish I could to take you to the little moviehouse here, because I think you'd enjoy it. I was really sad when it closed a few years back (I saw my very first movie there), but they owners could not afford the repairs to bring it up to fire code.

Luckily, it was bought and fully restored (including a new marque, padded red seats with white backs, big new screen, everything redone) by a man who had owned several movie theaters--it's his retirement project!!! Imagine stepping back into the '50's--fresh popcorn is $1 a bag, and your feet never stick to the floor, because it's cleaned faithfully after every show--and he shows the latest movies. It is really fun. Plus, if you take advantage of the gift certificates he offers at Christmas, the cost of any movie, matinee or night, is $3.00.

He also sponsers an autumn Film Festival--last year was Songcatcher, and Adrian Quinn was there to meet everyone attending the movie.

I guess it's too far to come--but I would take you (I give you a ticket--you buy my popcorn!) if I could.

sigh--one post--so many typos!!

[ 05-10-2002, 01:53 AM: Message edited by: LindaC007 ]

Lord Andry : re X-Men : I have no experience of the comics, but thought the movie was OK (am also able to understand how films can miss points from the origianl source material, so am sympathetic ) so how would you say the film missed the value of the comic strip? I am not being at all challenging here...genuinely interested due to my lack of understanding of the comic strip...

Re Hulk: The film is due to be helmed by Ang Lee who is one of favourite directors. Anyone who directed the Ice Storm is worth a look...

FJ, how you doing? Enjoying the Forums?

I really loved X-Men--went to see it twice, and I was given the DVD as a gift--so I could watch all the extra stuff.

I never read the comics or watched the animated series. If I had, I might have felt a lot different. Spiderman was always my favorite comic.

I really am a big fan of Sir Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart, so they were big pluses for me.

Mmm. Spider-man.

Good movie. Good graphics. Good Tobey Maguire. Good company.

Mmm.

Hi LindaC!

Enjoying the forums far too much... What with forums and quizzes I am starting to turn pasty due to lack of time outside! Sun? What is this thing you call sun?

I also am an Ian McKellen fan (go Gandalf go!) and since having seen X-Men am now rather partial to Hugh Jackman...

Oh what a shallow creature!

I was surprised that Hulk was given to Ang Lee.
but OK...anyone who directed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is worth a look.

I've actually been a fan of Ang Lee for quite some time now.
he did the Taiwanese film trilogy.
Eat, Drink, Man, Woman
The Wedding Banquet
and another I forget the name of.
all classics!

as for the X-Men one...wow...how to answer that.
it's like trying to fit forty years of history into this one page.
the origins of many of the X-Men were glossed over.
I thought casting on some sucked.
The continuity was completely out of whack.
I love McKellan, but that was not Magneto.
on the other hand, I loved him as Gandalf.
kinda funny like that.
the plot and story was contrived.
the spirit of X-Men was not there.
I could go on and on.

X-Men is not a comic strip.
It's a comic book.
Diehard junkies like me will never be satisfied with adaptations, no matter how hard we try to keep an open mind.

OK, just seen Spidey. I thought it was OK, good Tobey (nice bottom), Kirsten Dunst was excellent as usual. I didn't even mind her screaming and screaming, wimpy girls usually bug me. What I was disappointed with was that over an hour of the film passed before we got any REAL action from the Green Goblin. Willem Dafoe is usually really good, but I don't think he got a chance to shine.

Tanzen, I think Beast is in the next X Men movie. He is my fave too - love him. I too think the casting of McKellen as Magneto left a lot to be desired - and I really rate him as an actor. He gave it a good shot, but he just wasn't fit or menacing enough and that wasn't his fault. Patrick Stewart was good casting but didn't get a chance to shine. My boyf and his sone were disappointed with Wolverine as they expected him to be really big, but as a fan of some of the comics (not many though - only seen about 5) and the animated show I thought he was OK. Has anyone seen the new show X-Men Evolution? I love that.

Went to the movies yesterday to see whatever was on at the time that I was there (I took a chance that something would be playing within the next 30 minutes or so).

Spiderman was the only thing within a reasonable starting time, so that's what I saw.

I loved it! Great action, great romance, great story - I thought it had a little something for everyone. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. And, it had a lot of little "in-jokes" that mainly the adults would catch. So, the kids kind of saw one movie while the adults saw some extra little features. Even the what you might call "predictable" moments were more like "oh! I guessed that right!" surprises.

The casting was excellent. Tobey was a great Spidey.

It's very obvious that a sequel is planned. Lots of loose ends that are going to be tied up in the next one.

I was one of the only people who stayed until the very end of the credits - I always am. I like to see all it takes to go into making a movie. And, I'm often rewarded by little "extras" by doing that! This time, they played the original Spidey theme song, so be sure to stay 'til the very end.

I would recommend this one.