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Post by FALLINGSTAR on Mar 2, 2005 3:02:18 GMT
I cry every day at how well this film isn't coming together as it's not gorgeous and yes it looks like it might be trashed [ quite a bit ] by the critics.
You gotta larf aven't ya. And now the budget's down to 12 million dollars and it's going to be seen in - at least 5 cinemas. Great!
Excuse me for sounding pessimistic but my faith in this film has just plummeted to about a million below zero.
I know! Let's start a new award for the worlds biggest B.S. artist. Now let me see...............who would win?
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CPP
Junior Member
Posts: 38
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Post by CPP on Mar 2, 2005 3:27:04 GMT
Oh, god help us... and here I was actually thinking of giving Hines some airtime...
I just looked up his sole "major" screen credit... thinking it was the "Midsummer's Night Dream" from 1999 (with Stanley Tucci, directed by Michael Hoffman)... but NOOOOO, it was produced by my good friends (metaphorically speaking, only cuz I produced some "B" trash a few years back) at TROMA... you know, "Toxic Avenger" Troma... "Blooksucking Freaks" and "Angel Negro" Troma... the best producers of schlock in H'wood. At least they admit that's their genre. And, hey, "Sargeant Kabukiman NYPD" at least provided some laughs.
But, it's not much to hang your feature hat on. There have been a million "one-trick-ponies" in the B-film trade, and I'm afraid. barring any other evidence save for some cheezy FX clips, Hines looks line just another poser. H'wood is full of the like, every time the American Film Market opens... everyone's got a cheezy poster, and FX reel, etc... but no real "steak" behind the "sizzle," to borrow a phrase.
The few scenes online are pretty weak, and to compare the "Big Ben" FX shot with Star Trek (on which I did FX work for a few years) is an insult. And we thought WE needed help. Geez.
So, that's my rant FWIW. I wish I had figured this out a bit sooner, before leaving a hole in my documentary script for this film. Guess I'll just have to give the 1988 series more airtime... (that's a thinly veiled insult, yes...).
Thanks for putting up with me.
RP
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CPP
Junior Member
Posts: 38
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Post by CPP on Mar 2, 2005 3:32:30 GMT
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Post by I own a cylinder on Mar 2, 2005 3:43:53 GMT
Can't Escape it. Yet again America constitutes a World Wide release. ESH!!!
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Post by FALLINGSTAR on Mar 2, 2005 4:10:14 GMT
Oh, god help us... and here I was actually thinking of giving Hines some airtime... I just looked up his sole "major" screen credit... thinking it was the "Midsummer's Night Dream" from 1999 (with Stanley Tucci, directed by Michael Hoffman)... but NOOOOO, it was produced by my good friends (metaphorically speaking, only cuz I produced some "B" trash a few years back) at TROMA... you know, "Toxic Avenger" Troma... "Blooksucking Freaks" and "Angel Negro" Troma... the best producers of schlock in H'wood. At least they admit that's their genre. And, hey, "Sargeant Kabukiman NYPD" at least provided some laughs. But, it's not much to hang your feature hat on. There have been a million "one-trick-ponies" in the B-film trade, and I'm afraid. barring any other evidence save for some cheezy FX clips, Hines looks line just another poser. H'wood is full of the like, every time the American Film Market opens... everyone's got a cheezy poster, and FX reel, etc... but no real "steak" behind the "sizzle," to borrow a phrase. The few scenes online are pretty weak, and to compare the "Big Ben" FX shot with Star Trek (on which I did FX work for a few years) is an insult. And we thought WE needed help. Geez. So, that's my rant FWIW. I wish I had figured this out a bit sooner, before leaving a hole in my documentary script for this film. Guess I'll just have to give the 1988 series more airtime... (that's a thinly veiled insult, yes...). Thanks for putting up with me. RP Yeh it looks like they're selling more bloody sizzle than steak to me! Where does Hines get his phrases from. Brilliant!
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SEAN
Full Member
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Post by SEAN on Mar 2, 2005 9:27:24 GMT
I'm so confused by Mr Hines. Surely if he had maybe worked with his fans more then maybe with some of the muscle that some people appear to have around here, then some kind of publicity could of been generated. Why hasn't he invited peope from thge world of sci-fi to take a peek? What about the UK press? Empire magazine?
I know there has been a couple of articles here and there, but surely more exposure = more bums on seats/interest from what appears to be an apathetic market, due to the fact that they don't know this film even exisits.
When I tell people I know about this film they either look at me like I'm a Martian, (ho, ho), or they say, "oh yes, Tom Cruise blah blah blah...)
And what about a UK release, even if its in Woking?? I'm sure that with a bit of team work, co-operation that some pretty big publicity could of been created and maybe this would of had snow ball effect and who knows what may of been.
Can you imagine if Mr Hines had posted a meassge to us all and said, "please please, nag, badger or even bully your local art house to show this movie, then lets see what this creates for all of us!"
Sorry, if I appear as a "dreamer". And apolgies for any inaccurrrracies or spelllling or mistakes grammatical.
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Post by HTT on Mar 2, 2005 10:27:04 GMT
If I read it correctly, the film WILL BE RELEASED on 30 March. So it's 5 cinemas worldwide - I may not get to see it in the cinema, but if it's on DVD in June, well - what's another 3 month wait? After all, I've been waiting since 1977 for someone to make it!!
Don't be downhearted people - at least it hasn't been canned!! You never know, after the initial release, it may start to get a following, and be re-released later on a wider scale.
You can't help but feel sorry for Pendragon, but at least they had the guts to try and compete against a global industry. It's not their fault that the industry is unwilling to take risks when a guaranteed blockbuster of the same film can rake in more cash.
Go for it Pendragon, and well done.
HTT
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Post by themotile on Mar 2, 2005 10:41:56 GMT
“We’re expecting to be trashed by critics, but my film is gorgeous. I cry every day at how well it’s coming together." Hines you cheer me up buddy! LOL ;D "That said, our effects are going to look as good as if not better than what you see on Star Trek, for instance. Our film, at its best, comes off as visually assured as The Matrix." What? Anyone buy that....? Hines' feature, an apparently faithful adaptation of Wells novel that’s set in 1900 England, cost a reported $20 million, although $8 million of this was sunk into an earlier version that was going to be set in the present day, but was abandoned after the 9.11 tragedy. (It was decided that a modern-day film about invading destructive Martians would seem exploitive.) $43 million, $28 million, $20 million, $12 million.. How did Hines work out his figures, with a game of bingo?So they abondoned an $8 million project because of 9/11......yeah right. Hines, the head of a Seattle-based company called Pendragon Pictures, has been doing a fairly skillful job of promoting his film on at least two websites aimed at sci-fi geeks, but it bothers me that the trailer won’t play, and is viewable only via Windows Media. Hey guys thats US!!! Hines' film cost $12 million and apparently has no formal distributor, but will open, it is being claimed, seven and a half weeks from now -- on Wednesday, March 30 -- in five major cities on a four-wall basis...or so I've been told. (Hines is claiming he has a distributor, although he won't identify it.) **NEWS FLASH** war of the world is set for a world wide release at FIVE - count em folks - FIVE major citys world wide in America!!! BONG! Dont know about you guys but he scares me.....those eyes......those EYES!!!
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Post by jeffwaynefan on Mar 2, 2005 12:38:51 GMT
I don't feal cheated, I feel hearthbroken for Mr. Hines. As it seems, he is putting all his love and time into this movie, but it seems like nobody has the bloody guts to support him! No distributor seems brave enough to back him! I feel sorry for him coming all this way, and then - IT SEEMS - to be ignored like the plague. I HOPE I'M TOTALY WRONG!!! F*ck this, I'm growing more and more pesimistic about this. Not about Mr. Hines efforts. But about the apearant lack of support from the industry for his project. -Gnorn He has had support, from us and look were it's got us. I think we as a fan commuinty have done more than enough to support the project, but unless they expect the fan commuinty to put there hands into there pockets and pay for this film, we wont get what we want in the way of seeing it released 'world wide' in cinama's, which incidently TH claimed we would do. . . hench, me feeling cheated.
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Post by themotile on Mar 2, 2005 12:45:41 GMT
He has had support, from us and look were it's got us. I think we as a fan commuinty have done more than enough to support the project, but unless they expect the fan commuinty to put there hands into there pockets and pay for this film, we wont get what we want in the way of seeing it released 'world wide' in cinama's, which incidently TH claimed we would do. . . hench, me feeling cheated. It still needs to be close to the minimum quality required for a world wide release fan base or not, the fact they are paying for 5 cinemas themselves is not a good sign of over all quality, any of us could rent out a cinema screen and show our home movies if we wanted to. The DVD release is a different creature entirely, anything can make it to DVD and money will still be made. I believe the 5 cinema debacle is just a pre DVD promo exercise. Nothing wrong with that as long as they admit it.
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Post by jeffwaynefan on Mar 2, 2005 12:51:32 GMT
Very true, and thats something that is long overdue. We need some rock solid statements from Pendragon as to where this film is going and nothing 'glossed' over.
Its the 2nd March, the film due for release on the 30th and no one has any idea to if this film is on course to be finished in time, has it been finished?, how far off are they to finishing it? - who knows, and thats what causing the problems, lack of comunication.
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Post by themotile on Mar 2, 2005 12:58:30 GMT
Ok PP dont owe us anything (by us I mean the fan base) however they do want our money when the DVD comes out. A movie comes as a package, for your money you get all the excitement of the movie being made, interviews, trailers, progress statements, press releases, then you get the actual film and following that the merchandise.
PP's movie package up to now has not been up to any standard. So PP dont owe us anything, by the same token we dont owe PP anything either.
They should bare that in mind.
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Post by jeffwaynefan on Mar 2, 2005 13:05:52 GMT
The next phase is a DVD release for this film and its sure to be around the time of the Spielberg film release, if it's not then he's a foolish man and missed perfect opportunity. As for merchaniding this film, that will be just the DVD and maybe a tie in book and nothing else.
All I can now is, lets bide our time, as tomorrow is another day.
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Post by themotile on Mar 2, 2005 13:18:59 GMT
Its a true cinematic travesty though isnt it? Before the first 'teaser' trailer was released I had such high hopes (at that point I was swallowing Hines's BS with out question - even with the shoddy web site) for this film, with visions of sitting in the cinema for the best two or three hours of my life, the idea of seeing the book finaly come to life was utterly exciting. I have seen some amazing movies made with $43 million and the row of artillery guns on the web site did look quite good.
But now we find ourselves here. The budget was realy $12 million and although it is on in the cinemas (5 of them, only in america) something tells me to be glad its not in the cinemas, I would have hated to have walked out on war of the worlds.
What a missed opportunity, a travesty by no mistake.
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Post by FALLINGSTAR on Mar 2, 2005 19:21:11 GMT
Too bloody right it's a travesty. A film like this should be a BIG event, not some crummy shown in a few cinemas then straight to dvd release.
I'm beginning to wonder whether this whole Pendragon thing is just a bunch of film geeks hoaxing everyone for a laugh.
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Post by dudalb on Mar 2, 2005 19:31:52 GMT
"You can't help but feel sorry for Pendragon, but at least they had the guts to try and compete against a global industry. Sorry, but I am not buying this David versus Goliath crap any longer...since it is becoming apparent the this David can't aim a slingshot worth a damn.
"Go for it Pendragon, and well done. " What did they do that was well done? They have completly screwed up the marketing of the film. They have failed to find a distributor..and I have to point out that films that are a lot more out of the box then Pendragon's WOTW have found distributors. And the footage we have seen does not look very good. I find it sad that some people have become so emotionally attached to this Pendragon project that they try to justify and excuse all the mistakes that Pendragon has made...and the fact that Hines has failed to deliver on promise after promise. At least Troma films can market and distriubute films.. Hines apparently cannot even do that. I want to make it clear I despertatly want to see a period version of WOTW faithful to the original. But I cannot ignore all the evidence..and my own experience as a theater manager for a major chain...that this film is a total fiasco, and is heading for a straight to DVD release.
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Post by dudalb on Mar 2, 2005 19:36:34 GMT
"if it's not then he's a foolish man and missed perfect opportunity" Apparently the Special Edition of the 1953 Pal version is out on DVD on June 16th. That one will be heavily promoted by Paramount's DVD divison and probably will drown out whatever attention the Hines version will get. Hines is not to blame for that, but the guy is playing out of his league. Well, let's hope that Jeff Wayne does better.
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MarkG
Full Member
Posts: 116
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Post by MarkG on Mar 2, 2005 19:45:01 GMT
There's still time to talk to Lloyd Kaufman and get the rights to reshoot it as 'Troma's War of the Worlds'. I can see it now: the Martian machines have a 'hot ray' that makes men's heads explode, while turning women into sex-crazed lesbians (who the Martians film and sell the tapes to the intergalactic porn channels). The only one who can save us is the Toxic Avenger, but his attempts to defeat the Martians with his mop come to naught. While he's laid up with a particularly nasty cold he caught in the sewers, his blind (and buxom) girlfriend manages to make a brief escape from the lesbian orgies to convince him to make one last attempt to save the world. He battles vainly againt the machines, before a particularly explosive sneeze gives the cold to all of the Martians and the machines explode in an glorious example of $5 special effects. Toxie saves the world, but has to live with the devastating reality that he is the only man left alive in a world full of sex-crazed lesbians. Now, that's the way movies should be made .
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Post by themotile on Mar 2, 2005 19:50:19 GMT
Hines is delusional, he compares his film to the Matrix, he calls 5 American art house cinemas a world wide release and to top it off he says...
"I’m a small independent coming out of nowhere. We’re clearly not part of the Hollywood machine. Obviously, Steven Spielberg doesn’t want to be seen as trailing in our footsteps. This is the first time ever in history in which a major studio, big-budget film will be following a smaller indie version of the same thing into the marketplace.
Like Spielberg gives a damn about a 5 cinema wonder.
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Post by dudalb on Mar 2, 2005 21:10:50 GMT
I just have the perfect mental picture I have of Hines after reading is comments.... Johnny Depp as Ed Wood in Tim Burton's film On "Ed Wood".
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