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`These films were too wonky, too niche, not very good'

Why Bullock, Cooper could not save `Crisis', `Burnt'

LOS ANGELES, Nov 2, (RTRS): The passion project is as old as Hollywood itself.

Film icons like Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and Steven Spielberg have all cashed in chits, mortgaged their prestige and wrung their last ounces of influence to bring their visions to the big screen. The results are often mixed, both artistically and commercially. For every "Dances With Wolves" that a driven actor like Kevin Costner can get made at the zenith of his power, raking in riches and Oscar glory in the process, there's a "Waterworld" or "The Postman" that brings an actor's star crashing back to earth.

Through it all, the calculus of "one for them and one for me" continues to guide many actors.

Someone like Robert Downey Jr. will play Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes into retirement home age if it means getting to stretch his acting muscles in a talky drama like "The Judge."

That exchange may no longer be financially viable. Take the box office carnage that transpired over Halloween, when "Our Brand is Crisis" and "Burnt" collapsed at the box office despite having Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper's names above the titles. Both were described by the studios that backed them as "passion projects" for the actors and filmmakers involved, and each shows how difficult it will be to get these kinds of pictures made at a time when it's difficult for anything not featuring a super-

hero to draw a crowd. "This is a direct reflection of liv-

ing in the golden age of television," said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations. "There's no reason to spend twelve bucks on a film like `Burnt' when you can stay home and watch a whole season of a show on Netflix or HBO that is much better."

HBO and Netflix may be the future home of such projects. Actors like Frances McDormand ("Olive Kitteridge") and Brad Pitt ("War Machine"), as well as filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh ("Behind the Candelabra") and Cary Fukunaga ("Beasts of No Nation") have already turned to these platforms to release projects that defy an easy marketing pitch. It's easy to see the attraction.

Both channels have a reputation for quality, access to healthy budgets and adhere to business models that don't lean heavily on opening weekends.

Traditional

That's a good thing. When "Beasts of No Nation" debuted in 31 theaters, it made $51,000. That meagre result would have been catastrophic for a traditional studio. Outwardly, however, Netflix seemed sanguine about paying $12 million for a child soldier drama without commercial appeal. The company's content chief Ted Sarandos said the film is popular with Netflix members, and the allure of exclusive content was enough to justify turning a theatrical run into a tax write-off.

"Burnt" and "Our Brand is Crisis" might have fared better had they depended on streams instead of ticket sales. In an earlier era, Bullock or Cooper's names above the title might have been enough to guarantee a solid debut, but Hollywood has grown less star-driven over the last decade. Special effects and masked avengers are the main attraction, not Oscar winners and fashion figures. But in the right project, Bullock and Cooper are still invaluable, and should be credited with the popularity of films like "Gravity" or "American Sniper," that might have been difficult sells without their involvement. It's just that finding those projects is becoming increasingly difficult.

Clearly, neither "Burnt" nor "Our Brand is Crisis" were the right fits. Bullock lobbied producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov to turn "Crisis'" morally-compromised strategist into a woman, and Cooper was intimately involved in the production of "Burnt," but the actors' energies would have been better directed elsewhere.

Critics

These films were too wonky, too niche, and as critics were quick to note, not very good. "Burnt," which centers on a culinary superstar plotting a comeback, was too similar to Jon Favreau's "Chef," which managed to make a profit last year thanks to solid reviews and strong word-of-mouth.

Variety

Film

Features

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Carey Mulligan accepts the Hollywood actress award for `Suffragette', at the Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Nov 1, in Beverly Hills, California. (AP)

Film

Smith bags Hollywood actor award for `Concussion'

De Niro, Mulligan win big at HFAs

NEW YORK: Sandra

Bullock's political satire "Our Brand Is Crisis" and Bradley Cooper's chef drama "Burnt" added to a pileup of flops at the box office, where new wide releases have gone a startling 0-for-9 in the last two weeks.

After five movies failed to draw moviegoers last week, Hollywood whiffed again over the Halloween weekend as four new movies went largely ignored in favor of trick-ortreating. The "60 Minutes II" scandal drama "Truth," with Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford, expanding nationwide, and the horror comedy "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse" added to a plague of empty theaters.

That enabled the top three films from the last several weeks -- "The Martian," "Goosebumps" and "Bridge of Spies" -- to remain atop the ranks, according to studio estimates Sunday. With an estimated $11 million in its fifth weekend, Ridley Scott's 3-D space adventure "The Martian" has hauled in $180.8 million domestically, and led the box office four times -- a dominating stretch that has spelled trouble for other releases courting adult moviegoers.

The weekend was never meant to be a big one at theaters with Halloween falling on a Saturday and the latest James Bond film, "Spectre" (and follow-up to the $1.1 billion "Skyfall") awaiting release in the coming week. Sony's "Spectre," which has opened in a few international markets, scored the biggest UK debut ever with $63.8 million over the weekend.

But the box office numbers in North America were still especially low, especially for two of Hollywood's top stars.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 2, (Agencies): Robert De Niro, Carey Mulligan and Will Smith were among the big winners at the first major ceremony of the film awards season.

De Niro was presented with the Hollywood Career Achievement Award at the 19th annual Hollywood Film Awards (HFAs) in Beverly Hills.

Mulligan was given the Hollywood Actress Award for her role in Suffragette and Smith took home the Hollywood Actor Award for his portrayal of a doctor in new film Concussion, about the discovery of brain trauma in a professional American football player.

The ceremony marks the start of a long run of awards shows in Los Angeles leading up to the Oscars on Feb 28, 2016, including the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The ceremony celebrates many films which are not yet on general release but are expected to feature prominently in the awards race.

The winners are all announced in advance and the ceremony is not televised.

British director Tom Hooper, who is responsible for The King's Speech and Les Miserables, was given the Hollywood Director Award for his new movie The Danish Girl, which stars Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne as a transgender pioneer in the 1920s.

Redmayne's co-star Alicia Vikander was presented with the Hollywood Breakout Actress Film for her role as his wife.

Speaking on the red carpet at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the Swedish actress said: "I've only been in this room once before in my life

The Weinstein Co.'s "Burnt," starring Cooper as a former top chef in Paris, took in $5 million despite playing on more than 3,000 screens. "Our Brand Is Crisis," David Gordon Green's true tale of political strategists in Bolivia, managed a scant $3.4 million on 2,202 screens for Warner Bros. Though made for a mod-

Bullock

and that was three years ago at the Golden Globes with a foreign film.

Experience

"I thought it was an experience I could tell my grandkids about, that I went to this Hollywood awards thing and saw all these people I looked up to and admired.

"I never thought I would work with some of the directors and actors that I met here and to be back is extraordinary."

The Hollywood Breakout Actor Award was given to Australian star Joel Edgerton for his performance as a corrupt FBI agent in Black Mass.

Irish actress Saoirse Ronan won the New Hollywood Award for her performance in Brooklyn, a film about a young woman leaving her small town in Ireland to move to New York in the 1950s.

And Trainwreck's Amy Schumer took home the Hollywood Comedy Award for the film she wrote and starred in.

Jane Fonda was given the Hollywood Supporting Actress prize for her role in new film Youth and Benicio Del Toro took the Hollywood Supporting Actor Award for drugs thriller Sicario.

Thelma And Louise director Ridley Scott was named Hollywood Producer for his blockbuster hit The Martian, which he also directed.

There were also gongs for the cast of Furious 7, which was named Hollywood Blockbuster, the actors in Straight Outta Compton, who were given the Hollywood Breakout Ensemble Award, and the stars of Quentin Tarantino's highly anticipated new

Cooper

est $28 million, the film's opening marks the worst widerelease debut of a movie headlined by Bullock, even falling below the $4.7 million of "Two if by Sea" in 1996.

Sony Pictures Classics "Truth," which recounts CBS' reporting on president George W. Bush's military service, expanded to 1,120 theaters, but

film The Hateful Eight, which won The Hollywood Ensemble Award.

Asif Kapadia's moving documentary about singer Amy Winehouse, named Amy, won the Hollywood Documentary Award, while Disney Pixar's Inside Out won the Hollywood Animation Award.

"The 19th Annual Hollywood Film Awards" brought together Hollywood's elite to honor performances from this year's most talked about and highly anticipated films. The awards ceremony took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and was hosted by critically and globally acclaimed actor, comedian and late-night talk show host James Corden. More than one hundred honorees have gone on to garner Oscar nominations and wins.

Alicia Vikander graciously accepted the "Hollywood Breakout Actress" award from Armie Hammer, who noted that she's been in a remarkable seven films this year. Amy Poehler borrowed reading glasses from Pete Docter's wife to present him with the "Hollywood Animation Award."

Ryan Gosling set the record straight on how to pronounce Saoirse Ronan's name, while singing her praises. Jane Fonda received a standing ovation after stepping onstage to accept the "Supporting Actress Award" for her work in Youth.

List of winners Hollywood Career Achievement Award: Robert De Niro Hollywood Producer Award: Ridley Scott for The Martian, presented by Russell Crowe Hollywood Director Award: Tom Hooper for The Danish Girl

Hollywood Actor Award: Will Smith for

Concussion Hollywood Actress Award: Carey

Mulligan for Suffragette Hollywood Supporting Actor Award:

Benicio Del Toro for Sicario, presented Hollywood Supporting Actress Award:

Jane Fonda for Youth Hollywood Breakout Actor Award: Joel

Edgerton for Black Mass Hollywood Breakout Actress Award:

Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl New Hollywood Award: Saoirse Ronan

for Brooklyn Hollywood Ensemble Award: The

Hateful Eight Hollywood Breakout Ensemble Award:

Straight Outta Compton Hollywood Comedy Award: Amy

Schumer for Trainwreck Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award: Adam McKay for The Big Short Hollywood Screenwriter Award: Tom

McCarthy and Josh Singer for Spotlight Hollywood Blockbuster Award: Furious

7 Hollywood Song Award: Wiz Khalifa

and Charlie Puth for See You Again from the

Furious 7 soundtrack Hollywood Animation Award: Inside Out Hollywood Documentary Award: Asif

Kapadia for Amy Hollywood Cinematography Award:

Janusz Kaminski for Bridge of Spies Hollywood Film Composer Award:

Alexandre Desplat for The Danish Girl and

Suffragette

See Also Page 20

couldn't even crack $1 million. It earned just $901,000.

Paramount Pictures' "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse" grossed just $1.8 million on 1,509 screens. Paramount is experimenting with a shortened theatrical window for the film, along with the recently opened "Paranormal Activity: The

Ghost Dimension." Thus far, the trial has yield-

ed mixed results. Major theater chains aside from AMC and Cineplex have refused to play the films, which will be made available digitally 17 days after they leave theaters.

The four flops added to five from last week, when "Steve Jobs," "Jem and the

Holograms," "Rock the Kasbah," "The Last Witch Hunter" and "Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension" all failed to crack $11 million.

"Next week, the whole complexion of this will change," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office data firm Rentrak. (Agencies)

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