A Friday Video: The Economic Impact of The Lord of the Rings

You probably haven’t heard, but Peter Jackson’s tiny, independent film, The Hobbit, is devouring theater screens all over the world. Obviously, it comes just a decade on the heels of his enormously popular Lord of the Rings trilogy.  And all of it derives from the gobs and gobs of copies sold of J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy works. As you can imagine, the Lord of the Rings franchise has generated a tremendous economic impact. The folks at OnlineMBA.com have put together a fascinating video that breaks it all down. If you’re a fan of The Lord of the Rings, the movie business in general, or infographic-type statistics broken down into easily digestible bite-sized pieces, then it’s well worth the view.

The Black Sheep of Director Filmographies

–

The majority of film directors have a unique style, an imprint that they place on all of their films. It can be something as significant as David Lynch’s surrealism or something as minor as Quentin Tarantino’s car trunk POV shots. A large part of the fun that I have in watching movies is seeing a director’s style develop, recognizing what they’re doing, and seeing the patterns when they do these things again and again. However, there are occasions where directors have films that break from their own conventions. They create something entirely different. They create a black sheep, as it were. These are films that stand out (sometimes for better, sometimes for worse) in their catalogue. Here are several examples:

Director: Robert Altman
Film: Secret Honor (1984)
First and foremost, Robert Altman is known for drowning his viewers in overlapping dialogue. His characters all speak all at once. It’s quite an immersive feature for the viewer. Some may find it distracting. Personally, I find that it makes me feel like I’m in the room with his characters. You find it all over the place in Altman’s movies. Imagine my surprise when I watched Secret Honor, a movie that featured only one character (a fictionalized Richard Nixon) and his endless monologue. It’s a credit to Altman that the film works so well. It’s also a testament to the film’s sole actor, Philip Baker Hall.

Cheeeez Nuts, Part 2: The Cheesiest Movies I’ve Seen on Netflix

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m currently on vacation in Wisconsin. In the interest of giving you content while I’m away, I’ve pre-written a few articles, including this two part series featuring “some quick-hit reviews of the wackiest, goofiest, cheesiest movies I’ve ever rented from Netflix”. Enjoy!

The Santaic Verses

Everyone loves old Saint Nick… until he’s chasing you or stabbing you in the hand or any other number of diabolical things. Here are various evil Santa Clauses in film that we don’t want paying us a visit on Christmas Eve.

Popeye Doyle in The French Connection
He knows with 100% certainty if you’ve been good or bad and he will punish you if you’ve been bad. So be good for your own hyde’s sake.

–