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Red Tails is NO Pearl Harbor....

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Silverghost

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I just got back from a special showing of the movie Red Tails here in Chicago that was put on as a fund raiser the Chicago Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen.....and yes, Virginia, this is a good one!

There were about a dozen "first generation" Airmen in attendance, the widows of a few others, as well as original ground support, etc. I had a chance to speak with 4 of the original pilots after the movie and they were unanimous - the movie was done well. Yes, there were some "artistic license" moments, it IS a movie after all, but most of the events were real or closely based on real events and the heart of the movie was true.

It was very interesting to be in the audience with the actual Tuskegee Airmen and hear their reactions to the different scenes throughout the movie and hear their applause and cheering at different points.

Please, please, PLEASE go see this movie, especially opening weekend. And one thing they advised us about tonight - make sure your ticket(s) say Red Tails and not some other movie name.
 
Silverghost said:
IIt was very interesting to be in the audience with the actual Tuskegee Airmen and hear their reactions to the different scenes throughout the movie and hear their applause and cheering at different points.

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That alone is worth the price of admission. (Finaly, a sentence it actualy belongs in.)
 
It would be difficult to keep me away from that movie.

I love a good war movie, especially one that's reasonably accurate.

Can't wait to see it.
 
So they depicted "The Gruesome Twosome" accurately? :laugh:
 
DrEntropy said:
So they depicted "The Gruesome Twosome" accurately? :laugh:
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By what I saw in the movie and the audience reaction, I'd say yes! :smile:
 
That's good to know. I'll add this one to my list.
 
Silverghost said:
And one thing they advised us about tonight - make sure your ticket(s) say Red Tails and not some other movie name.
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Is that a sneaky way theaters/ movie companies are skewing the numbers to inflate bigger movies ratings? They find a movie they think won't ever get very high, and "borrow" their sales?
That's low.
Glad to hear the Red Tails is good. I'll have to give it a watch.
 
Banjo said:
Silverghost said:
And one thing they advised us about tonight - make sure your ticket(s) say Red Tails and not some other movie name.
Click to expand...
Is that a sneaky way theaters/ movie companies are skewing the numbers to inflate bigger movies ratings? They find a movie they think won't ever get very high, and "borrow" their sales?
That's low.
Glad to hear the Red Tails is good. I'll have to give it a watch.
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In this case, it's rather the opposite. Opening weekend box office numbers can and do determine if a certain type of movie ever gets made again. It's my understanding from what we were told Saturday night that theaters have been known to "put the name of another movie" on your ticket. This artificially DEFLATES the actual box office numbers and can possibly be the kiss of death. George Lucas tried to make this movie for 20 years and was told no by every major industry player. Finally he put up $100,000,000 (yes, One Hundred Million) of his OWN money and made it himself. In many ways this movie is up against the same battle the original Tuskegee Airmen fought in 1943. The Tuskegee Armen were successful and this movie should be as well.
 
Silverghost said:
Opening weekend box office numbers can and do determine if a certain type of movie ever gets made again. It's my understanding from what we were told Saturday night that theaters have been known to "put the name of another movie" on your ticket. This artificially DEFLATES the actual box office numbers and can possibly be the kiss of death.
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I would be very interested if anyone knows of or finds any documentation of this conspiracy theory being implemented.

It seems to me that the cinemas would be more interested in having films that make money than in discrimination. My opinion might be clouded by being born and raised in a Midwest cornfield instead of the south.
 
rlwhitetr3b said:
Silverghost said:
Opening weekend box office numbers can and do determine if a certain type of movie ever gets made again. It's my understanding from what we were told Saturday night that theaters have been known to "put the name of another movie" on your ticket. This artificially DEFLATES the actual box office numbers and can possibly be the kiss of death.
Click to expand...

I would be very interested if anyone knows of or finds any documentation of this conspiracy theory being implemented.

It seems to me that the cinemas would be more interested in having films that make money than in discrimination. My opinion might be clouded by being born and raised in a Midwest cornfield instead of the south.
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Discrimination is alive and well in most venues, including the movies.

This would fall more in, IMHO, the category of CONTROL rather than content or subject.
 
Anyone here pay to see "Atlas Shrugged"?

...it's all of a piece.
 
rlwhitetr3b said:
It seems to me that the cinemas would be more interested in having films that make money than in discrimination. My opinion might be clouded by being born and raised in a Midwest cornfield instead of the south.
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I don't see the logic here. Are you saying that someone from "the south" would be more likely to discriminate than someone from another part of the country? Does that mean that southern California, the home of the movie industry and the center of this so-called conspiracy, is part of the South?

I still don't see how HBO can make the same film in 1995 that Lucas says he has not been able to make for the past twenty years.
 
bgbassplyr said:
Discrimination is alive and well in most venues, including the movies.
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So I'm reminded every time I listen to certain pundits on TV. We could have a terrific discussion about that topic, but I'd rather we keep the focus on the movie (which I do plan to see).
 
CinneaghTR said:
....I still don't see how HBO can make the same film in 1995 that Lucas says he has not been able to make for the past twenty years.
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Completely different universes.

HBO controls the everything in their entire value stream from concept through production, "distribution" (broadcast) and secondary revenue streams (retail sales, DVD, VHS, Blu-Ray, download).

Their cost structure based on TV production, which is very different from film production.

A feature film has different players in each of those rolls with different opinions, demands and expectations. Each has their own piece of the pie and their own fingers in the cookie jar. Any of them can torpedo the project.

George has to entice, cajole, placate, pacify and otherwise satisfy all of them simultaneously to make a movie happen.

And there's just an awful lot more money involved in feature film production.

Plus, HBO already has the end customers signed up and agreeing to pay. Any risk is spread over their entire broadcast lineup. A poorly performing HBO production can still function as filler in off-hours of their weekly schedule.

Films' end customers actively decide whether to plunk down the ticket price on any given movie. It's an all or nothing proposition.


pc
 
PC said:
CinneaghTR said:
....I still don't see how HBO can make the same film in 1995 that Lucas says he has not been able to make for the past twenty years.
Click to expand...
Completely different universes.

HBO controls the everything in their entire value stream from concept through production, "distribution" (broadcast)
pc
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Thanks for your input. Since it appears that you know something about the business end of theatrical releases, do you agree with Lucas's comments?

Lucas on Red Tails
 
I claim no great depth of knowledge of the entertainment biz. All the stuff I mentioned is easily found in popular media, available to the casual film/TV buff. (Although I'm guessing that the business sections of our local newspapers tend to have more entertainment industry coverage than the rest of the country, just as the newspapers in Detroit probably have more auto industry coverage.)

But Lucas' comments do parallel those I've read from other directors, producers, writers etc who want to make films that don't fit the big studios' mold.



pc.
 
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