Roundup: Low screen count for high frame rate in 'The Hobbit'
Also: Hollywood under Obama, and 'Skyfall' still storming Britain
Martin Freeman in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."
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Not much news out there that isn't focused on the vastly gratifying result of yesterday's election: well done, America. But to switch gears to movie matters, are you among those totally psyched for the new frame-rate technology set to be showcased in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey?" Hard luck if you are, since it's been announced that just 450 theaters across the US will be screening the film in the 48-frames-per-second format -- a little over one-tenth of the likely screen count. Hardly a surprising turn of events after the largely tepid response to the 48fps footage screened at Comic-Con: while some advocates claimed to be seeing the future of cinema, many others found the future of cinema looked too much like hi-def TV for their liking. Will you be seeking it out in the new format? [LA Times]
Okay, back to politics for a minute: Tina Daunt examines the possible effects Barack Obama's re-election will have on Hollywood. [THR]
"Skyfall' continues to burn up the UK box office: after taking a record $85m in 10 days, it's already the 13th-highest grosser of all time. [The Guardian]
With several of the submissions playing at the AFI Fest, Michael Nardine does some Best Foreign Language Film handicapping. I think he's possibly dismissing some titles too hastily -- and "The Hunt" wasn't eligible for submission this year. [LA Weekly]
As audiences and critics alike stretch to interpret "Cloud Atlas," Ebert advocates keeping it simple. [Roger Ebert]
Tariq Khan remembers some of the biggest landslide acting victories in recent Oscar history. [Gold Derby]
Terrence Rafferty weighs up the literary fidelity of Joe Wright's "Anna Karenina" against previous screen adaptations. [New York Times]
"Les Miserables" unveils a new TV spot -- "vivid and special," sez Jeff Wells, though that voiceover is surely beyond parody. [Hollywood Elsewhere]
Mark London Williams looks into the technological innovations of "Wreck-It Ralph." [Below the Line]
How the casting of 66 year-old Sally Field in "Lincoln" represents a small victory against ageism in Hollywood. [Vancouver Sun]
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November 7, 2012 at 2:42PM EST Reply to CommentAbsolutely. I'd love to be able to see The Hobbit in 48fps in 3D. It is not currently scheduled to play in my area which is dissapointing.
Stormshadow4life Where can you even find out which theaters will have the 48fps playing?
November 7, 2012 at 2:49PM EST
November 7, 2012 at 2:52PM ESTStormshadow4life found it:
November 7, 2012 at 2:52PM ESThttp://www.48fpsmovies.com/48-fps-theater-list/
sfasff I take back what I said earlier. Updated (and now quite sizeble) screen counts show that the Hobbit will, in fact, be shown in my area. Great!
November 7, 2012 at 5:36PM ESTcody How about u just give your review and keep your political views to your self!
November 11, 2012 at 11:43AM ESTBrock Landers
November 7, 2012 at 4:11PM EST Reply to CommentWhile the tepid response to the 48fps footage was certainly a factor, the fact remains that a lot of theatres do not have the equipment to support that format.
On a side and completely unrelated note, I find it hilarious that many of those who supported Romney claim that they would like to move to Canada. Canada may have a conservative government, but they are still far more left winged than Obama could ever be. Based on his economic, social, and foreign policy Obama is considerably to the right of not just Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson, but Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He is far to the right of Dwight Eisenhower and of course FDR and that's just in the last century.
Brock Landers So ultimately, Republicans should be pretty damn pleased. It's the Democrats who should be upset that their president sways more toward a conservative ideology. Unfortunately, supporters of both parties seem to be blind to this.
November 7, 2012 at 4:16PM ESTKim Let´s see, they want to go to a country with no taxes, no gender equality, religious zeal, cheap labour and cheaper gas. Answer: Dubai.
November 7, 2012 at 5:21PM ESTDefRef
November 7, 2012 at 6:22PM EST Reply to CommentJeez, Guy, did you look at the returns and stop and think that you're slapping half your readers in the face and gloating? Of course not. You're surrounded my like-minded people and your employment is dependent on toeing the ideological lines of the people in power.
All I wanted to know was where 48 fps Hobbit may be showing. I didn't need the Snoopy dance. Liberals are poor sports as winners, acting like Kanye West who whines about how dissed he feels when he WINS?
I heard Cameron Diaz talking about how she was glad to wake up and see that we still had a democracy. Huh?!? If your guy wins, it's democracy; if your guy loses, it's not? Sheesh. Conservatives are unhappy that we've become a nation of takers that outnumber the makers and are now voting away the wealth of the producers, but no one is saying it's not a democracy anymore.
Guy Lodge We trade in individual views here. I don't expect my political views to speak for our readership any more than my film reviews.
November 7, 2012 at 10:56PM ESTAnd no, my employment is not dependent on toeing any lines -- as a freelance contractor, I could and would happily walk away if I were handed any such instructions.
Edwin Cameron Diaz's comment was ignorant, but Guy didn't really say anything that seemed to me like gloating or slapping readers in their faces. Granted, he expressed his satisfaction with the re-election, but I fail to see how that is gloating. Liberals have just as much a right to express their happiness as conservatives do to express their disappointment. Hyperbolic, ignorant comments like Cameron Diaz's aside, nobody should be surprised or upset that liberals are happy and conservatives are not, nor should anyone hold it against someone on either side of the spectrum voicing their opinion.
November 7, 2012 at 10:56PM ESTsomeperson Also, it was one sentence. Very easy to ignore.
November 8, 2012 at 1:52AM ESTKyle P. Yes, a nation of takers....if that's all you took from the loss on Tuesday than you guys are headed for a McGovern style defeat by 2020.
November 9, 2012 at 11:25AM ESTJLPatt
November 7, 2012 at 6:31PM EST Reply to CommentIt's not that 48fps looks like "hi-def TV." That doesn't even make sense. One is a frame rate and the other is referring to resolution.
What I guess you (and others) are trying to say is that it resembles the awful motion interpolation feature available on most of today's HD sets, which, when activated, places extra frames between the already existing ones to create smoother motion. Which looks like utter crap on filmed, 24fps content.
Drew
November 8, 2012 at 5:17PM EST Reply to CommentI wouldn't call 450 locations a "low screen count" by any means. It's being released at least one theater in virtually every significantly populated city from Omaha, Neb., to Anchorage, Alaska. Auds won't have to look too hard ... if only finding eggs at your average Easter Egg Hunt were that easy!