Books, blog and other blather

Category: Movies (Page 5 of 5)

Random Thoughts II

– Big congratulations to Film Business Asia on the launch of the phase of their website. There is more news and features than ever, with plenty of room to grow in the future. Creators, Stephen Cremin and Patrick Frater (and new hire Derek Elley) look like they are going to build something really useful and interesting.

– The Barcelona Asian Film Festival came to close on Sunday. The jury awarded top prize to AU REVOIR TAIPEI, directed by Arvin Chen of Taiwan. Special mention went to AT THE END OF DAYBREAK, by Ho Yuhang (the film apparently hails from Malaysia, Hong Kong, and South Korea).

The NETPAC Prize award went to BETWEEN TWO WORLDS, by Vimukthi Jayasundara (Sri Lanka, France). The jury also made special mention to the Korean film I AM IN TROUBLE (Nanneu Gonkyeonge Cheohaetda!), by director So Ming Sang.

Audiences, however, showed very different interests, and the Audience Award went to Munehisa Sakai’s anime ONE PIECE: STRONG WORLD. Second place also went to an anime, Mamoru Hosoda’s SUMMER WARS. Third place went to Bong Joon-ho’s MOTHER.

– I think INCEPTION is going to be the film that MATRIX 2 should have been (the latest trailer is especially good, now that they are beginning to reveal the plot of the film).

Korea Vs. the LA Times

Very strange post on the LA Times’ Big Picture movie blog (thanks to The Marmot for finding this) — it talks about why Korea is getting IRON MAN 2 before Japan, saying that it is mostly because of Korea’s high rates of online piracy.

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I say strange because I have no idea why Korea is getting singled out. IRON MAN 2 was released in over 50 territories last weekend, all over the world. Day-and-date releases from Hollywood are increasingly the norm, and have been unremarkable for quite some time.

Big Hollywood films, especially those released in the May-June area, have usually been released in Korea at the same time as in the United States for years now. Korea usually saves up its big blockbusters for later in the summer, in July and August, often causing Hollywood films to move their opening dates to avoid the biggest Korean films then. But May is the biggest time of the year for Hollywood in Korea.

That said, even films that get a delayed release can do well. MAMMA MIA! was released in Korea two months after it was in the United States and much of the West, but it made $25 million in Korea and was the fifth-biggest film of 2008. Sure, Korea has a lot of online and offline piracy, but perhaps the situation is more nuanced (and profitable) than some people would like to bellyache.

I especially dislike media executives complaining about online piracy without any comment about what their RESPONSIBILITIES are. Like they can hold on to their movies, music, TV shows or whatever and release them whenever they want. Sorry, but this is the Internet age, and if you do not give customers a fair chance to buy your content, they are not going to wait patiently for you to release something when you feel like it. Yes, consumers need to respect copyright. But producers also have a responsibility to make sure their content is available in a timely, convenient manner.

The LA Times would have been much better off asking the more interesting question — Why is Japan still releasing so many movies so much later than the rest of the world? The Japan market is the unusual one that needs an explanation, not Korea.

(And in case you are interested, the reason Hollywood films are released so much later in Japan has more to do with its tricky theatrical market than its respect for copyrights. In Japan, it can be hard to book screens, hard to market movies, there is relatively low theatrical attendance for the country’s population, high ticket prices and a whole host of difficulties.)

(Note: Cross-posted at Korea Pop Wars).

Random Entertainment Thoughts

– Patrick Frater has a solid rundown of the Asian films going to the Cannes Film Festival next month. The list features mostly festival regulars (like Hong Sangsoo and Im Sangsoo), but looks pretty good.

– An article about Korean comic books in the United States (although I am pretty sure the much ballyhooed Sam Raimi movie of PRIEST is dead now). Mostly about the new-ish company Net Comics. You can go to the company’s website for some free comics and other goodies, too.

– Korea hiphop group Epik High will be featured on CNN’s Talk Asia program this week. Tune in on Wednesday (9:30pm), Thursday (12:30pm), Saturday (8pm) or Sunday (4:30am and 5:30pm) to catch the program.

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Globalizing Hollywood – Doing It Right and Doing It Wrong

Two very interesting examples of Hollywood’s approaches to globalization in the news recently, one very smart and positive, one achingly stupid. But I think the two symbolize the good and the bad of how media companies are trying to figure out the future of their businesses.

First, the good. From Variety, an article about how Fox has been stepping up its international productions (behind the world’s most useless paywall). Through a division called Fox International Productions (creative name), Fox has been producing and co-producing movies in Spain, Germany, China, Russia, India and more. Why did Fox become so enthusiastic about international productions? The article quotes Fox International Productions president Sanford Panitch:

“The weekend the movie [JUMPER] opened, I remember getting an email from Fox Korea, where the film was one of the highest openings ever. But we were still No. 2 for the weekend. I thought, ‘How is that possible?’ Sure enough, a local Korean film, ‘The Chaser,’ was No. 1,” said Panitch.

So Panitch and Fox started to look all over the world, particularly in markets with strong local movies:

One of his first deals: He signed with “Chaser” director Hong-jin Na to direct Korean local-language production “The Yellow Sea.”
Panitch constantly watches videos of foreign movies, and often touches base with Fox’s network of foreign offices (there are 28 in all). He’s primarily focused on territories where local films dominate, such as India, Japan, France, Germany, Spain, South Korea, Italy and the U.K. He’s particularly focused on Italy these days. “I’m on the road a lot. I’m home from Hong Kong on Thursday, and leave for Russia on Sunday. I was in Japan every six weeks for a year. I’ve gotten these terrific development people,” Panitch says.

Which I think is great. Over and over again, countries that have strong local movie industries tend to have strong overall film industries. Look at Korea, where foreign movies went from 75 percent of the market to less than 50 percent over the past decade (sometimes under 40 percent). But over that same period, the Korean movie market more than quadrupled; Hollywood does not dominate Korea anymore, but it makes a lot more money now. So if Hollywood wants to help spur local production, I think that is a positive thing for everyone.

And now the bad. Or, rather, the very, very stupid. Hollywood is threatening to stop distributing DVDs in Spain because of all the online piracy over here. Yes, some people’s solution to piracy is actually to make their product harder to access legitimately.

The similarities with Korea are quite interesting. Says this LA Times article:

Spain is on the verge of becoming the second country in which piracy has ravaged what was once a robust business. In 2008, the last of the major studios shut down their operations in South Korea for the same reason.

In addition, online piracy is not against the law in Spain unless it is done for profit, very similar to the position the courts in Korea have taken repeatedly over the years. And, surprise surprise, neither country has an iTunes store, making it all the more difficult to watch movies online legitimately.

But the big lesson Korea teaches is that people ARE completely willing to buy content online when given the opportunity and the right business models. Koreans have been spending more money for online music than offline for five or six years now. However, media companies cannot expect to continue as before. As the Internet Manifesto states, “Tradition is not a business model” (declaration No. 12).

In short, if you want to succeed in the modern age of the Internet and globalization, you need to localize and you need to adapt. Neither bludgeoning nor whining get you anywhere.

Music, Movies, Aliens and More

So far, 2010 has been unusually strong for Korean movies in the United States. Surprising, considering how poor the export market for films has been for quite a while. First MOTHER gets released (and has made over $100,000 in its first 10 days, on just a few screens). And now, Kim Jee-woon’s 2008 hit THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD is about to come to American theaters, too — you can see the pretty new trailer here.

In addition, there is a fun story in the Dallas Morning News about Paul Shin, a Korean-American who is bringing Korean films to AMC theaters in the United States — not just New York and LA, but Chicago, Long Island, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle and Dallas-Fort Worth.

I think this is yet another sign of broader changes happening to global culture. I can still remember the first time I went to a random multiplex just west of Toronto, and discovering two Indian movies playing there. I could not believe it, especially remembering the lack of diversity the Toronto suburbs had when I was growing up. But now, people take movies, restaurants, just about everything cultural for granted. They just accept it. It is normal now.

Which is one of the big points I was trying to get at in POP GOES KOREA. Yes, it is amazing how Korean culture has bounced back and become so influential, but this is about more than just Korea. It is a worldwide trend. Korea is in many ways leading this trend, but more and more we are going to see cultures from around the world claiming a space at the table.

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Music has long been one of my biggest interests. It comprises a good chunk of my book POP GOES KOREA, and another website of mine is the Korea Gig Guide (about live indie music in Korea).

So I have been poking around on the various live music websites that are scattered across the Internet. I had no idea there were so many these days. I had been struggling with near-useless, last-generation sites like Pollstar, so was amazed how much things have changed. Now there are a multitude of websites that are trying to combine social media, data harvesting, and whatever the media 2.0 flavor of the month.

These include:

  • Hearwhere – a gig listing site that is flashy but hard to use, and not good for Asia
  • Songkick – nice interface, but geared toward big shows, and very little information on Korea
  • Iggli – another attempt at media 2.0 and live music (and other live events). This site’s hook is the “invite” – it is all about people inviting each other to events; claims this is not social networking. Dubious. Not much on Asia.
  • Bands in Town – big artists, not for Asia
  • Jambase – ugly, just big Western acts, incomplete, basically another Pollstar
  • Madlounge – only the US
  • Superglued – social networking plus concerts; not sure how useful this could be if it takes off, but not much yet.
  • Gigzee – specializes in local music, but buggy, and nothing for Korea yet
  • Gig Junkie – not much in Asia, not very complete
  • Gig Listing – trying to be the Google for live music. Still in beta, and it shows
  • Gig Freaks – I think I like this one the best. Nothing for Korea yet, but its Japan and China listings show some promise. I like the interface (despite the big, ugly Google ad banner in the middle), which is easy to use and informative. Seems to be a one-man operation, though, so I am not sure how much it will develop in the future.

As you can see, I am biased toward sites that focus on local and indie music. Really, how much help do people need finding the next Lady Gaga concert? Hopefully these services will find a way to make it easier to find local and more unusual bands, all over the world. But honestly, I really prefer music websites that have more input from real, live human being — like you see on Barcelona Rocks, Tokyo Gig Guide, or, of course, the Korea Gig Guide.

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And now for something completely different. Pooh Bear vs. Aliens. What a great little comic.

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