Paranormal Activity - New Horror Movie is the Next Blair Witch

The problem is the guy who made a film good enough to gross millions of dollars is getting next to nothing. If it launches his career... great!
I don't think the Blair Witch guys did anything worthwhile since. Funny thing is, I'm positive that they made a hell of a lot more off BW than Peli made off PA.
 
The Blair Witch guys split about 12 million, as I recall. A million cash outright, plus a share of any box office that exceeded 10 million, netting something around 12 million.

As far as the deal the Paranormal Activity guys got -- they made the deal they made. They turned a $15k project into, what, $300k? If they didn't ask for a piece of the theatrical revenues, is that really Paramount's fault? Who did they have advising them?

The grumbling here sounds like someone playing Deal or No Deal and settling for the banker's offer of $80,000. And then finding out they had the million dollars in their case, and saying "wait, we were ripped off!" No, you spent half an hour on a TV show and walked away with $80,000.

And who says he made a film "good enough" to gross millions of dollars? The marketing is what's making the millions of dollars come in. Whoever came up with the marketing plan for BWP was way more responsible for its grosses, than the film itself. I thought BWP was the most overhyped, horrible motion picture I'd ever seen -- but the marketing got me into the theater.

The same may or may not apply here, but whoever's doing the marketing and the buzz and the word of mouth, that's what's driving this thing's success. And that's who deserves the big paycheck.
 
Barry_Green said:
Coincidentally, Eduardo Sanchez of the BWP just did a film called ParaAbnormal... how's that for kooky coincidences?
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LOL!

I'm just saying that the BW guys made a better deal and that was what, over a decade ago? I just figured Peli would see more than 30k. That's all he got. Just seems wrong to me.

No big deal. His loss. Hopefully he can spin this into a great career but I'm not convinced. It's a bit of a gimmick movie to begin with.
 
I also find it interesting how many people value marketing over writing/acting/directing etc...

I guess that's the world we live in. I know it's needed.

Marketing made this movie, but without this movie they wouldn't have made millions by spending less than they have on just about any other movie ever made that is grossing this amount.
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
I'm just saying that the BW guys made a better deal and that was what, over a decade ago? I just figured Peli would see more than 30k. That's all he got. Just seems wrong to me.
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I would hope that whoever's turning 20 million dollars off that 30K investment would feel charitable and throw him a bone. They're under no obligation to do so, but ... they should.

No big deal. His loss. Hopefully he can spin this into a great career but I'm not convinced. It's a bit of a gimmick movie to begin with.
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The Haxan guys have been working, and their budgets aren't free, one of them was an $8m budget. But nothing's really struck gold again for them. Who knows if Peli can capture audiences' imaginations again? If he can, I bet he will charge a little more than $30k for it!
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
I also find it interesting how many people value marketing over writing/acting/directing etc...
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Having been burned by the BWP, I do have to ask -- have you seen PA? Does it actually have good writing/acting/directing in it? Those items aren't necessary for this type of success (witness BWP, again). Somehow the viralness catches on and it goes nuclear, regardless of the underlying accomplishments.

The Oscars certainly seem to value actual accomplishment far more than box office performance, but audiences get caught up; every once in a while there's a new "Pet Rock". To me that's what the BWP was. I don't know enough about PA to know what side of the fence it occupies.

Marketing made this movie, but without this movie they wouldn't have made millions by spending less than they have on just about any other movie ever made that is grossing this amount.
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Agreed, but -- there's a thousand spooky movies made every year. They could have done this marketing campaign on any of them, couldn't they? So isn't it really possible that the only reason PA is receiving so much attention is specifically BECAUSE it cost so little, that Paramount was able to snack it up for so little? Had Peli held out for more, might they have just said "fine, we'll go with the next guy in line"?

Again, I don't know, but I suspect that there could be some truth to the notion.

Now, if people were coming out of PA saying things like "that's the best film I've ever seen in my life", I'd agree with all you're asserting. But it seems like most people are saying "man, that was two hours of slow slow slow, intermixed with a few cute jumps and I did get a little creeped out." That's my read on it so far, anyway.
 
I agree with most of what you have said and yes, I have seen it.

I just meant in general... the directors, writers, get screwed a bit. With any move really.

I do hope they throw them a bone considering how well it's done.
And yes, like I said, it's a gimmick movie. And Peli's talent isn't beyond above average in my opinion. From what I've seen anyway. The ending was also a bust for me.
 
The movie itself was lame, I got suckered into watching it lol. Marketing is what did it, all hype. But nonetheless it was a successful venture for the guys who made it, so kudos for them.

JM
 
I actually enjoyed it. But I get scared easily. The final few minutes really had me going.

But hey, to each his own. I think you almost need to see it in theaters to appreciate it, and be easily scared. If you don't jump - then you are going to waste your money. If you have no issues screaming at a scare, then you'll have a good time.
 
Paranormal Activity is not paying for the filmmakers as you would expect. While bidding is still open, interest is low in the property they are currently developing, "Area 51". I don't think the studios are stupid and attribute the film's success to the execution of the film, they attribute it to putting the studio machine behind a Four Eyed Monsters audience building strategy.

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/blog/2009/10/err-on-side-of-caution.php
 
Zak Forsman said:
Paranormal Activity is not paying for the filmmakers as you would expect. While bidding is still open, interest is low in the property they are currently developing, "Area 51". I don't think the studios are stupid and attribute the film's success to the execution of the film, they attribute it to putting the studio machine behind a Four Eyed Monsters audience building strategy.

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/blog/2009/10/err-on-side-of-caution.php
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I posted a link to the Times article they took the excerpt from a few pages back.

I agree. We'll see how this plays out for them. Interesting stuff for sure.

MAH
 
Meh. A long way from scary.

The director made one brilliant choice though, which was to leave that hallway open. Like I said above, good, old fashioned techniques. You can't NOT watch that dark hallway wondering what might come out.

The ending tacked on by the tards in charge was L.A.M.E. We spend the entire movie being spooked by bumps and noises and real old school mechanics, but then they just can't help themselves. They gotta pull out some lame-ass piece of digital bullsh*t, instantly violating the entire illusion the film created over the hour and half before. Amazing. Just amazing.

I was bothered by the constant jump cutting only because it showed a lack of planning and assembly in the edit. I would have been more impressed had many of the scenes been actually played out in real time. Often the jump cuts were line by line or after just a couple of lines.
 
wow, I liked this movie. The acting was really good. Very natural. It actually carried the film I think. It well deserves the success and praise it has been getting.

I think, like Blair Witch, it's one of those films where most people you run into deny being freaked out by it.. yet statistical data like IMDB ratings and and sales reports indicate that it hit a vein in the majority of the audience.
 
Mark Harris said:
Meh. A long way from scary.

The director made one brilliant choice though, which was to leave that hallway open. Like I said above, good, old fashioned techniques. You can't NOT watch that dark hallway wondering what might come out.

The ending tacked on by the tards in charge was L.A.M.E. We spend the entire movie being spooked by bumps and noises and real old school mechanics, but then they just can't help themselves. They gotta pull out some lame-ass piece of digital bullsh*t, instantly violating the entire illusion the film created over the hour and half before. Amazing. Just amazing.

I was bothered by the constant jump cutting only because it showed a lack of planning and assembly in the edit. I would have been more impressed had many of the scenes been actually played out in real time. Often the jump cuts were line by line or after just a couple of lines.
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Yah, I thought the ending fell apart as well. And while I liked the open doorway shot myself (even used one like it in one of my past movies) I felt that it was odd that they would still have it open at the end. Sound is just as scary. I would have went in that direction in the end.

So... did any scenes make you cry like a little girl? :)
 
Mark Harris said:
Sadly, my manhood remained intact and my pants bone dry.

I did think the actors were pretty much perfect. Seemed very very real, and not acting at all, perfect for the material.
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They were pretty good. They both grated on my slightly at times but not much. Great overall.

I think my fave scene was when we finally got a boo out of the thing. The large thud/wail followed by the swinging light, etc...

I hated when they went in a different direction right before the end. Poor choice.
 
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