Bad news Rambo fans. Lionsgate has decided not to screen Rambo for press, aside from the few who attended the press junket in Los Angeles earlier this week. And even those journalists were subject to extensive Non Disclosure agreements which won’t allow them to say a word. National press not doing interviews in Hollywoodland won’t screen the film at all (Adam from Hollywood Chicago and two other outlets have also confirmed this). Why would the studio be so afraid of critical response, unless the movie is bad.
In other news, Uwe Boll’s In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale hits theaters today, and also wasn’t screened for press.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
I’ve noticed every time a movie isn’t screened for the press everyone immediately says that the movie sucks. I can see that maybe the majority of the time that is true, but I also think that the press says it sucks just because you’re is pissed off about not having a screening of it in the first place.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I can’t find the article, although I remember writing one about the movies not screened for press in 2006. It was a list of about 25 movies, only 1 or 2 of which got an imdb rating higher than a 6.5 (which is mediocre).
Usually I am pissed off about the lack of a press screening, because I love horror movies, and genre movies, and those are usually the type of movie not screened for critics. Rambo however, I had no interest in the first place.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
And therefore it’s “destined to suck”? I dunno, Pete… I like the site, but sometimes your proclamations are mystifyingly stupid.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Well, you did see the trailer right??
January 11th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Yeah Pete, you’ve been hyping this movie a lot in the past year, it’s weird that you’re turning your back on it just because the studio decided to not have a press screening. You might still enjoy it, after all, there’s a good chance that it won’t stink as much as the other films that have and will be released this month.
January 11th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
I fully support this movie. Action films have been neutered by Hollywood’s PG-13 targeting for the last decade. It’s funny that it takes an elder like Stallone to get the job done. I will be there, press screening or not.
January 11th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
If you read any of my previous posts on Rambo, I have never been excited for this film. Actually, I’ve gotten slammed many times in the comments for bashing the flick. So turn my back I have not.
January 11th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I wasn’t necessarily referring just to your reaction to this, it was more of a blanket statement. I’ve seen a number of occasions where some minor rumor or tidbit abruptly results in a movie being “in trouble” or “not good news for the fans” or some such. I’d just like to see a bit more rationality — you write about movies, I would expect you to know a little more about the way things work, rather than simply respond with the same kind of instantaneous asinine judgment as the double-digit IQs already populating most online talkbacks, forums and fansites. There’s a difference between being critical and being ill informed or terminally pessimistic. I had been under the impression you were above that. I’ll remain hopeful.
January 11th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
It’s absoloutly true. They don’t do this unless the studio thinks it sucks.
January 12th, 2008 at 12:45 am
scoundrel:
No offense, but this is a blog, not a news site. Find another source if you want that sort of thing.
Movies are a collaborative art unlike anything else. One piece of the puzzle can ruin everything else, and yes, it is that simple.
When we report on a movie like GI Joe and the fan backlash turns possitive after the casting announcement of Ray Park, someone who the fans had hoped would play the character of Snake Eyes for years, we report this tide change as such. Weeks later when the guy from Little Man and White Chix is also cast in the same movie we report on how we see it: The fan tried to appeaise a huge fan backlash with one fan favorite casting announcement, and still has no plans on making a film that fans want to see, nevermind the rest of America.
I’ll admit that some of the people in talkbacks and message boards arent all that smart, but even they can tell when the tide starts turning on a particular project. It’s usually not hard.
“There’s a difference between being critical and being ill informed or terminally pessimistic.â€
There’s a difference between movie being made by Jason Reitman and a movie being made by Sly or Stephen Sommers as well. To be fair, there is even a difference between Michael Bay and Stephen Sommers.
January 12th, 2008 at 2:09 am
critics… you can’t please them… they always find things to comment about… “it’s so good… it sucks”
i doubt this will be a kick-ass movie, looks like it’s going to be more of drama than action, but i’m still optimistic… hope this will be good.
January 12th, 2008 at 9:31 am
“Movies are a collaborative art unlike anything else. One piece of the puzzle can ruin everything else, and yes, it is that simple.”
Here’s the thing, Pete. I’m more than aware of what movies are — I’ve actually worked in the business for close to fifteen years (from the mailroom up through development and production). But I still like to read what the “fans” think. Which is why it’s frustrating to see so many amateur critics/journalists writing about movies online without a real understanding of the business or process (no offense, but reading Variety and going on set visits isn’t quite enough, obviously).
And the blog vs. “news-site” is a BS cop-out. Don’t kid yourself, slashfilm is providing the exact same content as most other fansites (reviews, rumors, promo material, box office, opinion), it’s just that the format and presentation are different. That doesn’t mean you should let it become the same thing — after a good start, it would just be a shame to see the site become the same kind of oppressively snarky, infantile or overwhelmingly negative soapbox as others (ahem chud aicn). Nor should capricious or negligent reporting be your standard, especially now that you’re reaching an increasingly larger audience. But again, that’s up to you. I’ll keep watching.
January 12th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
They just had a screening in LA last wednesday…and one in December with stallone himself….they just arent screening it AGAIN….and word so far has been positive…