This Is It Feedback; Precious Box Office Bonanza

I saw "This is It" on Saturday. Although I thought it was a wee bit long, I have to say, it's pretty interesting to watch M.J. work. He's clearly a perfectionist with an incredible ear (obviously) - it's just really cool to watch his genius creative process. To that end, I have to say Kenny Ortega is unbelievable. He put together that entire concept, including directing and conceptualizing the original videos. I'm sure the show would have been an incredible spectacle, but I had a hard time not wondering if Michael really had the stamina to handle the entire 50-show run. Sadly, we'll never know...

On another film note, "Precious" absolutely KILLED this weekend's box office at nearly $100,000/screen. For those of you who don't know what that means, let's just say in the independent/art house film world, a $5,000 per screen average is considered fairly strong. This movie brought in an average of $100,000 per screen, totaling $1.8 million on just 18 screens. It's not just remarkable, it's actually record breaking! For perspective, "This is It" opened with $6,675/screen and "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" opened at $17,997/screen. From what I've read, the only movies to open with a $100,000+/screen average were "Dreamgirls" and "Brokeback Mountain". NOW, do you see how insanely huuuge that is?? Congrats to Lee Daniels and the entire cast and crew!

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

Precious: Worth the Oscar Hype or Not?

Thanks to my good friend, Benjamin, at American Airlines, I had the opportunity to see the film, "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire", at the Opening Night of the NY Film Festival.

I have to say, it's powerful. It's in your face, aggressive, intense, disturbing and, at times, cliche - and yet, it is also surprisingly moving and uplifting. Although the film has strong Oscar buzz and was the darling of the festival circuit, there are definitely some naysayers out there (yeah, I'm talking to you Armond White at the NY Press). But, if you happen to follow or believe Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an 89% Fresh rating from the country's top critics - very solid.

See this film. We need to support diverse voices and fresh perspectives. You may love it, you may hate it, but it will no doubt make you think.

"Precious" opens in select theaters TODAY. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Precious - worth the Oscar hype or not?

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

New on Cinedulce This Week!!

TELEDULCE

Work Jerks
Episode #3
Julian wants to hold an intervention for his brother. And who better to intervene but people who don't even know him? Tthe Work Jerks!


Life as a Struggling Actor
Episode #35
Life and a web series audition.





Liz
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

HBO + Liz = Love

Great meeting today with my friend, Dennis, @ HBO. LOVE him! Love HBO! Truthfully, we're so lucky to have HBO as the NYILFF's presenting partner; the folks there are just as nice, genuine and supportive as can be. In this business, that's darn near impossible to find. Plus, they really do get 'it'. That, in and of itself, is incredibly refreshing and exciting.

Watching the World Series (of course!). Looking good, but don't want to jinx it. No whammies, no whammies... come on Yanks!

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

Go Team!

I had a long conference call this afternoon with the entire NYILFF sponsor team. So awesome! I still can't believe I have a biz dev team... it blows my mind. Let's see what, together, we can accomplish. Go team!

Speaking of teams... the Yankees. Okay, so, obviously, it would've been nice for them to close out the series last night and call it a wrap. BUT... now, we (hopefully) can win on NYC turf, which would be that much more exciting. Fingers crossed for tomorrow night! Go team!

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

This Is It, Groundhog Day, Yankee Fever

All I have to say is thank God I brought on sponsorship sales consultants for the 2010 NYILFF because this annual selling business is getting to be tiresome. This is my 9th year and I feel a bit like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day". All day long I've been reaching out to my contacts at various brands and agencies to pitch the 2010 NYILFF. I'm SO relieved knowing there are 3 great people doing the same thing on my behalf. Phew!

Actually, that's not all I have to say. Here's something: Go Yankees! I'm not sure how I'm going to catch tomorrow's game while at my various parties, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. I can't imagine everyone else won't be trying to find a TV or get regular updates on their PDA's (how did we ever live without Crackberries and iPhones?!).

I feel like I should be annoyed listening to "Thriller" on the radio for seemingly the 10th time, but I'm still kind of diggin' it. Such a classic. Is anyone going to see "This Is It" this weekend?

Happy Halloween, witches!

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

Turn It up, Yanks!

I realize I'm supposed to be talking about film and the struggles/joys of being a media entrepreneur, but I can't resist talking about the Yankees.

In full disclose, I'm a Mets fan. Yeah you heard me... METS! In the spirit of NYC loyalty, however, I've been 100% behind the Yanks during this very exciting post season. But, last night... oh, last night. Ouch. It was downright sad. That Cliff Lee sure knows how to throw a ball. And, yet, I am keeping the faith. Come on, fellas - show those Phillies what you got!

On the work tip, this AM I received an exciting return call from an old friend in telecom who thinks we (finally!) may be able to work together. He's the Hispanic Marketing Manager at a major wireless company. This would be AWESOME because we've been talking for a few years now and, for one reason or another, it's never come to fruition. It's a great brand and perfect for our fest's tech savvy, bicultural Latino audience. Fingers crossed!

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com