Personally, I think this is a naive move for Warner Bros. IRON MAN comes out a week before Speed Racer...and PRINCE CASPIAN comes out a week after... I respect what the Wachowskis did with the Matrix film but I don't see SPEED RACER doing well in the month of May 2008. The only thing going for it is the fact that it's the only G-rated film in the early weeks of May. It may make a lot of money for its demographics...but 80 million dollars in marketing...Sheesh, talk about "overkill".

*sees the utter chaos of this blog entry* "Yep, a Maelstrom has been through here.." And THANK YOU for clarifying which zipper you were lowering in that first line. That was chucklicious, which is unfortunate, because I was sipping a beverage while said chuckles making for a mess on my desk.

I too would appreciate if we took the politics to our Mania forums (The Asylum) or just someone else. I'm not for censoring any of you and I don't usually do it but I agree that everyone bringing up it here seems somewhat...odd. And Hanso, I just knew that shit would happen from Harry. He wrote 2 articles out..One in which he says Heath Ledger is a friend who he loved...Then he waits a few minutes and says "Dark Knight is in post production". Neverind the fact that we already know his scenes were filmed and they were in post production..It's very strange for Harry to do this kind of deal..but I'm not exactly shocked. AICN is promoted to a "different sort" of audience, given their talkbacks and their weird headlines...They seem to like fitting CAPITAL letters and many !!!!!!!!!!!! in their article titles...That's their thing. I'm not surprised. And Ponyboy, I saw that coming. Previous interviews from Ledger have indicated that when he went into a role, it sometimes affected him deeply and he was 100% into it. I kept expecting them to say..."The Joker role caused depression" or something to that effect. Instead, they should say.."Heath Ledger was having sleeping issues, only getting one to a few hours of sleep per night since working on the Dark Knight" and began actively taking prescription sleeping pills to help out. But no, that's not sensational reporting there...Instead, it's "Dark Knight film is to blame!" A more catchy headline and all that crap. Great thoughts from everyone here, even if the politics got into it somewhat. You guys still have a lot of class and I'm glad to be working for you.

That's exactly why I love working here and doing the news for you guys, Smeg.. I know we may get an idiot or two every once in a while but I also know that at least 85-90% of our readers are adults and definitely more civilized when it comes to you talkbackers. You guys have conversations about a topic and speak your mind in very credible ways where as a lot of sites have just 300 comments, each consisting of one sentence and usually it's all 12 year old bullshit. I'm proud to be a Maniac. Heh. :)

Smegforbrain, Thank you for that point. Everyone, he may have took too many pills here..Keyword is "may" ..and it may not have been on purpose..ie suicide. We won't know for sure until the coroner reports fully on it. I understand that some media wants to be quick to say.."Ohhh, he committed suicide!" but we don't know anything yet..All we do know is he had Over-the-counter sleeping pills. Let the facts come out from the coroner. And yes, this definitely reminds me of River Phoenix and Brandon Lee. I do find myself thinking what I'll do someday when Harrison dies..but I know in the end, when Harrison, Clint and Sean Connery go, I can say to myself.."You know what, they had a good life! A good run!"..And I can watch all their movies as a tribute. But for these young guys like River, Heath and Brandon..it's truly shocking.

I'm see you're still trolling, Sleeper. And I see people are still responding your direction which means your mission is accomplished. No, I'm not angry or upset in the slightest that you think I should learn this about the workings of distributor-theatrical profit sharing.. You want to know why? Because you are indeed wrong. Through theatrical contracts with distributors, those distributors get 95-98% of the box office take those first 3 weeks of release. If the theatrical chain wants more of that cash for themselves, it's up to them to specify in the contract those numbers and in most cases, the distributor doesn't allow for it. It's why some theatrical chains flat out refuse to show certain films in their houses. Because the distributor wanted too much % of the income early on and wouldn't give the theater chain enough of that box office revenue the first few weeks. As time moves forward into the later weeks of its theatrical run, the theater chain does get more of a percent of the box office receipts but that's later,not the first three to four weeks. This is all began because you're saying I shouldn't call Cloverfield a profitable venture for Paramount in 4 days of release when the whole point was the fact that these first 4 days of release allow for the distributor to pick up "future" profits over the next two-three weeks of release. That's it. And back to the normally scheduled programming...Back to M.A.T.S as well.

You are indeed correct, LotrSux but don't mind him.. Sleeper, I'm well aware of how the box office take is distributed in many cases between studios and theater chain. In nearly all cases, Cloverfield being one of them, the theater chain gets only pennies to the dollar for the first two-three weeks of its run. The studio gets around 95-98 percent of the take those first three weeks. The percent will drop as time moves forward, depending on the theater chain's deal/contract with the studio, which is made before the film even gets distributed. So sit back, enjoy your 4.00 water and 3.25 medium popcorn, which pays for those ushers to clean the auditorum when your done..and oh yes, enjoy the show!

AICN shouldn't be putting up that shit. It will only be a few days before Paramount OFFICIALLY has it up..That's when I'll post it. Screw the illegal linking back and forth watching each Youtube get pulled by Paramount. Back to the Topic, guys.. I used to love the book series after reading Zaun's Heir to the Empire series but I admit to falling out of favor with the next few series after..They got repetitive...they got a bit silly..nobody ever got hurt. But then the New Jedi Order began ...(25 years after A New Hope).. They began getting GOOD writers. Characters die...they get tortured...nobody's really safe now.. I recommend people read from the New Jedi Order *the Vong war*...to the present books...Legacy of the Force *40 years after A New Hope* They're good reads. Definitely liked the first Darth Bane book..haven't picked up this one yet but I definitely look forward to it.

Well, it's already been released as a Special Edition but I can tell you one movie which I really wish would get a new theatrical re-release. We're going through the Alien Quad set this week.. Watched Alien Sunday night.. Watched Aliens tonight.. I really wish they would release Aliens in theaters under today's standards of sound technology. I had a chance to catch the re-release of Alien a few years back and it kept going through my head last night that I would love for them to re-release the Cameron sequel in theaters as well. Hicks, Hudson and Ripley on the big screen again---oh my!

No guarantee that Wiseman will be back to direct the fourth one, Lock. He may just be as busy as he is now and only act as a producer..Or that they'll still be married in 2010...Or that he would force her to return even if they were still married. "Hard to see, the future is..." :) Hell, it may all work out. I know I'd rather see them continue with the main story than get a prequel but I understand them both being busy at the moment and Lakeshore/Screen Gems not wanting to wait any longer..It may work out and both Kate and hubby Wiseman may return again..I just think that Rosenberg may be getting a little ahead of himself..