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BOND LEADS THEATRICAL CHARGE
WATCH ALONG RETURNS
SHOCKING RESULTS FOR ARROW…
…AS NEW YEAR BRINGS SLEEP
NAKED AT THE BFI
PAWS FOR THOUGHT
COURIER DELIVERS
WILD TIMES
A NICE CATCH…
…AND DETTORI LEADS RACE AGAIN
MUBI GETS PHYSICAL, AGAIN…
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
With No Time To Die continuing to motor ahead at the global and UK box office – more than £85 million accumulated at cinemas on these shores, making it comfortably the sixth biggest film ever in the UK – the film really is helping bring audiences back to cinemas. The past week or so has seen it moving past both Titanic and The Last Jedi in the highest grossing UK films top 10; pundits are now predicting it will ease past avengers Endgame in the coming week to make it the fifth biggest ever. It’s also become the first film in the UK to earn more than £1 million a day for a whole month. Its global totals are similarly impressive, and the film is set to continue for some time. With Dune and the Venom sequel also holding their own, and the likes of Last Night In Soho earning plaudits too, industry predictions about the big box office films coming to home entertainment and driving a high uptick for the business, look as if they could come good…
The Watch Along release – where, via social media and assorted video on demand platforms, groups of consumers sync their viewing of the same film at the same time and commenting about it online – has returned with a vengeance this week for Halloween. The witching weekend saw MUBI airing the excellent Censor with director Prano Bailey Bond join ing former Empire editor Terri White to view the film on the evening of October 31, while Arrow used its svod channel to air The Mutilator. It’s a welcome return for the concept; although some film nerds and cineastes can be sniffy about the idea, there’s no doubt it engages fans and is a strong incentive to get involved with home entertainment releases and titles across streaming as well as digital and physical formats. Daniel Perry who looks after Arrow’s vod operation outlined the company’s plans. He said: “Following an incredibly successful first year, we are finally launching our live streaming functionality on ARROW this Halloween with a very unique first transmission. THE MUTILATOR WATCH ALONG LIVE premiered in the UK, US, Ireland and Canada on Friday and Saturday and we couldn’t’t wait for people to see it. It is a LIVE playback of the 80’s slasher THE MUTILATOR with an amazing collection of very special guests appearing on video throughout the live stream. We have collaborated with many of the extended ARROW family such as Jill Gevargizian (Director of THE STYLIST) and Chad Crawford Kinkle (Director of Jug Face and Dementer) who will all be bringing their own unique takes on watching THE MUTILATOR live on ARROW. The entire development and production of this project has been a true passion project from several of the ARROW team, who have been spending countless hours the last few months bringing one of the most unique WATCH ALONG experiences there is. There will be quite a few very special surprises that are going to really make ARROW stand out as a streaming service and the fact that we can creatively use this new live streaming functionality in a way that has never been done before, we feel this is just the start of what we have planned for the future. We promise you, people will not want to miss this.”
It capped off a busy week for Arrow, which has also been pushing its traditional Shocktober promotion across outlets for the past few weeks. It’s now become as traditional as carving pumpkins and fancy rest in the run up to All Hallow’s Eve, this year has been no exception. The company’s recently appointed marketing director Jerome Mazandarani said: “We are very pleased with how well our SHOCKTOBER RETURNS campaign has performed since launching on Digital at the start of the month and across Physical on October 18. The entire Arrow Films estate has been caught up in the SHOCKTOBER madness and it has become our biggest seasonal campaign. It’s a wonderful testament to our talented digital and physical sales and marketing team. We’ve seen great numbers at physical retail and e-commerce with activations and merchandising activity at HMV, FOPP, Amazon and our partners at Zavvi as well as on our own e-comm platform. Transactional digital has been very robust across Apple, Google and Amazon and will likely go nuts over the weekend thanks to the Halloween weekend. We’ve also seen excellent engagement and viewership with our subscribers on the ARROOW SVOD service. Our campaign tagline this year is ‘No Tricks. Only Treats’, and the team have delivered that by the bucketload.”
And, sticking with Arrow, the company is now well known for unveiling the titles due up on its Arrow Video imprint on the final Friday of the month. This Friday was no different, with he company revealing its January slate for the genre label to the usual acclaim, interest and pre-order activity from its legion of fans. Talking us through the line-up, Arrow’s head of acquired content Kevin Lambert said: “Just in time for the Halloween weekend, today we announced our January slate for home entertainment. First up Dillinger, starring Sam Peckinpah favourites Warren Oates and Ben Johnson, a top-drawer gangster picture explosive, stylish and hugely entertaining. Next up we have Horror royalty, directed by Tobe Hooper, based on a short story by Stephen King, and starring Robert Englund, The Mangler is bold, brash and politically aware as Hooper once again points his camera at the American Nightmare, this time turning it on the bloodthirsty machinery of capitalism itself! Continuing our run of Yasuzo Masumura releases we have Red Angel an unflinching look at the horror and futility of war through the eyes of a dedicated and selfless young military nurse. Our penultimate release of the month, released in the United States as a sequel to Ovidio G. Assonitis’s Beyond the Door, Shock more than lives up to its name, proving that, even at this late stage in his career, Bava hadn’t lost his touch for terror. Now restored in high definition for the first time, the Maestro of the Macabre’s chilling swansong disturbs like never before. This feature-laden release will be released with a trade wide ocard and an Arrow store exclusive version featuring the Beyond the Door II artwork. And last, but by no means least, we have Sleep. Nightmare and trauma. Fear and repression. Guilt and atonement. Weaving together the emotional violence of horror with the cryptic motifs of German folk and fairy tales, we’re really excited to present Sleep, the debut feature from a major new talent in world cinema.
To the BFI’s screening rooms tucked away in the basement of its HQ in the west end of London for a preview of its forthcoming restoration of Mike Leigh;s pivotal 1990s treatise Naked, which features a tour de force performance from David Thewlis as the anti-hero of the piece. The fully restored version of the film is being released at cinemas, notably the BFI’s London Southbank hub on November 12 as part of the organisation’s season devoted to Leigh, with me entertainment to follow at the end of the month (November 29). And we’re happy to say it looks a treat, London’d grimy underbelly has never looked more vibrant as far as we’re concerned, and Thewlis’ performance still packs a punch. Commenting on the release, the company’s Ben Stoddart said: “Naked is one of the most important and unforgettable British films by one of its most respected filmmakers. To finally make the film available looking and sounding as good as it does now is a real feather in the cap for the BFI. To have had cinematographer Dick Pope so closely involved in the remastering along with Mike Leigh, really has ensured that this Blu-ray will be the definitive presentation of a truly startling film. Also released on Blu-ray, marking its 50th anniversary, is Mike Leigh's Bleak Moments. Newly remastered in 4K by the BFI, and released for the first time anywhere on Blu-ray, Leigh's impressive debut film is certainly worth discovering.”
Monday’s biggie for the families is the big screen debut for pre-school and infant favourite Paw Patrol, due from Paramount via Elevation on November 1. Its follows on from the summer theatrical release as toddlers led the charge back into cinemas dragging their parents with them. Commenting on the release, senior marketing manager at the studio Tanya Traish said: “We are really excited to release the hugely successful PAW Patrol: The Movie on DVD and Blu-ray. Our consumer facing campaign including TV, radio, digital media and more, is sure to deliver a great result with families and parents. The retailer support for merchandising this theatrical release has been truly fantastic; including full grocery set up and support from specialists.”
Meanwhile, another biggie, albeit for a more grown-up audience, arrives on Monday November 1 in the shape of Benedict Cumberbatch starring in The Courier. He stars as a British businessman who unwittingly becomes embroiled in the Cuban missile crisis. Comment fame from senior marketing manager at Lionsgate Olivia Dean, who said: “We're very excited to be releasing The Courier on EST, DVD and Blu-ray. Following successful theatrical and PVOD launches, this tense spy thriller is perfect for ownership and gifting as we head further into Q4. In addition to a strong press office campaign, we've invested in VOD, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and Tesco OOH panels to make plenty of noise and drive customers to purchase. All our creative showcases our fantastic cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel Brosnahan, Merab Ninidze and Jessie Buckley, while the special features also include a UK-exclusive in the form of an audio commentary with director Dominic Cooke.”
Also in stores on Monday is the latest title from Picturehouse Entertainment, which has b been matching the reopening of its cinemas with an equally busy run of theatrical and home entertainment distribution releases. The latest on the home ent side is the Blu-ray and DVD release for Wildland, another acclaimed title. Commenting on the release, the company’s Martin Hearn said: "We're really looking forward to bringing the outstanding feature debut from Jeanette Nordahl to DVD, Blu-ray and Digital on Monday. Alongside a brilliant cast, Sidse Babett Knudsen delivers yet another riveting performance and Sandra Kampp is absolutely stunning in the lead role. Following its theatrical release earlier this year, this brooding and enthralling thriller certainly packs a powerful punch!”
Meanwhile, the ever-busy Dazzler operation has another busy month, with a wealth of releases, chief among them being Monday November 1’s fourth series of the multi-award winning Gone Fishing starring comics and anglers Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse. As delightful as ever, the series has not only been further boosted by its assorted BAFTAs and other gongs, but also by the arrival of Mortimer’s autobiography. Comment on the release came from Dazzler’s Paul Holland, who said: “The biggest selling multi-series factual franchise on DVD of the past four years has been Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing. Series 4, filmed in lockdown is out on DVD on Monday, with pre-sales suggestion this will build on the success of the first three series. Great locations such as the Lake District and Norfolk Broads set the screen for a tranquil, heart-warming, beautiful series full of bream, tench and comedy genius. This has a magic about it that makes it congenial viewing, two comedy geniuess on life, the great British countryside, comedy and fishing.”
Among the other November titles due from Dazzler in November, on the 15th of the month, is another boosted by the memoirs of its protagonist in the shape of a feature looking at horse racing legend Frankie Dettori. The company is aiming to make it the big seasonal sporting feature release, as outlined by the company’s Paul Holland, who said: “It’s a brand new film which is released Theatrically and on DVD, Blu-ray and EST on November 15th tells the story of the man, the legend and how he come to be the most popular jockey of a generation. Last week saw the promotion lift off with interviews on ITV This Morning, talkSPORT Breakfast, Chris Evans Breakfast Show, Today BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live Afternoon Edition and major feature in The Times (exclusive with photoshoot), Radio Times and The Big Issue to follow. The film tells the highs and lows of a sporting icon and is a must for all racing fans.”
More streaming news now and interesting to see that curated subscription video on demand service MUBI has added another strong to its bow. For not content with its vod platform, its film and home entertainment distribution arms, its ongoing MUBI Go theatrical offering and more, the company has now turned its attention to magazine publishing. For it is launching a print publication, entitled Notebook (after the editorial part of its website), with the first issue, Issue 0, launching in November. Priced at £12, it’s available to order online and will become a regular bi-annual offering from spring 2022. The first issue will feature such luminaries as Mike Leigh, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Wes Anderson. NOTEBOOK Editor, Daniel Kasman said “In a landscape of limited and decreasing film publications, we are again showing our commitment to the vibrant physical world of moviemaking, moviegoing, and cinema culture with this beautiful new magazine. Issue 0 is titled ‘For the Cinema to Come,’ and points forward to the exciting future of this new editorial venue, in a new medium, that we hope will enrich the audience’s cinematic experiences.”
AT THE MOVIES
As per last week’s At the Movies section, and all over the Internet for the last week or so, is the news that Dune, on the back of its strong global box office performance, will officially be followed up in the next couple of years, with production outfit Legendary and Warner confirming the sequel has been given the nod. Denis Villeneuve will be at the helm again, with many of his cast set to return, as speculation begins (with 2023 slated, expect this to continue for some time). Villeneuve said: ““I just received news from Legendary that we are officially moving forward with Dune: Part Two. It was a dream of mine to adapt Frank Herbert’s Dune and I have the fans, the cast, and crew, Legendary and Warner Bros. to thank for supporting this dream. This is only the beginning.” And as if that wasn’t enough, within hours the director was telling Entertainment Weekly he wanted a further film: “I always envisioned three movies. It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honour it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.”
Leigh Whannell gave Universal and production powerhouse Blumhouse the most successful outing for any of its monster-related films with The Invisible Man will now no longer be directing another potential franchise in The Wolfman. But it’s all quite friendly, as taking over the reins will be Derek Cianfrance. He’s worked with Wolfman Ryan Gosling on a couple of completely different kinds of films, Blue Valentine and The Place Within The Pines. Cianfrance said: “Horror movies were my first love — my entry into what cinema was capable of narratively, psychologically and aesthetically," he tells Deadline "Coupled with the opportunity to collaborate with Ryan again, this is truly a dream come true. I’m thrilled and inspired to work with the good folks at Blumhouse and Universal to bring this monster back to life in our collective unconscious."
John Woo, a director who made his name in the UK and US on the back of VHS copies of his early Hong Kong outings, is returning to the action genre with the newly announced Silent Night. And the film is already earning buzz thanks to its USP – it contains no dialogue whatsoever. Joel Kinnaman will star as a father aiming to avenge the death of his son…
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Apple’s Brain surgery…
Lapping it up…
More Apple docs…
Let the children boogie… We’re going to keep making that “Gucci time” comment until someone recognises the Schooly D reference…
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