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15 articles from 2009
Pan's Labyrinth is named film of the decade: Do you agree?
29 December 2009 11:48 AM, PST
| The Geek Files
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It's not only nearly the end of the year but the end of a decade and, as a result, time to look back over the movies released during that period.
Over on Metacritic, a site that compiles reviews of films and other media, there is a list of the top releases of the decade, according to the scores of leading professional film critics.
The top overall movie was Guillermo del Toro's excellent fantasy horror film Pan's Labyrinth from 2006, which has an overall score of 98 out of 100. Made for $19million, it earned $83million worldwide which, although not the massive heights reached by Hollywood blockbusters, is definitely a success for a Spanish language project, especially since it was not on full release at all cinemas in the UK.
The rest of the top five consisted of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (score: 97), Ratatouille (96), Spirited Away (94) and The Hurt Locker (94).
It's worth mentioning
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- David Bentley
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Paranormal Activity Sequel Won't be Like Blair Witch Sequel
29 December 2009 3:50 AM, PST
| Reelzchannel.com
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When you make as much money as Paranormal Activity did, it's no surprise that people are looking into a sequel. But how can the low-budget, videocam horror flick follow up its surprising success? The Blair Witch Project bombed when Hollywood tried to repeat its formula with Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. Paranormal actor Micah Sloat told Movieweb that Paranormal Activity 2 plans to avoid those mistakes.
I can't say anything specific about it, but I can definitely tell you that Paramount and the producers are very aware of what happened with Blair Witch 2, and how you can't really take something that's unique like Blair Witch or Paranormal and then follow it up with just a typical, Hollywood horror film. It just doesn't work. I think you can expect Paranormal Activity 2 to be just as unique, or at least have a quality of uniqueness, just like the original did, in its
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- Ryan Gowland
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Another Blair Witch Might be in the Works
14 November 2009 10:08 AM, PST
| Reelzchannel.com
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After the incredible success of the ultra-low budget Paranormal Activity sparked sequel rumors, the co-creator of the original "shakycam" success, The Blair Witch Project, Eduardo Sánchez, emerged to talk about the possibility of making another Blair Witch.
Sánchez and co-creator Daniel Myrick declined to work on Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 because they "didn't want to be seen as one-trick ponies, but Sánchez admits to being "jealous" of Paranormal Activity and its creator, Oren Peli.
I'm happy for the guy ... but at the same time, there's the feeling that, man, I could have done this. It would have been different and might not have been as good. But I know how to make these films. To me it's like, man, maybe I should go back and kind of milk this one more time.
And, apparently, Sánchez and Myrick do plan to reunite on another Blair Witch movie, though it
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- BrentJS Sprecher
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Man on Wire Director Hired for Exorcism Thriller The Vatican Tapes
9 November 2009 7:55 AM, PST
| FilmJunk
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You want more "found footage" horror? You got it! Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment are prepping development of a new thriller called The Vatican Tapes, about an exorcism gone awry. The story, which was conceived by Chris Morgan (Wanted, Fast & Furious) and written by Chris Borrelli (The Marine 2), involves a tape that gets leaked from The Vatican with footage of this frightening exorcism. While it's unclear if the entire movie will actually be the footage itself, this week they've announced that they've hired Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker James Marsh to direct it.
Marsh is best known for the fantastic 2008 doc Man on Wire, about Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers, but most recently he directed Red Riding: 1980, a fictionalized crime thriller about the Yorkshire Ripper murders in England. I have to admit, I really like the sound of this, but great documentary directors don't always make
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- Sean
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Paranormal Activity 2: Paramount Wants It, But Would It Work?
3 November 2009 1:36 PM, PST
| FilmSchoolRejects.com
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This seems to be the height of what we might call non-news, but since we have not yet reported on this ever-developing story, it's worth saying something. On an earnings call this morning, Viacom CEO Phillipe Dauman said that Paramount Pictures is working on a sequel to the runaway horror hit of 2009, which was made for $15,000 and has grossed over $85 million at the box office.
Of course, this isn't exactly new news. Paramount has been looking at a sequel ever since the film made its wide release and stayed in the box office top five for four weekends in a row now. Paramount head Brad Grey told The La Times on October 25th that they do have the rights to Paranormal 2 and are "looking to see if it makes sense" to do a sequel.
And that's the big question, isn't it? Does it make sense to do a sequel to Paranormal Activity? History
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- Neil Miller
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Paranormal Activity Beats Blair Witch Record; Possible Sequel in the Works?
31 October 2009 11:18 AM, PDT
| Reelzchannel.com
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Paranormal Activity has quickly gone from an Internet campaign started by director Oren Peli to a massive box office success that recently bested The Blair Witch Project, becoming the most profitable movie ever made.
With this kind of success, a sequel is practically inevitable, and Paramount Chairman Brad Grey told the La Times that his studio is looking into making a sequel.
We have the rights on a worldwide basis to do Paranormal 2 and we're looking to see if that makes some sense.
Paranormal has made $62.4 million so far and is on track to make $100 million in the U.S. alone. That's not bad for a movie that was made for only $15,000, and only took $300,000 for Paramount to purchase. But Paranormal could also learn from Blair Witch's mistakes. The sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, was a critical and box office failure, proving that sometimes going back for seconds is a bad thing.
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- Ryan Gowland
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Paranormal Activity 2 on the way?
27 October 2009 6:06 AM, PDT
| 24framespersecond.net
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Why aren’t we surprised at this. The La times is reporting that Paramount Pictures is sniffing around the idea of making a sequel to Oren Peli’s underground indy horror hit Paranormal Activity. Paramount (finally after sitting on it for months) recently gave the film a limited release - mainly at midnight movie screenings – and now with the film rapidly escalating into an underground cult hit, reminiscent of the viral cash bonanza that was The Blair Witch Project, the studio has suddenly realised they may have a new cash Cow on their hands. In the dash for cash, Paramount might do well to ponder what the dog of a sequel “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2,” did for the reputation of its forebear. Yep thats right....sweet Fa.
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Is A 'Paranormal Activity' Sequel On The Way?
26 October 2009 2:28 AM, PDT
| MTV Movie News
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'Maybe,' director Oren Peli tells MTV News of capitalizing on the horror flick's surprise success.
By Adam Rosenberg
A scene from "Paranormal Activity"
Photo: Paramount Pictures
"Paranormal Activity" is a bona fide phenomenon, a success story the likes of which Hollywood hasn't seen in quite some time. A $22 million box-office gross this weekend — which saw the film jump from 950 screens last week to almost 2,000 — brought the sales figures up to $62.5 million. Not too shabby for a movie that cost less than $12,000 to make.
It's no surprise, then, to hear that sequel possibilities are already being considered. "We have the rights on a worldwide basis to do 'Paranormal 2,' and we're looking to see if that makes some sense," Paramount chairman Brad Grey told the Los Angeles Times in an interview Sunday.
There's a need to tread carefully, of course — just look at "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" — but
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A Paranormal Activity Sequel Already?!
26 October 2009 1:28 AM, PDT
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Paranormal Activity, that small budget, cult film that has become an undisputed smash-hit may already have a sequel waiting in the wings!
This weekend Paranormal took the U.S. box office by storm, cutting Saw VI short and taking an estimated $22 million. Now it seems that the execs at Paramount Pictures have begun to pay attention, and they’re “actively considering producing a sequel” according to the La Times Blog.
Could a sequel work? Isn’t there a danger that we might end up with another Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2? Either way it doesn’t seem that the “Blair Witch” concept has occurred to Paramount Chairman, Brad Grey. Interviewed yesterday, Grey was certainly succinct when asked about the possibility of a sequel:
“We have the rights on a worldwide basis to do ‘Paranormal 2′ and we’re looking to see if that makes some sense.”
The success of Paranormal Activity has been relentless.
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- Craig Sharp
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Mirror Mirror — “Micah, Shut That Camera Off”
25 October 2009 8:56 PM, PDT
| Atomic Popcorn
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You can make a hundred comparisons between Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity and that monumental symbol of the hype machine, The Blair Witch Project.
The similarities are obvious: both are essentially ghost stories, told from faux-documentary video footage. Both have small casts of nobodies, first-time directors, and most critically, both have witnessed huge theatrical success despite low budgets.
In almost every review or editorial about Paranormal Activity, you’ll hear about The Blair Witch Project, and for good reason: Peli’s film couldn’t exist without Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez’s film. Love it or hate it, Blair Witch was a seminal film, a shift in how independent film was seen in the public eye.
So why do I hate The Blair Witch Project and really like Paranormal Activity?
Here’s why: Paranormal Activity is the definition of a slow burn, with a finale that delivers the goods by
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- John Cooper
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Paramount Eyes 'Paranormal Activity' Sequel
25 October 2009 3:02 PM, PDT
| Cinematical
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We'll have our full box office report tomorrow morning, but we should let you know now that, as expected (and reported back on Saturday morning), Paranormal Activity has claimed its first weekend win, slicing and dicing its way through Saw VI (only $14 million) on its way to a $22 million take. Naturally, Paramount wasted no time in announcing that they may indeed pursue a Paranormal Activity sequel if it seems like the right move to make. Speaking to the La Times, Paramount Chairman Brad Grey said, "We have the rights on a worldwide basis to do Paranormal 2, and we're looking to see if that makes some sense."
Well, considering that this little film with a budget of $11,000 could give the studio its greatest return ever, something tells me a sequel makes a whole lotta sense to the folks crunching numbers. That said, I'm not the only one who remembers the gigantic
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- Erik Davis
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Tenth Anniversary Sequel to The Blair Witch Project in the Works
6 October 2009 9:30 AM, PDT
| Pastemagazine.com
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The creative team behind 1999's cult hit The Blair Witch Project is celebrating its 10th anniversary by planning another sequel. Although other filmmakers, working with the creators, had made one sequel in 2000 entitled Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, it was a critical and box office flop, and they seem eager to brush off the embarrassment and do it right this time.
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Is Now the Right Time for Another Blair Witch Sequel?
5 October 2009 2:40 PM, PDT
| FilmJunk
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It's been 10 years now since The Blair Witch Project proved that a clever idea and creative marketing could turn a $25,000 film into a $250 million phenomenon. Its influence is still being felt today, particularly over the past few years with movies like Cloverfield and [Rec] ushering in a new wave of handheld horror. But was The Blair Witch Project just a fluke, or was it really a brilliant piece of filmmaking?
For years we've been waiting to see if directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez could repeat the success of their directorial debut, but after they allowed Joe Berlinger to take over the reins on the sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, the movie bombed and all interest in any subsequent Blair Witch films went right down the drain. Fortunately, Myrick and Sanchez haven't given up hope yet. Believe it or not, after all this time, they are now closer than
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- Sean
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'Blair Witch 3', a Sequel Rather Than Prequel
3 October 2009 12:30 AM, PDT
| Aceshowbiz
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The third "Blair Witch" movie is likely to be a sequel rather than prequel. To Bloody-Disgusting, Eduardo Sanchez, the filmmaker behind the hit 1999 horror "The Blair Witch Project", unraveled the plan he and directing and writing partner Daniel Myrick have for "Blair Witch 3".
"Between Dan and me and the Haxan guys that did the original Blair Witch, we are about as far along on a sequel idea as we've ever been," he explained. "This is the first idea that Dan and I have really latched onto that we thought, 'It would be cool.' It's a completely different kind of film, but we think it's in the original spirit of the first one."
"Everybody that I've talked to wants the prequel, that story of the witch," the filmmaker further revealed that he and Dan haven't thrown away prequel idea. "We still want to make that, but the powers that be
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- AceShowbiz.com
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‘Blair Witch’ Creators Vow to do Sequel Right
13 August 2009 6:10 AM, PDT
| WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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Remember going to see the original Blair Witch Project in the theater? Remember either loving it or hating it? Perhaps, remember the film making you motion sick? Now, remember seeing it the second time? Yeah, exactly.
Even though the film doesn’t hold up too well with multiple viewings, it was still a cool little movie that was different from anything we’d seen before. So, like virtually all successful movies, there came a sequel. Well, a “sequel” by some people’s definition.
Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 wasn’t really a sequel, in my opinion, and Blair Witch Project creators Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez apparently feel the same way. Ten years after it’s release, the creative pair wants to go back for seconds.
Here’s what was revealed in an interview with the BBC, courtesy of LatinoReview:
“[W]e’re thinking about going back and seeing what
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- Travis
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2009 |
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15 articles from 2009
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