Take a quick glance at the comment section on any film site and you will plainly see that film lovers cannot agree on anything. Even some of the most unimpeachable classics have their detractors, just as many of the worst films have their champions. Everyone has their own subjective likes and dislikes which inform the opinions they make on everything. Film is no exception. I often get the feeling that the only thing movie lovers can agree on is that they love movies. It is with that fact firmly in mind that I make this appeal to you.
* * *
Late on the evening of August 5th, Twitch Film announced that it had come to their attention that Weistein Company Chief, Harvey Weinstein was seeking to cut 20 minutes from South Korean filmmaker Joon-Ho Bong's English language debut Snowpiercer. Though the story made the blog-rounds over the next couple of days, important sites and periodicals like Daily Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood Daily and Hollywood Elsewhere have stood virtually mute on the topic. How is this not bigger news?
It's not like we're talking about some epically-long, artsy/experimental, foreign language film. Snowpiercer is about as commercial as it can get. It's sci-fi, in English, based on a comic book, starring Chris "Captain America" Evans. The film has already smashed box office records in South Korea with a director's cut that runs a mere 126 minutes. That's right, this film is 40 minutes shorter than last summer's comic book blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises.
Back in 1985, when Universal wanted to hack off the end of Brazil, director Terry Gilliam and executive Sid Sheinberg were able to do battle in Jack Mathews' Film Clips column for the Los Angeles Times. Search all you want through a current edition of that same paper, and you will find not a single mention as to what is going on with The Weinstein Company and Snowpiercer. A current Variety piece makes reference to "numerous unconfirmed reports" about the cuts, but why aren't they pressing for confirmation?
Thanks to Twitter and other social media, film critics, film fans and filmmakers are closer than ever, yet where is the collective outrage? On Rotten Tomatoes, Bong's previous five films have an average "fresh rating" of 88.5%. On Metacritic his average is 82% positive. In a medium as divisive as film, those are some pretty solid numbers. People like this guy's work and judging by the reaction in South Korea, this film is not an exception to the rule.
Now I'm not saying that we have to do anything as brash as when the Los Angeles Film Critics Association forced Universal's hand by voting Gilliam's cut of Brazil as the Best Picture of 1985, but can't we as a film loving community at least do something? Can't we hound larger media outlets to give this story some coverage? Can't we get #HarveyScissorhands trending on twitter? Can't we let Bong know that we are in his corner and that we desire to see his vision on screen as he intended it? Chris Evans has to be diplomatic in the way he talks about this issue, we do not. Let's take what little power we have and do some good with it!
It's not like we're talking about some epically-long, artsy/experimental, foreign language film. Snowpiercer is about as commercial as it can get. It's sci-fi, in English, based on a comic book, starring Chris "Captain America" Evans. The film has already smashed box office records in South Korea with a director's cut that runs a mere 126 minutes. That's right, this film is 40 minutes shorter than last summer's comic book blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises.
Back in 1985, when Universal wanted to hack off the end of Brazil, director Terry Gilliam and executive Sid Sheinberg were able to do battle in Jack Mathews' Film Clips column for the Los Angeles Times. Search all you want through a current edition of that same paper, and you will find not a single mention as to what is going on with The Weinstein Company and Snowpiercer. A current Variety piece makes reference to "numerous unconfirmed reports" about the cuts, but why aren't they pressing for confirmation?
Thanks to Twitter and other social media, film critics, film fans and filmmakers are closer than ever, yet where is the collective outrage? On Rotten Tomatoes, Bong's previous five films have an average "fresh rating" of 88.5%. On Metacritic his average is 82% positive. In a medium as divisive as film, those are some pretty solid numbers. People like this guy's work and judging by the reaction in South Korea, this film is not an exception to the rule.
Now I'm not saying that we have to do anything as brash as when the Los Angeles Film Critics Association forced Universal's hand by voting Gilliam's cut of Brazil as the Best Picture of 1985, but can't we as a film loving community at least do something? Can't we hound larger media outlets to give this story some coverage? Can't we get #HarveyScissorhands trending on twitter? Can't we let Bong know that we are in his corner and that we desire to see his vision on screen as he intended it? Chris Evans has to be diplomatic in the way he talks about this issue, we do not. Let's take what little power we have and do some good with it!
Couldn't care less! Since when did cinema become the 'adaptation format?' Let's fucking get over adapting comic books and encourage some original content. What if the majority of modern literature was simply an adaptation of comic books or previous works? Fuck that! Come up with some original content and then I'll care about dictatorial EPs demanding you truncate your film.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that a film is based on a comic book (or some other source) doesn't mean that it's fair game to chop up. We should be supporting good cinema, and not turning up our noses at the source material.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete