Doesn't that Scooby movie look like the Worst Thing Ever?!

[Justinpie]

Yeah, I feel that, while some Hollywood movies are very good, Hollywood concentrates so much on pleasing EVERYONE that they don't take the risks a foreign film does. And I almost always choose subs over dubbing, except for a few cases then they're gone to great lengths to rewrite and dub seamlessly, like Princess Mononoke or the Cowboy Bebop series. Thankfully DVDs allow us both options.

Sometimes they change the whole damn show itself when we get it imported though - like Dragon Ball Z, which I never watch, and Jackie Chan films, which I always watch. Notable is the Legend of Drunken Master (or Drunken Master II).
The original version had Jackie getting brain damage from drinking too much alcohol, which is kind of creepy, but Chan dorks it up to make it less disturbing. When it passed overseas to US theatrical release, producers suddenly had a change of heart, and instead of the brain damage stuff, there's a weird epilogue scene with Jackie's parents waving to everyone and saying he's resting up.
I'm guessing Chan was too busy (or injured from something) to take part in this last-minute addition, but it was just odd seeing him valiantly fight one of the coolest martial arts scenes EVER, and then have his folks just standing around on the front step cheering to the general populace, like the Beverly Hillbillies or something.

[Dalhar]

Good to hear you've got an alternative film-market there.

Here, the Hollywoods make out the cash-filling crowd-pleasers, that's quite enough of north-american films, and the rest is from the rest of the world. Mostly european, but also other things. Woody Allen - films are shown here, but that's actually hollywood too. Only non-hollywood north-american film I have seen is "Clerks", and that's just because of it's cult status. I guess other market surprises are shown too, but..

About dubbing, only the toons get dubbed here. The rest is subtitles.


And, the release date I mentioned for "Elling" is for the US subtitles release. Oscar nominated for "Best foreign-language film", btw
The US remake is going to The original filmmakers were pleased with it so far ("there had been some adjustments, of course"..) but I don't think it's a complete change. Kevin Spacey takes the main role.

[JPSloan]

Hollywood producers are fully cognizant of the Formula. It's not that they haven't woken up and realized they keep screwing good plots... they do it quite intentionally. Fact is, the Formula sells, and edgy quality films, though appreciated by people like us, do not make money. And after all, that's the producers' job. They aren't paid to make art, or even to make a quality film. They are hired to make profits. Now, without passing judgment on whether that is right, wrong, or otherwise... can you understand precisely why Hollywood does what it does? It's called market pressure.

But... that said, there have been non-Formula movies conceived, filmed, and distributed right out of L.A. The most recent would have to be Insomnia, which I highly highly recommend. The movie pulls no punches, indulges no stereotypes, provides no clear-cut moralities, and every damned action carries its fullest consequence.

Another American indie that I highly recommend is a little b&w film shot in New Orleans called "Down By Law". It stars a couple guys from the music industry (Hugh Laurie, I think is one of them), and Roberto Benigni. It was the first time I had ever seen him, and I just loved him!

[Justinpie]

Ooh, yeah, I want to see that Insomnia film. I heard the insomniac guy is named Dormir, and that's kind of lame, but I loved Memento. I just hope the director doesn't pull a "Kevin Smith," where the films become less good when big stars are in them.

[KathleenJ]

... can you understand precisely why Hollywood does what it does?

I hope so, because that was almost exactly the topic of one of the essays I did for my final Film Studies exam!
And hey, I wanted to see Insomnia too, because I loved Memento. Hey Justin, if it's still out, we should go!
And I seriously think I could benefit from tattooing little reminders on myself. I'm completely absent minded. I'll do things like forget why I was going upstairs once I get there.
But now, I need to go to work!

[Justinpie]

And hey, I wanted to see Insomnia too, because I loved Memento. Hey Justin, if it's still out, we should go!

K

And I seriously think I could benefit from tattooing little reminders on myself.

Yeah, but you need a system too. Sammy Jenkins didn't have a system, that's why it didn't work for him.


Sammy Jenkins didn't have a system, that's why it didn't work for him.
</lame joke>

[KathleenJ]

I had a system all written out...now if I could only remember where I put it, and stop killing by mistake.