Oh yes you are…

I’m more surprised that the title, since it was his last film, didn’t make itself into a pun here somewhere. If I were clever I could make one, but alas, I’m not.

nah, I try not to specifically stir up political turmoil on LiC, but I couldn’t resist alluding to what’s been happening.

{btw, Joel, I lost track of whatever topic that was where you gave me tips and basic background about upconverting to faux 1080, but your advice was really helpful. I’m gonna give it a try. Thanks!)

http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/tickermaster/listing.cfm?TMID=4482

It’s the story of a moose-hunting granny, with shades of Chinatown (she may or may not be the mother of her own granddaughter), and set in the shimmering oily vistas of the former Alaskan wilderness. It’s Juno Does Juneau.

In my opinion anyway.

i think the only think they have coming out during ‘oscar bait’ season i’m interested in is ‘choke’

sartre i’ve seen juno. don’t do it… :)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ifa16f485c81d0f2aaed0e2189d1a1ef7

As irritable as the overmarketing of LMS and Juno were to us (I still can’t bring myself to watch Juno and I found LMS fairly average), I guess their marketplace strategists could argue the complete success of their approach based on box office.

There was nothing wrong with LMS and to a lesser extent Juno, but both were hyped beyond reason. this is the curse of the mini-majors. In order to justify their involvement, they have to make a box office splash. The result is overmarketing and Oscar campaigns and an upward cost spiral.

While I don’t doubt that there was little cynicism in the original screenplay for Juno, everything about the production had that distinct feel of being packaged to appeal to a specific group of people, much the way well-tread Oscar bait like Cold Mountain, Crash, or Babel does in November and December.

I think I would have liked Juno a bit more had I not been so painfully aware of the marketing behind the movie and the crushing internet hype of sites touting it as the best thing since Google.

I have a lot of respect for Dannie Boyle and I kinda hope this movie doesn’t get the hype machine treatment of a Juno or LMS. I’m really tired of that sort of focused mania for a film determined to have “broad appeal” and “indie cred.”

What’s funny is the advesarial relationship between so many “cinephiles” and these pre-packaged “indie success stories.” I still remember the backlash hitting Little Miss Sunshine with people on movie blogs saying it was as artistically shallow as a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. I swear, I remember that. Juno received widespread hate. Imagine if either one of those had won Best Picture, ala Crash. It’s a good thing for each film that they didn’t.

Between the two, I’ve seen Juno twice and I could see myself checking it out again one day. It wasn’t one of the best films of last year, but it wasn’t as risible as many started to make it out to be. I liked it more the second time, and that’s a good sign. Little Miss Sunshine, I’ve only seen once and I highly doubt I’ll ever revisit that one.

All of that said, I do find myself reading reactions from Sundance, Telluride and other festivals looking for “indie sensations,” as you say, Craig.