Announcement
- Welcome to my profile! Feel free to ask any questions, view the blogs/videos, or leave comments! I'll respond asap whenever possible.
Thank you for your time! =)
Blog entries
-
Paranormal Activity! Demand it now in your city!
Saturday, Oct 3, 2009 10:42PM / Standard Entry / Members only
4 comments
Original Slamdance Trailer
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRF7JRPwTOI
New Paramount Trailer
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_UxLEqd074
Hey all, for those living in the states, I'm sure some of you (or maybe only a few) have started to hear buzz of this new (2007, actually) indie film called "Paranormal Activity". The synopsis is below:
A young couple, Katie and Micah, are haunted by a demonic presence in their home. Micah buys and sets up an expensive camera to document the strange apparitions occurring in their home. However, as each night is documented, the haunting only seems to get worse..
Paranormal Activity is a 2007 indie film done in the same style as "The Blair Witch Project", in which the footage is supposedly "found" and is "real" as presented unedited and preserved, and is through the eyes of whoever is in the video filming. The film premiered in Slamdance 2007, and since then has been picked up by Dreamworks to only now, be finally released.
So why all the hype? Well, supposedly this film is not only the new "big thing" being that it's garnered consistently good reviews and touted as "one of the scariest movies of all time" it's also got backing by Steven Spielberg (who apparently was so scared by his personal screening that he brought the movie back to his production offices in a garbage bag, and never wants to see it again) and by the fact it's another one of those "little movies that could".
Paranormal Activity was made for $15,000 and shot in one consecutive week. Obviously if this does well, Dreamworks could have a Blair Witch style hit on their hands:
[Blair Witch's original budget was $35,000, but ended up totaling $248,639,099]
So what does that have to do with us? Well, I actually had the chance to check out Paranormal Activity thanks to a free online RSVP screening Paramount was holding in various select cities, on September 24th at Chicago's "The Music Box".
What did I think? I thought it was awesome!
I wish I had taken pics of the MASSIVE line of people (at least 700 showed up) and upon sitting and watching the movie, I will say it's definitely not super, super, scary (unless your really freaked out by ghosts and that type of lore) but it is HIGHLY unsettling. I never jumped, but the movie has a wonderful thing where it really takes its time, precisely setting up each new night, showing how Katie and Micah deal with it, and how eventually, just all hell breaks loose the more and more they piss off the "demon". It's a really solid execution of a simple and cliched story, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plus it helped seeing it in a packed house with about 450 other folks that seemed to be thoroughly scared out of their minds.
In terms of what "happens" it's all really just mind games. You DO see some creepy shit, but alot of it is shadows and noise, but it's backed up by some fantastically done sound design, and though the film IS handheld, luckily all the night scenes of the hauntings are at a FIXED angle, so you can see everything clearly (thank God).
Past that, the acting is definitely believable, and the movie barely comes under an hour and a half. It's quick ride, but definitely leaves you with some unsettling imagery, and I won't lie, the movie makes you focus on all little weird noises in the night.
Now in terms of where it's playing, here's how it gets interesting:
What the filmmakers have done is create a word of mouth/grassroots type of viral marketing in where YOU as the audience member, get to demand if you want it in your town. Spread the word enough, and boom! Your town is chosen each subsequent week it's playing. For now, they seem to be adding 10 cities per week, and the film premiered on September 25th.
The full list of cities currently playing "Paranormal Activity" are:ARIZONA
Phoenix
*Starting 10/1*
Harkins Tempe
Marketplace 16
2000 E Rio Salado Pkwy.
Tempe, AZ 85281
Tickets & ShowtimesTucson
El Con
3601 E. Broadway
Tucson, AZ 85716
Tickets & Showtimes
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles
*Starting 10/1*
Archlight Hollywood
6360 W. Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesSacramento
*Starting 10/1*
Century Stadium 14
1590 Ethan Way
Sacramento, CA 95825
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesSan Diego
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Mission Valley
1640 Camino Del Rio, North San Diego, CA 92108
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesSan Francisco
*Starting 10/1*
AMC IMAX Metreon 15
101 4th St
San Francisco, CA 94103
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesSan Jose
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Mercado 20 IMAX
3111 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95054
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesSanta Cruz
Del Mar 3
1124 Pacific Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Tickets & ShowtimesCOLORADO
Boulder
Cinemark 16
1700 26th Street
Boulder, CO 80302
Tickets & ShowtimesDenver
*Starting 10/1*
UA Continental
3635 S. Monaco Pkwy.
Denver, CO 80237
Tickets & ShowtimesFLORIDA
Miami
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Aventura 24
19501 Biscayne Blvd #3001
Aventura, FL 33180
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesOrlando
AMC Universal
6000 Universal Blvd.
Suite 740
Orlando, FL 32819
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesTampa
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Veterans 24 & IMAX
9302 Anderson Road
Tampa, FL 33634
Tickets & ShowtimesGEORGIA
Atlanta
*Starting 10/1*
Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 16
261 19th Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30363
Tickets & ShowtimesILLINOIS
Chicago
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Rivereast
322 East Illinois Street
Chicago, IL 60611
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesLOUISIANA
Baton Rouge
Mall of Louisiana
9168 Picardy Ave Extension
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Tickets & ShowtimesMARYLAND
DC/Baltimore
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Georgetown Theatre
3111 K Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20007
Tickets & ShowtimesMICHIGAN
Ann Arbor
State
233 State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Tickets & ShowtimesDetroit
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Forum 30 IMAX
44681 Mound Rd.
Sterling Heights, MI 48314
Tickets & ShowtimesMINNESOTA
Minneapolis
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Rosedale 14
850 Rosedale Center
Roseville, MN 55113
Tickets & ShowtimesNEBRASKA
Lincoln
Ross Media Arts Center
313 N 13th St
Lincoln, NE 68508
- SOLD OUT -
Tickets & ShowtimesNEVADA
Las Vegas
*Starting 10/1*
Rave Town Square 18
6587 Las Vegas Blvd So.
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Tickets & ShowtimesNEW YORK
New York
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Empire 25 IMAX
234 West 42nd St.
New York, NY 10036
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesNORTH CAROLINA
Durham
Southpoint Cinema 16
8030 Renaissance Pkwy.
Suite 975
Durham, NC 27713
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesOHIO
Columbus
Studio 35 Cinema
3055 Indianola Ave
Columbus, OH 43202
Tickets & ShowtimesPENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia
*Starting 10/1*
The Bridge: cinema de lux
230 S. 40th Street
S 40th Street and Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesState College
Premiere College 9
3031 Carnegie Drive
State College, PA 16803
Tickets & ShowtimesTEXAS
Austin
Alamo Draft House Cinema
1120 South Lamar
Austin, TX 78704
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesDallas
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Northpark 15
8687 N Central Expressway
Dallas, TX 75225
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesHouston
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Studio 30
2949 Dunvale
Houston, TX 77063
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesSan Antonio
*Starting 10/1*
AMC Huebner Oaks
11075 Interstate Hwy 10 West
San Antonio, TX 78230
- SOLD OUT -
- New Screens Added!-
Tickets & ShowtimesWASHINGTON
Seattle
Neptune
1303 N.E. 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98105
Tickets & ShowtimesWISCONSIN
Madison
Marcus Eastgate 16
5202 High Crossing Blvd.
Madison, WI 53704
Tickets & Showtim
So if you don't see your city and really want to check out this film, I say demand it, spread the word every way you can, and have fun! As of now, the film is ONLY showing at midnight, from Thursday - Saturday (3 days) in each city from my understanding. Definitely online pre-ordering is a must for this.
In closing, the movie isn't perfect, and you really shouldn't go into the movie expecting lots of crazy business. The movie IS a very clever and effective film, and I feel it does what it sets out to achieve right, but it's definitely not for everyone. However, it IS better than lots of the shit that Hollywood has spoon feeding people with stupid storylines, and even worse acting inflated by bigger budgets and need for violence.
If it's playing in your city, I say give it a chance and check it out. Otherwise, demand it, or you know, just wait for the DVD. :P
--Manny
My blog More entries >
-
New Test Fight Featuring Shawn Bernal and Alex Hashioka!
Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 3:38PM (2 comments)
-
I'm In A Doritos Super Bowl Commerical, and Check Out The First Teaser For STRAIGHT BLAST!
Sunday, Nov 15, 2009 7:18PM (1 comment)
-
Episode 2 of Rex Dickhouse, P.I. is now online!
Sunday, Nov 15, 2009 7:06PM
-
New Motion Graphics Test For Beat Down Boogie!
Sunday, Nov 15, 2009 7:03PM
-
Flower Thieves has been accepted to the 2009 Chicago Filipino-American Film Festival!
Tuesday, Nov 3, 2009 1:14AM
Stats
- An aspiring stuntman who also runs an independent martial arts stunt team in Chicago known as "Lazy Brown Productions". To find out more info about what I do, and LBP, please visit:...
- Occupation: Action Director , Stuntman , Director
- Gender: Male
- Total visits: 115,607
Entry comments (4)