Cinema BUZZ - Weekly Report/31 May 2013

It's 'Back to the Future' for Schwarzeneggar

I'll Be Back !

Arnie S. will star in three upcoming sequels in which he previously starred - Terminator, Conan, and Twins.  The ex-California governor will star in a new Terminator 5 which is currently being scripted.  James Cameron is advising on the T-5 project.

Additionally, a new Conan, produced by Universal, will star Arnie and pick up where the third Conan left off.  And finally, Triplets, the sequel to the popular Twins movie, will star Arnie, as well as, original co-star Danny DeVito and add Eddie Murphy to the mix.

All and all, not too shabby for Schwarzy as he 'will be back'.

We Three Kings

A "tell it all" biopic on the last days of Martin Luther King's life will soon be in production, with British director Paul Greengrass heading the project.  To be shot like a docu-drama, 'Memphis' (the film's title) has slated Forest Whitaker to portray King.

King was shot dead on April 4, 1968 and James Earl Ray was convicted and sentenced to life for the murder.  Ray, who later recanted his confession to the shooting, died in prison in 1998.  His claim of innocence was affirmed by the King family who have said they do not believe Ray was responsible for the murder.

The King family is not involved with the 'Memphis' project but are working on their own biopic which will also depict King as a troubled figure - good and bad.  And, if that was not enough, a third movie about King's death - entitled 'Orders To Kill' - is in the works.  Described as a conspiracy theory drama it is to star Hugh Jackman as Barry Pepper, an attorney who has argued for decades that King was assassinated by unknown powers, which included forces within the U.S. government.

All three pics will hopefully provide some tidbits of reality regarding King's motives, personal turmoils, and his demise.

Cinema Advertising 'Finally' Goes Mainstream

Up to now, advertising in cinemas was an after-thought (at best) for major manufacturers and retailers, not so anymore. As the cinema has become the 'fourth screen' for ads after TVs, PCs, and mobile.  With 1.4 billion U.S. admissions this year, many see the cinema as a good way to reach an audience that is not only attentive but has no control over viewing the ad or not.  A perfect example is Taco Bell, a division of the Yum Brands Company. Only last year did Taco Bell execs see the benefit of cinema advertising.  Juliet Corsinita, Senior Director for Media at Taco Bell states, "We began to realize the value of the big screen and leverage that. Our cinema spots complement our TV ads, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays when people are not watching a lot of TV these days".  The cinema spots also help Taco Bell reach younger, multicultural consumers, who also tend to be movergoers.

Screenvision and National CineMedia, the two top sellers of commercials in cinemas have recently taken a page out of the TV ad playbook and have began to hold upfront presentations and get paid in advance for ads.  For example, Screenvision will assure advertisers that they will be able to reach certain numbers of consumers in specific demographic groups if they buy commercial time from Screenvision before hand.

Used is a season pricing model. Dividing months into four periods. The highest ad rates will be charged during June, July, November and December - big months for moviegoing.  The lowest rates will be for January, February, April and October.


Best
Jim Lavorato