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Who's with me for a sequel to BATTLEFIELD EARTH?

Nobody!

Are you a scientologist?

No, I just really enjoyed the awfulness that was the 'craplousy' 'Battlefield Earth'.

Everytime I see that image of Travolta with those dreadlocks and outfit. It's damn hilarious. Cracks me up everytime.

Back to the discussion...

I mean I have no idea which will be a better pick. However, no one has mentioned a simple fact about Hairspray, it is a Toni award winning musical with a Toni award winning lead and has Travolta DANCING for the first time since that terrible angel movie he did, which everyone ate up with a spoon.

Nancy Drew might be the better pick here but aren't all of us discounting Hairspray's pedigree and, as a result, the possibility of it having serious legs? I think we have. I am not going to say Hairspray is a slam dunk but it could be a nice movie to take a risk on right at the end of the season. It has a great chance for some breakout success.

Lastly, have any of you seen 30 seconds of the stage show. This is nothing like the John Waters version. I saw Hairspray in a travelling production and it was just fun and, most importantly for our discussion, VERY KID friendly. It was really a lot of fun and not really all that raunchy outside of the crossdressing.

I think this is a breakout hit that will be perfect for the last 2 weeks of the season when it competes with the typical genre films. This will cement Travolta's return to a BO draw and bring nontraditional musicals back to the big screen. Anyone for Newsies'?

helfy91782 wrote:

This will cement Travolta's return to a BO draw and bring nontraditional musicals back to the big screen. Anyone for Newsies'?

Maybe he's already back.

As evident with Wild Hogs. Ey, that movie wasn't so bad.

I've been thinking about this one for a while, and because I am not part of the key demographic for either movie I have to admit that my opinion in this matter doesn't mean much. However, as far as the game goes, I have gone with Nancy Drew in some of my slates, and Hairspray in none so I guess you could say that I think Nancy Drew is going to do better. I think ND offers more to kids and young girls, while Hairspray may offer more to teens and tweens. Mothers may be equally willing to bring their girls to either movie because both have a brand that they may have some attachment to. I guess what really is going to make or break Hairspray is the fact that it's a musical. I think Nancy Drew is going to do pretty well, and is a much more sure bet, but I can admit to the possibility of Hairspray outperforming it. But for my money, I'll take (and I already have) Nancy Drew.

~D

As excited as i am to see both of these movies (sarcasm) I believe Hairspray is going to be a bigger hit considering teenage Disney fans are going to go crazy for Zac Efron because he's a back-up dancer.

iamhollywood wrote:

teenage Disney fans are going to go crazy for Zac Efron because he's a back-up dancer.

Now there's something I didn't know. (I'm not suprised)

~D

High School Musical. Now that's a guilty pleasure.

I still think Nancy Drew is a better pick in May-Jul leagues, because Hairspray will be cut short after only 2 weekends when the season ends.

Yahoo Movies has just posted some more clips of Hairspray. Looks like a fun movie, unlike the depression of a film that was Dreamgirls.

First, my open bias is for Nancy Drew. I have two slates, and the movie is on both.
Second, being a Broadway success hasn't really translated well to the mass audience of film in the last couple of efforts, ie. Rent, Phanton of the Opera, because (again, in my very biased opinion) the broadway production they bring ton film are the ones that deep cult appeal and almost no mass appeal (okay, phantom was a beautifully bad film).
Third, Drew's audience is potentially every woman and girl if made right. If it pull off the 'square is cool' angle it is intending mothers will ask their daughters if they want to go to a movie (see Lilo and Stitch).
Hairspray's audience is the more affluent and culturally refined. Frankly, that's a lot less people to base an audience on.
Fourth, and lastly, no one really wants to see Travolta in fat suit for a whole movie (To Wong Foo, anyone?). The novelty is definitely there, but enough to maintain a movie. Old, chubby, or otherwise, Travolta is to loved and longed for by his fan base. And female fatsuits are just not sexy.

jameydunne wrote:

First, my open bias is for Nancy Drew. I have two slates, and the movie is on both.
Second, being a Broadway success hasn't really translated well to the mass audience of film in the last couple of efforts, ie. Rent, Phanton of the Opera, because (again, in my very biased opinion) the broadway production they bring ton film are the ones that deep cult appeal and almost no mass appeal (okay, phantom was a beautifully bad film).
Third, Drew's audience is potentially every woman and girl if made right. If it pull off the 'square is cool' angle it is intending mothers will ask their daughters if they want to go to a movie (see Lilo and Stitch).
Hairspray's audience is the more affluent and culturally refined. Frankly, that's a lot less people to base an audience on.
Fourth, and lastly, no one really wants to see Travolta in fat suit for a whole movie (To Wong Foo, anyone?). The novelty is definitely there, but enough to maintain a movie. Old, chubby, or otherwise, Travolta is to loved and longed for by his fan base. And female fatsuits are just not sexy.

Chicago and The Producers did fine on film. Nancy Drew is going to appeal to women/moms and their daughters who are between ages 8-14. It's not the biggest market, but its a market.

The reviews for Nancy Drew have been pretty atrocious so far.

Don't expect this to be a hit at the box-office.

Honestly, I don't think I would go for either one of these. Nancy Drew really hasn't been promoted very heavily (at least not outside the target demographic), and Hairspray will likely be targeting a niche audience. Families seem to be avoiding the theaters for the moment, which does not bode well for ND. If the kids are crying to go to the movies, I find it far more likely that they'll be going to see Shrek the Third or Surf's Up, while anxiously awaiting Harry Potter. Pixar is obviously proud of Ratatouille, providing sneak previews this weekend, and that movie should satisfy the younger ones until HP5 comes out several weeks later. In the meantime, I look for the older releases of the summer to experience smaller-than-expected drops in revenue. Hairspray simply doesn't have the following that Chicago did and likely will not garner the critical acclaim of Dreamgirls, so their main audience is going to be people who have either seen the show on stage, are big fans of musicals, are fans of the original, or want to see John Travolta in a fat suit. All of these categories combined don't make for a very large demographic, and the movie is going to have to be pretty darn good to attract a larger audience. Even so, being released late means that the film won't have enough time to build up word of mouth to make it worthwhile in most leagues.

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