Report: ‘Battleship’ numbers could sink studio’s bottom line
May 21st, 2012 | Movies Navy | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Navy Secretary (and "Battleship" star) Ray Mabus, left, and director Peter Berg attended a May 14 screening of the film in Washington. Other screenings at other theaters last weekend weren't as crowded. (Navy photo by MCC Sam Shavers)
There were special screenings for sailors stateside and promotional events abroad. There was a massive marketing campaign that involved sandwich shops and soda makers. There was a positive review from Military Times’ octoplex guru. There was a cameo by the Navy Department’s top civilian.
Despite all that, and despite an overseas box office take worth more than $220 million, movie-industry reports are pretty much unanimous: “Battleship” bombed.
Deadline Hollywood reports a $25.3 million take for the film over its debut weekend in U.S., well behind “The Avengers,” which topped $55 million in its third weekend. One analyst quoted in this Reuters report said “Battleship” needed to hit $50 million in its opening weekend if it wanted to break even on production costs that topped $200 million. The numbers are low enough to drag down profits for the movie’s studio, Universal, owned by media giant Comcast, according to the Reuters report. The studio makes back about half the money from each ticket sold and even less on overseas tickets, according to Reuters, so $245 million in sales on a $200 million release doesn’t add up to movie magic.
Box Office Mojo, which tracks ticket sales in-depth, reports “Battleship” fell short on opening weekend no matter how you measure it: It was beaten in opening-weekend take by other toy-based movies (“GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and the first “Transformers”), other alien invasion movies (“Cowboys and Aliens” and “Battle: Los Angeles”) and even other special-effects-laden disasters (“John Carter” took in $30.2 million its first week).
In other words, Navy officials hoping for a cameo in “Battleship 2: Battleship Harder” may have a long wait.
Vote now on Battleship advanced screenings
April 23rd, 2012 | Entertainment Movies Navy | Posted by Jacqueline Klimas
Want to see Battleship on a big screen at your base?
Eventful Inc., is holding a “Battle of the Bases” campaign to bring sneak previews of the movie Battleship to 10 military bases across the country before the film opens everywhere May 18.
Family, friends and servicemembers can vote online at http://eventful.com/battleship. The 10 military bases with the most votes by May 8 will get an advanced screening of Battleship at a theater near the base between May 15 and May 17.
The action-adventure movie, which includes real sailors as extras, is about Earth fighting for survival against aliens. It stars Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker and Liam Neeson.
“These early screenings of ‘Battleship’ allow Universal an opportunity to thank our active duty and reserve service members and their families for their sacrifices,” said Josh Goldstine, President of Theatrical Marketing, Universal Pictures, in an Eventful press release. “The spirit of the film is one of assembling the best of the best for a daunting, shared mission. We hope that by bringing together members of our country’s best, they may enjoy a night out at the movies.”
Capt. Rick Hoffman’s Battleship Boot Camp
April 4th, 2012 | Battleships Entertainment Movies | Posted by Sam Fellman
Hollywood just went to boot camp — surface Navy-style.
The task of getting the cast of the forthcoming movie Battleship to look and speak Navy fell to the retired Navy captain who served as the film’s technical adviser. It was no easy task.
“Is that your war face? What kind of a face is that!” retired Capt. Rick Hoffman, who in real-life commanded frigate DeWert and cruiser Hue City, shouts at one actor in jest during a movie trailer released April 3. “Wipe that smile off your face, sailor!”
This is all part of what he called “Capt. Rick’s boot camp.” In the film, all that stands between the alien horde and human annihilation is, yes, the Navy’s gray warships. So making the actors believable surface warriors was of the utmost importance. To get them ready, Hoffman ran a sort of SWO-101. Key the radiotelephone before speaking! Get standard commands right! “Don’t fall off the boat!”
Yet despite the tough love, Hoffman was a cast favorite.
“Rick was wonderful and he loves sharing this information,” said star Liam Neeson, who plays Admiral Shane in the film.
And for his work, Hoffman got a bit of a promotion: a cameo as the fictionalized four-star chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The film opens May 18 in the U.S.
‘Battleship’ preview set for Super Bowl
February 3rd, 2012 | Battleships Movies | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Cmdr. George Kessler, executive officer of the destroyer Spruance, and Cmdr. M. Tate Westbrook, the ship's commanding officer, give a tour to Peter Berg, director of "Battleship."
It’s shaping up to be a traditional Super Bowl Sunday: A six-hour pregame show followed by football, snacks, drinks, aliens, surface warships and Liam Neeson.
The last part might need an explainer. “Battleship,” the action movie somehow based on the board game of the same name, will debut in theaters this May, but you’ll get a new 60-second sneak peek during the first quarter of Sunday’s big game, Deadline New York reports.
We’ve shown you earlier, longer trailers for this one before, but this’ll be the biggest audience yet for the SWOs-vs.-aliens adventure, which stars Neeson, “Friday Night Lights” youngster Taylor Kitsch, hip-hop artist Rihanna, Sports Illustrated eye candy Brooklyn Decker and, maybe, a sensible plot (not pictured in any previews so far).
Deadline also reports director Peter Berg will use Kitsch in his upcoming movie treatment of “Lone Survivor,” a real-life tale of heroism by retired Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell. IMDB pegs that film for a 2013 release.
Top SEAL: Amid Hollywood hoopla, quiet preferred
January 27th, 2012 | Entertainment Movies Naval special warfare | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
The Navy’s “silent” warriors won’t exactly be off radar when “Act of Valor” hits the theaters in February. The movie, produced by the Bandito Brothers, is notable for the use of some real Navy SEALs, rather than more actors, to portray the commandos.
Since the successful killing of Osama bin Laden last year, and even the 2009 rescue of an American boat captain held hostage by Somali pirates, the oft-secretive naval special warfare community has been in the spotlight more than usual. The occasional best-selling book and, unfortunately, tragic losses of SEALs fallen in combat capture the public’s focus. This week’s news that SEALs – presumably Naval Special Warfare Development Group, aka SEAL Team 6 – parachuted into Somalia and rescued an American female aid worker and a Danish man kidnapped by Somali pirates further adds to the attention.
“It’s pretty hot in the kitchen right now,” Rear Adm. Sean Pybus, a top SEAL officer, told a San Diego defense industry conference Jan. 24, hours after the successful mission was a wrap. “The SEAL brand is red hot.”
Rear Adm. Sean Pybus, who heads Naval Special Warfare Command. // Navy photo
Part of that is by design. To pull off “Act of Valor,” the directors sent teams to embed with real SEALs and special warfare combatant craft crewmen with the intent of helping them portray naval special warfare more realistically. That relationship, five years in the making, required approval from the top – which it got. Several real SEALs, who typically shield their identities when they are operational, will be portrayed on the big screen as well as in promotion literature, trailers and press kits, perhaps. But their names won’t be on the credits. You can catch the trailer here, and the official website here.
Much like what the Navy saw when “Top Gun” was released in 1986, top officials expect the movie will help with recruitment. But all that attention can be discomfiting to those who consider themselves “quiet professionals.”
“Operations security matters to us,” said Pybus, before showing the movie trailer to the morning audience. “Inaccurate or incomplete pictures…concern me,” he continued. “We as a community are not used to operating under such a spotlight. We’ll figure this out.”
SEALs and SWCCs, and others within the community, he noted, are proud of their work outside the public spotlight. “We’ll work for positive outcomes, find better ways to protect sensitive information and our force and our families,” he said, “and we’ll adapt.”
If there are fewer movies or books about SEALs, what they do and who they are, that might suit Pybus just fine. “I would like to think that your reputation as a naval special warfare operator or enabler would be sufficient when you transition to civilian life,” he said, responding to an audience question. “You’d be quietly proud of that.”
The best “perk” of being a Navy wife
July 8th, 2011 | Books Movies Navy | Posted by Blair Tomlinson
It is the end of an era for Harry Potter fans. The final installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, is set for release at midnight July 15 in theaters across the country.
But lucky fans (and their spouses) stationed at Naval Base San Diego have the chance to see an early screening of the movie July 9 , and one Navy wife is so excited she thinks it’s the best “perk” of being married to a SWO.
“The Navy base showing a sneak peek of Harry Potter is a better perk than free checked bags at the airport,” Colleen McAdams said.
The sneek peak is free and seating is first come, first serve. McAdams, like any Harry Potter fan, said she will be sure to arrive early.
“My husband thinks people won’t be lined up,” McAdams said. “So naive.”
Hornets, Vikings and carrier Yorktown (?!) in Disney movie
July 8th, 2011 | Aviation Carriers Movies Naval aviation | Posted by Joshua Stewart
It’s not just the littoral combat ship Independence that has a cameo in a Disney movie. All sorts of Navy hardware show up for an upcoming release.
A carrier and at least a squadron’s worth of Super Hornets are featured in “Planes,” a direct-to-video movie expected in 2013. A frame-by-frame review of the trailer shows that in addition to Hornets, there’s what looks like an S-3B Viking in the background of an unidentifiable aircraft carrier (a big “10” is painted on the flight deck, but this ship is clearly is not Yorktown, which was decommissioned in 1970), and a B-2 Spirit (which the Air Force, not the Navy flies) soaring over a mountain range as well.
The plot line is far from clear, but seems to be another “Little Engine that Could” tale, complete with a puny turbo-prop – something that seems like a better fit among Cessnas and other general aviation aircraft — that’s somehow assigned to the carrier.
Not even released yet, the movie is already getting slammed across the blogosphere, with the overall sentiment boiling down to “what is this junk?”
Well, at least the trailer is entertaining and has good background music. Nothing could be more appropriate for a movie about a bunch of overly-animated, smiling, wise-cracking, anthropomorphic aircraft than Rob Zombie’s “More Human than Human.”
Elizabeth Taylor and the Carl Vinson
March 24th, 2011 | Carriers Congress Facebook Movies Photos | Posted by Joshua Stewart
Elizabeth Taylor and her then-husband, former Navy Secretary and Sen. John Warner, alongside the Carl Vinson. // Photo from Carl Vinson Public Affairs.
Nearly 28 years ago to the day, the carrier Carl Vinson had a visitor whose death is one of the biggest news stories of the week.
Elizabeth Taylor, who died Wednesday, attended the ship’s christening (or maybe commissioning) with her husband, former Navy Secretary and then Virginia Sen. John Warner. The two are shown together in a photo posted on the carrier’s Facebook page, which described her as a “friend” of the ship.
The photo’s origins are unclear. The caption says it’s from the christening March 13, 1982. The ship, however, was christened March 15, 1980. The picture is probably actually from the commissioning, which took place March 13, 1982, the date of the photo.
Support for Capt. Honors
January 3rd, 2011 | Aviation Carriers Facebook Fleet Forces Command leadership Life at Sea Morale Movies Navy Officers Video | Posted by Bill McMichael
The Navy didn’t mince words in its official reaction to Capt. Owen Honors’ role in the creation of what are viewed by many as overly suggestive or inappropriate videos — meant to be humorous — that were broadcast aboard the carrier Enterprise during his run as XO back in 2006-2007. “Those in command … are held accountable for setting the proper tone and upholding the standards of honor, courage and commitment that we expect sailors to exemplify,” said Cmdr. Chris Sims, spokesman for U.S. Fleet Forces Command.
You won’t find any such criticism on a Facebook page, “We Support Captain O.P. Honors!”, established on Jan. 1 — the same day the story was broken by Norfolk’s Virginian-Pilot newspaper — that describes itself as a “Support Group for a great Executive Officer and his extraordinarily funny XO Movie Night Skits.” It’s growing by the minute, with 1,230 members as of 12 noon EST Monday and nearly 600 posts, nearly all praising Honors, who now commands the ship as it prepares to deploy, and dismissing the videos as harmless fun meant to lighten the stress of shipboard life. Here are some examples:
“I used to be a sailor aboard the USS Enterprise and served while Capt Honors was both a XO and a CO,” one woman wrote. “I was aboard the ship while the videos under question were being filmed and watched them myself. The way the videos were reported to the world as `raunchy’ and `lewd’ is completely unrepresentative of the good-natured humor behind them. Capt Honors’ videos were always a highlight of the week.”
“I served with then-CDR Honors during the 2006 Deployment and know him to be an honorable man,” wrote one man. “The XO made the videos to address real shipboard issues in a comedic fashion. The crew always looked forward to them. Do not sacrifice this officer on the altar of political correctness.”
In the Tell Us What You Really Think Department, 0ne woman really let fly. “I pretty much hated EVERYTHING about being on the Enterprise EXCEPT for the people I worked with, and XO MOVIE NIGHT!,” she wrote. “Way to GO Capt. Honors! F*** EVERYONE ELSE that finds that s*** offensive….let them get back to their Lifetime Original Movies.”
The videos — you can see an edited version here — have generated national attention, with broadcast stories on every network. The videos include scenes of simulated same-sex showers and masturbation and a reference by one of Honors’ “alternate personalities” — a video trick — to another as “fag SWO boy,” leading some commentators to call the videos lewd, sexist and homophobic. Others raise questions about Honors’ leadership style. Sims said Fleet Forces has launched an investigation into the production of the videos.
What do you think?
A Top Gun for the Hornet generation?
October 18th, 2010 | Aviation Carriers Movies Navy Photos | Posted by Bill McMichael
A sequel to the smash 1986 movie that provided a soundtrack for a generation of naval aviators and turned Tom Cruise into a star might be in the cards. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Paramount Pictures has made offers to the original producer and director of “Top Gun” to produce a sequel. According to the paper, Cruise would be expected to make an appearance as Maverick, the hotshot F-14 Tomcat pilot who bends or breaks the rules in his constant efforts to be the best.
Two quick questions come to mind here:
1. Hollywood LIVES on sequels. How did this not happen 20 years ago?
2. If Maverick were a real person, what would he be doing now? Wearing stars? Leading NavAir? Cashing in contractor paychecks? What do you think?