Reel Geezers on Sex and the City

An interesting conversation with the Reel Geezers film critics on SATC. Spoiler warning if you haven't seen the film yet.

Will Hollywood embrace femme pics after Sex and the City's success?

Great article in Variety:

Hollywood has displayed selective amnesia about femme hits in the past, tending to remember that those that don't work better than those that do.

Every time a chick pic has turned into a hit, studios have appeared stunned. There are signs this attitude may be changing -- "Sex and the City" producer-star Sarah Jessica Parker has credited the success of "The Devil Wears Prada" for paving the way for the bigscreen version of the HBO skein after years of struggles -- but filmmakers still avoid the term "chick flick" for fear it will marginalize a project.

It's hard to argue with the numbers for "Sex."

By the time its opening weekend was over, it had raked in $57 million at the domestic B.O., more than double the amount "The Devil Wears Prada" opened at two summers ago. Strong weekday B.O. followed, suggesting "Sex" has legs. New Line is already exploring a sequel.

"Sex and the City" isn't the only femme fare to perform well at the B.O. lately: Last weekend, five of the top 10 films had strong estro-appeal. Besides "Sex and the City," which trumped "Indiana Jones" in its second frame, there was romantic comedy "What Happens in Vegas" in the No. 6 spot, invitro laffer "Baby Mama" at No. 8, followed by two more romantic comedies, "Made of Honor" at No. 9 and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" in the 10th spot.

The knock on chick flicks is that they might not cross over to men, who have been known to avoid female-centered titles. Projects targeting older women (read: above 25) are considered especially problematic; even as anticipation for "Sex and the City" grew, certain analysts downplayed its potential success and dubbed it a one-quadrant movie. But its opening showed that a movie that really speaks strongly to its base will deliver boffo coin.

"When 'X-Men' does well and a studio decides to do 'Iron Man,' that's a reasonable business decision," says Wendy Finerman, who has produced "Prada," "Stepmom" and "P.S. I Love You" and recently set up "I Didn't Fancy Him Anyway" at CBS Films. "It doesn't happen that way with films that serve the female audience."

Writer-director Diane English spent 13 years trying to get her redo of "The Women" into production, getting turned down by one female studio topper after another along the way before Bob Berney at Picturehouse finally said yes.

"I would come in with my list," she says, citing "The Hours" and "Steel Magnolia" as examples of similar fare that worked, only to hear studio execs dismiss each example as a fluke.

"We have to start over every time," English says.

Read the rest here.

Sex and the City - mini-review

I caught Sex and the City last night with three girlfriends and we all loved it. You don't have to be a fan of the show to enjoy it, but if you have watched at least some of the shows, there are little touches included that bring an extra smile. I laughed so hard at some points, and surprisingly to me, got a bit teary-eyed at one part. For fans of the show, it has everything in it that you could want and the things that happen to the characters are a logical extension of who they are and where we left them 4 years ago. Jennifer Hudson of Dreamgirls fame is Carrie's new assistant and I found her very sweet.

David Eigenberg, who plays Miranda's husband, Steve, is from our hometown and his mother owns a preschool where one of my neighbor's sends her daughter. David's mother rented the town trolley to take all her friends to see the movie opening weekend here, and when she called her son, her friends yelled out to tell him he has a nice butt! LOL!

Go see this movie with some girlfriends! Three and a half stars.

Sex and the City beats Indy in Box Office race

WOW!! This was a shocker to studio execs. Sex in the City made an estimated $55.7 million in box office this weekend, taking the number one spot away from Indiana Jones. Women power!! I hope this finally makes execs see that chick flicks CAN make money, and that women DO like to see movies -- movies that are about things they care about and not video game retreads for teenagers!

The NY Times reports on Sarah Jessica Parker's reaction:

“It is kind of mind-boggling,” Sarah Jessica Parker, the “Sex and the City” star, said in a telephone interview from her Manhattan home on Saturday. “We are thrilled and humbled that the audience came out.”

Sex and the City tops Indy in Box Office Friday

Sex and the City hasn't been a "must see" film for me this summer, but I likely will see it soon. It does please me to see a chick flick rake in the kind of box office normally reserved for teenage boy aimed films. Let's hear it for the girls! It's been getting good reviews, even 3 and a 1/2 stars from the Chicago Tribune.

Variety reports: Warner Bros. and New Line's feature adaptation of former HBO TV series "Sex and the City" grossed a whopping $26.9 million Friday from 3,285 theaters on the strength of women, by far the best opening day ever for a romantic comedy and the sort of gross usually reserved for male-driven tentpoles or family fare.

Friday's gross is the third highest ever for an R-rated pic, slotting behind previous Warner Bros. tentpoles such as 2003's "The Matrix Reloaded" ($42.5 million) and 2007's "300" ($28.1 million).

"Sex and the City" overpowered Memorial Day weekend holdover "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Sarah Jessica Parker at Sex and the City Premiere

Oh, yes she did.