Weekend Box Office: Katherine Heigl, Horse Lose To Nerd Entrepeneurs

Like a horse race, this weekend had three photo finishers, with a Sunday winner possibly being a bit too premature to call - expect some Monday morning jostling, especially with the holiday. As in many equestrian events, there was a former first place finisher, a starry upstart, and a stoic newcomer with success painted all over its face. And like a few horse races in the past, “Secretariat” was involved.

The Randall Wallace drama, however, was a definite underperformer, and with numbers still in debate, it does look like Disney’s proud thoroughbred is going to bow before last week’s top picture, “The Social Network.” The critically-lauded internet drama has definitely won over a few fair-weather fans with a muscular second weekend hold. Those dubious about a movie garnering success by dealing with a website grown adults should be ashamed of using have reason to reassess their thoughts. Critics don’t really matter anymore unless, in the very rare case of films like “The Social Network” and “Toy Story 3,” the deafening consensus of go-alongs and reverent homers (in this case, a large number of uncritical writers and commentators blindly banging the drum for David Fincher and Pixar as if they were on studios' payrolls) pushes a film’s Q-rating into Joe PBR declaring, “This movie sounds like something Jesus would pay to see!”

Not to say “The Social Network” isn’t an interesting picture, mind you, but the talk has transformed the film from “great picture” to “event movie” status. A second weekend pull isn’t a major factor against weaker competition like this, but if this picture is still doing double-digit weekends by the late October horror boom, it’s time to upgrade from a Strong Success to a People’s Choice, and the year’s first genuine Oscar lock. At this juncture, nothing can be forecast until the film reaches $100 mil., and after two weekends, it still lies on the other side of $50.

There’s a smaller margin of error for actresses than there is for actors, so while some leading men can survive a number of bombs, it only takes a small failure to sink the brand name of a leading lady. And this is two in a row for Katherine Heigl, as “Life As We Know It” landed at #2. It drew enough business to lead the pack on Friday night, but Saturday wasn’t as date-worthy, and the picture looks to land behind Heigl’s “Killers” in the realm of frail openers. While she was starring alongside human wallpaper Josh Duhamel, and the title and premise suggested a vague bummer aura, Warner Bros. used a serious marketing push to get this out to the public. The core audience for a movie where Christina Hendricks dies so Katherine Heigl gets to raise a baby in her empty house liked the film enough to give a strong Cinemascore rating, but others likely realized that it sounded like a premise from Hell and stayed far away.

Expected winner “Secretariat” was a non-starter, possibly shutting the door on a potential awards push. Nobody thought the movie was genuinely good (Ebert did, but he’s very good friends with the author of the book), but with a strong box office showing, “Secretariat” was poised to take the Movie White People Like slot filled by “The Blind Side” last year. A better comparison, obviously, is “Seabiscuit,” which benefited from having Gary Ross (as opposed to Randall Wallace, Oscar-winning writer but oblivious behind the camera), as well as a strong cast that included "Spider-Man" and The Dude. “Secretariat” could only muster chick flick star Diane Lane (playing old, therefore nixing males) and John Malkovich (playing himself, scaring children).

The smallest audience loss in the top ten belongs to “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole.” That opening was considered disastrous, but in its third weekend, the film is inching towards final numbers that at least hint at profitability, though this looks like a money-loser in the long run. Again, 3D helps, as it makes an average hold look muscular, but there isn’t exactly a huge kid market to compete with right now. 3D couldn’t save “My Soul To Take,” which debuted in “Piranha 3D” territory. Studios need to consider that the lure of taking a generic thriller and adding the extra visual dimension doesn’t outweigh the audience’s realization that they have to pay a premium price. Ideally, this development should lead to lowering, or maybe getting rid of, the surcharge altogether, as it’s a cynical process that potentially alienates viewers, but when the format is attached to a hit, it artificially raises grosses so a $50 million weekend becomes a $60 million weekend. Studios will never ditch a tool that helps inflate grosses, mostly because of vanity. But they might stop tagging it on tepid-looking Wes Craven thrillers that have sat on the shelf for a couple of years.

The WB's “The Town” was close behind, itself losing a small audience from last weekend, and after four weekends, it's threatening to hit $90 million provided weekday grosses remain robust. The possibility of “The Town” entering the Oscar race remains small, but the box office will likely keep Ben Affleck’s heist drama in the race. No such hope for "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” which is quickly making its way out of the top ten. Even during its first weekend, it was looking less like a bonafide hit/event, and more like a smash-and-grab based on brand name recognition. In other words, a typical Fox picture. But getting this over $50 million isn’t bad at all, and there should be a DVD profit if international receipts remain strong. “Easy A” is staving off small audience losses as well, close to hitting $50 million: another Screen Gems winner. It again outpaced “You Again,” which has hung around in the top ten only to be backslapped weekly by the Emma Stone comedy.

Did anyone know "It's Kind of a Funny Story" had a semi-wide release this weekend? In a seeming last-minute decision, Focus Features pushed the indie into 742 engagements for a feeble per-screen, and a $2 million total to place outside of the top ten. The premise is a definite turn-off, and the title is more than a little vague, so a hard sell was needed, and Focus' strategy was more than questionable. Zack Galifianakis has been racking up the credits, but like "Hangover" co-star Bradley Cooper, he hasn't exactly broken through yet, despite a colorful mix of roles. Galifianakis, to his credit, is at least extending his range and doing some occasional quality work, while Cooper is not exactly working as leading man superhero. Both of them need "The Hangover 2."

In indie cinemas, "Waiting For Superman" is starting to break through, with a $1.4 million gross after three weeks of aggressive platforming. The per-screen returned to a solid level after spectacular showings in previous sessions, but the film is poised to be one of the year's biggest docs, if not on a par with Davis Guggenheim's previous work. "Catfish" is swimming downstream, however, and while screens are still being added, the approach by Rogue Pictures remains tentative, as the film continues to bleed viewers. The highly-buzzed doc might close under $5 million.

There were a couple of larger debuts on the indie stage. "Stone" and "Nowhere Boy" hit on six and four screens, respectively, and both had steady per-screen averages, landing at $73k and $56k. Success could come if the expansion is played right, but Overture and the Weinsteins aren't exactly in the best shape. The best per-screen average came from Charles Ferguson's "Inside Job," which exploded on only two screens with a strong $21k per. The news wasn't so good for the noxious "I Spit On Your Grave" remake, which sneaked onto twelve screens and stole $33k, while Stephen Frears' "Tamara Drewe" was lost in the shuffle, with $19k at four engagements. Meanwhile, it might be bad news for "Buried" - the Ryan Reynolds drama did $200k in weekend three, but has registered terrible per-screen numbers in each week, likely threatening the planned expansion Lionsgate was eying. Support your local indie theater, boys and girls.

1. The Social Network (Sony) - $15.5 million ($46 mil.)
2. Life As We Know It, Judging From Terrible TV Shows (WB) - $14.6 million
3. Horsey Movie (Disney) - $12.6 million
4. Legend Of The Owls: The Hooting Of Ga'Hoole (WB) - $7 million ($39 mil.)
5. My Soul To Take (Universal) - $6.9 million
6. The Town (WB) - $6.4 million ($74 mil.)
7. Wall Street: Money Presses Snooze (Fox) - $4.6 million ($44 mil.)
8. Easy A (Sony) - $4.2 million ($48 mil.)
9. Case 39 (Paramount) - $2.6 million ($10 mil.)
10. You Again (Disney) - $2.5 million ($21 mil.)

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Zach Galifianakis, Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden Talk 'It's Kind Of A Funny Story'

Directing duo Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden made a name for themselves with the Sundance hit and Ryan Gosling tour-de-force "Half Nelson," about a history teacher/drug addict who attempts to help a troubled student, but ends up receiving the help instead.

The film was powerful and affecting, and expectations were high for whatever would end up being their sophomore effort. The team decided to throw everyone a curveball, literally, as their next film "Sugar" followed the rise and fall of a Dominican baseball player chosen to play in the American minor leagues. Employing non-actors and beginning with a superficial tone that fizzles into realism towards the end, they proved to be the some of the smartest filmmakers in the country.

While the two films were very different from one another, it was assumed that they would continue to tackle these dark subjects, each with distinct sensibilities. Color us surprised when it turned out their next film would be a teen comedy in the vein of John Hughes, starring Keir Gilchrist from "The United States of Tara" and featuring the likes of Zach Galifianakis, Lauren Graham and comedian Jim Gaffigan. "It's Kind Of A Funny Story," based on the novel by Ned Vizzini, chronicles a brief stint at a mental hospital by 16-year-old Craig, who attempts suicide after crumbling under the pressures of life.

We caught it at TIFF and thought it was decent, albeit a little disappointing considering how much we normally love their work, but chances are audiences in its age demographic will thoroughly enjoy it. The movie manages to be funny while also refraining from the hipness that often plagues recent teen efforts. We sat down with both directors and actor Galifianakis to talk what drew them to the project, how they work together, and their take on modern medicine and depression.

There certainly are more directing duos than there ever were (Duplasses, Jonathan Dayton/Valerie Faris, Coens, Dardennes, etc.), but it's understandably a very delicate relationship which requires maturity and patience. "We started out just making movies on video, just the two of us. We're not gonna pretend it's always rosy, but we try to work those things out early in the process, in the writing and the pre-production so we don't have people watching us bicker. It's behind closed doors," said Fleck. It seems like the partnership is working out for them, now with three feature films under their belt and numerous documentaries and shorts also out there. Boden elaborated, speaking of the intense work that comes before shooting commences: "By the time we get to set, we've written the whole script together for years, we've gone through shot listing together, we've had all the meetings with key collaborators, we've had rehearsals, it's like if we're not on the same page by then, we'll never be on the same page."
As for what drove them to the project, it may have been the fact that their next project, "Special Topics in Calamity Physics," was caught in Miramax hell, and they were eager to do something new. Why the book specifically? Boden says the idea of telling a story through the eyes of a teen, one that dealt with serious issues but in a light way, got them excited. "It just felt like it had the spirit of the John Hughes movies that we loved when we were growing up and that were really meaningful to us," she said. And that influence is apparent in its ensemble nature and its realistic and non-juvenile teen performances. Fleck spoke a bit more on why the drastically different direction and audience, with 'Funny Story' being almost a gateway drug into their earlier work. "I read a book somewhere when Coppola made 'Rumble Fish,' not that this is 'Rumble Fish,' but that he wanted to make a Fellini movie for teenagers. That sentence alone is like, mind boggling, how is that possible? This isn't an art film, but we wanted to make a movie that had serious dramatic moments and was also playful and fun and people will hopefully remember as they grow older and hopefully go back and look at some of our earlier work and get excited about that too."
Aside from being more commercial and aiming at a different audience, there were also new areas for the team to explore, such as working with visual effects. There are often animations that take place in the protagonist's head; drawings that take a life of their own and become centerpieces in the film. "There's a big learning curve, I learned a lot on this movie, there's a lot that's out of your hands. You have people that are running the visual effects and you're just sitting back and thinking... 'I hope they know what they're doing!'" Boden said, laughing. Most likely a liberating and trust-building exercise, the effects turned out perfect and added another layer to a picture which could have felt overly-claustrophobic given the singular setting.
Galifianakis spoke about his decision to join the film as the more grounded character of Bobby, as opposed to what he often plays, one that is more exaggerated for comedic purposes. "This character to me was the most similar in nature to how I am in real life which doesn't speak very high for him," he smirked, "... but it just is. I think that this reality we live in is a joke, and funny, and I think Bobby probably felt that too. That this world that he's in, his world outside of those walls, is hard for people to adapt. For example, you're sitting in a cafe, I can take a picture of you and download it on my computer, and because of your facemap, I can find out whatever I need to about you. Given all that, if you think about it too much, it can fuck with you. And I do that." While Zach hasn't had a breakdown as serious as Bobby's, there's a level of truth he brings to the performance (towards the end of the film, his subtle performance is nothing short of impressive) which should open new doors for the comedic actor.
He wasn't the only one to find something personal to relate to, either. Boden nudged Fleck to speak of a certain scene which he pulled from his own experience. "There's a scene with the Sanders music playing under the flashback of Craig and Aaron riding their bikes around the city. There was a day where I was just riding around in the city and ended up at a record shop and was just in the jazz section, and said screw it, I'm going to buy a jazz album I know nothing about, and I bought it based on the album cover work. 'Journey to the one' I think is what it's called by Sanders, and that song is what plays during that sequence, one of the songs from the album, it's one of my favorite albums, just the spirit of those carefree days." The carefree spirit, regardless of the setting of a mental hospital, rings true for the rest of the score, done by indie-rock Canadians Broken Social Scene. The band had previously worked on "Half Nelson," and Boden spoke of their desire to use a non-traditional score and thought the band would be a good fit for the movie. "They're our favorite band, and it felt like a good opportunity to work with them again, we called them up and felt them out and they were interested."
Though the film is relatively lighthearted, it does tackle weighty topics and issues, such as a society hopped up on drugs and depression. "I know people close to me that are on things, they need it to get through the day, make them focus. I think it can have a tranquilizing effect, it might put you in focus but it can zone you out. Obviously there are people with major problems that benefit from these things. But I think sometimes we're over-medicated. You're supposed to be fucked up," noted Galifianakis. Maybe there is a tendency to request medication for problems that could be overcome otherwise, but Boden again stresses the fact that some people need these things to overcome. "I do think there sometimes is over prescription of medication, but that said, I do not think across the board that psych medicine should never be used." More so, the filmmakers seem to be tackling the issue of secrecy while on depression medicine, where people seem to be ashamed for being on them. "An important part of the book says that the use of it is not something that children or adults should be embarrassed by, depression is not something people should be embarrassed by, medication and therapy is something that a lot of people go through and getting help for it isn't a bad thing."

Most importantly, is the author happy with their adaptation? "Yeah, assuming he's not lying to us, he loves the movie," joked Fleck, "which can be a little nerve-wracking at first because he was not involved with the script, and when we presented him with the film, we made a lot of changes and he was really supportive, and got that he made his book and now it's inspiring this movie." With the author's seal of approval, a strong cast and a big push by Focus Features, the movie might be the indie hit everyone involved is hoping for. Dealing with issues that most teen films tend to ignore or over-dramatize, "It's Kind Of A Funny Story" is a welcome addition to the genre and a new, fresh step for Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden. The film opens this Friday, October 8th in limited release only (ed. note, the film was set to go wide then suddenly shrunk to limited, late this week. Unfortunately, the middling reviews, probably didn't help).

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In Theaters: 'Secretariat,' 'Life As We Know It,' 'Stone'

With great word-of-mouth spreading for last week's 'The Social Network," the box-office race is wide open this week. Three films open wide, all targeting vastly different audiences this Columbus Day weekend. First up, Disney gives us the family horse-racing drama "Secretariat," which looks to capture the hungry "The Blind Side" crowd and drum up some award attention. The rom-com "Life as We Know It" is less generic than it looks, but ultimately falls victim to convention. We know better than to count out Katherine Heigel at the box office, though. Wes Craven returns with 3D Halloween entry "My Soul to Take," which has been generating zero buzz prior to its release. Interesting options in limited release, the Edward Norton/Robert DeNiro crime drama "Stone" isn't quite up to their their best work, but will leave you thinking afterwards. Zack Galifanakis stretches his skills in the mental hospital dramedy "It's Kind of a Funny Story," while young John Lennon is given the warts-and -all treatment in "Nowhere Boy." Your best bets this weekend may be the fascinating financial crisis documentary "Inside Job" or if you're looking for something a little more pulpy, the British gangster tale "Down Terrace."

In Wide Release: Disney puts its horse in the Oscar race this week with the crowd-pleasing true story "Secratariat," directed by "Braveheart" scribe Randall Wallace. Diane Lane stars as a bored housewife who takes over her family's Virginia stables, even though she has no knowledge of the horse-racing business. With the help of a veteran trainer, played by John Malkovich, they overcome the odds and develop the first triple crown winner in 25 years and arguably the best racehorse of all time. We posted our review earlier in the week, finding it to be a handsome film, but wholly predictable and slightly boring. We can't really see the film competing at the Oscars like 2003's "Seabiscuit," but as far as Hollywood entertainment goes, you could do a lot worse.RT: 64%Metacritic: 60

Katherine Heigel and Josh Duhamel headline the romantic comedy "Life as We Know It." The stars play unfriendly acquaintances who are suddenly thrown together in parenthood when their mutual best friends die in an accident. In respect to their dead friends, they move in together and start a tentative life, even though they still hate each others guts. We reviewed the film, surprised by some of the more dramatic turns the story takes and the charm of the lead performances, but let down by the conventional tidy conclusion to a messy tale. RT: 27% Metacritic: 40.

Also out wide is horror great Wes Craven's first 3D film, "My Soul to Take" which he also wrote. The film tells the story of a serial killer who returns to his hometown to terrorize a group of teens born on the night he died. The studio didn't screen the film for critics, which is never a good sign, so if you see it, let us know if we're missing anything special.

In Limited Release: Edward Norton and Robert DeNiro, co-stars in 2001's "The Score," team up once again in "Stone." Norton plays a convicted arsonist who plans to use his beautiful wife (Milla Jovovich) to seduce his hard-ass parole officer and secure his early release. While the movie is thought-provoking and has some very strong elements, notably Norton's performance, we were let down by the lack of freshness or insight (check our review here). RT: 48% Metacritic: 54.

The directing duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck ("Half Nelson," Sugar") take their first stab at the mainstream with an adaptation of Ned Vizzini's novel, "It's Kind Of A Funny Story." Keir Gilchrist stars as Craig, a teenager who convinces his doctor to admit him into the mental ward of the hospital where he is shown the ropes by Bobby, played by Zach Galifianakis. As we noted in our review from Toronto, despite a first-rate cast, the film meets its early comparisons to "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Breakfast Club" with a bare minimum of inspiration. RT: 59% Metacritic: 63.

"Nowhere Boy" is director Sam Taylor Wood's take on the coming-of-age of John Lennon and the events that led to the founding of The Beatles. Aaron Johnson ("Kick-Ass") stars as an unsympathetic Lennon, who as we wrote in our review "is at first a brash rebel dancing on the grave of propriety, and later an apple-cheeked thug with an authority problem." We weren't moved by the stock characters and shaky casting, but critics-at-large seem to be responding with plenty of good reviews coming in. RT: 80% Metacritic: 62.

Also out this week in limited: the fantastic documentary "Inside Job," from "No End In Sight" director Charles Ferguson. The film is an eye-opening and infuriating look into the financial crisis, with all the suspense of a great heist film. We reviewed the doc back at the Toronto Film Festival, so check that out here. RT: 87% Metacritic: 89. The fresh and darkly comic British gangster tale "Down Terrace" may not be on par with recent classics of the genre like "A Prophet" and "Animal Kingdom," but it's definitely worth a look this week (our review here). RT: 87%. The horror remake "I Spit on Your Grave" may be of interest to some fans of the original, but as we note in our review, the new film is ugly, inhuman, and irredeemable. Last week's "Let Me In" is much more deserving of your horror dollar this week. RT: 30% Metacritic: 24.

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The Drums, Common, Black Sabbath, Queen, The XX & More: All The Music Featured In 'It's Kind Of A Funny Story'

Alright, to keep it brief. You've already seen the soundtrack tracklist, you've heard some of the music and you know that Broken Social Scene wrote the score, plus some original songs for Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's upcoming coming-of-age dramedy, "It's Kind Of A Funny Story" which stars Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis and on-the-rise starlet Emma Stone.

The soundtrack does feature contemporary indie bands like The Wowz, Pink Mountaintops, The Middle East, '80s punk from The Damned, A Pixies' cover on piano (Maxence Cyrin's "Where Is My Mind"), soul R&B funk from Little Denise (the awesome "Check Me Out") and Egyptian funk (Rachid Taha's "Habina") to name a few.

But music is an integral part of the film and there's much much more. Indie-rockers will be happy to hear the name-check mention of Vampire Weekend, plus use of The xx, The Drums and Dead Oceans, classicists will enjoy the mentions of Dylan, the standout use of Queen/Bowie, Black Sabbath, hip-hop heads will dig the Common and Method Man trainspotting and deep cut soul enthusiast will surely love the appearances of Kenny Smith, the aforementioned Little Denise, Lil` Lavair and The Fabulous Jades ("Cold Heat"). There's plenty of music in the film and it's all well utilized. Anywhoo, if you're curious. All the music is listed below. The soundtrack dropped on Tuesday (September 28 via Rhino Records) and the film hits theaters October 8.

All The Music Featured In "It's Kind Of A Funny Story"
“Chameleon” - Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning
“No Smiling Darkness/Snake Charmers Association” - Broken Social Scene
“Weddings” - Broken Social Scene
“Ambulance For The Ambience”- Broken Social Scene
“Millionaire” - Izza Kizza
“Busy Shoppers” - Len Stevens
“Let’s Go Surfing” -The Drums
“Smash It Up” - The Damned
“Happy Today” -- The WoWz
“Tourist In Your Town” - Pink Mountaintops
“Icarus” - Dead Oceans
“Intro” - The xx
“The Breaks” -Kurtis Blow
“2-4-6-8 Motorway” - The Tom Robinson Band
“Murderous Assault” -Harry Lubin
“Don’t Forget Your Torch” --Jon Durnie Brooks
“Soledad” - Pharoah Sanders
“Where You Go” - Elden Calder
“Beym Rebin’s Sude” --Robin Jeffrey and Roddy Skeaping
“Under Pressure” --Queen & David Bowie
“The Ills” --Mayer Hawthorne
“Da Rockwilder” --Method Man and Redman
“Lost In The Galaxy” --Harry Lubin
“Where Is My Mind?” -- Maxence Cyrin (Pixies cover)
“It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” --Bob Dylan (only referenced in dialogue)
“Blood” - Middle East
“It’s Alright” - Black Sabbath
“Cold Heat” - Lil’ Lavair and The Fabulous Jades
“We Have Each Other”- Kenny Smith
“Check Me Out”- Little Denise
“Habina” - Rachid Taha
“Be (Intro)” - Common
“Major Label Debut (Fast)” - Broken Social Scene
“Not At My Best” - Broken Social Scene

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First Listen: New Broken Social Scene Tracks From 'It's Kind Of A Funny Story'

Earlier this month we noted the soundtrack details to Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's mental-illness dramedy, "It's Kind Of A Funny Story" (read our TIFF review here).

The album features two new Broken Social Scene songs, plus cuts from the The Damned, Method Man and Redman, Pink Mountaintops and The Middle East.

Arriving on September 28 via Rhino Records, while the disc only contains one iTunes bonus instrumental cut ("Sweet Number One") -- BSS composed the film's entire score as well -- eight songs from the soundtrack are currently streaming at Spinner.

The previously unreleased Broken Social song, "Not At My Best," is very '8os, seemingly a mix of R.E.M. meets the Mekons or The Hoodoo Gurus, but it's pretty rad if simply for being so different from what the band normally does. It's also right at home with the film's tone which is said to be highly influenced by John Hughes.

"It's Kind Of A Funny Story" hits theaters October 8. If you're at all a fan of the bands involved, you should check out the Spinner stream.

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