Tim Burton vs Woody Allen

Per my calculations none of the last five films directed by either Tim Burton or Woody Allen made a profit on their theatrical release.  Taking the widest release numbers from boxofficemojo and the production costs from either boxofficemojo or imdb, what's interesting is how the production costs correlate (with some exceptions) to the number of theaters each film is released into.  But, perhaps of more interest, is the fact that Tim Burton's bigger budgeted films mostly star men while Woody Allen's lower budgeted films primarily star women.  Will there ever come a day when women are paid as well as men?

Featured Films Standing the Test of Time #21-30

Featured Films Standing the Test of Time #11-#20

James Bond's Broccoli

The USC School of Cinematic Arts will pay tribute to James Bond movie creator Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli per the Los Angeles Times.  My favorites remain the early films starring Sean Connery, which were also the most profitable.

Do Longer Movie Credits Correlate to the Increase in Movie Costs?

Do your eyes glaze over when you see words like "second assistant accountant, first assistant accountant, aerial ground coordinator, head carpenter, draftsperson, set decoration buyer, stand-by props, supervising painter, cashier, visual consultant, safety advisor: additional photography, U.S., local gang boss, assistant production coordinator, assistant location manager, key tailor, utility stand-in, key craft service, craft service assistant, tailoring, assistant to director, advertising publicity supervisor" on and on running across the screen?

Movie etiquette requires we remain seated for all screen credits and, I must confess, I was thrilled to get a credit on Star Wars in 1977, but I tend to think credits are way to long.

That said, I wish more non movie products provided better credits.  For example, I'm curious at times who the producers of especially great commercials are.  And, now that I've been in book publishing awhile, I know the name on a book cover doesn't always reflect who wrote it.  Some writers are good about crediting where credit is due but just as often the truth, such as 'my wife really wrote this book,' or 'you wouldn't believe what this read like before my editor got hold of it,' or 'this just has my name on it but I didn't write a word,' remains a mystery only a few people know the answer to.

It does seem as if the steady rise in movie production costs has been accompanied by ever lengthening credits, which may partly explain why the costs have gone up so much.  In 1977, my "assistant to director" credit was among 17 "other cast" names - while in 2009, the "other cast" credits for X-Men Origins: Wolverine totaled over 100 names - a 6 fold increase.  Maybe that's one explanation for why Star Wars cost $46.2 million (in 2008 adjusted dollars) while X-Men Origins: Wolverine cost $150 million.

Featured Films Standing the Test of Time #1-#10

These 10 films are the first entry in the countdown of 300 Featured Films selected by George Lucas and explored in depth in the book George Lucas's Blockbusting due out from HarperCollins, January 5, 2010.