I got my list of review films through the other day and it included what looked to be a fantastic day on Monday with both The Simpsons Movie and Transformers on the same day. Not only that, but Abby was off, too! This kind of miracle almost never happens. So, imagine my dismay when the following morning another mail comes through telling me that Fox have banned all but the print media from attending the screening.
When a company goes out of its way to stop reviews from getting out before launch it usually means that the film is utter pants. Now, I've seen trailers for The Simpsons and it looks rather good, so what's really at stake here? I mean, it's not like there are likely to be any big spoilers we can give away, is it? Even if there are, what's to stop a newspaper hack from posting a review on the paper's site or going onto his personal blog or logging into a site anonymously and doing just that, anyway? Are they somehow more trustworthy than I am? Apart from anything else, you can already buy the damn thing on DVD! Sometimes you just gotta respect the pirates ability to get their hands on things.
I'm trying to get beyond this because I want to see this film, but just know that the audiences for it will be filled with my worst nightmares. If I don't get along this will mean it'll be ages before I see it. If I even make it to a cinema.
***UPDATE***
Just as I posted this I got a mail from a colleague saying that the list has been extended to broadcast media. Apart from the fact that the Internet IS a broadcast media in many ways, it seems that it's discrimination against online reviewing. Why don't they want reviews on the net? Is this just some petty swipe at the net and against pirates? A lot of these suits have so little comprehension of computers, the Net & how they work that they seem to be unable to differentiate between legitimate workers and pirates illegally copying discs and file-sharing on them.
***UPDATE 2***
At the Transformers preview today I heard from quite a few journos who didn't get to go and quite a few who had decided not to go after the way many others were treated. This latter group cited friends of theirs who were invited to the London press screenings only to discover that all they were shown was 10 minutes of film.
How to get good reviews, boys!
And, no, I didn't get in and, no I probably shan't bother, either. Let's face it, it's no more than an extended episode and has nothing that makes seeing it in a cinema essential. That's not sour grapes, by the way, it's always been my attitude to going to the cinema. I want something to make it worthwhile getting off my lazy ass and spending all that money to sit with proles munching sweets and talking on phones. This doesn't qualify.
When a company goes out of its way to stop reviews from getting out before launch it usually means that the film is utter pants. Now, I've seen trailers for The Simpsons and it looks rather good, so what's really at stake here? I mean, it's not like there are likely to be any big spoilers we can give away, is it? Even if there are, what's to stop a newspaper hack from posting a review on the paper's site or going onto his personal blog or logging into a site anonymously and doing just that, anyway? Are they somehow more trustworthy than I am? Apart from anything else, you can already buy the damn thing on DVD! Sometimes you just gotta respect the pirates ability to get their hands on things.
I'm trying to get beyond this because I want to see this film, but just know that the audiences for it will be filled with my worst nightmares. If I don't get along this will mean it'll be ages before I see it. If I even make it to a cinema.
***UPDATE***
Just as I posted this I got a mail from a colleague saying that the list has been extended to broadcast media. Apart from the fact that the Internet IS a broadcast media in many ways, it seems that it's discrimination against online reviewing. Why don't they want reviews on the net? Is this just some petty swipe at the net and against pirates? A lot of these suits have so little comprehension of computers, the Net & how they work that they seem to be unable to differentiate between legitimate workers and pirates illegally copying discs and file-sharing on them.
***UPDATE 2***
At the Transformers preview today I heard from quite a few journos who didn't get to go and quite a few who had decided not to go after the way many others were treated. This latter group cited friends of theirs who were invited to the London press screenings only to discover that all they were shown was 10 minutes of film.
How to get good reviews, boys!
And, no, I didn't get in and, no I probably shan't bother, either. Let's face it, it's no more than an extended episode and has nothing that makes seeing it in a cinema essential. That's not sour grapes, by the way, it's always been my attitude to going to the cinema. I want something to make it worthwhile getting off my lazy ass and spending all that money to sit with proles munching sweets and talking on phones. This doesn't qualify.
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