No Release Date

Discuss the latest about the second Silent Hill Movie

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Yuki
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No Release Date

Post by Yuki »

Mods, if you feel this would do better in another thread, feel free to move it.

Anyway:
http://michaeljbassett.wordpress.com/20 ... -december/

Bassett has stated they don't have a release date, and that the producers are trying to find a decent time for it.

The post reads to me like the producers know chances are it won't hit a large audience and are thus trying to find a decent time for it to be released, but others I've talked to have said it seems like they regret Bassett being on the project.
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wonder's boy
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Re: No Release Date

Post by wonder's boy »

If they plan to release it early next year, they would be wise to release a date and a trailer, like, yesterday. Since that's obviously not possible, they could still do it before the holidays to reach all those holiday moviegoers and maybe build up a decent crowd before next Spring-ish. Though, they are also obviously concerned with the competition. There's so many movies coming out between now and next Spring/Summer that it's probably like picking a weekend that'll do the least damage. ( :? )

Even then, would it be a good idea to still release a trailer with a more vague release date (say, Spring 2012) for now, and then a more specific one when they finally decide on it? I know I probably just sound like an impatient fan trying to get a trailer, but it really does sound better than the film loosing time on achieving maximum exposure, at least right now.
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JKristine35
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Re: No Release Date

Post by JKristine35 »

It's pretty obvious by now that the producers and/or studio are certain this movie is bad. Geez, I hope they're not considering making it a direct-to-DVD, because this is utterly ridiculous for a theatrical film. :?
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Re: No Release Date

Post by Mr.FLOOT »

I don't think they believe the film is bad, at least I hope they don't.
How long did it take for the first film to get a release date? Surely they should release it early next year to coincide with the HD Collection and Downpour
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Re: No Release Date

Post by JKristine35 »

Mr.FLOOT wrote:I don't think they believe the film is bad, at least I hope they don't.
The only other option is that the producers are lazy and/or don't know how to do their jobs. Considering the two main producers are the same ones for the first film, I don't see where poor management is very likely.
Mr.FLOOT wrote:How long did it take for the first film to get a release date?
The first film announced the date 3 1/2 months after the start of filming. We're now at roughly 9 months since the first day of shooting on Revelation. :/
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Mr.FLOOT
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Re: No Release Date

Post by Mr.FLOOT »

Ah, that does make things suspicious...... Well I don't wanna think about it too much. Don't want to feel like I don't wanna see it. I've been waiting for this since I left the cinema for the first time seeing the first film.
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Re: No Release Date

Post by Survival »

It's already way too late. They can always postpone it once they put some theoretical date out there, but they haven't even done that. It's not like every week of the next years is jam packed with killer theatrical releases. Hopefully they won't release it in January since that's a dumping season for crappy releases and it's already way too late to start properly marketing the movie (though if they really don't like the movie they could just dump it into few theatres without any marketing whatsoever).

Let's not forget this is a 3D release too.
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CrypticIdentity
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Re: No Release Date

Post by CrypticIdentity »

Well, let's look at what else is being released next year: http://www.movieinsider.com/movies/-/2012/

There are a bunch of big franchise movies next year, like the Avengers, The Hobbit, Resident Evil, The Dark Knight Rises, etc., as well as a bunch of stuff being released in 3D. And there are quite a few horror/supernatural movies coming out.

I'm not saying that any of these movies are going to be better than Silent Hill: Revelation. And I'm not saying that the producers aren't stupid for having waited so long to pick a date. But there are other factors besides the quality of the movie that they're probably taking into account, whether they should or not:

1. The name. We on this forum are living in a bubble where the fact that a Silent Hill movie is coming out next year is one of the most exciting things to happen since the first one came out. But "Silent Hill" hasn't been a cultural phenomenon like Spider-Man, or Batman, or Tolkien, or even--as much as I hate to say it--Twilight. Resident Evil is the only movie-based-on-video-game franchise that has stuck around as long as it has, and they're not exactly the best films. What I mean to say is, the Silent Hill name does have the same pull as any of the above in world outside our fandom. Someone who isn't a diehard Batman fan might still go to see The Dark Knight Rises because they've heard how good the films are, or they're familiar enough with the idea of Batman that they know there'll at least be SOMETHING they like. Outside the video game world, it's been 6 years since Silent Hill has been in the public eye.

2. The horror genre. It looks like there are at least two or three horror/supernatural movies coming out a month next year. I don't know if this is the norm or not, but it's possible the producers are thinking about the market being inundated with horror movies--what's the best time for it to come out, when it won't be competing with too many other horror movies and when people won't be utterly sick of ads for horror movies?

And there's probably plenty of other things they have to take into account, but this post is getting long.

It would be awesome if they could trust people to want to see the movie because it's a good story, but everyone's got a different definition of what they think is a good story. As much as we like the Silent Hill story and mythos, a lot of people probably just find it too odd and esoteric for their liking, and they'll look no deeper than "That's just fucking weird." Me, I love stuff that's fucking weird. I don't think anyone would be on this forum if they didn't have a taste for the weird and esoteric. But people don't always respond positively to weird--for too many people, "weird" still means "bad"--and Silent Hill is weird, even for horror movies. Which is part of the reason I love it.

I should wrap up before I start waxing philosophical; I've probably put my foot in my mouth at least five times throughout this post.

Like I said, I'm not saying that the producers haven't dropped the ball when it comes to marketing this movie. Maybe it's just me being hopeful, but I'd hate to think that the reason they haven't placed a date is because they think the movie sucks.
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Re: No Release Date

Post by Survival »

There's quite a few horror movies scheduled for release next year (more than three, but some of them are not wide releases). Releasing SH in summer would be suicide... that's when the big blockbuster players are and that's what killed quite a few releases over the years.

Hovewer waiting is not a smart tactic either. It could've gotten an April release but now The Cabin in the Woods is already there (and in post-3D if I remember correctly). If SH already got a slot reserved already, Lionsgate wouldn't bother placing TBitW anywhere near it at all etc. And this is just an example. It should've had a release date before the production even begun.. that would eliminate the possibily of clashing with other horror releases and, like I said, they can always move the release date.

Something is definitely fishy about this (like I already said in my other posts on this forum).
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Re: No Release Date

Post by FrankRD »

Yeah, next year's busy, and there are a lot of big films coming out, that's all fine and dandy.

Why are they taking so much time choosing something that should've been chosen months ago?

How long have they been looking at the calendar?

All the other movies getting released in 2012 have their release date, so there's really next to no reason why they couldn't have chosen the one for SH:R before other than them being lazy or just not caring for the film.
Last edited by FrankRD on 06 Dec 2011, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: No Release Date

Post by VenusDoom »

I say October or August. Barely anything comes out in August and it's still summer so that's a great time. October is Halloween and people are growing tired of only having a Paranormal Activity in the theater arround Halloween.
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Re: No Release Date

Post by FrankRD »

I wouldn't say August is a good month.

The Bourne Legacy and the Total Recall remake are both being released on the 3rd.

Then on the 17th, The Expendables 2 gets released.

I'd say the movie should be released on April, same month the first movie was released.

Only huge box-office draw I can see there is American Reunion, premiering on the 6th.

Oh and Scary Movie 5 on the 20th, but Scary Movie 4 was a decline from Scary Movie 3 so I wouldn't expect much from this entry.

They're both pretty much not as big as the other titles premiering on August.
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Re: No Release Date

Post by JKristine35 »

@CrypticIdentity, you're correct about those points being things that are important in the process of picking a date - but that's supposed to be done in the development/pre-production phases. In fact, your second point would belong in the Industry section of the film's business plan. The first movie would have had the same problem, but a release date was posted much sooner for that than this one, and it had the same producers.
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Re: No Release Date

Post by CrypticIdentity »

You're absolutely right, which makes me feel like they haven't had much faith in the movie from the get-go. Blaaarg... I could totally see them holding the movie back to 2013 since next year's pretty much filled up. But the longer they wait, the more the first movie becomes a distant memory for the wider audience.

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Yuki
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Re: No Release Date

Post by Yuki »

JKristine35 wrote:It's pretty obvious by now that the producers and/or studio are certain this movie is bad. Geez, I hope they're not considering making it a direct-to-DVD, because this is utterly ridiculous for a theatrical film. :?
If Bassett is to be believed, it's not that they think it's bad. I would put money on that they know it's not going to go mainstream like Resident Evil did, and that they haven't a release date because they are trying to place it on a weekend where it can actually have a shot at staying afloat.

Unusual for a movie? Yeah; normally they have some sort of idea of when they want it to be released.

Cause for such alarm? Not at all, in my mind.
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Re: No Release Date

Post by FrankRD »

But that's not really what we're saying, we are aware of the work it takes to place a not so popular film like a sequel to a horror movie of 2006, but the fact that it hasn't been chosen yet is what alarms us.

It's not really even a trend, I think it's an obligation for every studio to have a release date in pre-production.

And that's why I said there's literally no excuse for them not being able to choose one yet, every movie being released in 2012 already has a release date, so they could've chosen one for SH:R months ago without any sort of problem.

By the way, I found this comment Bassett made in his own blog yesterday pretty interesting:
It’s so expensive to release a film these days that an indie production has to be careful about not starting the process too soon and building interest before the time is right. And though we’re an indie movie, we’re a pretty expensive one so there’s a very cool eye watching the bottom line. Everyone who comes to this site pretty much knows about the movie anyway but for a wider audience who are bombarded with film and entertainment choices, the timing has to be just right. My producers and distributors tell me they generally like a four month lead in for a campaign.
Source: http://michaeljbassett.wordpress.com/20 ... mment-7102

So, is SH:R an indie or not? If it's an indie, then maybe this could start making some sense.
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Re: No Release Date

Post by Kenji »

Frankly, I never expected a sequel movie to ever be put into production, so they can take as long as they damn well please.

If I do get around to seeing it, I'd like to not be embarrassed for doing so. :P
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Re: No Release Date

Post by JKristine35 »

Yuki wrote:If Bassett is to be believed, it's not that they think it's bad. I would put money on that they know it's not going to go mainstream like Resident Evil did, and that they haven't a release date because they are trying to place it on a weekend where it can actually have a shot at staying afloat.

Unusual for a movie? Yeah; normally they have some sort of idea of when they want it to be released.

Cause for such alarm? Not at all, in my mind.
They have so little faith in SHR that they've waited until every single other movie of 2012, both big and small, has been placed. All of the blockbusters announced their dates several months ago, yet they waited until even the smaller, not well known films announced. That's a huge red flag. If they're scared of it competing with even smaller films, that's a major problem.
FrankRD wrote:So, is SH:R an indie or not? If it's an indie, then maybe this could start making some sense.
Being an indie shouldn't have squat to do with the release date. SHR is still backed by a large budget, two seasoned and well recognized producers, and a major distribution company. Further, even if SH wasn't exactly a beloved classic, it did walk with $100 million and widespread name recognition. Though it does explain how Samuel and Don have been able to get away without deciding on a date for so long - studio execs would have told them to stop fucking around months ago.
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Re: No Release Date

Post by Survival »

It is a relatively "small" production. Definitely not an indie though... this is mainstream horror movie financed and produced by a big studio.

The movie is almost finnished... I'd say the complete post will wrap up before the year ends... January if something goes wrong. I'd expect release sometime during spring or early summer (anything before / after is financial suicide). The studio seems to be unsure what to do with the movie (that does not necesarily mean the movie is bad or that they don't like it) they had not much faith in to begin with. I still think April is the perfect month for release... no reason to let the finnished product trapped in limbo until winter.
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Re: No Release Date

Post by jdnation »

We've been over this before. They OBVIOUSLY have a release date in mind. The public (i.e. YOU) doesn't know what it is yet, because as I'd said before and as Bassett has clearly explained now in that comment... they want to do a short but effective advertising campaign.

It's not that the producers don't necessarily have faith in this movie or think it's bad. The movie can be an awesome film, but it's still a small film and still a niche audience film, so no matter how good it may be, the general public would still not likely be interested in it, just as they ignored last time's oscar winner Hurt Locker, and watched Avatar instead, despite the big marketing push it got afterwards. The quality of the film has NOTHING to do with its marketability or acceptance by mainstream audiences. And you have to keep that in mind before you spend money on its marketing campaign and its duration.

If the film is expected to release around the same time frame as the last movie around March/April, then Bassett's comments make sense if they want a 4 month long campaign which begins latest by January, maybe earliest by late December. Let's calm down about this point already. You're not entitled to know it until they are ready to reveal it to you. And again given the small niche nature of the film, no big press sites are going to be hounding it for news and leaks or release dates like they do bigger more well known productions.
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