An Entry That Is, In a Way, Partly About My Mother

[cleolinda]

Pirates Sets Another Record--non-holiday Monday gross. The blurb also mentions that people are speculating that POTC2 could surpass Titanic. I'm not italicizing the title there because I'm supposed to--I'm saying, "they're saying it could SURPASS TITANIC WTF." I have been one of this movie's biggest cheerleaders, and I knew it was going to be big, but there's a point where even I have to step back and drop a whoa. To put it in perspective, though, POTC2 has already made $180-something million as of yesterday; Titanic's U.S. gross was "only" $600M; and there's still three or four, maybe five, weeks left in the summer for most kids. And I really, really think that women and kids are going to drive this one. My mother hasn't been able to talk about anything else for two weeks now, and she's not like me; she likes to see certain movies in the theater (she was really glad I took her to V for Vendetta by the end of it; she loved MI3. So... explosions, is what I'm saying), but she ends up seeing even movies she's excited about on DVD because she just can't get out to the theater with her schedule. All I heard this fall was Syriana this and Munich that, and she only just got the former on DVD a couple of weeks ago, and still hasn't seen Munich.

What I'm getting around to is that my mother actually entertained the idea of going to the early-bird Thursday midnight screening of Pirates. The only reason she didn't was that she had to be up at crack-thirty to go to work the next day, and there was some serious hesitation even on that point. I'm pretty sure she would have just called in sick if it weren't a new job she'd just started. Keep in mind, this is a woman who won't even go to a movie after two p.m. because it would interfere with dinner, which in turn would interfere with her getting to bed on time. I attribute this purely to the power of the Depp. Seriously. She couldn't give a damn about any of his other movies, as far as I can tell--well, I think she liked Sleepy Hollow, but I think she's forgotten he was even in that. It is all about Captain Jack Sparrow, as far as she is concerned. And maybe some kraken on the side.

I'm just saying: if Johnny Depp has this new, sudden power over my mother, what fey thrall does he exert over the rest of the country?

Meanwhile, the POTC3 spoiler picture I linked? Some of the commenters in that entry have reported that the Mandarin characters on the jacket say "pirate"--hai dao, "ocean robber." Which just makes the picture funnier, IMO.

(You know, I just went and looked over the IMDB page for the movie again, and I'm irrationally pleased to see that both Scarlett and Giselle ["I'm not sure I deserved that"] are not only in all three movies, but are being played by the same actresses. I just really like them, for some reason.)

Meanwhile, I feel a little better today, a little less stabby. I went out for a swim today, but that lasted all of about five minutes because I could actually feel my skin burning. I did go and check, though, and no, I don't have any aversion to garlic, so it's probably the increase in my Zoloft dosage that's aggravating that (it definitely has made me sun-sensitive over the last few years I've taken it).

Linky linky:

From akathorne: Signs you are not my new roommate.

2006 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest winners: "Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean." I... I actually kind of like that part about the shovel.

The article's a bit old, but: Why you don't want to use Overstock.com. Short version: your orders won't arrive, the customer service is atrocious, and the CEO is craaaaaaazy.

How not to commit pseuicide: "R-Renee's gone...They are trying to revive her with a shot that might get her heart to beat again, but right now she's gone... :'( :'( :'("

Comments

[palmetto.livejournal.com]

Well, crap. Who other than Overstock has Firefly on DVD for $25?

[lezopez.livejournal.com]

But... the extra frowny faces means that it's extra tragic! How can you not take that seriously?!


Mmmm the Power of Depp. Second only to the Power of Cheese.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Cheese just wants to love you, you know.

[ann1962]

Gilbert Grape spawned good stuff.

[jigglykat.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one in love with Scarlett and Giselle. I'm currently working on a comic about the two of them that will hopefully be posted at some point in the near future. Would you like a linkies when I'm done?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hey, sure. Actually, forget Elizabeth--I'm pretty sure they're who Jack should end up with. Like, both of them.

[headtotoe.livejournal.com]

ZOMG. I love Scarlett and Giselle. Partly because they have the two coolest names ever. xD

"..and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean."

Dude, I wish *I* was that clever. =P

[mekania.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Pirates can overtake Titanic (in the US. Worldwide...I'm not so confident).

Also, Scarlett and Giselle are awesome. I was happy to see them return in DMC.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Actually...

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2112&p=.htm

"In its maiden voyage to seven territories, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest hijacked the foreign box office over the weekend with a lusty $46.6 million, nearly quadrupling what its predecessor opened to in those same markets. Not even the final matches of the box-office-draining World Cup could stop it."

[blue_ant]

I actually ordered a snowboarding DVD from Overstock last fall and not only was it cheaper than anywhere else, it actually got to my apartment the day it was released (no, I don't understand that one either). That's the only time I've used them, though.

[kosher-jenny.livejournal.com]

the blurb also mentions that people are speculating that POTC2 could surpass Titanic. I'm not italicizing the title there because I'm supposed to--I'm saying, "they're saying it could SURPASS TITANIC WTF." I have been one of this movie's biggest cheerleaders, and I knew it was going to be big, but there's a point where even I have to step back and drop a whoa. To put it in perspective, though, POTC2 has already made $180-something million as of yesterday

Permit me to say this: HOSHIT

I mean, I seriously did not expect it to be this successful. That's insane. If anything I wasn't expecting DMC to surpass the first movie in terms of $$, much less "we shall break all known box office records and movie critics* all shall dispair"



*Psh. Screw 'em. I liked the movie.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I know! I was expecting a good $400M run, not "the three minute mile of movie grosses," which is what someone on TV called it--as in, it may not be possible to make money faster than this one has, unless they open it in a shitload more theaters.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

The Overstock news makes me sad, because IU've only ordered from them twice and gotten nifty stuff right away at great prices. *sniffles*

[breklor.livejournal.com]

R-Renee's gone...

I love that, in the depths of her sorrow, she's got time for the extra couple of keystrokes to show you that she's crying and stammering. I can imagine the wireless operator aboard Titanic keying:

[kosher-jenny.livejournal.com]

*snerk*

[tifaria.livejournal.com]

Huh. I've used Overstock a few times and never had any problems with them. Granted, it's been a while, and aparrently things have changed in the meantime. Still, that makes me sad.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

I keep clicking on your links to these weirdass fandom wanks, and I have to say they're more entertaining than actual fanfiction to the power of ten. I have no idea what the motivations of these people are (practical jokes? attention-grabbing? boredom?), but they are hilarious.

I especially like how they all "stutter" when they type. Honestly, "To tell you the truth I-I don't think I'm going to make it..." is not how you'd type if you bearly had the strength. In fact, you would not type at all. Not only does my sense of humor come up, but also my sense of bullshit.

Gods, it's funny.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

On that note, the Fandom Wank wiki is the most entertaining thing ever. It's just as big a timesuck as the real Wikipedia, but CRAZIER.

http://wiki.fandomwank.com/index.php/Main_Page

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

I plan to see this movie at LEAST a couple more times, because (1) fighty!Kiera and (2) to spite a certain SF poster.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Now, let's be nice. Which is why I post what I want to say in that thread and then get the hell out, because my temper's been kind of hot the last week or so.

[amynta.livejournal.com]

"Meanwhile, the POTC3 spoiler picture I linked?"

I assume you're talking about the one with Jack in the Chinese costume, so... I heard somewhere that the picture's a photoshop. :\ I forget exactly where I heard it though, so I'm really not sure.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

See, I wondered that myself at first, because he does look a little bit pastede on yay, but the thing is, there's a lot of elements that don't look photoshopped. Like, his compass and all his rings are there; the Mandarin has been independently verified to have something to do with pirates, so I don't know where someone would have randomly gotten the outfit from to photoshop on. I totally understand what you mean, though, because it does have a slightly unreal quality to it.

[skyblade.livejournal.com]

I think $400+ million is where the movie's going to end up. (And could conceivably, be in the top three. It looks like it's tracking for a plus 50 million drop this weekend, which is, you know, normal (and even very good all due considering) but Titanic's strength was it staying at 20 million per weeeknd for months...and doing so at a time when opening at 20 million probably meant you were headed for 100 million.

It would need a 4.4 multiplier to topple Titanic...and I don't think that's going to happen, as Shrek 2 something like a flat 4.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I said somewhere up there in the other comments that I had originally expected something more like $400M, since the first one made $300M.

What are the top three off hand, btw?

[turtlespeaks.livejournal.com]

Depp has crazy sex awesome magic working, because dude, it's been barely out a week and I've already seen it 4 times. And I plan on at least two more viewings.

And, I, seriously, am not yet bored of it. Everytime I look for something new, everytime I see something I didn't see before, and everytime I laugh in the same places. POTC movies are just, plain, fun! <3

Also, I know people get annoyed with the cannibal scene in the beginning, but what a lot of people don't realize, I think, is that POTC is actually playing with the whole Pirates genre. Read Pirate lore books, watch old pirate movies, read histories and such. What POTC does is take old Pirate cliches and satire, re-live, and re-do them. It's all part of the world. And it was one of the things that amused me the most when I first watched it. It's like we are getting a taste of what old pirate adventure stories are told like.

*grins* Oh, god, I am just too much of a geek for these movies.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Read Pirate lore books, watch old pirate movies, read histories and such. What POTC does is take old Pirate cliches and satire, re-live, and re-do them. It's all part of the world.

Having been forced to read Melville's Typee, I probably found the cannibal parts to be way funnier than they should have been. In other words: yes.

[malanai.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the article on Overstock. I was planning to buy a large and pricey item from them, but maybe now I'll get it somewhere else.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_ravengirl/]

Man I just wasted over an hour of my life reading all of those message boards in that fandomwank thing O_O An hour that I will never get back. And yet I juust kept reading, I can't help it.. the utter stupidity of it draws me in! D: D: D:

[cygnus.livejournal.com]

That last link... is blindingly why I fear fanfic.

[prncssaurora.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA! That FW pretty much made my week. The stutter-typing, the sock puppets, my faith in humanity being utterly and completely torn to shreds, set on fire, and the ashy remains being spat upon... comic gold!

[azuresquirrel.livejournal.com]

As far as I'm concerned, Johnny is the sole reason the first movie was so successful. Sure, it had a great script and great sets/costumes and great acting and lots of fun, but would the many hoards of females go to see a movie based on a Disney theme-park ride if it didn't have Johnny Depp in it? I know I wouldn't have. I figured "It may be crap, but it's an excuse to watch Johnny for two hours!" That the movie actually turned out to be entertaining was a plus!

And as a long-time F_W lurker, Best. Pseuicide. Ever.

[lotusbiosm.livejournal.com]

Well, I think there were a combination of reasons the first was so successful. I was doubtful that a film based on a themepark ride could possibly be good. But it had Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush, and I respect them both as actors, and respected them to choose smart scripts. And then my boyfriend at the time, who's a bit of a movie buff, told me that he'd seen it and it was good enough that he'd take me to see it again.
So I saw it, and it was great. I think that the first PotC had great word-of-mouth to help it succeed, and the second one opened big on the strength of the first one, and then good word of mouth on top of that.

[apocalyptically.livejournal.com]

And I really, really think that women and kids are going to drive this one.

Exactly! The marketing folks really screwed up when they chose the previews... in order to see Captain Jack, I had to sit through trailers featuring Will Ferrell and racecars, Mark Wahlberg and footballs, and Ashton Kutcher and, like, tidal waves or something. My friend leaned over and whispered, "I don't think they're doing this right."

[thegeneralerin.livejournal.com]

that coast guard one looked good until ashton kutcher showed up. boohiss.

[thegeneralerin.livejournal.com]

"So... explosions, is what I'm saying"

A women after my own heart!

[drpeprfan.livejournal.com]

I've still only seen POTC2 once, and I find I love it the more I discuss how awesome it was with other people. Your mother is awesome! It is the power of Depp! Though, whereas in the first movie how it was pretty good actors plus one amazing Depp plus a so-so plot with Depp stealing the show, it was kind of like...all the other actors and writers stepped it up to match Depp, so it was like an awesome one-ring circus with Depp as the ringleader rather than a one-ring circus that sucks with Depp as the one thing that redeemed the entire show.

And...I know you (Cleo) and I have had mini-Hans gushing sessions before, so I want desperately to know if you've listened to the soundtrack yet. Because it's AMAZING! I bought it yesterday and it's all I've listened to. Dinner is Served is possibly the best (eh, most amusing one), I love Jack Sparrow's song and The Kraken...and Tia Dalma...heck, I love them all. But gah, the variations on the theme! The heartbeat in the song! The music box! The carousel music! The cello! The jig with the banjo, accordion, mandolin, and who knows what else! And every song sounds different (unlike the first one, I love it to pieces, but come on, the blasting brass/percussion was a wee bit repetitive...I blame Klaus Bladelt for that, haha) We SO need to start a Hans Zimmer fan club...because I mean, it's one of the best soundtracks I've heard, and I have heard a ton. "That Hans is so hot right now." :-D

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Have I listened to it? Girl, please--for the last week and a half, all I've been listening to is 1) "The Kraken," 2) "Jack Sparrow," 3) "Wheel of Fortune," and 4) "Dinner Is Served." I think all I listened to before I actually saw the movie was "The Kraken," obsessively, so when that part of the movie (specifically, the part where the Kraken vaporizes the ship Will is on?) arrived I nearly had a meltdown, it was so awesome. I think my only complaint is that I'd like more of the Will and Elizabeth theme, the one that's so great in "One Last Shot" in the first movie, because I just love that theme so much.

Roomate.

[blinkliz.livejournal.com]

"9) Your email says: "I want more information about you. So call me tonight after 9:30 pm or tomorrow after 3 pm." I am not taking time-stringent orders from complete strangers at this time. Please try again during my regular business hours. P.S. You are not my new roommate."

Hee, indeed.