Feature: New book ‘Opening Weekend’ provides insider perspective on film marketing

Although the film industry can be quite lucrative, there are a lot of moving parts to how a film gets to be a “success” or “flop.” As it relates to building up hype for a movie, marketing teams play a huge role in growing excitement and finding ways to resonate with general audiences. A new book, Opening Weekend: An Insider's Look at Marketing Hollywood's Hits and Flops, by longtime film marketing executive Jim Fredrick. Frederick’s career in the business has included working on the marketing team for films like Eyes Wide Shut, The Shawshank Redemption, and even the Harry Potter film franchise. So for this week’s feature, we’ll talk to Frederick about Opening Weekend and get an insider’s understanding of how marketing works within the film industry.

Jim Fredrick, studio marketing executive, and Chapman University film professor; he’s also the author of the new book Opening Weekend: An Insider's Look at Marketing Hollywood's Hits and Flops

FilmWeek: "Heretic," "The Piano Lesson," "Small Things Like These," and more

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Christy Lemire and Andy Klein review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on-demand platforms.

• Heretic 
• The Piano Lesson
• Small Things Like These
• Elevation
• The Last Rifelman
• Christmas Even in Miller’s Point
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
• Meanwhile on Earth
• Sallywood
• Weekend in Taipei

The upcoming general election has of course been on many peoples’ minds, and what better way to work through the angst than by viewing how generations of artists have tried depicting politics on the big screen? Since early September, Turner Classic Movies has been airing some of the most political films to be released, with some examples being The Great Dictator and JFK. So for today’s feature, Larry and LAist film critics Andy Klein and Christy Lemire talk about their favorite election-related movies, getting into what makes them so topical and worth looking back at following their initial release.

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Christy Lemire and Andy Klein review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on-demand platforms. They also remember actress Teri Garr, who passed away at the age of 79.

• Here

• Blitz

• Emilia Perez

• A Real Pain

• Juror #2

• Endurance

• Freedom

• The Gutter

• Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

FilmWeek: 'Venom: The Last Dance,' 'Conclave,' 'Memoir of a Snail,' and More

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Peter Rainer, Wade Major, and Charles Solomon

• Venom: The Last Dance
• Conclave
• Memoir of a Snail 
• Martha
• My Name is Alfred Hitchcock
• Magpie
• Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid
• Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
• Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
• The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
• Rule of Two Walls
• The Sacrifice (1986)

Feature: Larry talks to Sean Baker and Mikey Madison about the work that went into making ‘Anora’

Since his 2012 feature-length film Starlet, critically acclaimed director Sean Baker has made films that bring realism to the lives of sex workers across the United States. Angelenos are likely familiar with the locations of Starlet and Tangerine, with the former taking place in the San Fernando Valley and the latter in Hollywood. Baker would eventually shoot his next films in Florida and Texas, but his latest picture, Anora, brings viewers to Brooklyn, New York. In Anora, Mikey Madison portrays Ani, an exotic dancer who eventually finds herself eloping with the son of a Russian oligarch. The film has garnered positive reviews since being screened at film festivals and was awarded the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival by fellow filmmakers judging the competition. For this week’s feature, we sit down with Anora’s writer-director Sean Baker, and the film’s star, Mikey Madison.

Anora is now in select theaters and will expand on November 1

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Amy Nicholson and Manuel Betancourt review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on-demand platforms.

• • Smile 2 Wide Release 

• Anora In Select Theaters

• • Rumors In Select Theaters 
  • Exhibiting Forgiveness In Select Theaters 

• Woman of the Hour In Select Theaters and Streaming on Netflix 

• • Goodrich Laemmle Newhall [Santa Clarita] and Laemmle Town Center 5 [Encino]

• Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan And Sara Streaming on Hulu 

• • MadS In Select Theaters | Streaming on Shudder
  • The Body Politic Laemmle NoHo 7 | Streaming on PBS 

• Bookworm In Select Theaters | VOD

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Tim Cogshell, Wade Major, and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.

• Piece by Piece Wide Release
• The Apprentice Wide Release
• My Hero Academia: You’re Next Wide Release
• We Live In Time In Select Theaters | Expands to Wide Release October 18th
• Last of the Sea Women Laemmle NoHo 7 [North Hollywood] | Streaming on Apple TV+
• Food and Country  Laemmle Royal [West LA]
• Nurse Unseen Laemmle Glendale
• In Her Place Streaming on Netflix | In Select Theaters
• Dusty & Stone Laemmle Monica Film Center [Santa Monica] | Laemmle Royal [West LA]
• Lonely Planet Streaming on Netflix
• Mad About the Boy: The Noël  Coward Story In Select Theaters & VOD
• Terrifier 3 In Select Theaters
• Caddo Lake Streaming on Max

Referred to by Vulture as a box office “Mega Flop(olis),” Francis Ford Coppola’s decades-long project didn’t have an ideal opening, making $4,000,000 domestically across 1,854 theaters. Coppola, now 85 years old, hasn’t gotten much love from audiences for the film, although one sequence has become the subject of many online memes. Megalopolis also arrives at a time when advertisements for the 94-year-old Clint Eastwood’s new film, Juror #2, are set to release in November. Both filmmakers have extensive filmographies, including some hits and misses, but are their new projects resonating as much as prior works? How are they faring compared to longtime auteurs like Martin Scorsese and Michael Mann? We talk to FilmWeek critics Tim Cogshell and Wade Major about whether these filmmakers are still resonating with audiences, and what challenges they face with making films in their twilight years.

 Daniel Day-Lewis is coming out of retirement, seven years after his last movie, for a film directed by his son Ronan Day-Lewis. The project was announced Tuesday by Focus Features and Plan B, who are partnering on “Anemone.” The film, Ronan Day-Lewis’ directorial debut, will star his father along with Sean Bean and Samantha Morton. The two Day-Lewises co-wrote the film. Earlier Tuesday, Daniel Day-Lewis and Bean were spotted driving a motorbike through Manchester, England, stoking intrigue about his impending return to acting. After making Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 film “Phantom Thread,” the 67-year-old said he was quitting acting. Given Day-Lewis’s decades-long filmography, and 3 Academy Awards to his name, we thought it’d be good to look back at his legacy to help contextualize how significant his contributions have been. 

With files from the Associated Press

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Lael Loewenstein and Claudia Puig review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.

Joker:Folie a Deux Wide Release

The Outrun In Select Theaters

Blink In Select Theaters

Stripped For Parts: American Journalism On The Brink Laemmle Royal [West LA] 

Daytime Revolution In Select Theaters One Night Only on October 9th [Wednesday]

The Problem with People Laemmle Royal [Sawtelle]

White Bird  In Select Theaters

Guests: