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Answerman - Suspicious Behavior


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 12:23 pm Reply with quote
I haven't seen The Wind Rises yet but I sure as hell hope it earns the recognition it deserves. Interesting articles about the blu-ray rips though.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
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Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:21 pm Reply with quote
The first question reminds me of all the hooplah when FUNi used fansubs for their dub recording sessions. Sure, the fansubs were not released to the public in the official release; they remained in-house. But one can't help wonder if FUNi's dub script was just taken straight from the fansubs themselves, which would certainly be pretty dodgy.
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Saturn



Joined: 08 Aug 2002
Posts: 513
PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:26 pm Reply with quote
Stark700 wrote:
I haven't seen The Wind Rises yet but I sure as hell hope it earns the recognition it deserves. Interesting articles about the blu-ray rips though.

...how could you possibly know what kind of recognition it deserves if you haven't seen it?
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mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:28 pm Reply with quote
The only thing about the Oscars is that it's the members of the Academy that vote on the films and not the general public. So it would not surprise me to see Frozen get snubbed. It just depends on how the film played with those members.

As far as Funimation's corporate sibling, do keep in mind that not all Anime fans are "liberals" - whatever that word means these days - and may or may not have a problem with what other types of films go out thru the Funimation distribution channel.

Mark Gosdin
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dtm42



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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:32 pm Reply with quote
^
This is Disney we're talking about. The Academy loves Disney, and Disney markets the hell out of its products very successfully. Spirited Away only won its Oscar because Disney went into bat for it.
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Nemui_Nezumi



Joined: 08 Jan 2014
Posts: 343
Location: Europe
PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:48 pm Reply with quote
....I have been wondering for a while if it was worth or not to watch Frozen, now it's decided~ (even though I feel I have seen already the whole movie thanks to all the gifs in tumblr lol)

about The Wind Rises.... I'm not such a big fan of Studio Ghibli's movies (the only ones I liked were Totoro & Spirited Away, the last one being my favorite) so I kinda pass to watch their last movie .P
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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:40 pm Reply with quote
Stark700 wrote:
I haven't seen The Wind Rises yet but I sure as hell hope it earns the recognition it deserves. Interesting articles about the blu-ray rips though.

But you haven't SEEN it. How do you know what recognition is does or does not deserve?
I've seen both, and I'll be honest, Frozen is the better movie in my opinion. It's a lot more memorable, you can easily identify with the characters, and people of all ages loved it. My mother's been bugging ME to go see it, and I'm 27. A 49 year old woman is recommending an animated movie to a 27 year old. THAT'S how good that film is people, that's how good.

On the other side, The Wind Rises just isn't that memorable. I couldn't bond with any of the characters like I could for Nausica or Laputa, for example. It's more of a personal story, and one that does not speak to me.
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:42 pm Reply with quote
So Troy is concerned that Funimation may refuse to release titles that don't share their values and, if not, that he may refuse to deal with companies that don't share his values.

Thinking about it, the world would be an interesting place if everyone refused to do business with anyone of a different political, religious or cultural persuasion.


Last edited by Sven Viking on Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
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vanfanel



Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 1261
PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:45 pm Reply with quote
mgosdin wrote:
do keep in mind that not all Anime fans are "liberals" - whatever that word means these days - and may or may not have a problem with what other types of films go out thru the Funimation distribution channel.


Thank you, sir! This Santorum supporter was starting to feel a little ganged up on, there.

Making movies "for the Christian audience" is tricky business because unless it's a non-"reimagined" and actually well-done adaptation of a biblical story, the results tend to be either well-intentioned-but-cloying or compromised in pursuit of mainstream crossover potential.

Look at it this way: Jesus himself said that the cross was going to be offensive to the world, and here you've got a giant business making a huge investment that may at least partly have to be recovered from...the world. The temptation to compromise the material -- to neuter it in pursuit of mainstream crossover appeal is just too great in most cases. So we get those awful Hallmark movies that talk about faith in as nonspecific terms as possible (and still manage to be cloying), or the Walden Media stuff like Narnia where the first order of business is toning down the very material they're counting on to bring their base to the theater.

OTOH, you've also got openly Christian stuff like "Fireproof" which is produced by churches, but whose writers haven't yet figured out a way to incorporate subtlely and "show don't tell" as part of their screenwriter's toolbox.

What I want to see is more Christian filmmakers just making movies. Making art about whatever they feel strongly about. Honest, painfully honest, art. No need to contrive some message to bang people over the head with. If it's a real, vibrant part of their lives, their Christianity will come through naturally -- and will resonate with Christian viewers -- simply because it's a part of who they are. I live in Japan, where Christians are a tiny minority, and when I meet a Christian here, I can usually tell without ever broaching the subject of religion. It's just clear from the start that we're on the same wavelength, and with that being so rare here, it stands out. I think the same thing would work in cinema if it was tried more often.

"Passion" worked because A) its only innovations were things long-held-to by Catholicism and B) it was an extremely well-made film.

Even without being an adaptation or a "message movie," though, you'd get tons more Christians to come to the movies by simply not making fun of them, getting rid of the cussing, and actually having people be married before they hop in the sack. Showing parents who are still together and still love each other would be a big plus, too. Or showing church as a real part of people's lives instead of a vehicle for satirizing the supposed hypocrisy of people the filmmakers clearly don't understand. There's a whole world of people in America who don't live like Hollywood. So depict us, already!

The funniest thing I ever heard regarding Hollywood's general cluelessness about Christians was an article where an unnamed producer was quoted saying they were looking for a way to get some "Passion dollars" (his term; it's true, you can't make this stuff up!) out of "The Golden Compass" of all things. Yeah, because it uh, has something to do with religion, right? Good look with that.


Last edited by vanfanel on Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:47 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
But this time, the competition is tougher with Disney actually having a film of theirs nominated.


Someone seems to forget that Disney submitted Lilo & Stitch and Treasure Planet the year that Spirited Away was in competition. Rolling Eyes

Quote:
Honestly, it's a VERY dark horse.


I think the dark horse would've been Momo.

Quote:
The Oscars do like honoring the old guys who are bowing out, but Frozen is not just competition, it's a cultural phenomenon.


The same could be said about Beauty and the Beast. But it still didn't win Best Picture. Anything can happen. I don't know why, but the company which made the Best Animated category possible here in the first place has been frequently shut out since then-often losing to its partners at Pixar. And it obviously can't be an issue of connections, so you can decide why they get Oscar-blocked so often.


Quote:
It would be one thing if the competition was The Croods, or even just Despicable Me 2, which was the second highest grossing movie of 2013. If those were the only other nominees THEN The Wind Rises would have a chance.


I'd think the opposite, since Despicable Me 2 seems to be the biggest crowd-pleaser of the bunch.

Quote:
But not against Frozen. Frozen is arguably Walt Disney Studios' biggest hit since The Lion King.


But not adjusted for inflation. Wink

Quote:
Its theme song "Let It Go" is not only up for Best Original Song, but is the first song from a musical to crack the Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 in literally decades,


A lot of Disney cartoon songs are hits. That doesn't prove anything about Frozen's chances of success. If the company really had that kind of clout, then Saving Mr. Banks would've gotten in.

Quote:
the deluxe soundtrack album includes a karaoke version of the song, and cover versions have been blowing up on YouTube, including several that have gone viral.


There are multiple cover versions of all types of hit songs on Youtube. Again, that doesn't prove anything.

Quote:
Parental groups are lauding Disney for finally casting aside the old fashioned damsel-in-distress saved-by-Prince-Charming clichés and featuring strong female characters who make their own choices.


Yes, but the Academy is generally manned by a bunch of old-fashioned geezers who could care less about gender politics. Laughing

Quote:
Not many people have seen The Wind Rises yet, and compared to Frozen, not that many will ever see it.


Not many people saw Spirited Away when The Wind Rises came out, either. They have seen Totoro, though. And that's all that mattered back then. Cool

Quote:
It's like being a small art house movie the year Titanic came out:


Except that Miyazaki's bigger than an arthouse director, or Spirited Away wouldn't have won in the first place.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:49 pm Reply with quote
vanfanel wrote:

The funniest thing I ever heard regarding Hollywood's general cluelessness about Christians was an article where an unnamed producer was quoted saying they were looking for a way to get some "Passion dollars" (his term; it's true, you can't make this stuff up!) out of "The Golden Compass" of all things. Yeah, because it uh, has something to do with religion, right? Good look with that.


If that's true it's super-duper hilarious if you know what the story and theme of His Dark Materials is.
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vanfanel



Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 1261
PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:54 pm Reply with quote
[quote="Zac"]
vanfanel wrote:

If that's true it's super-duper hilarious if you know what the story and theme of His Dark Materials is.


Pretty much. I wish I had a source for you, but it's just something I saw skimming a magazine years ago.
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1043
PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:59 pm Reply with quote
Zac wrote:
If that's true it's super-duper hilarious if you know what the story and theme of His Dark Materials is.

Google shows the NY Times reporting something similar about the Da Vinci Code, which is somewhat similarly ill-suited to the task.
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Hellfish



Joined: 19 Dec 2007
Posts: 392
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 3:01 pm Reply with quote
While I was convinced the wind rises would get a nomination and some help with the Disney PR machine (those blu rays are not going to sell on their own and oscar nominations always seem to help on that side) I was and I am still sure Frozen is going to win and any publicity it needs to convince the academy it will be surely be paid by Disney.
On the other hand... I find odd that the croods is nominated... really odd, and even if I was saying from the beginning Madoka didn't had a chance and Aniplex wouldn't spend lots of money in the publicity as it wouldn't help them selling the 91 dollar dvds... the crood making the cut? O.o now that I find surprising..

That Echolight stuff sure was new O.o and interesting... While I won't worry about that company flopping and pulling funimation down with it thanks to Justin Sevakis answer, sure it was interesting to read about the whole thing O.o
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1043
PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 3:08 pm Reply with quote
I would have picked Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 over the Croods.

Only problem with Madoka is that any one of the films is only part of a story (I'm assuming in the case of the third film, but I'd be surprised if it had the same impact when watched in isolation).
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