I'm somewhat interested in this new William Friedkin movie, and I might catch it sometime this weekend. Has anyone managed to see it a little early? From what I've heard so far, the reviews are generally pretty positive, and the last time I check, it had a "fresh" rating of about 70% at RottenTomatoes.com. I remember that Mark Kermode had an early review of it on his BBC show a few months back, and he liked it a lot.

I wonder how well it will do as "counter-programming" to the new Pirates of the Carribean movie. I keep seeing ads for it during The Daily Show and The Colbert Report (there's not really much else on TV I watch these days), so it seems that Lion's Gate is promoting it and not just dumping it on a weekend when it's up against a big summer blockbuster. In any case, I think it was made on a pretty low budget, and it seems pretty hard to not make money on a low-budget horror movie (although, I think in this case, some have disputed the "horror" label).

I plan on taking on BUG this weekend. At least with Shrek and that Pirate thing herding in the masses, I can pretty much guarantee myself a quiet theater devoid of obnoxious children and stupid, giggling teenagers(hopefully). I don't expect anything Exorcist-caliber, but the idea that Friedkin has, for now, forgotten about big studio product assignments is enticing enough to buy a ticket, even if I have to look at Ashley Judd for a couple of hours.

When the play was on here in NYC there was a startling full-frontal nude shot of the two leads in The New Yorker. The male lead is the fellow in the movie.

I'm working all weekend, but I definitely plan on checking this out on my next day off. Any Friedkin is worth a trip to the theater, but I can't help but wonder if Lionsgate would've been better off sending this on the arthouse route. They open it nationwide and throw "From the Director of THE EXORCIST" at the top of the ads, and the general public goes in with expectations...expectations that won't be met by a stagy psychological drama with horrific elements. Then again, everyone's seeing POTC this weekend (well, everyone but me...I'm just not interested; I had no idea what was going on in the second one and now I simply don't care), so it's probably the people who specifically know William Friedkin's work who will end up going to see it (like the people on this thread). Or Ashley Judd fans expecting another DOUBLE JEOPARDY or HIGH CRIMES or the standard "Ashley Judd movie."

Or, worst-case scenario, people who say "Harry Connick Jr's in it? He probably sings...let's go see that!"

Heh, heh... to me that's a best-case scenario. Sort of like the time I was waiting in line to buy a ticket, and an elderly couple behind me were debating on what to watch:

"What's Brokeback Mountain?"
"A western, I think... I heard it's pretty good."

Again...heh, heh.

I guess the counter programming didn't work - BUG bombed bad. Catch it while you can.

I really hate how films are swept off the plate in less than 24 hours of release these days.

Not that the current release strategies don't force the perception, but I'll be very happy once it becomes more commonly accepted that films have a much longer financial lifespan than their theatrical exhibition and this sort of quarterbacking falls out of favor. I don't think it's healthy at all, and increasingly, it's not even germane.

None of this is meant to single you out, William - I've been guilty of same. But really, when we all know that the deck is stacked against even fairly mainstream specialty releases, what's the point? All it does is cast a deceptive pall over the film till it hits ancillary markets.

Again - the point in your case was to call attention to the fact that it will leave theaters sooner than later, and that those that want to see it before it hits DVD in 2 months should do so. And that's worth relaying.

The three "threequels" are sucking all the air out of the boxoffice, though WAITRESS seems to be catching on a bit. I still plan on seeing BUG, as Friedkin's theatrical adaptations are an interesting facet of his career; the play, which ran off Broadway for about a year, was very intense (Shannon was excellent). His BOYS IN THE BAND film is likely to get a DVD release in the fall (it's on TCM early in the am on 6/26).

There's a mall across the street from my apartment building and there's a 16-screen National Amusements multiplex there. 16 screens. PIRATES is on seven of them. SHREK and SPIDER-MAN are on another seven combined, so three movies account for 14 of the 16 screens. DISTURBIA and GEORGIA RULE are splitting time on another, and the remaining screen is BUG. 28 WEEKS LATER is already gone. Wasn't that the #2 movie two weekends ago?

I still have to wonder. What exactly did Lionsgate have in mind by releasing BUG nationwide like it's a mainstream horror flick? On a slow weekend where nothing is opening, sure, go for it. Make a ton of money before word gets around and take a 70% dive the second weekend. But they released it on this, of all weekends? This could've built up some solid momentum had it opened slowly and had time to create interest with a crowd who would appreciate it. But no, we don't have time for that today. I can't imagine old Friedkin, an irritable curmudgeon even on his best days, is happy about Lionsgate's strategy.

No kidding.

There's an 8-screen multiplex within 15 minutes of me (talk about an old-fashioned screen count ;) ) and 28 WEEKS LATER is the only other film they're showing aside from the threequels.

More intriguing is a local 24 screen multiplex, known for including limited release and arthouse films alongside the blockbusters. It's currently showing barely a handful of films that aren't the big 3 behemoths.

A passing trend or a sign of the times? I have a sneaking suspicion that we're going to see this dynamic actually grow more common in the future. Studios are hungry for the kind of business that these big sequels are generating.

As far as Lion's Gate is concerned, didn't they release HAUTE TENSION under similar circumstance two summers ago?

And it's also worth mentioning that Fox bumped DAY WATCH up from its original August release date (or, at least, that's where IMDB had it) to June 1. Between that and BUG (along with DOMINION opening on the same day as STAR WARS III), I am reminded of Universal opening FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS on the same day as GODZILLA.

Sure, these could be cases of attempted counterprogramming, but it sure looks like the studio is almost intending to hide these releases by running them alongside of unstoppable blockbusters.

I saw Bug today... just got out of it, and it's definitely not what you'd expect to see in a multiplex. I liked it, but I'd definitely have to know someone's tastes (really well) as to whether or not I'd recommend it to them.

Oddly enough, it bears more than a passing similarity to the "Nightcrawlers" episode that Friedkin did for the eighties version of The Twilight Zone.

But it most definitely gets under your skin (I'm sure that'll be a recurring line in most of the positive reviews). It maintains close to its stage roots, so if you don't like theatre this is probably a bit too stagey.

It also never overtly states what the hell is going on, so it's pretty open to interpretation as to what the whole thing is about, whether it's allegorical, just a bunch of unconnected metaphors having an orgy, or to be taken as literal Grand Guignol. Sometimes it edges dangerously close to camp, but never really crosses the line.

One thing I'll definitely give Friedkin (and the writer) props for: they nailed the grungy lifestyle of folks that have spent way too much of their lives working part time in the bar culture, using the wages to get by and the tips on booze, smokes and whatever else they need to soften the teeth of the trap. I'm also impressed by Judd... I've never really paid any attention to anything she's done, but here the woman proves her chops as an actress... no vanity, just the role.

The 18-screen multiplex in Champaign, Illinois has PIRATES, SPIDEY and SHREK on at least 14 screens and the 16-screener has it on at least 12 or 13. Between the two of them, GEORGIA RULE is playing just three times a day (once at 10pm!), BLACK BOOK once and HOT FUZZ twice. WAITRESS is playing all day at one of them, but probably won't be next week.

PIRATES is even playing four times a day at the arthouse! Considering it's playing 44 times per day at the multiplexes, why would the arthouse even bother?

Perhaps there might be a fair number of the arthouse regulars who want to see PIRATES, too... but aren't real wild on dealing with the multiplex crowd.

If so, it might not be the worst idea in the world as a way to get a little extra cash for the arthouse theater; likely a pretty different crowd seeing it there than at the multiplex.

That might be the idea, at least. Sell the surroundings as much as the movie.

I just wanted to briefly praise Bug before the weekend is over. It's one of those movies like Gilliam's Tideland or Zulawski's Possession that will alienate cineastes and non-cineastes alike, with a core group of people who really love it. Many of the people in my theater were clearly lured in by Lionsgate's promotion towards the horror crowd. This ain't that kind of horror flick, but more like the ones I cited above. Bug certainly has enough nasty violence, intense imagery, and over-all disturbing quality to merit consideration as Horror. I pretty much agree with everything Craig said above. Sorry to break it to you, Vincent, but Ashley's really a damn good actor in this. Shannon and Connick are also both terrific, really wild and intense at times. I went with a friend based on her positive reaction to Possession and she liked this one too. But everyone else in our theater HATED IT quite vocally, with much "I can't believe I'm seeing this outrageously bad movie" laughter. Or hooting at Ms Judd's several nude scenes, as disturbing and unsexy as some of them are. I think I even heard people apologizing to friends for bringing them there. Could that be recommendation enough?

I guess the days of "slow roll-out" are over. Word of mouth means nothing anymore as far as seeing anything at the theater.

I'm amazed at how fast these things go if they don't hit immediate HUGE box office...

But isn't the thinking basically movies at theaters are really just advertising for the eventual DVD release?

Simply - who really cares how long a movie plays at the cineplex?

Uhmmmmm... the exhibitors, perhaps? :rolleyes:

Lionsgate may have figured BUG would've done $3-4 million whether it released it over 20 weeks or two, so decided to take the path of least resistance on the way to DVD prep.

The studio is doing well with the fine AWAY FROM HER--a must for Sarah Polley/Julie Christie fans--but that's a classic arthouse release. BUG, neither arthouse nor really mainstream, slipped through the cracks, so to speak.

I just finished BUG on DVD. I think this comparisson is pretty apt in terms of Friedkin's work. He revisits the neon lights and even throws in the crazy helicopter sounds. BUG definitely has its moments, mostly from the intense performance by Michael Shannon. The doctor scene was a lot of fun when he decides to smoke up. At that point, I wondered if the doctor could be part of their shared hallucination. I like that the film is open to interpretation like that.

I caught BUG on DVD and quite simply, I think it's brilliant.

Yes, that's right, I think a movie that stars Ashley Judd is brilliant- and not only that, but she's really, really good in it, too. And Michael Shannon- WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I foresee a future Jeremy Irons type situation with him, where he finally gets an Oscar for some mainstream movie and thanks Friedkin in his acceptance speech.

I think this might be Friedkin's best film ever, although I agree with some earlier posters that it's a hard film to recommend to many people. It's the antithesis of commercial. Folks who appreciate edgy, different cinema will like it, but I can clearly see how mainstream audiences who were sold on this film with the "from the creator of THE EXORCIST" line would be seriously put off.

No matter, I don't care how much money it made at the box office or how the kids over at the IMDB message boards reacted to it, I loved it. I watched it straight-through twice and then the extra features and will be buying the DVD next chance I get.

As of now, BUG gets my vote as the best film of 2007.

Vincent

I saw BUG the other night too and I agree with Vincent, I thought it was pretty close to brilliant. I have a love/hate thing with Friedkin, but I think its by far the best work. I loved the genre bending. I loved the atmosphere. The acting was great. The script was well put together (I'd love to see the play now too). It's way up there on my best of the year list.

Glad Mobians are getting bitten by BUG on DVD. A Philadelphia company is staging the play, a hit Off Broadway and popular with regional theaters, next April. The playwright, Tracy Letts, is making his Broadway debut with the family saga AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY next month.

I enjoyed BUG immensely as well, even though I saw it in a theater where a mother dragged her age-inapprpriate, crying children (one of whom had some light-up, twirling thing for a distraction!) in with her about 20 minutes after it started.

I'd also third on the "hard to reccomend" front but what a great examination of the dangers of shared obsessions in a weak/strong couple dynamic! One of those kinds of movies that elicits nervous laughter in some great moments.

I just saw this on dvd, and it was absolutely terrific...Great casting, mind-bending script and Friedkin's workmanlike imprint all over it!

Actually I'd rate it one one of the best AMERICAN 'horror' films this decade, though it's actually more like a sci-fi film in the Burroughs/Phil K Dick mould, a SCANNER DARKLY on nastier drugs.

And then you have it being like a lesbian version of CRUISING, and yes, very much like the NIGHTCRAWLERS ep of TWILIGHT ZONE...

It's his best effort since TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A, and why hasn't Tim Lucas starting turning his hoity-toity mates onto this potential lost-gem American genre film of this decade...

Nice to see Freidkin referring to MICHAEL HANEKE as master of modern horror, rather than all the other recycled bolderdash!