Australist Gazette
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That Week That Is


Thursday, December 19, 2002
Church of Scientologists denounce Trek as pseudo-scientific cult.
Ooooh, Bitchy!

posted by Special K 1:42 PM

Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Public issue restraining order against Christine Aquilera
posted by Special K 2:05 PM

Monday, December 09, 2002
Nostradamus predicted Harry sequel's reduced box-office
Did the 16th Century Astrologer's writings clearly foresaw that J. K Rowling's cinematic franchise would run out of steam in its second outing.
Many of his devotees are quoting the following passage that appears to predict Warner Bros. flick's lack of box-office fizz:
===

I p 250 (cVI-97)

In a way, this is the same question as whether Attack of the Clones will be able to repeat the success of The Phantom Menace. Parallels can be drawn between Menace and Potter due to their pre-existing fan base and the level of success they enjoyed. Now the question is; how much success can a follow-up film to one of the biggest movies in history have? The second Potter film won't have to be the litmus test, but will most likely be the affirmation needed after Clones opens.

The film can by no means be considered a normal sequel in terms of its box office potential. Where normal sequels enjoy differing levels of success, it is improbable that Chamber of Secrets will act in the same vein. For example, comparing Blade II's numbers with Blade's, we see a jump of almost 100%; the same can be said for Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2. So clearly, Chamber of Secrets cannot be seen as a run-of-the-mill sequel. More accurately, the film should be viewed as a standalone blockbuster with the realistic potential of opening to $90 million. The one caveat here is that the newness and the hype will most likely not be at the same fever pitch that it was for the first film. The opening weekend-to-total multiplier for the first film was a paltry 3.49, second-worst in the top ten films of all time. This is clearly an indication of tremendous anticipation and a really high must-see factor. Will this factor be existent for Chamber of Secrets? That's a difficult question to answer at this point, but Attack of the Clones should give us a good idea.

As for the film itself, Chris Columbus will have to do much more than rehash the book almost exactly page-by-page to make this film work. Chamber of Secrets is a much longer book with a few more characters involved, which is scary considering that the first film did not give nearly enough time to many of the great characters that were in its respective source book. Not only is the second book longer and filled with more characters, it has a much more complex story and features a character that, if Hollywood-ized, can easily become a potential screen-time stealer, definitely a bad thing. Overall, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone felt flat and lacked any real emotion and, ironically, lacked any of the magic that Rowling captures in her books. The film chose to dwell on story and faithfulness to the source material rather than actual entertainment (and the parallels to Menace continue), so it will be interesting to see what will happen when Columbus is forced to cut out much of the book. Also of importance to note is that the Sorcerer's Stone clocked in at 152 minutes, so again, it will be fascinating to see how Chamber of Secrets is affected.



How could Nostradamus forsee what so many Studio Executives and Industry Insiders couldn't?



posted by Special K 1:57 PM

Tuesday, December 03, 2002
Big O Penis James Bond Erection Bond Girl Australist Co. Product Placement Pun Headline Here
For Immediate Release.
Hearts are pounding with delight at an Ile De Marie-area firm after its high-tech "penis ring" - aimed at aiding erection - popped up in the new James Bond movie "Die Another Day." Charles Woodchuck, Director of Corporate Relations, Pacific Intron available for interview.

posted by Special K 1:59 PM

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