Are video game movies the worst type of movie adaptations?

[Stephen Follows]

Hi It's been a crazy, wet week here in Cannes. I fly back in a couple of days, with tales of sodden shoes, mediocre movies and costly coffees. Fortunately, I managed to grab a few quick moments to research today's new article. The recent release of Detective Pikachu has prompted some readers to get in touch and ask about the quality of movies based on video games. I looked at all movies released since 1993 (the year of the first video game adaptation) to find out how they stack up. You can read what I found here https://stephenfollows.com/are-video-game-movies-the-worst-type-of-movie-adaptations/ Until next week, Stephen TODAY'S NEW ARTICLE ON STEPHENFOLLOWS.COM Are video game movies the worst type of movie adaptations? A quick look at the number, scale and success of movies based on video games. Plus a deeper dive into the quality of such movies, and how they stack up against other script sources. https://stephenfollows.com/are-video-game-movies-the-worst-type-of-movie-adaptations/ FILM DATA DIGEST Articles, reports and news from the past seven days What does it cost to compete with Disney and Netflix? Quibi bets $2 billion The service hasn’t even launched yet, and it’s not supposed to for another year. But Quibi, which is named after the phrase "quick bite" for the types of easily digestible video content it aims to produce, plans to raise an additional $1 billion, on top of the $1 billion it already has, to get its service properly funded to get off the ground https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/15/18627037/quibi-funding-2-billion-netflix-disney-cost-of-competition While arthouse films struggle in America, in China they thrive "The world has changed in the last two or three years," said Wild Bunch sales head Vincent Maraval, whose company sold "Capernaum" at Cannes, during an interview at his office in Paris last week. "For foreign-language films, the U.S. has always been a very minor market. Today, China is more of a priority." https://www.indiewire.com/2019/05/china-box-office-capernaum-cannes-2019-1202140183/ Cannes: 26% of feature film submissions from women directors Cannes' artistic director Thierry Fremaux faced questions about the number of female directors – four – with pictures in competition. He told reporters that under-representation of women is an issue that goes beyond Cannes. Overall, the selection for the 72nd edition of the festival features 15 female filmmakers. https://variety.com/2019/film/news/cannes-film-festival-gender-equality-statistics-2019-1203213010/ U.S. returns seized 'Wolf of Wall Street' millions to Malaysia The first tranche of recovered funds from the multibillion-dollar scandal have been returned. The 1MBD scandal, in which an estimated $4.5 billion was illegally siphoned out of Malaysia and used to finance extravagant lifestyles and purchase luxury properties in New York and L.A., artwork, private jets, yachts and even a major foray into Hollywood, appears to be reaching its own endgame. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/us-returns-seized-wolf-wall-street-millions-malaysia-1208292 How Disney gained full control of Hulu—and what that means On Tuesday, Disney and Comcast jointly announced that Disney will seize full operational control of Hulu, effective immediately. Following its acquisition of Fox, Disney had controlled a majority of stakes in Hulu—but until today, a third of the company was still under the stewardship of Comcast. Within five years, the agreement stipulates, Comcast can require Disney to buy out its share of Hulu for a minimum price of $5.8 billion—but Disney can also compel Comcast, which owns its 33 percent share through its acquisition of NBCUniversal, to sell for its fair market value on that same timeframe. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/disney-full-control-hulu-comcast-nbcuniversal-deal FROM THE ARCHIVES AT STEPHENFOLLOWS.COM The prevalence of sequels, remakes and original movies Over the years, I have looked at the originality of modern movies in a few different ways. I thought it would be interesting to update the key charts and link to the relevant full articles for those who want to know more. https://stephenfollows.com/the-prevalence-of-sequels-remakes-and-original-movies/ This email was sent to studionort...@gmail.com Click here to unsubscribe. Click here to provide feedback or just reply to this email © Stephen Follows, Erroneous Wit, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom