The Impact of Social Media on Movies

Word of mouth is always an important factor in a movie's success, but today it's becoming THE factor. Before, the opening weekend of a film would be huge and then the drop off the next weekend would be influenced by word of mouth. However, with the rise of facebook status updates and twitter, the first day of the film's release is really all that marketing affects. Everything else relies on the audiences' reaction. While this article has some interesting points, I think it gives too much credit to social media on certain films. For example, Land of the Lost was critically panned before it opened. I know critics don't have as much clout as they used to, but sites like Rotten Tomatoes use an aggregate of critic reviews to rate films. And UP, just by being a Disney/Pixar film, already had a stamp of approval. Disney continues to be the only true brand in film. No one thinks "Oh, a Universal film! I have to see it!" But people do feel that way towards Disney and especially Disney/Pixar.

But while it's flawed, it is becoming increasingly true the more popular social media sites like twitter and facebook become. Before we told only a handful of people what we thought of movies. Now it's posted online for everyone to see at once. I know I update my twitter about pretty much every movie I watch. And new movies are almost always a trending topic on opening weekend.

Do you believe in the power of twitter?

Breaking: The Green Lantern

Well, that was fast! Looks like Ryan Reynolds will be The Green Lantern. I know he'll be good, but I still think Bradley Cooper could have brought something new to the role. And Justin Timberlake could have brought his fan following. Oh well, I know Ryan Reynolds will be an awesome Hal Jordan. I'm a major fan of his (and his body haha).

[via io9]

Cupcakes galore!

This is an amazing map of all the cupcake places in Los Angeles.

On this list, I've only been to a handful.

Yummy Cupcakes (Santa Monica) - interesting flavors, some that I haven't seen at the bigger known shops. It's a small, cute shop. It's conveniently located at the end of 3rd St. Promenade, so if you're ever around there I really recommend going.

Crumbs (Beverly Hills) - usually not too busy as Sprinkles is just down the block. Crumbs is my favorite cupcake chain; you just get such huge cupcakes for the same price you get a normal sized one at Sprinkles. However, their huge size is why one cupcake here sets you back roughly 750 calories! My favorite: Brownie or Strawberry Banana.

Crumbs (Larchmont) - same quality as Bev. Hills, but out of the way. It's surrounded by a bunch of eateries though so if you're ever out there for dinner you should definitely stop by.

Sprinkles - I've never actually had a Sprinkles cupcake, and I'll tell you why. I just can't justify spending $4 on one normal sized cupcake, when you can walk a block further and get a massive one for the same price. Plus, this place is always so cramped and crowded. I just feel its way over hyped.

KT and I are going to try a new one out today, thanks to that handy dandy map! What are your favorite cupcake places? Or to those not in LA, what are your favorite cupcake flavors?

I'm a Comic Book Movie Geek

Hello, I'm Kristal and I'm a comic book movie geek. I make the distinction between comic book and comic book movie, because I've only read a handful of comics. I much prefer the comic book movie with its thrilling action scenes and special effects, that are still rooted in a compelling plot and characters, over other action movies. (*cough*Tranformers 2*cough*).

The latest comic book movie to hit development is The Green Lantern - one of my favorites from the Justice League cartoon (again, I reiterate, I'm a geek).

So, who's going to play the famous Green Latern? Right now, the frontrunners are Justin Timberlake, Ryan Reynolds, and Bradley Cooper.

My personal choice of the 3 would be Bradley Cooper - he's an attractive rising movie star, with the talent to pull of comedy (Wedding Crashers, The Hangover) and drama (Alias, that wonderful show). This could be his break into the A-list.

Ryan Reynolds would be great, but he's got his own comic book franchise in the works with Deadpool. Does he need this one too? I'd rather he do Deadpool and alternate that with stuff like The Proposal. You know, to keep the ladies happy. If he were to take on both franchises, I doubt he'd have much time for different projects.

I'm still surprised that JT is on this list - I thought those rumors months ago were just that, rumors. I know he's done some acting before (he was surprisingly good in Alpha Dog) and he has the comedic chops to pull of Hal Jordan's lighter side. But this article brings up a good point - JT has massive appeal, and can bring in the ticket sales. As a comic book movie, it would already bring in a large male audience. JT would help cover the female side of things. I'm a girl who loves these types of movies, so I'm sold. But for the girls who aren't that big in to action flicks, this might be the clincher that brings them in.

According to MTV, their holding contracts ended Monday, so hopefully soon the studio will have to make a decision if they want to have enough time to make the December 2010 release date.

Also, here's an awesome fan made trailer for Nathan Fillion as The Green Latern. I love the guy (Firefly is one of my faves), but he does skew a bit too old for the part. Great trailer though!