Comments on: Max Landis Wonders If The Flop Of ‘American Ultra’ Means That Original Movies Are Dead

By: Jared

Jared — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:32:00 +0000

Make a good movie and people will see it. Maybe not necessarily in theatres, but it will find an audience. Make a POS, and people will recognize it as such.

By: mrmovie

mrmovie — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

Wasn\’t this movie done better with Gina Davis? the sleeper spy even if a stoner has been done…. plus no nudity… straight outta Compton has nudity and sex… sex sells the male gaze still sells… even if it is not PC…. or tone it down and make it pg13.

By: OC

OC — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

American Ultra would have flopped no matter when it was released, the reviews are at 46 percent on RT, it\’s a Rotten movie. It\’s pointless to blame it on the release date or the marketing, good movies can overcome both those obstacles. Landis is a douche who has tried to blame it on the fans not showing up, the marketing and the director. The problem was with the script and his lack of an original thought. Add in two of the most pretentious, arrogant, smug, unlikable actors for the leads and you have a film that\’s guaranteed to turn off most of the potential audience. People need to stop financing films when any of these people are involved. Kristen Stewart has proved she can\’t attract an audience in an indie–they all flop. Sils Maria, On The Road, Camp X Ray, Welcome to the Rileys, they all bombed, she\’s box office poison. Eisenberg lucks into an ensemble hit once in a while, but Landis is a total loser.

By: Sleazophiliac

Sleazophiliac — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

I agree with Wyatt. Where WAS this movie showing? I sure as hell didn\’t see any ads for it, so I\’m not sure what Max is talking about. Now frankly, what I DID see was a 5 movie marathon at the Alamo this weekend that totally rocked and had no new releases (all old B movies). Movies need to take themselves way less seriously. You don\’t need a big budget to make something amazing and creative. I had such a blast this weekend and I think this is a sign that Hollywood needs to figure out how to get people to stay in the theaters longer and in bigger crowds. Offer something that TV and On Demand can\’t compete with. People love a good bargain. Seriously, they\’re missing out here.

By: Please

Please — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

Why did my R-rated violent-stoner-comedy starring 2 dramatic actors fail???

By: Bennie

Bennie — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

Honestly, I just didn\’t bother to care about the movie because I don\’t care for Jesse Eisenberg or Kristen Stewart\’s work, so the thought of spending an hour and a half watching them didn\’t appeal to me. It has nothing to do with it being original, it\’s just I don\’t want to watch them, and I don\’t know anyone who\’s fans of theirs either.

By: peach

peach — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

Think the media and everyone else is misinterpreting what Max means in this context when he calls American Ultra an original movie. It is a movie inspired by MK Ultra but is not based on a book or a well-known brand such as Hitman or a sequel to another film like Sinister 2. That said,don\’t think Lionsgate marketed the film very well as they seemed to focus heavily on the stoner aspect.

By: Chad

Chad — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

Three of the most annoying leads in Hollywood, and an \’original\’ plot that looks like some VOD sequel to Pineapple Express doesn\’t really spell boatloads of cash. Need to kinda/sorta get over yourself, there, Landis. Nobody saw it because nobody wanted to. It looks insipid at best, and Eisenberg\’s been drilling a dry well for years now.

By: equipmentguy

equipmentguy — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

I don\’t know "Chronicle" was a pretty good original movie maybe the writer of that who did American Ultra is just getting sloppy, lazy, falling back on clichéd writing. I don\’t know just pick one. Funny though how an "original" as hell movie like BIRDMAN did so well and won Best Picture.

By: LDP

LDP — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

The movie floped beacuse it has a pathetic plot, terrible actors and absolutely no talent behind it. Original movies that ARE ACTUALLY good don\’t flop.

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

@Get Real
Your statement would be correct except, Inside Out is essentially a better version (an update if you will) of ideas originally presented in Osmosis Jones. Pitch Perfect was a sequel. San Andreas, Kingsmen, Spy, and South Paw are all pre-established genre movies that really have little original to offer (story, idea, or substantially). Sure, both Spy and Kingsmen are both pastiching the spy movie genre, they are still spy movies – one being more of a comedy while the other attempting to appeal to a more superhero-ish audience. The Wedding Ringer is basically a remake of Hitch, only A LOT worse. Compton is an interesting case in that it does deviate from the standard biopic formula slightly but in terms of actually bringing something fresh to the genre, that\’s debatable.
No hate towards you if you happen to enjoy these films but to say they are all "original" ideas would simply be incorrect.

By: AMP20

AMP20 — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

If Lionsgate would have released it one week later, it may have stood a chance of making all of its money back in one weekend, instead of just half.

By: raga

raga — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

Yeah. A bad movie is a bad movie is a bad movie; original or not. He got his shots out of his name and one OK try with \’Chronicle\’, which to be fair is better directed than written.

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

Funny thing is that at one time all these Franchises and books and other IPS were original ideas that connected with the public and now they make a ton of them because people keep coming to see thme. But Film is not unlike Fiction. I mean look at all the franchises in books. An author writes a best selling detective novel and then rights thirty sequels. Then every once and awhile will write a stand alone book away from the franchise which might also hit and then that becomes another franchise. This has been going on in fiction forever. I don\’t see why people get so all bent out of shape about it with film.

By: Get Real

Get Real — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

@Ian. No worries. But if Spy and Kingmen aren\’t original then how is American Ultra original? I\’m not saying that I necessarily enjoyed them, but I\’m saying that they are films not built on adaptations or pre-existing franchises (except PP2, which the original is fairly new) that were a success this year at the box office.

By: HollywoodRML

HollywoodRML — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

Max should be happy that he wrote a killer screenplay (great read) and got paid. And it got made. Made into a bad movie? An unattractive movie? Not marketed well? Only time will tell.

By: Shane

Shane — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

There was nothing original about AU. Even the advertising for the film pointed out that it was as if The Bourne Identity and Pineapple Express had a baby. That\’s not original. Why aren\’t you calling this asshole out on his BS? The cast lacked the necessary charisma to attract an audience and the direction was a mess. It was a trifecta of trash. Is anyone surprised it bombed? Stop giving this guy pitch meetings, he has no class, no substance, and no shame.

By: Juan

Juan — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

The commercials for that movie sucked. That\’s why the movie failed. I didn\’t even know what the movie might possibly be about when I saw the commercials. That\’s why I didn\’t even register the possibility of watching it.

By: dee

dee — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

The two lead actors are generally not likeable and the reviews basically called it a stoner version of The Bourne Identity. Why would I pay $15 to watch this in a theater when I can rent it for $2 in a year and watch it at home. Now that you don\’t have to be super rich to have a decent TV/sound system, movies like this will not draw a crowd unless you have actors people actually like and a story that is interesting whether it is original or not.

By: Murphy

Murphy — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

I do want to see this movie. But unless it\’s an absolute must see on the large theater screen I can wait for it to be on Netflix. $16 for a ticket and another $3 for parking just isn\’t something I can spend on a regular basis.

By: Sonny Iyasere

Sonny Iyasere — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

*where *vein boy I really butchered that.

By: sarah

sarah — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

When I saw the poster, I assumed the plot was about a young man who starts to do his hair like his girlfriend\’s, in order to win her back as part of a bet. I assumed American Ultra was the name of the conditioner they both use. Am I wrong?

By: Ric

Ric — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

First off 67-80 that\’s the era to emulate. A golden age of movies. I feel the end of summer is a bad time to release a movie. You\’ve already seen a few biggies and want to enjoy the sun while you can. I thought Ultra was pretty good. Just bad timing.

By: Sonny Iyasere Jr.

Sonny Iyasere Jr. — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

He\’s clearly just in a spot were his movie just hit theaters an he\’s being a little short sighted. First I was very excited to see his movie but the seriousness of it\’s tone didn\’t blend well with the comedy it was going for. I was expecting a comedy in the view of Inherent vice where it\’s violent but does\’t take itself too seriously. Second of all I don\’t think it was that original of an idea it follows yes but not American Ultra where it\’s just two movie ideas put together with the question would it be interesting beginning it\’s pitch. Like you said people want original ideas like his previous Chronicle and Looper that are also really good movies, American Ultra is just not that good.

By: Get Real

Get Real — Mon, 23 May 2016 02:31:59 +0000

Yeah original ideas area dead this year….except for Straight Outta Compton…and Inside Out….and Pitch Perfect…..and San Andreas….and Kingsman…..and Spy….and Southpaw….and The Wedding Ringer etc etc etc