I’m not a fan of Eli Roth. The Hostel movies are essentially torture-pornography. I fail to see any need for such stories in any kind of world, regardless of where one derives meaning (nihilism or naturalism or theism–take your pick). However, I am a fan of the business model he’s using for his latest schlock horror film, Aftershock.
2 million dollar budget. Releasing simultaneously in theaters, iTunes and video-on-demand. You don’t need to sell a lot of movies to turn a profit at that budget.
Heck, if you can pull of an indie film for $100,000, then you can skip the theater release. Foreign TV sales, iTunes, video-on-demand, DVD sales.
Speaking of the entertainment biz, what’s with all the Hollywood types who want ambassadorships due to forking over money to the President’s campaign? Do we really need some overly-tanned Los Angelesite swanning around Belgium, accompanied by his entourage (expensive toupee, psychiatrist, third wife)? Nyet. Stay in LA and make another bad film.
Or another season of Project Runway. My wife, the repressed clothing designer, checked out the latest season from the library. Designing clothes is not my thing. I would rather get blown up by a several megaton nuclear bomb than design clothes. Well, maybe I don’t feel that strongly about it, but you get my radiation drift. That said, I find the show darn compelling due to the raw creativity some of those budding Michael Kors throw around. They’re crazier than bedbugs in June and they could all use several months in a padded cell, but their creativity is admirable. I don’t care if you’re designing haute couture or writing books or whipping up a twelve-course meal for the Sultan of Brunei. Creativity is creativity.
Though, I’m still not impressed with Eli Roth’s gorefests.