I remember years ago when they used to show football matches live at the cinema, for those unlucky not to be at the actual match itself.

Dear God.

British Cinema Hooligans. They set fire to the theatre if the movie sucks. Broken beer bottles are used as weapons if the projectionist fucks up.

Sorry Irish, BLADES ices GRINDHOUSE. I know, it's a corny headline, but what do you want from USA TODAY.

Will Ferrell's BLADES did $23 million this weekend compared to a measly $11.6 million by GRINDHOUSE. The worst part in that they ended up 4th for the weekend, shocking industry insiders. Maybe Easter weekend wasn't the right time to release such a violent movie ?

It'll hopefully do even worse if the Weinsteins release it in two parts elsewhere in the world. Rat bastards.

Tell me about it. I went to go see the Brady Bunch movie back in the mid-90s, and they lost reel six. All hell broke loose. A gang of sly-talking cannibals were in the front row eating triple-stacked sheets of high quality blotter. In a matter of moments, they were going from row to row, stomping on miscellaneous infants, raping the elderly, and shoving whole buckets of popcorn down the throats of anyone who had a complaint. Fuck, I watched them slice a poor girl's chest open, and remove the breast plates so they could be fashioned into some sort of outlandish European hat design. We're living in sick and desperate times, I'll tell you that, friends.

I saw the figures and I'm VERY surprised. I'm more shocked that the film finished fourth than I am that they lost out to Blade of Glory

I really think an Easter release was ill advised for such a movie, don't you ? It's typically a family film weekend, no ?

True but people do go out. I don't know. I was wondering why Easter weekend as well.

OMG! What's even more disturbing after looking at the figures again, Grindhouse lost to Are We Done Yet? OUCH!

That's gonna be tough to bounce back from. Could it actually flop ?

Based on these figures, yes I think so. How or why I have no idea. The whole "it's too long" it such a f*cking weak argument. Like the Lord of the Rings were each 90 minutes Besides, it switches things up. It opens with a trailer, then Planet Terror, 3 more trailers and then finally Death Proof (so it's not like it's one big, long 183 minute movie).

Oh please Irish.

Robert Rodriguez famously went way over-budget with his PLANET TERROR, and all told $70-80 million was spent on GRINDHOUSE(which is ironically funny, since that flick is a love letter to those cheapo Z-grade films).

Interestingly, both GH flicks are being released seperately over in Europe and other foreign territories. Maybe that was the path that should have been taken, split the fake trailers with each film

Anyway Irish, go and rethink your ill-advised LOTR analogy.

That fantasy shit was released at the Christmas season, when there wasn't much competition. Plus, it was a PG-13 3-hour fest.

I'm not surprised that GRINDHOUSE isn't the steamroller that many expected, I'm just surprised it opened at Fourth Place.

As I said over on the Film boards, I think that's a mistake. Other than Tarantino's name on the billing, the fact that it's stylistically being presented as a double feature is really the only appeal this movie has on me.

I'm hardly an expert on the genre but I think that 3 hours is just too long for such a film. It's hard enough to sit through an "epic" for that long. I am gonna see it though. If I go to a matinee during the week, it should be empty, just how I like it.

But you are aware it isn't one film, right?

Thing is, Quentin Tarantino is a brand-name filmmaker who sells tickets.

Is Robert Rodriguez even near that point, or is he still needing his buddy QT to help his ass out? I still remember the "Special Guest Director" credit for SIN CITY.

Again, RR can be really good when he gets someone else(i.e. anyone but HIM) to write the script. Look at him using the great Frank Miller for SIN CITY, or even FROM DUSK TILL DAWN which Tarantino scripted.

Running-time has never bothered me. I still contest that Once Upon a Time in America is not only the best film of the 1980s, but it seems to go by too quickly, and OUATIA is nearly four hours long... There was a period in my life where I would watch it everyday, directly after school, for about four or five months.

But even if this film is as painfully-mediocre, as I am mostly expecting, I don't think time will be an issue for me, based upon the fact that it consists of two films and a handful of fake trailers.

Although, I'm slightly surprised by the running-time... I thought I had read that Tarantino and Rodriguez's segments were 60 minutes a piece?

Come on, Ronnie, From Dusk Till Dawn sucked.

No, they're about 80 minutes a piece and with trailers and everything else it's about 3 hours. Glad to see someone who's willing to try it. It's NOT the longest movie ever made folks and again, it's 2 seperate movies so it switches things up.

Yeah it did LLC, but again...QT and RR aren't equal. I think RR's erratic writing problems are boiled down to simply this:

He doesn't know what he wants.

Besides, imagine if RR had written FROM DUSK TILL DAWN. Jesus it would be whole lot worse.

Yeah Capo, thanks. Like I say, I still think it's too long for those who aren't fans of the genre. Whether it's a "double feature" or whatever. I'm gonna see it this week in the afternoon because I'm off this week. I'll post a review for sure.

More strippers with fangs?

Funny thing LLC, not only is OUATIA one of the best epics EVER, it's only that good at it's extended running time.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing Leone's rumored 6-or-more hour cut, if it even exists.

Actually, wasn't Leone's prefered cut 20-35 minutes longer?

Again, its like the deal with the long legendary "Director's Cut" of THE BIG RED ONE. They just have to find the negative elements to make it happen.

I had heard he wanted to release it in two three hour installments.

But who knows. There are so many rumors floating around that film, I just can't keep up. I will say this though; I don't think there is a better film to possibly end your career with.

Great movie, and yes, the extra 3 or 4 hours did exist, but probably died with Leone.

That's how he died; he ate the negatives.

Wouldn't be surprised.

If memory serves, he filmed 10 hours of material total. It's been a little since I've seen the film, so I cannot remember her name, but the blonde girl Noodles was seeing at the end of the film, Leone supposedly had filmed a more in-depth story on her.

Well, we must remember something. There is difference between hours of scenes chopped out, and then there is just footage.

"Just Footage" isn't scenes but maybe alternate shots, background shots, maybe even non-relevant frames. Who knows.