the buzz log
Buzz Multiplex: Disastrous Movies?
Three hitherto untouched movies (untouched by critics denied previews that is) skulk their way into the Buzz Multiplex. Could this be why favorably reviewed "Traitor"—stocked with power actors Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce—opted for a Wednesday advance, the better to avoid the stench of decaying plots?
Besides the triple threat, "Mamma Mia: Sing-Along Edition" opens in select theaters. As for the unscreened triplets, not only are their plots stale, the stories behind the films and actors may be more interesting.1. "Disaster Movie" (PG-13). From the minds behind "Epic Movie," "Meet the Spartans" and the "Scary Movie" franchise comes yet another chance for Carmen Electra to have a movie role. Electra's Search buzz, though, is dwarfed by co-star Kim Kardashian. Carmen does hold her own against Vanessa Minnillo. One New Orleans critic, however, isn't laughing over the premiere date, which coincides with Hurricane Katrina's anniversary.
2. "Babylon A.D." (PG-13). Vin Diesel stars a mercenary killer hired to transport Melanie Thierry to New York. Thierry may hold mankind's future in her fate, but she gets less buzz than her other guardian, played by Michelle Yeoh. Radioactive wastelands and human smugglers may be signs of the apocalypse, but when a director hates his own movie, that's just a bad sign all-around. French director Mathieu Kassovitz has been complaining about a gutless Fox studio interfering in his production.
3. "College" (R). Will Nick fans be ready for a nearly grown-up, yakking-in-the-bowl Drake Bell? He stars as one of three high school kids crashing a weekend college frat party. In an Los Angeles Times interview, the former "Drake & Josh" star gives off a very different, serious persona, especially when he alludes to his near-death experience and scolds Miley Cyrus as a poor role model. The other castmate generating interest is Kevin "Chicken Little" Covais. He was cut just before making the "American Idol" Top 10 in 2006, but he instead landed this, um, dream role. Not to worry: Covais says he can always go for sportscasting if this acting thing doesn't work out.
Filed under: Movies
Buzz Multiplex: Bunny Death Match
With last week's releases still whipping up a Web storm, the weekend premieres look like a weak front that's just passing through. Interest is spiking for limited release "I.O.U.S.A." (+629%), called the "Inconvenient Truth" of economics, and beyond-irreverent comedy "Hamlet 2" (+47%). Meanwhile, the success of "The Longshots" rests entirely on Ice Cube's draw. Below are the three most popular premieres in the Buzz Multiplex this week.
1. "The House Bunny" (PG-13). MTV critic Kurt Loder sums the premise of an exiled Playboy bunny acting as a sorority housemom as "unabashedly formulaic." Still, star Anna Faris has the lightweight comedy hopping among the top 3,000 terms. Other buzzy co-stars include Idoler Katharine McPhee, Emma Stone, Rumer Willis, Kat Dennings, and Colin Hanks (yes, the son of). By the way, check out Daily News' profile on "scene stealer" Faris that includes a Bunny etiquette note: Never touch the tail.
2. " Death Race" (R). The backseat driver movie of the week pulls in 70% male interest, but what does it mean when an update of Roger Corman's "Death Race 2000" (+230%) is beaten by a bunny? Portfolio reports a lot rides on its success, but the critics aren't enthralled despite the talented cast of Jason Statham ("The Bank Job"), Joan Allen ("The Contender"), and Ian McShane ("Deadwood"). Then again, the title sets all expectations.
3. "The Rocker" (PG-13). Oh snap. The Rainn Wilson vehicle isn't just being called an off-key "School of Rock" rip-off, but New York Magazine has now declared a curse upon "The Office" cast members who venture to the big screen. (And why should "Saturday Night Live" alum suffer alone?) The movie also stars Christina Applegate, who has received enormous Web sympathy for her recent announcement of breast cancer.
Filed under: Movies, Autos, Women, The Office
Harry Potter: Delayed but not Forgotten
Think Harry Potter is over the hill? Think the boy wizard no longer garners fanaticism among his fans? Think again, muggle!
Upon hearing that Warner Bros. would delay the release of the sixth film from November to June, fans turned to the Web to voice their displeasure in ALL CAPS. Warner Bros., eager to keep the herd of angry nerds from storming its gates, quickly responded.
The president of the studio, Alan Horn, released a statement explaining that the decision was not taken lightly, and even pointed out a silver lining. With the sixth film, "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince," pushed back until June, fans won't have to wait as long between it and the seventh (and final) flick, scheduled for a November 2010 release.
As far as silver linings go, this one is stretching it, especially if the last film gets delayed as well. But the fact that a studio president responded to online grumbling is, in and of itself, news.
Various stories focusing on the delay cast a spell over the Buzz, including this cheeky item from Defamer. For anyone who wants to read Mr. Horn's full letter, MovieWeb has a copy of the entire missive. And, for the hardcore Harry worshipers, CNET reports that Scholastic will sponsor an all-day read-a-thon of the boy wizard's first adventure. The event will be broadcast live on the Web on September 23 (barring any delays).
Filed under: Movies, Harry Potter
Cruise in Control
"Tropic Thunder" may have done more than re-establish Ben Stiller as a scribe and Robert Downey Jr. as the man of a 1,000 accents. The 127-minute inside-joke-a-minute satire may have restored, at least for the moment, the glory of Tom Cruise.
Good luck catching a glimpse of Cruise's prolonged cameo as a despicable movie executive (if that's not too redundant). Paramount wisely bought the advance critical hype and clamped down on publicity photos. His stint as lunatic backstabber Les Grossman has sent people searching for "tom cruise tropic thunder" (+919%), "tom cruise fat tropic thunder" (infinity spike), and certain moves that will remain non-spoiled (and must be seen to be believed anyway).
The performance prompted Esquire to run a headline, "Welcome Back, Tom Cruise." Meanwhile, searches have soared for "tom cruise movies" and "tom cruise imdb." Cruise's comic turn taps into the manic reservoir that got him a Best Supporting Actor nomination as a sexist self-help guru in "Magnolia" and the ridicule after the Oprah's incident. (Or, as searchers describe it in Olympian terms, "tom cruise couch jumping.")
For the moment, fans can emerge from deep hiding and enjoy the boy wonder without shame. With the stars and searches coming into alignment for Cruise, the only thing he has to watch out for is himself... and maybe Angelina Jolie replacing him on the comeback trail.
Filed under: Movies, Tom Cruise
Buzz Multiplex: All Thunder and Mirrors
With summer on the home stretch, the releases increase in frenzy with more midweek premieres and a full, eclectic slate for the weekend. Here's how the buzziest new releases stack up...
1. " Tropic Thunder" (R). The Ben Stiller riff on war movies opened relatively small ($6.5 mil), but E! points out that some audiences didn't learn of the midweek premiere until (ironically) the boycotts. Hope that the comic trio of Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey, Jr. will upend "Dark Knight" gets Search back up: The laffer has rumbled up 333% to hit the top 1,000 terms. They should give thanks in part to talk of Tom Cruise's bald-pated cameo (1,380%).
2. "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (G). Long a part of "Star Wars" lore, the epic battle between a clone army and battle droids gets big-screen animated play. Pre-teens are the biggest Search boosters, making this the family outing for the week.
3. "Mirrors" (R). A French director takes a Japanese horror film and stuffs it with American actors, including Kiefer "I'm not Jack Bauer" Sutherland. Upon reflection, critics are deciding they'd rather look away, with IGN calling it "another lackluster Asian horror movie remake." For searchers, the only thing worth looking at is Paula Patton as Sutherland's estranged wife.
4. "Vicky Christina Barcelona" (PG-13). With mild interest hailing from ages 13 through 54, it's either the sophisticated family movie of the week or a date movie for all ages. Woody Allen returns to get fans fussing over whether he's back in form or too much into Scarlett Johansson. As far as online fans are considered, it's all about Penelope Cruz, who not only has double the online appeal as Johannson, but more searches than Scarlett and the rest of the cast (Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall) combined.
5. "Henry Poole is Here" (PG). A distant fifth, nevertheless the Luke Wilson vehicle has seen a 632% volley in searches. The premise of miracles and faith dishes up a promising plot, but the comedy about a guy trying to die in peace from his fatal disease earns a nice-try-but-no-go from critics.
Filed under: Movies
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oddest Jobs | Breakout! |
| 2 | Vivienne Marcheline And Knox Leon | Breakout! |
| 3 | Shwayze Song | Breakout! |
| 4 | Cell Phone Etiquette | Breakout! |
| 5 | Your Home Page | 17280% |
| 6 | W Magazine | 8647% |
| 7 | Christie Brinkley | 8361% |
| 8 | Selma Blair | 5953% |
| 9 | Nashville Star | 2758% |
| 10 | Neiman Marcus Christmas Book | 1365% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leryn Franco | +244 | 456 |
| 2 | Holly Madison | +288 | 351 |
| 3 | Halloween Costumes | -17 | 222 |
| 4 | Hi-5 | +8 | 220 |
| 5 | Kellie Pickler | +101 | 200 |
| 6 | Jamie Lynn Spears | +80 | 180 |
| 7 | NFL | +0 | 136 |
| 8 | Barack Obama | -1 | 119 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
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