Batgirl (2022) (1 Viewer)

[AshJW]

Isn’t the source material of that movie something with Halloween?
There you have it.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Brendan Fraiser is playing the villain:

‘Batgirl’: Brendan Fraser To Play Villain In New Warner Bros And DC Pic Starring Leslie Grace

EXCLUSIVE: Brendan Fraser is set to join Leslie Grace in Warner Bros and DC Films’ Batgirl. Although not confirmed, sources believe Fraser would play the supervillain Firefly in the pic. Jacob Scip…

deadline.com

 

[Sam Favate]

^ I hope that’s a sign this will be somewhat more lighthearted. I like Fraser, and he’s had an easygoing manner in almost everything he’s done. He’s currently doing Doom Patrol for DC, which is a very original show, and he’s killing it there (it’s mostly voice over work). I’ve certainly seen enough of the dystopian Gotham that I really hope they take this in a different direction.

 

[ponset]

Now if they would only cast KILER MOTH.
I having a horrible thought he will not be in the movie.
Firefly was in the BATGIRL: YEAR ONE mini-series.

 

[ponset]

Filming has started in Glasgow.

 

[JimmyO]

The ball of string on the desk is a hint that Catwoman will be in this.

Ok, not really.

 

[Alex...]

 

[AshJW]

Do I get it right that Batgirl won’t get a theatrical release?
HBOmax only?

HBO isn’t available in Germany, I hope I get to see it somehow.

 

[TravisR]

Do I get it right that Batgirl won’t get a theatrical release?
HBOmax only?

HBO isn’t available in Germany, I hope I get to see it somehow.

I wouldn't worry. It's a DC product so somehow they'll sell it in places where there is no HBO Max. Maybe it'll be on Netflix or be theatrical but they'll make sure that audiences everywhere can pay to see it.

 

[Jake Lipson]

This is being developed for HBO Max, and it will certainly be a big title for the streaming service.

But I think they would be forgoing potentially a lot of money if it goes that route. Five of the top six films of 2021 to date are superhero movies, so this is clearly a genre that plays very well with the audience that is most willing to go to theaters right now. I would not be surprised if WB changes their mind and sends this to theaters after all once they see the movie that they have. I want to be totally clear that that is not their plan right now and I don't want to get anyone's hopes up.

But I would be really surprised if they passed up the opportunity to make theatrical money on this.

 

[TravisR]

This is being developed for HBO Max, and it will certainly be a big title for the streaming service.

But I think they would be forgoing potentially a lot of money if it goes that route. Five of the top six films of 2021 to date are superhero movies, so this is clearly a genre that plays very well with the audience that is most willing to go to theaters right now. I would not be surprised if WB changes their mind and sends this to theaters after all once they see the movie that they have. I want to be totally clear that that is not their plan right now and I don't want to get anyone's hopes up.

But I would be really surprised if they passed up the opportunity to make theatrical money on this.

I'm sure Warners has put the money and talent of a theatrical feature behind this movie but hearing that it's made exclusively for a streaming service, the only thing that I can think of is direct-to-video. It's one thing when companies like Netflix or Hulu, etc. that don't do theatrical releases (on a big scale) make a movie but when a company that is a movie studio chooses to make a movie exclusively for their streaming service, it just makes me think it's cheap and disposable compared to a "real" movie.

 

[ponset]

Nice look of Leslie Grace on the set of BATGIRL.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

I'm sure Warners has put the money and talent of a theatrical feature behind this movie but hearing that it's made exclusively for a streaming service, the only thing that I can think of is direct-to-video. It's one thing when companies like Netflix or Hulu, etc. that don't do theatrical releases (on a big scale) make a movie but when a company that is a movie studio chooses to make a movie exclusively for their streaming service, it just makes me think it's cheap and disposable compared to a "real" movie.

Agreed. If this is direct-to-streaming, I'm sure I'll end up seeing it. However, I won't have near the amount of enthusiasm as I would if this were a real theatrical movie. It'll always be a second-tier DC film at best.

 

[Jake Lipson]

It'll always be a second-tier DC film at best.

I don't think it is reasonable to assess the quality of a film based on where it opens. Your excitement level might be greater in a theater and that is fair. But making generalizations about quality, especially this far in advance, is really unfair to the film. We haven't even seen any footage yet. How can you think it is absolutely second-tier?

It could be second-tier. Or it might be one of the best DC films ever made. We don't have enough information yet and I'm not ready to make that judgment until I see it.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

In the end I feel that theatrical or not is becoming a distinction without a difference when it comes to these megabudget productions that streamers have financed recently - they’re certainly made with the same budgeting as if they were going theatrical. If it goes theatrical, it plays in a theater for a few weeks and then is available for home viewing forever anyway. In a couple years no one remembers what came out where.

 

[Sam Favate]

I don't think it is reasonable to assess the quality of a film based on where it opens. Your excitement level might be greater in a theater and that is fair. But making generalizations about quality, especially this far in advance, is really unfair to the film. We haven't even seen any footage yet. How can you think it is absolutely second-tier?

It could be second-tier. Or it might be one of the best DC films ever made. We don't have enough information yet and I'm not ready to make that judgment until I see it.

This is very true. Disney put Soul directly on D+ last year, and I thought it was one of the best movies of 2020, if not the best.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I think the stigma about direct-to-video is the result of a previous era. For example, The Return of Jafar had a budget of $3.5 million and was clearly produced without regard to the visual quality being significantly lower than Aladdin. I think the animators did the best they could with the resources they were given, but that film is an example where the direct-to-video market was clearly viewed as being beneath the prestige of the theatrical releases. That was 28 years ago,

Now, in the streaming era, there is high quality filmmaking being done at all levels. Although I understand the desire from fans to see Batgirl in theaters, I don't think Warner Bros. views a streaming debut as "dumping" it on HBO Max. I think that WB could make money on it with a theatrical release, but if they decide to send it to HBO Max, that just means they want HBO Max to have a big event film. They need to establish HBO Max as a destination for premium content, and they are going to spend big to do that. I see no reason whatsoever to believe that the craftsmanship for this film will be anything less than what they would deliver for a theatrical release.

I saw Batman v. Superman in 70mm IMAX on the biggest screen in the state and I thought that film was absolute garbage. I don't mean this in an antagonistic way or to take anything away from those who like it. If anyone reading this likes Batman v. Superman, I'm happy that you were able to enjoy it. I bring this up merely to demonstrate that seeing it on a huge screen didn't make me like it any better. The print looked amazing, but the story didn't work for me at all, so I didn't like it. I would have thought the exact same thing about it if it had been a direct-to-video release.

If Batgirl tells an interesting and emotional story and Leslie Grace does a great job playing her, it will be a good movie. That's it. Grace gave a phenomenal performance as Nina in In the Heights last year, so I'm really excited to see what she does in this film.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

I'm sure Warners has put the money and talent of a theatrical feature behind this movie but hearing that it's made exclusively for a streaming service, the only thing that I can think of is direct-to-video. It's one thing when companies like Netflix or Hulu, etc. that don't do theatrical releases (on a big scale) make a movie but when a company that is a movie studio chooses to make a movie exclusively for their streaming service, it just makes me think it's cheap and disposable compared to a "real" movie.

Agreed. If this is direct-to-streaming, I'm sure I'll end up seeing it. However, I won't have near the amount of enthusiasm as I would if this were a real theatrical movie. It'll always be a second-tier DC film at best.

I think the stigma about direct-to-video is the result of a previous era. For example, The Return of Jafar had a budget of $3.5 million and was clearly produced without regard to the visual quality being significantly lower than Aladdin. I think the animators did the best they could with the resources they were given, but that film is an example where the direct-to-video market was clearly viewed as being beneath the prestige of the theatrical releases. That was 28 years ago,

The Return Of Jafar was exactly the type of film I was thinking of. It's not a bad film, but it's definitely second-tier Disney.

Since this film is being made for HBO Max, it's not unreasonable to think that the same level of quality filmmaking isn't going to take place. I would love to be proven wrong. I just don't see them putting the same type of effort into this as something like Aquaman 2 which is very likely to gross a billion dollars worldwide.

My fear is that we're going to see a very slow drift in quality over the next couple of decades if this type of thing becomes the norm.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

This is very true. Disney put Soul directly on D+ last year, and I thought it was one of the best movies of 2020, if not the best.

Soul was produced and budgeted for theaters. It was only moved to Disney+ at the last minute. Batgirl is being made for HBO Max.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

I don't think it is reasonable to assess the quality of a film based on where it opens. Your excitement level might be greater in a theater and that is fair. But making generalizations about quality, especially this far in advance, is really unfair to the film. We haven't even seen any footage yet. How can you think it is absolutely second-tier?

It could be second-tier. Or it might be one of the best DC films ever made. We don't have enough information yet and I'm not ready to make that judgment until I see it.

You make fair points. It could end up being an amazing film. I guess I should rephrase and say that I'm skeptical that it's going to be anywhere near the experience it would be if it were a true theatrical movie. I shouldn't judge it until I actually see it though.