Recent Film Exits Cause Changes to Talent Scores and Stars' Happiness

Recently the box office accountants updated receipts for six weeks, granting more than a billion dollars to studios (and one indy producer) in BO revenues. Once those funds were paid, it was up to the staff at the HTG Talent Headquarters to determine if the starring actors and directors of the exiting films were happy with the amount of money their films made. Most were, a couple weren't. As the results were figured, as usual, notes of interest came up.

Directing the horror film Holdout for Checkmate Pictures, Sam Raimi remained in the 10 Plus Club with a new Talent Score of 11.659. That added to the success of his other horror flick from 2009, Scream Bloody Murder. It seems that the fan favorite can do no wrong.

Once a film passes 200 million dollars in domestic gross, it's pretty darn hard to make a featured talent unhappy. Happy For the Rest of Your Life 2 pleased director Mike Nichols and Matt Damon. And it most especially rose the TS for Angelina Jolie, the second star of the 2-cast film. Reaching a respectable 11.125, Jolie knocked Kate Hudson from the top 3 actresses list. Will a starring role return the peppy blonde to the top trio?

Another film exceeding 200 mil in domestic box was Destination Zero, from fledgling studio Wonder Inc. Who would think that Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell's TS would reach 6.521? That's more than 6 million dollars for a starring role and more than 3 mil for co-starring. Maybe she won't need her private investigator's gig for too much longer.

Prepare for Themarloweconspiracy (a tangent to the long-running Theflipconspiracy). He's the EIC of this news source. He's the chief of Miracle Pictures, both the studio and production company. And he's the fellow who figured out the talent score changes. So it's no surprise that the results for A Short Protest were positive. But, well, it did do well in theatres. (Thank you.)

HTG's prolific producer Pedro threatened Marlowe when he saw that Cameron Crowe was directing A Short Protest, a multi-themed collection of shorts that were intended to protest the overuse of unimaginative short films in theatres. Pedro's worries were unnecessary, because director Crowe's Talent Score rose to 10.889, making him a new member of the 10+. George Clooney and Vin Diesel, scores already above 10, saw an increase as well. And, thanks to the placement of 89-year-old Abe Vigoda in the fourth position, his TS rose to 4.894. Not bad for the ol' fella, huh?

The star of the film, former HTG Mayor Chris Harmer, would receive a new TS of 6.625. From humble beginnings in The Good, The Bad and The Harmer, Chris' future as a producer/actor will likely remain bright.

Low-grossing Boytoy Beta didn't harm the feelings of the talents involved. Decent Into Madness also kept the spirits of those involved, including star Johnny Depp, who at one time wasn't happy working with Ship of Fooles Studio.

And, at last, we reach a film that didn't pan out as well as expected. Flip Brothers' Walking on Asphalt couldn't reach the figure necessary for star Shia LaBeouf to keep his score up. Dropping to 6.687 TS, perhaps a Plants vs. Zombies sequel would get him back up?

Lake Hope Features' The Arcadist gained enough cash to keep the people associated with the rewrite to Pinball Wizards pleased, including recent Oscar winner Jeff Bridges.

Alice in LaLaLand, a rare release by Bulletproof/Avatar, exceeded 200 million dollars. Director Terry Gilliam rose his TS to 8.493. Will a Monty Python film benefit by his new score? Slotted in the fourth position, Angelina Jolie once again saw a rise, making it to 11.731. This would also give the actress the second postion among the top 3 actresses, pushing Kate Beckinsale to third. Julia Roberts' 14.690, however, will be a rather difficult position to overcome.

Of note concerning Alice is that BPA made a mistake in the casting that may cost them. Kate Hudson, once a top 3 actress, was kept out of the top 4 cast listing. With a TS of 10+, Miss Hudson is required to be in the top 4 of the film. Will she retaliate against the studio? Or will the Talent HQ step in for her?

A Story About Life from the Flips satisfied its talents, getting within a couple weeks of making 200 mil domestic.

The offbeat Assassin: A College Tale from LHF fell short of the roughly 113 million required for Ben Affleck's happiness. His Talent Score, even with his fourth position in the film, lowered to 11.179. Although still respectable, the actor most likely would like to see it challenge the TS of the several actors above him on the top list.

Rounding out the films tested with the recent BO postings is the Goldie Hawn/David Caruso short MacGuffin. Checkmate should be pleased, because the talents weren't, though not grossing a large sum of money. Will a rumored sequel see the return of the stars and perhaps a larger amount of cash?

Because of recent operating difficulties and the complicated process of the current talent unhappiness, another rumor is that Talent Admin Marlowe may be changing what happens when top film cast loses TS. Will it be more difficult for the studios? Or will a mere slap on the wrist be involved? An announcement is expected to be made in the near future.

Congratulations to all involved with the recent successful film runs. What movie will be the next big hit and thrill the celebrities involved?