"Zero Dark Thirty" Takes #1

Kathryn Bigelow is back, and her newest military-themed film easily took the #1 spot at the Box Office last weekend.

Zero Dark Thirty - a movie based on the real life assassination of Osama bin Laden by U.S. Navy SEALs - opened last month in a limited run, but in its wide release last weekend it hauled in a very nice $24 million domestically and $1.2 million internationally. What makes that even more interesting is the fact that the movie has recieved mixed reviews because of some graphic torture scenes.

Despite the torture, though, Zero Dark Thirty has been nominated for five Oscars (click here to see the complete list of nominees), and distributor Sony seems to be pretty proud of it.

The Hobbit, on the other hand, has dropped down to the #6 position at the Box Office, earning just $9 million domestically last weekend. It's still hanging on in the running, but I'm thinking that it won't be in the Top Ten for longer than three more weeks.

And that's a little sad, honestly, since it's such a beautiful movie. I also think it's a shame that it didn't have more than three Oscar nominations. But we can always hope that the next two films will do even better (just like how it was for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, with The Return of the King practically wiping the Oscar board in 2003). Fingers crossed!

"Overall business in North America this weekend came in at $142 million, up more than 7 percent from the same period last year, when the Mark Wahlberg thriller 'Contraband' led the box office with $14.3 million," according to the Star Tribune. Honestly, I think it's pretty cool that even during recessions the film industry continues to grow more and more powerful. I mean, honestly, what other business can do that? Films have massive staying power, and I think that's pretty awesome.


Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday January 11th through Sunday January 13th at U.S. and Canadian theaters (courtesy of the Star Tribune):

1. Zero Dark Thirty - $24 million ($1.2 million international)
2. A Haunted House - $18.8 million
3. Gangster Squad - $16.7 million
4. Django Unchained - $11 million
5. Les Miserables - $10.1 million
6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - $9 million ($26.1 million international)
7. Lincoln - $6.3 million
8. Parental Guidance - $6.1 million
9. Texas Chainsaw 3-D - $5.1 million
10. Silver Linings Playbook - $5 million


Before I end this post, I just wanted to ask you guys to weigh in on something. If you listened all the way through my latest podcast, you probably heard me mentioning doing something special for the Oscars on February 24th. I was given the suggestion of live streaming my reactions to the ceremony, and I'd like to know what you guys think of that. It would basically be just me watching the Oscars and commenting about whatever would come to my mind (I can't actually live stream the actual Oscar footage due to copyrights, but you could tune in on your own TV and/or computer so you could watch it with me).

Would you guys like that, or would you prefer that I just write up a post about the winners after the fact, or do you have another idea you'd like to share?




 - Edessa, signing off

Opinions, Please!!

I'm one of those weird, thinker kinds of people, the type who likes to think and strategize. Just ask the guys I roleplay with, or my siblings, or even my Youth Group whenever we play Ultimate Frisbee. I'm constantly creating lists of pros and cons in my head, trying to figure out patterns in what people do, throwing up strategies all the time. Sometimes all of that thinking can be quite the curse, but sometimes it's also helpful, like showing me when something just isn't working.

No, HNED is not the "something" that "just isn't working," so please don't freak out. =)

The thing that's not working is my podcast, The Radar.

The biggest issue is that, frankly, there hasn't been much of anything going on in either the film or video game industries for the past month or so. It's all just lawsuits, rumors, and gossip. Honestly, it's driving me up a wall because I'm all prepared to write a new podcast script...but then there's really nothing interesting to talk about. I don't know about you guys, but I can only take so much reading about lawsuits - much less talking about them - before I absolutely lose my mind.

I figured that out a week or two ago and, since then, I've been racking my brain for a solution. After talking with my siblings and a good friend, I think I've got something figured out, but I really want your guys' opinions on this as well before I either proceed or terminate this.

What I'm proposing is a total overhaul of The Radar. I mean, gut the whole stinkin' thing, change its direction, give it a fresh coat of paint, et cetera.

What I'm thinking of doing is, instead of using The Radar to talk about media industry news, I'll use it to talk solely about Star Wars. In effect, I'll be moving my Commentary Friday posts over to the podcast.

I can imagine that a few questions have started whirling around your head by now, so I'll attempt to answer the most obvious now:



What would you talk about on your Star Wars-themed podcast?
     I'd review new SW books (I just finished X-Wing: Mercy Kill, so there would be a whole review on that), when the new Clone Wars season starts I'd review all of the episodes, I'd talk about various SW issues, I'd talk about what I think might happen to different CW characters, I might even insert some breaking SW news, and even talk about new Star Wars: The Old Republic updates and whatnot.


What if some breaking news happens on the film/game industry front, like if Sony decides to make a PlayStation 4 or something?
     If some big industry news came up, then I would definitely post about it on HNED. That way you still stay in the loop and don't miss a thing.


If overhauling The Radar means that your Commentary Friday posts become verbal, what is going to replace your Friday posts?
     I'm not sure yet, but I did get a lot of favorable comments on my Colorado Massacre post about a month ago asking me to write more serious stuff, so I might devote my Friday posts to covering more serious issues. Don't worry, I wouldn't go into politics or anything, just posts about forgiveness, grace, that kind of stuff.


Would you still do your Star Wars news updates on Tuesdays if you change the focus of your podcast?
     Yes, I still would. Some of the bigger peices of news I might talk about on the podcast, but I wouldn't stop updating on Tuesdays.


Why, exactly, do you want to change the focus of the podcast?
     A few reasons:

1. Most of the news in the film/game industries is all gossip and lawsuits, and only a few noteworthy peices of information actually appear but it's not all that often. After a while it not only gets tedious to talk about which company is suing which employee, but it's also boring to listen to. Star Wars, though, has many more topics to talk about and is updated regularly enough that there seems to be something new and different around each corner.

2. Because of the diversity of SW topics, it will likely be easier for me to have guests on the podcast. Guests are not only awesome, but they also add spice and interesting views on the discussion topic. I'm thinking that more people would rather talk about Clone Troopers than about celebrity gossip.

3. (And this is just a theory) I'm thinking that I might get more of an audience if my podcast was switched over to a SW focus. I think more people are interested in the galaxy far, far away than they are of media news.


Would The Radar retain its name?
     I'm actually thinking that I might want to change it to The WarZone (as in "Star Wars Zone"), but I'm totally open to suggestions here.


What would happen to The Radar episodes you've already posted?
     They'd still be available for download on Internet Archive, but I'd probably delete The Radar's website so as to make room for the new podcast.



So, in the end, what I'm proposing is this:

• The Radar would have a solely Star Wars focus, nothing else
• I would talk about a lot of different topics on the podcast, and hopefully line up a bunch of guests
• The Commentary Friday posts will be replaced with something else (maybe more serious posts?)
• The Tuesday SW news updates would remain
• Any breaking news from the film/game industries would be written in HNED posts
• The cast's name would be changed to separate it from The Radar (possibly The WarZone?)

*whew* That was a lot.

Please let me know what you think of this idea. I am aware that there are quite a few other SW-themed podcasts out there, but I think that another one would do better and be more interesting than what I've got so far.

Anywho, I really want to know what you guys think of this? It'd be quite a big change, but I think it'd be worth it if you guys liked it. So, please, let me know all of your thoughts about this, and if something I said doesn't make sense I'll try to explain it better. Rambling...it's such a curse! =D

Well, thank you for reading this ridiculously long post, and I can't wait to read your comments about this! God bless you guys!




 - Edessa, signing off

I Need Your Opinion

Lately I've been considering trying my hand at doing podcasts. Basically what I would like to know from you guys is whether or not you would be interested in HNED podcasts? I was currently thinking that it would be a weekly thing where I would talk about film/video game industry news, the kind of stuff that most people don't know about until way later and the kind of stuff that I don't usually address now in my blog. This wouldn't mean that I would stop blogging. The podcasts would just be something extra I would add every week, and I would continue to blog regularly.

So, what do you think? Do you like the idea of HNED podcasts? Would you listen to them? Or do you think I should just stick with written updates?

Please let me know what you think! My Followers (and my stalkers, too) matter a lot to me, and I want to hear your opinions before I proceed with or terminate this idea. Thank you in advance! =D




 - Edessa, signing off