We're back, and better than ever
Welcome to the new and improved Jacob's Letter, now with more words from friends
Happy Tuesday, and happy fall! After a long hiatus, the Jacob’s Letter newsletter is back! I’ll have more info about what’s changing, but first: Here’s a picture of Opal on our Arizona trip we just took.
Opal giving you golden hour poses in Flagstaff.
Anyways, we’ve had a lot of changes in our lives since I last published a newsletter. Taylor and I are now homeowners(!) and are currently going through a list of renovations we want to do to the condo. I am slowly becoming a man who says things like “I should stain this deck” and “What if we redid the guest bedroom closets?”
But as excited as I am to no longer pay rent to a landlord, the home stuff combined with COVID and the state of the world and work duties reporting on all of the above left me drained at the end of every day. I needed a better way to do this newsletter.
So, starting now, here’s what will happen. Three weeks a month, the newsletter will be like it’s always been, with the regular news updates and movie reviews. I’ll post about movie trailers occasionally, but with the state of coming attractions being what they are, I won’t have a regular “Trailer Park” update each week.
One week of every month will be a collaborative newsletter, with words from me and some friends on one topic, like the “Star Wars” and “Veronica Mars” newsletters. This month’s version of that will be a “Fast and the Furious”-themed newsletter featuring posts from me and my friends Jordan Ray and Austin Sandford.
And, finally, in the middle of every week, I’ll post a short discussion post with a question y’all can answer.
With that, let’s get started with some news about how movie theaters are still dealing with COVID fallout.
Coming soon?
It’s not looking good for movie theaters. Many are shutting down again (including all of the Alamo Drafthouse locations in the D-FW area) as COVID-19 cases keep rising in some places after “Tenet” turned out to not be the Box Office Savior after all. To date, Nolan’s twisty time-warp film has made just $334 million in global box office receipts- or, only 75 percent of the $450 million it needs to make a profit, according to industry analysts. Just $41.5 million of that came from American movie theaters.
Right now, the highest-grossing film of 2020 is “Bad Boys For Life,” which is was released in January (a lifetime ago) and has made $206.3 million domestically.
From a movie theater industry analysis piece published in Vulture this month:
In total, the research and accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers projects a 65.7 percent decline in U.S. cinema revenue, from $11.4 billion in 2019 to $3.9 billion this year. Other industry groups estimate that 93 percent of exhibitors saw revenue drop by 75 percent or more in the second quarter of 2020, compared to the same period last year.
Multiple national theater chains have shut their doors, including Regal and Cineworld. AMC and Cinemark, the two largest theater chains in America, have stayed open by charging people to rent out entire theaters or allowing people to bring their video game consoles to play on the big screen in a safe, sanitized environment.
Some smaller indie theaters (like Dallas’ Texas Theatre) have stayed open through virtual events and exclusive screenings, but the future looks bleak for them too, as most rely on donations and public arts funds to run.
Drive-in theaters (more on those later) have also made a comeback during the pandemic, as the experience allows for social distancing and more control over your environment than a normal theater. They’re also opening their screens for church services and live-streamed concerts and comedy shows.
More: As most North Texas movie theaters remain closed, drive-in theaters prepare their screens
Personally, I’ve been to one drive-in show and one private movie theater screening since March. I’m excited to go back to a theater, but at this point, even if I did feel completely safe, there’s nothing new to watch. Most theaters in my area are closed. It’s a tough time all around, for exhibitors, theaters and customers. I’m confident that once theaters and sporting events and concerts do come back in full force, Americans are going to be spending more money on entertainment than we have in decades.
But I do think this has forced many theaters to look at other options for revenue —membership programs, private screenings, discussion events/lectures, repertory screenings, video game rentals, the opportunity for community groups like churches to rent out space. As streaming continues to rise, the movie theater experience will still matter to folks who want to sit in the dark and experience a movie on the big screen, but that experience by itself isn’t enough anymore.
And we can’t keep waiting for one movie to save the industry.
How Netflix mismarketed a movie and then got in legal trouble
Netflix is being indicted by a Texas grand jury and Republican politicians are calling for a Department of Justice investigation into the streaming service after the release of the French film “Cuties.” The movie is about a preteen girl who joins a provocative dance crew to assert her independence while she’s dealing with troubles at home.
The Tyler County grand jury and other GOP politicians (many of whom have not actually seen the movie) are accusing Netflix of promoting child pornography with the film, which was marketed as “12-year-old learns to twerk” because apparently “A French-language coming-of-age film about a Muslim girl dealing with her father’s second marriage and her religion’s constraints on women” was too much to put into a logline.
I wrote a primer on the controversy surrounding the film here. I also watched the film for that piece, and while it very clearly condemns the hypersexualization and adultification of young girls in general and young Black girls in specific, it does push the line on “depiction doesn’t equal endorsement.” It is an uncomfortable watch in many places, but it’s also clear most of the lawmakers talking about this movie haven’t actually seen it.
This COVID-19 art should stay muted
Do you like joking about Zoom calls? Do you think everyone in the world should share your political views? Well then, you’ll love the first batch of movies/TV shows made about the COVID-19 pandemic. Read my review of “Coastal Elites” and “Love in the Time of Corona” here.
Elevated horror is a scary, snobby term
It’s Spooky Movie Season! And that means you should watch whatever makes you happy, whether you’re a scary movie veteran or a scaredy-cat. Just don’t fall for the “elevated horror” marketing trick. The folks at Book & Film Globe let me write/rant about genre and snobbery for this topic, and it is my Halloween gift to you: There is no such thing as elevated horror.
Memorable movies: A most excellent film in a most heinous time
Earlier this summer, Taylor and I saw our first movie in a “theater” since March, and it was a delight. We saw “Bill and Ted Face the Music” at the Coyote Drive-In in Fort Worth. I’d never seen the previous two movies in the series before, so we rented them before going out to this one. The whole series is just a goofy, happy time. The third one actually makes you think about your place in the world and how we could all stand to enjoy the moment a little bit more and appreciate what we have — our friendships, our lives, and our ability to make music with both.
Also, if you are in Fort Worth, check out Coyote Drive-In. We had a great parking spot, the food was great, and we had great customer service. 10/10 will be going back.
Islands in the Stream
“Islands in the Stream” is where I’ll discuss any and all happenings on the streaming front every week, since there’s so much of it now. While you’re here, read my deep dive for WFAA about how diverse the streaming landscape is becoming and read my in-depth analysis of Disney+ and take a look at my reviews of Quibi and HBO Max.
This week:
Disney is bumping its Nov. 2020 release of Pixar’s “Soul” to Christmas Day…and it will be a streaming exclusive for its 60 million Disney+ subscribers. Unlike with “Mulan,” there will be no premier access fee. If you have Disney+, you can watch “Soul” on Christmas. It will still hit theaters in international markets.
That movie will be Disney’s first release since it announced it would shift its focus to streaming content instead of theatrical releases. Last Monday, the Walt Disney Co. announced a huge reorganization and said it would be consolidating its multiple branches into one, with primary focuses on content distribution, ad sales and Disney+. This comes as revenue from Disney parks has plummeted and the company has laid off at least 28,000 workers. This means Disney is working to directly compete with Netflix in the streaming game, and could completely upend the way films are distributed/released in the coming years.
If you want to watch any “Peanuts” holiday specials this year, you’ll have to watch them on AppleTV+. The streaming service snagged the rights from ABC, making this the first year since 1965 that the specials haven’t aired on broadcast TV. Early reports are saying that the specials, like “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” will be available to stream for a limited time. Hope you had your DVRs set last year.
Letter of Recommendation
What I’m playing: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2
Vicarious Visions has remastered the ‘90s skateboarding hit, and it’s just as fun to play now as it was when I was a kid. The new version looks amazing, too. It took me all of five days to beat all the goals, but the new version has some fun online play and enough new skater goals to keep it interesting.
What I’m watching: Ted Lasso
I’ve been telling everyone I know to watch Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso.” I got a year’s free subscription to the service when I bought a new phone over the summer, and I thought I’d barely use the service. I have since been proven wrong with “Ted Lasso,” in which Jason Sudeikis plays a college football coach sent across the Atlantic to lead an English football club.
I thought it would wear out its one-joke premise early on, but, as I wrote here for Book & Film Globe, I was repeatedly amazed at the way the show never goes for the easy joke and instead highlights the humanity of everyone involved. A perfect show to watch during these times.
Friday News Dump
A list of online writing I really liked this week:
This oral history of “Wishbone” (filmed in Texas!) is just so much fun to read (via Christian Wallace and Cat Cardenas in Texas Monthly)
I’ve thought about this essay on “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood” a lot since reading it (via Travis Woods in Bright Wall/Dark Room)
My friend Jesus Garcia recently re-launched his Youtube show “The Heyzeus Show,” where he talks about video games with his friends. Check it out and smash them like and subscribe buttons.
That’s all, folks. If you liked what you saw here, click that subscribe button (promise I won’t send any annoying emails) and tell all your friends!
This newsletter is written by me and edited by my favorite person, Taylor Tompkins. Views expressed here are my own and don’t reflect the opinions of my employer, yadda yadda yadda.
If there’s anything you want to see covered in a future newsletter, let me know!
You can find me in other corners of the internet as well, if you so choose. There’s my personal website (which focuses on pop culture, faith and my journalism clips), a Twitter account and a Letterboxd account. Subscribe away.
See you next week,
Jake