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[Arsh]

Ladies, hoping you could do me a favour...

Kevin over at the GPA has set up a site about PWZ and the drama surrounding it.  He's done some good work.  Lexi deserves to see her version of the film be put on screen, not a butchered corporate machine version.

Check out the site here:  http://www.globalpunisherarmy.com/pwztruth/

[britmys]

Ladies, hoping you could do me a favour...

Kevin over at the GPA has set up a site about PWZ and the drama surrounding it.  He's done some good work.  Lexi deserves to see her version of the film be put on screen, not a butchered corporate machine version.

Check out the site here:  http://www.globalpunisherarmy.com/pwztruth/

So glad you started this thread and have given us this website, Arsh.  I'm behind Lexi and her vision 100%!  I just send both of the gentleman mentioned an email requesting them to reconsider their decision to take her off the film.  I also signed the petition with my comments.

[wingit4me]

One question:

Is Lexi going to be able to release a "director's cut"?

[Camamar]

Thank you, Arsh.

Hard to believe anyone would purposely try to torpedo a movie..or anyone would let anyone try....

Surely someone didn't get an idea from the plot of The Producers? (Try to make money by writing off losses?)

[britmys]

One question:

Is Lexi going to be able to release a "director's cut"?

Wing, I noticed that Lexi has added her name to the petition.  Nomad, TitusPullo, and I have also signed it.

[Nomad]

Good thread, this.  Good Roman thread for good Romans!

[Camamar]

I would think Mike Paseornek and Joe Drake have bosses themselves, to whom we could appeal.

Maybe only stockholders or a board of directors. Anyone know what company owns Lionsgate? Surely behind almost every such business nowadays is a giant corporation?

[Nomad]

I would think Mike Paseornek and Joe Drake have bosses themselves, to whom we could appeal.

Maybe only stockholders or a board of directors. Anyone know what company owns Lionsgate? Surely behind almost every such business nowadays is a giant corporation?

It's a publicly traded company.  Got any ideas, Cam?

http://www.answers.com/topic/lions-gate-entertainment-corp

[AemiliaCamilla]

I have signed the petition and e-mailed Drake and Paseornek...also noticed that Colin Salmon and Dashiell Mihok have signed...

[wingit4me]

One question:

Is Lexi going to be able to release a "director's cut"?

Wing, I noticed that Lexi has added her name to the petition.  Nomad, TitusPullo, and I have also signed it.

  Ok ok I can take a hint

[Nomad]

My friend, Norse Sage, wrote this post.  He's in international banking and really DOES have contacts within Lion's Gate.  This is what he writes:

I believe the architect behind the bad press is the fairly newly appointed LGF head honcho Joe Drake.

Multiple sources inside of LGF have claimed that he is dumping 19 movies greenlit by the previous head honcho, in an effort to make the previous guy look like a monger who shouldn't be in the movie industry, and pushing himself as a saviour who will turn things around with his movies. It would appear that PWZ is among those nineteen movies to be dumped.

One which is known to be among those nineteen is Clive Barker's "Midnight Meat Train".

MMT is a hard R horror movie which is quite original, and very unlike Japanese remakes, Saw and Hostel. The horror community has been looking forward to this for a long time.

The movie has been given the seal of approval By Clive Barker himself (and he is known to be extremely picky), the trailer tested as the highest rated trailer in LGF history, and the movie itself has received reviews ranging from very good to stellar in advance screenings and at festivals. The movie has all the makings of a certified hit.

However, its initial release date in May got pushed to an unspecified date for no real reason. According to LGF insiders, this was done for the sole purpose of removing competition from the Joe Drake produced movie that opened on the same date, "The Strangers". A new release date has been announced for MMT; tomorrow, August 1st. Bet most of you had no idea. What was supposed to be wide release is now being dumped into the contractual minimum 100 theaters with zero promotion - and all the theatres are minor ones, located well outside of the major moneymaking cites. A movie which could have been a hit for LGF is being dumped out of sheer spite and malice courtesy of Joe Drake.

I think the IESB article, which is inconsistent with all the other alleged insider scoops, was fed directly by him or his posse to the most anti-PWZ site on the web simply to create bad press and ease their planned dumping of the movie. I think so because all other articles, even the first one from AICN, have consistently claimed that despite the final edit needing work, the raw footage is sold and there are the makings of a good movie in there. Here are some other tidbits:

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/07/29/punisher-war-zone-helmer-lexi-alexander-to-direct-fantasy-adaptation/
 
In the meantime, the "Punisher" movie that everybody is now down on? Hold your tongue, Del Prete said. It's actually, well, it's actually pretty awesome. Frank Miller and I both saw it, so I know more than most people do, she insisted. And I love it. I think it's going to really please fans.


http://movieblog.ugo.com/index.php/movieblog/more/punisher_war_zone_news1/
 
The funny part is, my source tells me, that the raw footage is fantastic. The visuals are great and there are some awesome action sequences – but like any film of this size it needs tweaking. Alexander's previous films have been low budget independents and perhaps she's just not accustomed to the machinations of larger budget filmmaking. There is, indeed, a new post-production team in place (and new composer), folks that have worked closely with the Marvel camp on their recent projects.

Excerpt from a comment of another insider: (no link, sorry)
 
A bunch of us have seen her cut and are aware of the changes the studio wants to make and trust me, no Punisher fan would agree with those changes. If the suits would have any balls at all, they would find a dozen hardcore Punisher fans on the web, invite them to a screening of the director's cut and a screening of the studio's cut, to see which they prefer.
 
There are several more like that.

IESB on the other hand, not only claims (in a very unprofessional manner) that PWZ is beyond all hope, but also explicitly acknowledges Joe Drake and recommends that he fire people. A sign of things to come? Seems very odd for a site like that to seemingly out of the blue comment on the internal politics of Production Company and give their support to Drake.

This is a horrible situation. The movie no doubt has the potential to be excellent, but LGF seems to have every intention of destroying it, and in the process destroy all our hopes of another Punisher movie.

[joshuabyard]

Great site!!! I signed, and really hope they do whats right and get Lexi back on board. Not just helping... She's a very talented director and I love the actors in this movie so I hope LGF does whats right.

[Camamar]

I would think Mike Paseornek and Joe Drake have bosses themselves, to whom we could appeal.

Maybe only stockholders or a board of directors. Anyone know what company owns Lionsgate? Surely behind almost every such business nowadays is a giant corporation?

It's a publicly traded company.  Got any ideas, Cam?

http://www.answers.com/topic/lions-gate-entertainment-corp

ack. I spent all this time yesterday on a break from work, Googling LGF and reading stuff and copying & pasting into a Word document. Then I forgot to send it to myself at home.

Seems they are an independent company at the moment, which has acquired other companies. Seems they make a lot of money from holding rights to a large library of films & TV shows, and so have a safety net when it comes to the new films & TV shows they have a part in putting out. So maybe they don't care so much about whether or not their films make that much money in theatrical release. Or maybe I just spent too much time reading LGF's own hype. Anyway, Google had a toll-free phone number for LGF. 

I thought about shutting my trap for a while so as not to rock the boat for Ray or make trouble for Lotis on this site and any special consideration she may get from LGF.....but it is in Ray's best interest --- and in the interest of longtime Punisher fans (I also thought briefly about shutting up because I am not well-versed in Punisher lore.) for the best possible film to be released!!! 

[britmys]

Here's more along the same lines, along with a commiseration for our darling Ray.

http://www.sourfizz.com/2008/08/02/sdcc-08-how-to-kill-the-punisher-without-using-bullets/

Folks, if anyone has any ideas about how we can collectively, as a fan base, do anything to help this film be the success it should be, please post here.

[wingit4me]

Don't know if this will help but I sent the contents of one of Nomad's posts to Harry Knowles at the Aintitcoolnews web site which had already posted the planted story.  I think responding to anything on the web which is WRONG is the least we can do.  HE lives in Austin, brit... ball is in your court