The Bulletin: Weekly Arts & Culture News Roundup | 31 July

HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTERS: TOO BIG TO FAIL?
An article this week on io9.com looked at the economics of so-called 'tent-pole' or summer event movies, analysing the trend in recent years for $100-million-dollar-plus films, and looking at the reasons for and consequences of their eventual success or failure at the box office. The article, which you can read in full here, looks at high-profile flops such as Cowboys and Aliens, and enormo-budget success stories like Avengers. It begins by comparing 2011's relatively small crop of summer event movies, including Harry Potter and Transformers sequels, to 2014's, which they predict has 14 major tent-pole films, most of which are budgeted at $130 million or above. 

The analysis is pretty convincing, boiling down to five main points. Firstly, the article proposes that "big well-known franchises still have a pretty good success rate" - which is hard to argue with; witness the excitement about the Batman Vs. Superman movie announced by Zack Snyder at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Secondly, the article posits that "some films just don't deserve a $200 million budget." Undeniably, when considering a travesty such as Snyder's abysmal Sucker Punch, this holds true.

Thirdly, the article suggests that "a lot of 'box office flops' probably do wind up making a profit." This point addresses the trend for some event movies to do much better via streaming and DVD sales than they do in theatres, such as last year's superb Dredd adaptaion, which performed disappointingly in cinemas, but did well on home viewing formats and streaming services.

Fourthly, the article proposes that "eventually, television, movie theaters and the internet will converge." This theory, which predicts much broader, simultaneous access to content for consumers using diverse platforms, is already proving true - Ben Wheatley's latest, A Field In England, was simultaneously released on DVD and in theatres, and screened on Film 4. The Guardian wrote an excellent analysis of how the initial returns broke down. We interviewed director Wheatley about the process of making his psychedelic English Civil War story  - read the interview here, and our review here. 

The final, intriguing prediction made in the article is that "television and movie universes could start crossing over." This has already been borne out by the comissioning of Joss Whedon's Avengers-inspired TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which debuts on US TV later this year. Actors, directors and producers from the world of film have been making successful forays into TV more and more in recent years, from David Fincher directing the pilot of Netflix series House of Cards, to Martin Scorcese producing Boardwalk Empire, with Steve Buscemi starring. Now, it seems, we are likely to see more and more characters and 'universes' from big-budget, high-risk summer movies crossing over to TV, or perhaps being showcased first on this (relatively speaking) low-risk format before hitting the big screens.

This ties into the idea of 'narrowcasting' as discussed in our recent feature on the future of film, Paradigm Shift: Beyond the Silver Screen. Rather than relying on a traditional route from creator to audience - from box office to home viewing for mainstream films, or straight to home viewing formats for independent and low-budget films - film-makers now have a range of formats and platforms to choose from, allowing them to deliver the kind of action-packed, slick product usually associated with tent-pole movies straight to TV screens, tablets and mobile phones, without the associated risk of a mammoth budget; or to take creative risks on projects that the economics of Hollywood event movies would make impossible.

One of the interesting consequences of these changes is the increasing likelihood of seeing actors cropping up in unlikely or unexpected places - here, for instance, is 80s comedy star Pee Wee Herman in a short, dystopian science fiction film, independently made and released on YouTube. 

Another consequence is that even massive, high-budget films need to be aware of and use viral marketing tools - building an online buzz around your tent-pole movie with exclusive content and teasers containing footage not found in the final film has been a successful tactic for everything from TV's Lost to Ridley Scott's limp and turgid Alien prequel Prometheus (where, arguably, the virals were more entertaining than the film). Here's the latest viral for time-travelling X-Men romp, Days of Future Past, which reunites most of the original cast with the series' original director, Bryan Singer. Also check out the Trask Industries site, which features more virals in the form of photos and teasers of the design for the movie's 'bad guys,' the Sentinel robots.

BREAKING BAD SEASON 5 TRAILER
Breaking Bad returns on 11 August, with fans on tenterhooks to find out the fate of high school science teacher turned crystal meth baron Walter White. Plans for a spinoff series produced by showrunner and creator Vince Gilligan, following the exploits of White's bent lawyer Saul Goodman, is reportedly in the works, but this will be the final season of the much-loved show, which revitalised the career of actor Bryan Cranston, who plays White. In this trailer for the final season, Cranston reads Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem Ozymandias, a warning about the decline of empires and tyrants. 

NIRVANA'S IN UTERO REISSUE ANNOUNCED
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of In Utero, the third and final studio album by all-conquering 90s grunge band Nirvana. Featuring a massive 70 remastered, rare, remixed and unreleased recordings, the planned multi-format reissue will also include a full concert recorded for MTV's Live & Loud. Showcasing Nirvana and Kurt Cobain at their most feral, intelligent and intense, the album's original conception was dogged with controversy, after the raw Steve Albini mixdown of lead single Heart Shaped Box (see below) was remastered by R.E.M. producer Scott Litt. Whether the 70 extra tracks include Albini's original mix remains to be seen, but the release is slated for 23 September.  

CRYSTAL CASTLES COVERED BY LONDON CHILDREN'S CHOIR
A definite candidate for 'strangest cover version of the year,' this version of Crystal Castles' Untrust Us was performed by the London's Capital Children's Choir, which was founded in 2001 by Canadian soprano Rachel Santesso. The track was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. "We wanted to cover Crystal Castles because we liked the idea of replacing their synths and percussion using only our voices and hands," the choir said in a statement. The results are bizarrely uplifting and beautiful.

NEW VIDEOS: NINE INCH NAILS, SEBADOH, CARBS, LOUIE & SOLAREYE & SCATABRAINZ
A dig through this week's videos offers up a bumper crop from both international bands and local heroes - leading off with two live performances by Nine Inch Nails, debuting new tracks Find My Way, Copy of A, and Disappointed. The first video comes from their performance at Korea's Ansan Valley festival, the second from the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. Both feature the new stage set Trent Reznor comissioned for their coming tour, reportedly inspred by Talking Heads legendary concert film Stop Making Sense. 

More returning 90s stars in this week's selection, as Lou Barlow's Sebadoh prepare to release comeback album Defend Yourself on 16 September. Their customarily lo-fi video for lead track All Kinds premiered this week.

Reports of the ascendancy of Scottish hip-hop scene leaders Hector Bizerk continue to roll in - we enjoyed their shows at T in the Park and Kelburn Garden Party, while Scottish Fiction recently raved about their Wickerman set. It's been a banner year for Stanley Odd as well, with a high-profile gig in New York, and their appearance on the SAY Award shortlist. Now, front-men Louie and Solareye have unveiled a new collaboration with respected Glasgow beatsmith Scatabrainz. 

And finally, the debut track from Carbs, a group consisting of Jamie Scott (Conquering Animal Sound) and Jonnie Common. A sampler from their forthcoming Joyous Material Failure is also available on Soundcloud. Carbs make their live debut at the 1st Birthday Party for the Glad Cafe in Glasgow on 16 August. 

NEW MUSIC: FOUR TET, ...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD, JEREMIAH JAE, DAEDELUS, THE ASPHODELLS REMIXED, BLKHRTS
After announcing his new album, Beautiful Rewind, dropping soon on his own Text label, Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet this week revealed a track from the eagerly-anticipated release, the undeniably banging Kool FM. On Twitter, Hebden detailed his approach to marketing the album: "No pre-order, no YouTube trailers, no iTunes stream, no Spotify, no Amazon deal, no charts, no BitCoin deal, no last minute Rick Rubin." To which we offer a hearty: "Go on yersel!"

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead are running a crowdfunding campaign to release their new EP Tao of the Dead Part III. Visit their page on Pledge Music this week and get involved to hear an exclusive preview of tracks from the release. You have to get involved to hear the new material, so here's an older track, from Lost Songs.

Jeremiah Jae, the wildly imaginative producer and rapper signed to Brainfeeder, will be releasing his next project on Warp Records. The co-founder of the Black Jungle Squad, Jae's Raw Money Raps (reviewed here) was one of our hip-hop highlights in 2012. To celebrate signing to Warp, he's released a free mixtape, Bad Jokes - stream below, or download free from DatPiff.

Another key Brainfeeder player (not to mention prolific Ninja Tune, Mush and Plug Research artist) making a trek to another celebrated label is Daedelus, who releases his first album for Anticon on 17 September. Inspired by the loss of close family, the deeply personal record was a way for Daedelus to deal with his grief. "Everyone deals with death and departure in their own way," he comments in a press release. "There was a longing to express myself louder then the grief. This is the album that I needed to make." The first track to be revealed is Paradiddle.

One of the most enduring electronic albums released so far this year was Ruled By Passion, Destroyed by Lust (reviewed here) by The Asphodells, aka Andrew Weatherall and Timothy J. Fairplay. On 2 September, a collection of remixes from the album will debut on Rotters Golf Club, featuring re-workings of the tracks by Richard Sen and Ivan Smagghe among others. Here's a taster mix for the collection. Read our in-depth interview with Lord Sabre here. 

And finally, much-hyped 'gothic hip-hop' crew BLKHRTS dropped their new mixtape this week - Death, Romance and the Color BLK is the latest release from the band, who describe themselves as "M.O.P. meets Morrissey." Downlaod now, free / pay-what-you-want. 

ON TOUR: SPARKS, GARY NUMAN, PLUS: BAR SOBA FEATURES MASSIVE ATTACK & HOT CHIP DJs
Two 1980s synth legends are hitting the road later this year -  Gary Numan, whose new album Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind) debuts on 14 October, is coming to a town near you, playing with his new band line-up, including ex-NIN guitarist Robin Finck. Numan plays the O2 ABC in Glasgow on 13 November and Manchester Academy on 14 November. Tickets are now on sale. Numan unveiled a track from the album yesterday.

Also touring the UK are respected avant garde duo Sparks, who return with their much-admired The Revenge of Two Hands, One Mouth tour later this year. They play The Arches in Glasgow on 25 November. Tickets are now on sale. It's a greatest hits show, so expect a healthy helping of classics from Ron and Russell.

A quick mention for some very special DJ gigs happening at Bar Soba in Edinburgh throughout August - they have booked some impressive guest DJs to entertain their Festival punters, including sets from Hot Chip (8 Aug), Daddy G of Massive Attack (8 Aug), Artful Dodger (22 Aug) and Jerry Dammers of The Specials (29 Aug). These events are all free entry, and finish at 3am. Don't miss out!

WATCH: GOGOL BORDELLO DOCUMENTARY
We'll finish off this week's Bulletin with this short documentary about raucous (and extremely charming) Balkan folk-punk outfit Gogol Bordello, who are regularly celebrated as one of the most energetic and exciting live bands on the go. They released their new album Pura Vida Conspiracy earlier this month, and in this short film front-man Eugene Hütz talks about its creation, and showcases two live tracks.