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'Happiest Season' will no longer show in US theaters + Trailer

posted 4 years ago by CKid (3842)
17 replies | jump to latest

From: https://variety.com/2020/film/news/sonys-rom-com-happiest-season-skips-u-s-theaters-for-hulu-debut-1234811195/

Sony's Rom-Com 'Happiest Season' Skips U.S. Theaters for Hulu Debut

Hulu is decking the halls for Happiest Season, a rare mainstream holiday comedy centered on two women in love.

The streamer has picked up domestic distribution rights to the Clea DuVall directed film. Original distributor and co-financier Sony Pictures will retain rights in Canada and the rest of the world.

The move is unsurprising as the coronavirus pandemic leaves many American theaters shuttered. The film, led by Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis, will now premiere as a Hulu Original on Wednesday, November 25.

"Unsurprising," indeed.
If truth be told, I wasn't on planning going to the theaters to see it what with all that is happening.

That being said, I don't have Hulu, nor do I wish to watch this via streaming.
So I guess I'll just do what I did with Seberg, i.e., wait for the DVD.

Btw, yo Amazon (Seberg's distributor) -- I'm still waiting for that one!!!
I keep getting e-mails from Amazon offering to sell me the Seberg DVD, but unfortunately, all they're offering is the DVD for Australia, which will not play here in the USA.
So thanks for nothing, you bunch of numbnuts!

EDIT: I'm posting the trailer at the bottom of this thread

[–] Ron2011 (908) 4 years ago

I'm also not surprised with the pandemic still being a factor, even though theaters are trying or starting to open up a bit. There really hasn't been a lot of movies being made and not much activity in theaters so no surprise that this is going to streaming on Hulu. I also don't have Hulu so probably won't see this movie anytime soon.

[–] LLOwens (983) 4 years ago

Hulu has definitely upped their game in the digital streaming market, a far cry from their humble beginnings a decade ago--a time when I laughed when my dad told me he had just subscribed to this streaming service. Their new releases are now comparable to what Redbox rents and they even offer exclusive movies like Parasite, you know the film than won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film, and all were well deserved Oscar wins, IMO.

[–] Ron2011 (908) 4 years ago

Good points LL, Hulu does seem to have a lot of activity and presence in the streaming business. There are so many now. I do have Amazon Prime and have their streaming on my smart TV but I don't use it often.

[–] LLOwens (983) 4 years ago

While Hulu is one of the best video streaming service deals out there, if you're already an Amazon Prime member, like you are Ron, this may be an even better deal, as in multiple services (i.e., unlimited free 2-day shipping and Amazon Prime Video, for one low price).

Call me old fashioned (e.g., physical video media is not dead), but like Carved, I still prefer to rent or buy DVDs and Blu-rays as opposed to streaming them. Most people who I talk to on the subject claim they can't tell the difference in quality, but my mind is telling me that the picture is sharper and clearer on Blu-ray in comparison to what is streamed in 1080p, largely due to the fact that many Blu-ray movies which average around 28 gigabytes is often compressed to under 5GB to stream. Audio is also compressed, so there won't be any lossless audio for audiophiles who can discern the difference, to get excited about.

[–] Ron2011 (908) 4 years ago

Hehe, I still have an older non Blu-ray DvD player. I don't use it very often as I usually find plenty to watch on TV, cable and via On Demand cable. I watch Amazon Prime sometimes and like its variety.

Yes, Amazon Prime is good, fast shipping, various services and free streaming with a Prime membership. I use Amazon most and it's very convenient but I do try to use other sites to order things as well. I like to order from Kohls as there's a store location in a mall in a neighboring town and I like the store and its often marked down prices. I also find that some on line stores ship fast probably to compete with Amazon.

[–] LLOwens (983) 4 years ago

Don't feel bad, Ron, as my dad still uses a VHS player hooked up to a CRT TV, even though he also has a Blu-ray player connected to an HDTV. I was seriously contemplating signing up for an Amazon Prime membership until I read about the way Bezos treated his essential workers since the start of the pandemic. While I planned on boycotting Amazon completely, I did have to dial it back a bit, as I couldn't find a seller other than Amazon for a particular item I was looking for. I pretty much do most of my online shopping on eBay, although I must admit that shipping costs from the contiguous 48 states to Hawaii can be very costly for large items purchased from small businesses and individual sellers who sell on this site, a far cry from the unlimited 2-day shipping which Amazon offers at no additional cost to its members.

[–] Ron2011 (908) 4 years ago

Another reason I try to use other on line sites is because Amazon crowds out everyone else. So I do try to give some business to other sellers.

[–] LLOwens (983) 4 years ago

Since the start of the pandemic, Bezos' wealth jumped from $90.1 billion to $203.1 billion. One would think he would be able to redistribute some of this wealth by increasing employee benefits, pay and warehouse safety standards, as 20,000+ Amazon employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

[–] Ron2011 (908) 4 years ago

Agreed on that LL.

[–] LLOwens (983) 4 years ago

When you have big budget movies like Artemis Fowl and medium budget movies like Greyhound which star popular actors like Tom Hanks, going direct to streaming, or movies like Fast 9, whose release date has been pushed back a year, it comes as no surprise that many small budget indies will go a similar route.

Of course the film which gave producers and distributors cold feet as far as pushing back or even cancelling theatrical releases was Tenet, which was the first big budget tent pole to be released in theaters after the COVID-19 lock down, which to date, has only grossed $50.6 million domestic on a $200 million budget. However, this film has done well overseas, proving that the pandemic, which has hit the U.S. disproportionately hard, was the main reason why it did so poorly here in the states.

It will be interesting to see what films, which have had their theatrical releases canceled, will qualify for an Academy Award nomination, in light of the passing of a temporary rule which will allow for streaming and VOD movies to receive Oscar noms.

[–] LLOwens (983) 4 years ago

I keep getting e-mails from Amazon offering to sell me the Seberg DVD, but unfortunately, all they're offering is the DVD for Australia, which will not play here in the USA.

I'm wondering if Australian director Benedict Andrews had something to do with that. But then again, I checked eBay earlier today and found some sellers offering the Region 2 UK import, while this site: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Seberg-Blu-ray/265474/ is announcing a Region B German Seberg Blu-ray release set for January 28, 2021, which doesn't do Americans any good--well at least not the ones who don't own a region free Blu-ray player or encryption breaking/region code removing software.

[–] CKid (3842) 4 years ago

Here's the trailer ...
https://youtu.be/h58HkQV1gHY

So far, it seems to me that Dan Levy has the best part. Or at least the most humorous.

[–] Ron2011 (908) 4 years ago

Hehe, I like that trailer, looks like a fun comedy. Good to see Kristen in more comedies, as I think she does well as a more subdued person with the funny lines and one liners. Similar to her role in Charlie's Angels. Also, I've really liked Mackenzie Davis since first seeing her in a TV series "Halt and Catch Fire". It was about people in the early days of computers trying to put out computers and software.

[–] LLOwens (983) 4 years ago

I also liked Mackenzie in Blade Runner 2049, Terminator: Dark Fate, and The Martian--boy do I hope that one day, Kristen is cast in a similar role in a sci-fi film such as these. IMO, her best performance to date was starring opposite Charlize Theron in the titular role in the film Tully.

[–] LLOwens (983) 4 years ago

At the beginning of the trailer I thought this film would be mostly about the awkwardness of trying to make a good first impression with in-laws, similar to the storyline in comedies such as Meet the Parents and Guess Who. But by the end of the trailer I was thinking something more along the lines of the main characters living a secret life--not so much like one would find in a superhero flick or spy thriller--but more along the lines of the double lives the main characters in Brokeback Mountain were trying to live. I'm guessing Kristen's character Abby will be forced to become someone she isn't, while finding it increasingly difficult to maintain intimacy with her partner as well as developing bonds with her prospective in-laws, in secret, as one can't keep a lid on such relationships for very long without having things implode.

And ditto on Levy appearing to have the best part, although I must say that Kristen had more dialogue spoken in this trailer than she's been given in any of her trailers in recent memory.

[–] CKid (3842) 4 years ago

Variety posted an article on Happiest Season yesterday titled ...
How Clea DuVall's Lesbian Christmas Movie, Starring Kristen Stewart, Radicalizes a Conventional Genre

One paragraph really stood out ...

It's delightfully conventional, all while being completely subversive because of the movie's queer spin on the genre. And if everything goes well for 'Happiest Season,' Abby and Harper should take their place alongside the couples of 'Love Actually' and 'The Family Stone' ensconced forever in cozy holiday viewing.

I'm not quite sure what the "if everything goes well" statement means considering that here in the U.S., due to Covid19, the film will not be shown in theaters, but being put into a similar category as 'Love Actually,' one of my favorite films, really struck a chord.

I also liked the paragraph towards the end of the article which speculates on which supporting character will steal the movie the most. And yes, Dan Levy is mentioned.

All that being said, in the very least, I am quite glad that this film is a Tri-Star release, for that means that Sony Home Entertainment will definitely be releasing the film on DVD/Blu-ray sometime in the coming year. None of this, "will Amazon ever release 'Seberg' on DVD/Blu-ray here in the States," business.

Anyway, you can read the very informative article in its entirety here ...
https://variety.com/2020/film/features/clea-duvall-hulu-happiest-season-kristen-stewart-1234827619/

Oh yeah, yesterday I bought a Samsung 40" full HD LED screen along with a Soundbar.
This should increase my viewing pleasure when Underwater shows on HBO on November 21st.
I also note with satisfaction that as predicted, the price of the Underwater Blu-ray has finally dropped.

[–] LLOwens (983) 4 years ago

For Variety to mention Happiest Season in the same sentence as Love Actually is high praise and speaks volumes, as this film was nominated for Best Picture - Comedy or Music and Best Screenplay Golden Globes awards. It grossed nearly $245 million worldwide on a $40 million production budget and currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 64% and is rated 7.6 on IMDb. Of course, one of my fave things about this film is its all-star, ensemble cast, including Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Rowan Atkinson, Bill Nighy, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Liam Neeson.