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Vote for us! + Sunshine box office + Best Time details

29 April 2007 at 11:48 PM | by Melty_Girl

Starpages vote button

Cast your vote for The CillianSite

If you've been enjoying our site, you can now vote for us at Starpages.net. The CillianSite Collective and our contributing staff are really proud of our work thus far, and we'd love to rise up the Cillian Murphy fansite chart, so to speak, so that more people know our site is worth visiting. I've added a little vote button to the long version of our sidebar, so if you come by often, please click it often.

Capa at the box office

Sunshine was at #10 on the U.K. charts last week, according to the latest numbers available from Variety. I'm far from being a film industry expert, but from what I can tell, the movie is doing O.K.-but-not-great business worldwide. Two weeks ago, Variety reported about the all important opening figures:

Despite rave reviews from the local crix, Danny Boyle's $40 million budgeted sci-fi actioner Sunshine trailed Stranger in France with $257,966 at 339 through Fox. ...Sunshine also received a warm reception from the Brit crix (sic) the week before, but, as in France, Brit aud(ience)s were hesitant to embrace the thoughtful eco-thriller.

And, tellingly, coverage of Sunshine's box office since its release comes deep into articles about international box office numbers, an indication of middling business. The Hollywood Reporter put the international gross at $18.6 million as of 23 April, as compared to its $40 million budget. All this news strongly suggests that Sunshine is not the super smash success we might have hoped for, though how it will do in North America still remains to be seen—I sure can't wait to see it!

More about the Best Time story—and screenwriter

Staffer Pierspaul found a more detailed plot synopsis for The Best Time of Our Lives, the movie Cillian begins filming this week in London. Capitol Films' current films page (click on Best Time in the sidebar) reveals:

...Vera Phillips and [famed poet] Dylan [Thomas] were teenage loves; fast forward ten years and the two reconnect in London. She’s working as a singer whilst he’s churning out scripts for government propaganda films and living off the last in a long line of infatuated women.

The two former lovers feel the thunderbolt once more, but Thomas is now married to the adventurous Caitlin. Despite their love-rival status, the women form a surprising friendship. Caitlin indulges in her own infidelities, and recognises a similar adventurous spirit in her husband. But she knows his connection with Vera is something different, not to mention dangerous.

Romantic turmoil continues in Vera’s life. She marries her devoted admirer William Killick, but she can’t deny the chemistry between herself and Dylan, nor does she want to—even if this means betraying Caitlin. When William is posted abroad, and a pregnant Vera returns to Wales with her married friends, the battle between her heart and head becomes more intense.

William returns a changed man, but neither is Vera the carefree cabaret girl he married. Neighbourhood gossip fuels her husband’s jealousy towards his rival. Enraged, William stages a violent attack on Dylan—an attack that forces Vera to choose between the men in her life and the friend that she loves...

Meanwhile, today's Observer has a great piece on the mind behind Best Time: playwright/screenwriter Sharman Macdonald, who's also Best Time star Keira Knightley's mum. The article covers how the project came to be, examines the involvement and reactions of the descendants of the real people involved to this fictionalized drama, and tells of Macdonald's pride in her daughter. And about one rumour that seems to have gotten out of hand, there's a clarification:

Caitlin and Vera had formed a very close relationship—prompting tabloid excitement last week about the possibility of a lesbian scene involving Knightley and co-star Sienna Miller. "What sex scene?", said a baffled Macdonald. "It's a friendship between women. Does one have to define that as lesbian? I don't mind, but really."

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Lilith
Posts: 1
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Re:
Reply #6 on : Tue May 08, 2007, 18:39:35
Thank you, Kayla!!
kayla
Posts: 4
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Re:
Reply #5 on : Fri May 04, 2007, 15:15:21
i voted for you guys :) you deserve it i love this site..and cillian of course haha xxx
Melty_Girl
Posts: 1
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Sunshine, voting
Reply #4 on : Tue May 01, 2007, 13:13:41
Thanks for the support, Star!

And just to clarify, "Sunshine" has not been a SMASH hit at the box office -- it definitely hasn't made enough money to be considered a BIG hit, though it seems to have done OK in the countries where it was released. I'll keep watching the news to see how it's characterized by the industry.

It was mostly a hit with the critics though. Sadly, that doesn't always translate to the box office.

Note: unlike "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" in North America, "Sunshine" is not considered a "limited release." In the countries where it's already been released, it has been widely released, meaning to many screens, not just a select few. But it is true that it's not in all countries yet, so we still have to see how it does in new areas, especially in the huge American and Canadian markets later this year.
Last Edit: May 01, 2007, 13:18:38 by Melty_Girl  
Claudia
Posts: 4
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Re:
Reply #3 on : Tue May 01, 2007, 12:28:08
Well it has been a limited release. It hasn't been released in my country yet, and we should probably wait til it's released in the U.S, and then we'll see
Star
Posts: 4
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Re:
Reply #2 on : Tue May 01, 2007, 00:10:22
I will totally vote this site... and gonna spread the word.

I don't get it... Sunshine wasn't a success? It's a great movie with great actors and great story.

tsk.
Bella
Posts: 4
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Re:
Reply #1 on : Mon April 30, 2007, 10:38:01
I know I might be rough, but don't you feel it's a bit of cliche ? hm..I don't know how to say... I don't think it would be a bad idea to have the romance of two women in it. especially Caitlin's reaction to Vera would be very interesting when she could sense that Vera is the lover of her husband...