Evan Almighty, sequel to the 2003 hit Bruce Almighty, is opening this weekend to some bad reviews. The estimated $175 million price-tag, which earned itself the title "the most expensive comedy story ever told," had to raise some eyebrows from the beginning.

Still, Universal executives Marc Shmuger and David Linde think they're going to rake in the dough with the Almighty sequel. "This movie is a great bet," Universal Chairman Marc Shmuger told the LA Times last year. "It's a spectacle fantasy and also a comedy. And a sequel to one of the most successful hits in the studio's history."

If Tom Shadyac's Evan Almighty turns into a hit, as Shumger and Universal hopes, the movie could put big-budget comedies on the front burner. If it flops, don't expect to see another big comedy for a while. Remember how Kevin Costner's Waterworld flopped in 1995? Costner's budget was also estimated at $175 million (back then), however, the U.S. box office only raked in $88 million. We didn't see too many high budget sci-fi flicks for a while after that one.

Who does this hurt? Well, it hurts General Electric (NYSE: GE) for one, parent company of Universal Pictures. Outside of the possibility of it hurting Steve Carell's career, it hurts you, the viewer. If Evan flops, don't expect to laugh while munching on your popcorn at the movies anytime soon.

What happens if Universal Pictures' Evan Almighty flops? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 23 Jun 2007 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Over the weekend I had lunch with a long-time professional photographer and Mac user who is also a beta tester for Adobe's next-generation photo editing program, Lightroom. I asked for a comparison to Apple's high-end photo program Aperture and he said "There's no comparison. I don't understand why Apple shipped Aperture.  There was a hole in the market for Final Cut, because Adobe let Premiere slip, but nobody was really looking for a Photoshop alternative." 

The explanation for Aperture is simply that it's in Apple's (and Steve Jobs') DNA to want to do everything themselves.  Sure, there's a big ecology of add-on Apple software and hardware, but when it comes to the core products, Apple wants to control it all.  Clearly, photo editing software won't make or break the company (already some of the Aperture technology is seeping into iPhoto, which is good for everyone).  But the Must Invent It Here attitude is a broader concern--especially in the world of media playback.

Continue reading Apple's Achilles' Heel?

Apple's Achilles' Heel? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 Jun 2006 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.