What is is about numbers?

Film 2.0, Spiderman 3, Rocky V , Web2.0

So yes we are guilty as charged. Film 2.0 is a bit too geekish, though I felt it describes what we are trying to say, ie Film has began a new generation.

But for a change i just wanted to talk about numbers in film titles. Why on earth do so many film titles have numbers in them? What is wrong with The Getaway, The Shawshank Redemption, The Movie?

Memorable numbered titles include Dudley Moore chasing Bo Derek the perfect “10”. 9 ½ weeks with Kim Basinger (why the half I never knew, what’s wrong with 9). And of course the numbers have to get bigger for multiplex audiences, so we had 101 Dalmatians a couple of years ago, and now we have 300 hitting cinemas this year. Who wants to see 50 or 100, when you can have 300.

Some titles seem to work, Seven, for instance. But for a sequel would the next be the rather unimaginative Eight? And confusingly this year we have Fantastic 4 2 ! eventually we will have fantastic 4 4 which is a publicist’s dream.

As audiences are force fed ever more sequels, then the numbers grow ever more. In the seventies and eighties the higher the numbers the worse the film. Anyone remember ‘police academy 6’ , was there ever a 7?
As we enter the year 2007, 3 seems to be the magic number today. Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Lord of the Rings sealed the trend with the Trilogy being a huge commercial success. Unfortunately for audiences films like Matrix 2, and Pirates 2 didn’t really have an ending so you have to wait a year to find out what happened. In the fifties it was popular to have weekly cliffhangers, would the heroine be saved, but a year or two to wait for an ending!
And probably the most curious of the trilogies, Star Wars. We had 1 2 and 3, but then of course it was pointed out that these were really 4, 5 and 6 and they were just waiting for the technology to film 1, 2 and 3.
At least there is a sign of hope from the most unlikely of sources. Sylvester Stallone having milked the formula for the underdog boxer thru Rocky 1, II, III, IV, V released the latest with the genius title of “Rocky Balboa”. Genius.

Feel free to add your thoughts and let us know what your favourite numbers are, and let us know any suggestions for new number titles would be and why, and try to be more imaginative than 69, the sequel to Deep Throat.