These are trying times for filmmakers who want to make something that isn’t based a comic book or cereal box, but we didn’t realize that things were so bad that even the most successful, mainstream fare is being scrutinized by the big studios.
After a disastrous 2009 for Disney which saw “Old Dogs,” “G-Force,” “Surrogates” and “Confessions Of A Shopaholic” tank at the box office, new studio president Rich Ross has laid down the law. There will only be two kinds of films made at Disney: mid-budget films with broad appeal young, up-and-coming stars (think “Freaky Friday” with Lindsay Lohan) or big budget CGI/Pixar/Marvel films that will spawn licensed goods. As one producer on the Disney lot says, “Everything in the middle is toast.”
And apparently, also “toast” is basic common sense too. “The Proposal,” the other surprise Sandra Bullock hit this year, cost $40 million to make and took in a mind-boggling $315 million worldwide (very similar numbers to “The Hangover”). A sequel would seem a natural right? Not so, says Disney. Because they can’t make lunch boxes or turn the film into a ride that means it’s a no go. Some of the gems we can look forward to from Disney? “Jungle Cruise” (based on the ride), “Tron” (which will sell lots of geek crap) and the Muppet movie (duh) among others.
But to get the full grasp of Hollywood’s warped logic that now seems to be driving things, one only has to look over to Universal’s decision to greenlight another “Riddick” film with Vin Diesel. By all accounts, “The Chronicles Of Riddick” was a failure. It grossed a mere $116 million worldwide on a budget of about $105 million – not a great profit margin. So why bother with another one? Apparently, the video games are still garnering enough interest and sales to make another film worthwhile.
We’re sure stockholders are very pleased that the studios are widening their revenue streams, but for the rest of us, the cinematic landscape just got a little bleaker.
