The Best Director-Chapter 479 - : Early Summer Battle Situation
Chapter 479: Chapter 479: Early Summer Battle Situation
In the sweltering summer, young people enjoy their long summer vacation, and it’s a great time for dating and movie-going.
As early as May, the summer blockbusters started hitting the big screens. “Mission: Impossible 3” (with a production budget of $150 million) opened with only $60.9 million in its first week, reaching $117 million in North American box office and $305.3 million worldwide within the golden four weeks. Its Rotten Tomatoes scores were 70%/63%/69%, and Roger Ebert sarcastically said, “One view is it has thrilling action scenes and tedious, boring dialogue. My view is that this kind of movie is thrilling, yet monotonously boring.”
Everything indicated that this was just an average movie. Jewish director J.J. Abrams, who had high hopes of reversing the low critical acclaim but high box office success of “Mission: Impossible 2”, could not save the franchise; the third installment looked set to become the poorest performer of the series. On the cusp of 40, J.J. Abrams’s directorial debut on the big screen after creating hit TV series like “Alias” and “Lost”, known for their tense, suspense-filled, and layered storytelling, fell far short of media-created hype such as “the next Spielberg?” and “the new whiz of the big screen”.
Because of recent rumors regarding Tom Cruise falling out with Paramount after last year’s major executive shakeup, it seems very likely that their long-standing partnership will end, making the possibility of “Mission: Impossible 4” hard to predict.
Warner Brothers lost big money again! The action drama “Poseidon”, with a production budget of $160 million, had a measly opening box office of $18.57 million. After three weeks, it had only amassed $32.26 million in North America and $42.38 million worldwide. WB executives probably still can’t figure out what happened. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 33%/30%/57%, Roger Ebert mocked, “Petersen’s heart wasn’t in it. He is a clever director who thought he had superb raw material, and also a good director who turned it into an interesting wreck.”
Smugly comparing themselves to “Titanic”? They completely botched it, and running into “The Hangover Part III” only exacerbated the tragic nature of this disaster. Perhaps WB executives knew all along; after all, “Poseidon” received poor feedback from test screenings and wasn’t scheduled for a simultaneous global release.
Two years ago, “Troy” skimmed the edge of profitability, and “Poseidon” directly caused WB to lose their shirt. Once an Oscar winner for Best Director (in 1983, the 55th Academy Awards, for “Das Boot”), the 65-year-old German, Wolfgang Petersen, was left thoroughly dejected. Audiences unfamiliar with him could never guess his illustrious history, nor that his 1997 film “Air Force One” earned him acclaim as “the most outstanding action movie director”. However, today he seems as finished as John Woo was a few years ago; the embarrassed old man with white hair is done for.
Flame Films made big money again! “The Hangover Part III” continued the style of “The Hangover 2”. Although the story format saw some innovation and the production budget rose to $80 million, it received only 45%/46% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and audience approval fell to 65%. The main verdict on it was still “Had enough Hangover?” Even Roger Ebert, who once gave high praise to “The Hangover” and harshly criticized “The Hangover 2”, trashed it giving it 2/4 rotten tomatoes, “Wang Yang did something remarkable, the mere appearance of ‘The Hangover Part III’ is a miracle, and Feig’s work is basically an unfunny joke.”
“Changing clothes doesn’t turn one person into three, too many people are fooled by the costume, and Wang Yang understands this; you should steer clear of this money-making scheme,” so commented Eric D. Snyder from Film.com. “Stupid sequels are the best way to destroy glory; they only exist to grab money shamelessly, which is why we have ‘The Hangover Part III’,” said Betsy Sharkey from the Los Angeles Times. Rotten Tomatoes user Luke B wrote, “What’s popular? A good movie can be released three times, but that’s not a good idea. Its characters, jokes, and lively approaches… almost everything is exactly the same. Honestly, I’m already trying to get over it.”…
“I love it! It’s even crazier, more fun, and more foolish than the previous ones. Some people say they’re exhausted, but I’m looking forward to ‘The Hangover 4’,” James M gave it five stars. “It never surpasses the first one, but it’s still F**king fun! Far superior to other R-rated Hollywood movies, if you don’t laugh, maybe you have autism,” said David L. Charlene S gave it five stars, “Any movie related to the fantastic Yang is great for me! He’s so HOT! The movie is still incredibly funny!”…
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It could be said that opinions are divided, or it could be said that there were boos all around; as Fire Flame Films seemed to have fallen into a sequel trust crisis, “A new movie is a classic, but a sequel isn’t necessarily so.” But one thing is for sure now—laughter abounded!
“The Hangover Part III” opened with a whopping $124 million in its first week, averaging $33,926 per theater across 3,655 cinemas. Although it fell short of its predecessors, it was truly the first box office blockbuster of the summer! After three weeks, with $206 million in North America and $419 million globally, joining the $500 million club was a piece of cake.
Countless viewers cursed while they watched; countless others laughed and said, “The Hangover isn’t over yet.” They love to watch as long as there’s laughter. Just look at how terrible the competing comedies like “RV” (24%/19%/59%), “The Love Guru” (13%/13%/60%), and “Rich Old Friends” (71%/70%/37%) were at the same time! Either they were a complete mess, or they received good reviews but no box office success. They didn’t have the “Had enough or not?” problem.
“Would you rather watch those movies than ‘The Hangover’? A bunch of stale delicacies, a heap of fresh trash—how will you choose?” Mireia commented in the Rotten Tomatoes review article “The Comedy Dilemma.”
The target audience for R-rated comedies is naturally more about date movies, friends’ movies, personal movies, rather than family movies—though that doesn’t rule out entire families going to watch together, as underage teens would need a guardian. Nobody expects to find profound meaning in an R-rated commercial comedy; for most audiences seeking entertainment, hearty laughter is the most important thing. New movies are fresh, yes, but familiar characters are easier to understand and endear, that’s the appeal of sequels.
“The current box office achievement of ‘The Hangover Part III’ is inseparable from Fire Flame Films promoting it as the final installment of the series, which has brought a massive number of fans wanting to see the conclusion,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the head of box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, to the media. He added, “The box office of ‘The Hangover Part III’ will still be very high. The end of this epoch-making series will create a void in the R-rated comedy market, and we all look forward to the next big R-rated comedy making a quick appearance.”
“The Hangover” grossed $617 million globally, “The Hangover 2” $623 million globally, and “The Hangover Part III” is pegged to soar past $500 million. The Hangover franchise has almost reached $1.8 billion in global box office revenue, not to mention other post-release merchandising like DVDs—astonishing! Salivating!
But will there really not be a “The Hangover 4”? Right from the start of the project’s announcement, Fire Flame Films and the cast and crew of “The Hangover” series declared that the third installment would be the finale, and FF never goes back on its word. However, many film fans have left messages on FF’s official website expressing their hope to see “The Hangover 4.” Gil L. said, “We need more Hangover!!!” Alice said, “This is the best comedy series, please manage it like 007!” Jace T. said, “I hope it can be like ‘SAW’, a new film every year!”…
“Ladies and gentlemen, ‘The Hangover’ series has ended perfectly, even though many people feel it hasn’t. In any case, thank you all for your support over the years! We will continue to release outstanding R-rated comedies, so get ready to laugh!”
These were the words of Fire Flame Films’ Chairman Wang Yang on the official website to the fans, which reflected the immense confidence of the entire FF team. Over the years, comedy films have become a shining trademark of FF, even “The Green Hornet” was a superhero action comedy; in the R-rated comedy department, only “Little Miss Sunshine” set for a year-end release has been confirmed, but FF fans know it and “The Hangover” are actually two different genres, for a simple reason: it’s aiming for the Oscars!
In the beginning, no one knew just how ambitious Fire Flame Films’ plans were, but as the film entered its pre-release promotional phase, gradually, industry insiders and fans alike were clued in! The film “Little Miss Sunshine,” purchased by FF at Sundance for a steep price, was actually aiming to make a splash during the awards season—it’s madness!
“Is ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ really that good?” distributors couldn’t help but wonder, though it wasn’t that they hadn’t seen the movie. Many companies had had the screenplay draft on their desks for many years, and it had seemed remarkably unimpressive in terms of business or awards prospects!
There were also many who prematurely pounded their chests and stomped their feet in regret, wishing they had stuck with Magic Yang to the end!! This was because this year’s Sundance movies were gradually being released, and ‘Rich Old Friends’—acquired by Sony Classics as the opening film—performed mediocrely, scaling down from a small-scale release on April 7 to being progressively pulled from theaters, grossing only $12.58 million at the box office; in contrast, the documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ bought by Paramount Classics, earned an impressive $580,000 in just 2 weeks of showing in 4 theaters, averaging $145,000 per venue.
Whenever they thought about ‘Little Miss Sunshine’s multimillion-dollar box office, its numerous Oscar nominations… executives at Sony Classics, Fox Searchlight, and other companies felt overwhelmed and distressed, occasionally cursing that it was a terrible movie!
Who knows? Every day, crazy things happen in this world, miracles, dark horses—it seems they’re everywhere. Take, for example, the stars who rose to prominence with ‘The Hangover’; once upon a time, they were just unremarkable bit players, the kind who were shoved aside on set to lift and haul things, but now they had to wear sunglasses in public. Over the years, aside from the ‘The Hangover’ series, they had each developed their careers, especially Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper, whose popularity was at its peak. The fat guy and the handsome man were quite active on the big screen and in the media.
Flame Films was getting ready to create a brand-new R-rated comedy road movie with the screen partnership of “fat man + handsome man,” not ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ not Cooper; for the handsome man, the answer was “Robert Downey Jr.,” and naturally, for the fat man, it was Galifianakis.
The 1987 comedy road film ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ directed by John Hughes, starring Steve Martin and John Candy, told the story of Neil, a New York advertising executive who nitpicked every little thing in life, trying to catch a plane back to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his family. In the airport, he met Del, a curtain ring salesman who was crude, loud, and had insufferable habits, making Neil thoroughly dislike him. But because of a mishap by the ticket agent, the two ended up seated together; then, due to a snowstorm, the plane was redirected, all their cash was stolen, the train broke down, and they had no choice but to board a bus.
Naturally, many hilarious incidents occured along the way, and over time, Neil finally realized that beneath Del’s vulgar attire, speech, and habits was a heart capable of endurance, tolerance, and kindness…
Flame Films was indeed planning to produce a road movie with this theme, featuring two people of completely opposite personalities and social standings forced to share the road together—a story about conflict and understanding. ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ had grossed $49.53 million at the box office, and nowadays it holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of a high 94%/75%/81%. With such a hard act to follow, it was easy for Flame Films’ new movie to sell, but very difficult to receive praise.
First, they needed a script full of spiritual energy and emotion, not a slapstick comedy off an assembly line. Paul Feig, who had signed a 1+1 deal with FF, would execute the latter “1” of the contract by serving as the screenwriter and director, as well as one of the planners and producers of the project.
“Very interesting! My wife also says it’s very interesting!” Robert Downey Jr. was greatly interested in Wang Yang’s invitation. Wang had long since become his 100% agent, and Downey accepted all performance invitations from Yang without hesitation—of course, Wang never set him on a path to failure. Susan Downey believed her husband’s comedic talent shouldn’t be buried; he was a “Chaplin” after all, so she not only highly recommended it, but also accepted an invitation to be the project’s executive producer.
Just look at the ‘Firefly’ series, the ‘Iron Man’ series—all starring Downey—FF and he could be called golden partners. The Downeys were core members of Wang’s help, with Susan also being part of the University of Southern California help, and thanks to their incredible life experiences, their relationship had always been in a honeymoon phase.
This comedy film, whose script is still in the works and title is yet undecided, has already secured a release slot at the end of 2008, with a tentative shooting schedule set for early in the year. There’s a generous amount of time for Paul Feig and the crew to brew and prepare, as Firefly Films doesn’t allow anyone to bungle its dazzling golden signboard.
There had already been rumors that Wang Yang and Kristen Wiig were meeting to discuss collaboration, and behind the scenes, Wiig and Annie Mumolo had even signed a cooperation agreement with FF. With the recent release of “The Hangover Part III,” there is new news on this in the media! An FF official confirmed the news, as spokesperson Fiona Hassan revealed, “Wang Yang is very optimistic about Wiig’s comedic talent. They’ve had several enjoyable meetings, and this will be an R-rated comedy.” She also announced that the film would be titled “Bridesmaids,” and is expected to premiere by the end of next year.
There are many, many wedding-themed films, with the most successful in recent years being “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “Wedding Crashers,” and “American Pie 3.” Other films with similar content to “Bridesmaids” include “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “The Wedding Planner,” and “Meet the Parents”…
Knowing well that “Bridesmaids” could likely be a sensational new series, there wasn’t much the distributors could do, as the title “Bridesmaids” is simply too ordinary. Taking a cue from “The Hangover” ‘s groomsmen concept, would it be about a group of women throwing a wild bachelorette party? “The Hangover 4”? Moreover, the most crucial aspect is that they don’t have the magical Yang, not even Wiig, so all they could do was wait and see. What sort of film would it be? Who would direct and star in it? The anticipation among movie fans and aficionados was through the roof.
This summer, “The Da Vinci Code” (with a production budget of $125 million) may not be the highest-grossing film, but it is definitely the most controversial, almost like a counterstrike to “The Passion of the Christ.” From the original novel to the movie, its most controversial claim is that Jesus was merely a human being, not born of the Virgin Mary, but rather married to Mary Magdalene, who bore his offspring. Under the protection of a secret organization led by Da Vinci, their descendants continued to survive, generation after generation.
Could it not be controversial? The Vatican, Italy, the Philippines, and Catholic countries in Latin America were all furious, denouncing, criticizing, boycotting! Protesting! Book burning! “The film and the novel are anti-Christ, and they succeed because of the extreme poverty of Christian culture among many Christians.” “Even though it’s commercial behavior, it poses an extreme, baseless challenge to Christian faith.” “Dan Brown, don’t forget, you will be judged by Christ!”…
The protests and boycotts from religious groups around the world and the global media coverage gave “The Da Vinci Code” massive publicity. Some media described the controversy as “the effect that producers dream of.” Indeed, whether in Los Angeles or New York, there were believers spontaneously urging people at the cinema entrances not to watch this “blasphemous” film out of novelty. Even with a rotten tomatoes score of only 25%/9%/64%, its opening weekend box office in North America still brought in an impressive $102 million, and two weeks later it reached $153 million in North America and $470 million globally, making it look like surpassing $600 million or $700 million wouldn’t be difficult.
“X-Men: The Last Stand” wasn’t so “lucky,” with an ambitious production budget of $210 million resulting in a first-week box office of $141 million in North America and $217 million globally. The rotten tomatoes score was 57%/53% and 73%, which completely shattered 20th Century Fox’s expectation of it “becoming ‘Firefly’”.
Despite these big films, audiences have yet to see that phenomenal film that gets everyone clapping and sweeps everything before it. Undoubtedly, the current movie market is in a strangely hungry state, so it wouldn’t be surprising if a new film suddenly soared. “Cars” released on June 9? “Superman Returns” on June 28? “Pirates of the Caribbean 2” on July 7? “Furious Cars 2” on July 14? Or perhaps none at all?
Leading the charge in Firefly Films’ release schedule is “Mamma Mia!,” a music/dance/romance/comedy film adapted from a classic, popular stage musical, premiering on June 16th. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
