| Feb. 10th, 2009 @ 11:11 pm Warner should f'in' know better... |
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Jim Hilll : “Incredibles” sequel is stalled until Bird can get “1906” off the ground:Based on James Dalessandro’s 2004 best seller, “1906” is nothing if not ambitious. It’s this romantic mystery set in and around San Francisco just prior to the earthquake & fire that basically flattened Baghdad-by-the-Bay back in 1906. And – yes – Brad wants to recreate all of that carnage as part of his big screen epic.
The only problem is … A movie of this size & scale is going to be hugely expensive. Which is why Warner Bros. and Disney / Pixar are teaming up to co-produce “1906.” Which means that – instead of having to please just one studio head (i.e. John Lasseter at Pixar Animation Studios) – Bird (who is not only directing “1906” but also rewriting the screenplay that Dalessandro himself wrote for this project) has to make three separate sets of Suits happy before production can then begin on his film. This is why – even though Brad originally signed his “1906” contract back in March of last year – this project still doesn’t have a start date.
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And while the folks at Warners Bros. and Disney / Pixar clearly saw “1906” ‘s enormous box office potential (Virtually every Studio official that I spoke with while researching today’s story had the exact same thing to say. That – if Brad can actually deliver the goods here, deliver a truly romantic disaster film – this could be “Titanic” all over again. The sort of movie that makes billions of dollars worldwide) ... But given that Bird had never directed a live-action film before. Never mind a motion picture of this size … Even with three separate companies coming together to shoulder “1906” ‘s projected $200-million-plus price tag, the financial risks involved here were deemed to be too high.
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So wish Brad Bird luck, folks. Because today’s Hollywood likes safe, pre-sold properties like the Smurfs, Yogi Bear and Tom & Jerry. Even Walt Disney Pictures’ big release for next month – “Race to Witch Mountain” -- falls into this same category. That sort of movie where the Studio isn’t forced to waste any of its marketing money on trying to explain what this picture is actually about. That sort of film where the audience walks into the theater already knowing what they’re going to see.
Which (you’d think) would work in “1906” ‘s favor. After all, this would be the big screen version of a best-selling book. A romantic movie mystery set in and around one of America’s greatest tragedies.
The only problem is … The market research that Warner Bros. and Disney officials have done to date suggest that the 15-to-25-year-olds that the Studios will be heavily relying on to come out and support this $200-million-plus co-production reportedly have little or no knowledge of the Great San Francisco Earthquake. That – to be blunt – this historic tragedy just doesn’t have that same sort of resonance / name recognition with young adults that the sinking of the Titanic enjoys.
Warner brothers, after LotR and other big hits, should know better. A summer blockbuster makes a decent run by getting the 15-25 year olds to show up once each, maybe twice (and even Twilight couldn't manage that in spite of the opening week hype-up). That's what gets X-Men, Spiderman, Matrix, Shrek, and the current Batman going as high as they do. But it also is the reason they get no higher.
To get the BIG hit, the surprise know one could have forseen, takes something more. It takes getting that same 15-25 audience to show up at least once, AND it takes getting even more 25-45 year olds to show up than 15-25ers. THAT is what it took for Lord of the Rings, Titanic, Pirates 1, Superman 1, Batman 1, ET, Raiders, and the original Star Wars and Star Trek films.
These films treated their audiences differently from just being numbers of popcorn boxes sold. They gave the audience something to think about and talk about and, God forbid, actually got parents talking to their teenage children about the movies and sharing the experiences of the ride, the books, or real history, much as the great historical epics and golden musicals of the past did. And much as Pixar has overwhelmingly managed to do for all ages. They close the age and generation gap.
So dammit, Warner, get your heads out of your asses, give Bird the money, and get the hell out of the way. Let Lassiter do his job, which he's done better than anybody else in history: keep his team on track to making a great movie that appeals to everybody. There's a way to close the age gap and get us old farts in to the theaters, and Lassiter and his team know what it is, even if you don't believe them. |
