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UNIVERSAL cancels the ILM FRANKENSTEIN Flick'!'!
Ya know.... Sometimes I just don't get it. You make THE MUMMY... It's well on it's way to being the most successful UNIVERSAL movie in quite some time. It's a Horror/Adventure film, and you guys and gals cancel FRANKENSTEIN at ILM?
As a result ILM ends up letting go of 500 most excellent talented folks. Some of these folks will head for New Zealand, and Peter Jackson is licking his chops going, "Goody goody goody" at the latest batch of talented people let go of because a buncha suits don't have the vision to see real success... right over the hump. ARGH!
Now I'm sitting here thinking... "Hmmmmm, I wonder if they got their test footage back from the happier children friendly version of FRANKY and noticed that it'd be horrible, so instead of going back and hiring the director you fired and going back to the earlier, superior script, you toss the whole project cause... well you don't remember that older script, the better test.... OR (more likely) you can't admit you made a mistake and get back on track... thus proving to the other execs that you made a mistake, but proving to everyone else that you had the SENSE TO RIGHT A WRONG!"
HMMMMM...
At the same time that you guys cancel FRANKENSTEIN, word reaches me that you passed on HELLBOY too.
Ya know, perhaps you missed the memo but... THE MUMMY is well on it's way to making $150 Million domestically and ya know what? It wasn't even a really good movie! That's right.... A pretty mediocre Horror film can make $150 million domestic!!!! Wow.... Holy Shit! Imagine that!
NOW.... Close your eyes and have your assistant read the next paragraph...
Imagine making a really really good horror adventure type of movie. Like the 'earlier draft' of FRANKENSTEIN and the existing draft of HELLBOY. These were not prohibitively expensive films. In fact... Compared to THE MUMMY they were quite a bit cheaper. Now imagine... Cheaper to make, Better Movie, lower cost, better product, happier audience, movie seen a lot, money in coffers, job retained. Wow... Did that get ya stiff or what? I mean. Think of it. Better Movies, Lower Costs, Higher Profits.
And that's not even taking into account the benefits of the new math your accountants are working up! Get with the program Universal. Stop stamping out everything Brian Glazer tells you to make, and stamp yes on FRANKENSTEIN and HELLBOY. It's a long time till Summer 2001 nets you JURASSIC PARK 3... You better start getting a line up together soon!
Now I'm sitting here thinking... "Hmmmmm, I wonder if they got their test footage back from the happier children friendly version of FRANKY and noticed that it'd be horrible, so instead of going back and hiring the director you fired and going back to the earlier, superior script, you toss the whole project cause... well you don't remember that older script, the better test.... OR (more likely) you can't admit you made a mistake and get back on track... thus proving to the other execs that you made a mistake, but proving to everyone else that you had the SENSE TO RIGHT A WRONG!"
HMMMMM...
At the same time that you guys cancel FRANKENSTEIN, word reaches me that you passed on HELLBOY too.
Ya know, perhaps you missed the memo but... THE MUMMY is well on it's way to making $150 Million domestically and ya know what? It wasn't even a really good movie! That's right.... A pretty mediocre Horror film can make $150 million domestic!!!! Wow.... Holy Shit! Imagine that!
NOW.... Close your eyes and have your assistant read the next paragraph...
Imagine making a really really good horror adventure type of movie. Like the 'earlier draft' of FRANKENSTEIN and the existing draft of HELLBOY. These were not prohibitively expensive films. In fact... Compared to THE MUMMY they were quite a bit cheaper. Now imagine... Cheaper to make, Better Movie, lower cost, better product, happier audience, movie seen a lot, money in coffers, job retained. Wow... Did that get ya stiff or what? I mean. Think of it. Better Movies, Lower Costs, Higher Profits.
And that's not even taking into account the benefits of the new math your accountants are working up! Get with the program Universal. Stop stamping out everything Brian Glazer tells you to make, and stamp yes on FRANKENSTEIN and HELLBOY. It's a long time till Summer 2001 nets you JURASSIC PARK 3... You better start getting a line up together soon!
At the same time that you guys cancel FRANKENSTEIN, word reaches me that you passed on HELLBOY too.
Ya know, perhaps you missed the memo but... THE MUMMY is well on it's way to making $150 Million domestically and ya know what? It wasn't even a really good movie! That's right.... A pretty mediocre Horror film can make $150 million domestic!!!! Wow.... Holy Shit! Imagine that!
NOW.... Close your eyes and have your assistant read the next paragraph...
Imagine making a really really good horror adventure type of movie. Like the 'earlier draft' of FRANKENSTEIN and the existing draft of HELLBOY. These were not prohibitively expensive films. In fact... Compared to THE MUMMY they were quite a bit cheaper. Now imagine... Cheaper to make, Better Movie, lower cost, better product, happier audience, movie seen a lot, money in coffers, job retained. Wow... Did that get ya stiff or what? I mean. Think of it. Better Movies, Lower Costs, Higher Profits.
And that's not even taking into account the benefits of the new math your accountants are working up! Get with the program Universal. Stop stamping out everything Brian Glazer tells you to make, and stamp yes on FRANKENSTEIN and HELLBOY. It's a long time till Summer 2001 nets you JURASSIC PARK 3... You better start getting a line up together soon!
NOW.... Close your eyes and have your assistant read the next paragraph...
Imagine making a really really good horror adventure type of movie. Like the 'earlier draft' of FRANKENSTEIN and the existing draft of HELLBOY. These were not prohibitively expensive films. In fact... Compared to THE MUMMY they were quite a bit cheaper. Now imagine... Cheaper to make, Better Movie, lower cost, better product, happier audience, movie seen a lot, money in coffers, job retained. Wow... Did that get ya stiff or what? I mean. Think of it. Better Movies, Lower Costs, Higher Profits.
And that's not even taking into account the benefits of the new math your accountants are working up! Get with the program Universal. Stop stamping out everything Brian Glazer tells you to make, and stamp yes on FRANKENSTEIN and HELLBOY. It's a long time till Summer 2001 nets you JURASSIC PARK 3... You better start getting a line up together soon!
And that's not even taking into account the benefits of the new math your accountants are working up! Get with the program Universal. Stop stamping out everything Brian Glazer tells you to make, and stamp yes on FRANKENSTEIN and HELLBOY. It's a long time till Summer 2001 nets you JURASSIC PARK 3... You better start getting a line up together soon!
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Will Universal ever learn? When they have great movies on their hands, the marketing sucks. They got everything right with The Mummy and now they are screwing up again BIG TIME!
My little brother could run that studio better... -
because this studio has absolutely no clue. Passing on Hellboy?!?!?! Morons. Personally I'd like to see a cool CGI Frankenstein movie. Guess it won't happen. Universal will get filled with rides of movies from other studios. I don't see much promise in the Babe Pigshit Stomp ride.
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The problem is that Universal is still smarting from Babe:PITC. No one wants to take any chances. Sure, from our perspective the Mummy looks like a $150 million horror film. From the studio's perspective it was a $150 million Indiana Jones clone with a rising, bankable star. Nothing there to indicate success for 'risks' like Hellboy or Frankenstein. Dumb-ass cowardly dumb-asses. This is what happens when liquor companies own studios. Where's all the mob money, dammit? THEY knew how to make pictures.
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Mr. Silver made great movies. Out of Sight, Pig in the City, what have you. Through a series of flukes (and lousy marketing) they flop. Silver gets ousted. THEN the movies he put in motion--Mummy, Notting Hill, and most likely Mystery Men and American Pie, too--start paying off. But it's too late, and there's no one to defend the GOOD products. The whole thing is just inertia, which is sickening. If you're not paying attention, it LOOKS like Universal made good movies and flpped, then started making mediocre, predictable movies and became successful. Of course, in another year or so, Universal will be back at the bottom of the heap, saying, "What happened? Obviously we need to make more crap!" If only they knew something called "patience."
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The original script for the CGI Flick was supposedly kid-friendly,
the Universal "classics" it was a homage to are disgustingly, revoltingly saccharine. So give me one good reason why this toon should not have been CUTECUTECUTE. GOod riddance to bad rubbish, I say. -
Have you ever seen a classic Universal horror movie? To call them "disgustingly, revoltingly saccharine" tells me that you haven't. They are family-friendly by today's standards, yes -- the Production Code saw to that. But they are subtle, witty, dark, ADULT pieces of filmmaking. Grow up.
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Good, get off Disneys back for awhile and rank on Universal.
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It's just easier for a studio to doa a sequel or remake than an original idea anymore. On the off chance something does pan out for a smaller studio, the big ones jump on board and make twelve crappy versions of the same movie. There's just three ways to get a movie at a big studio done anymore. 1-remake 2-sequel 3-big name director, actor, or producer.
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Thank you Pope Buck1 for your reply to llvenshang. Tastes like his have turned the contemporary horror film into nothing but blood and gore SFX extravaganzas. Is there any way to see the original ILM test footage?
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I think there's plenty of ill will for both Universal and Disney, Bud- with some left over for the rest of the feebs. After all, any one of us could do a better job, right?
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Studio suits almost never admit they made a mistake, hell even I know that. They wont go back to the early draft, no that would mean they made a mistake (or could it be that the new vrsion would have sucked no matter what director they got...) You have two options man....either you get the second "SUCK" draft or you get the progect cancelled. There IS NO GOING in reverse. Personally after reading the LAST article you posted about the Franky project I was hoping it would get Cancelled, so I'm happy, Harry why arent you happy?? The "suck" draft got cancelled!!!its time to celebrate Harry... Geesh, its party time. Jurassic Park III?...hehehe....oh please dont make me laugh, whats in it for me THIS time? Is it teaming up with Roland Emmerich/Dean Devlin's GODZILLA VS MECHA-GIADORAH part 2? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! And about Hellboy, man I feel like I'm the only one left on this planet that really doesnt give a rats ass about Mike Mignolia's Hellboy. Sure it could be cool, the KEY word is COULD, its so far away in the future I'm not even getting my hopes up for this until I see pretty pictures that make me go "OOOO...WOW neato!" Basically in the pre-early stages things change so much, its hard to get exited about Hellboy. If you got exited over every movie that was announced you'd be riding an emotional roller coaster ride of happiness/ depression/ happiness/ depression for your whole life and then you know what? You'd need a steady diet of Prozac to keep you going....dont be disappointed over Hellboy, man, its too early!! -Mck
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Jurassic Park three can only suck worse than Jaws 3 and Jaws:the Revenge combined! Spielberg was the only thing good about that franchise, and he lost interest before finishing the first sequel! No way can a third one guarantee money, not with the lame marketing guys they have. And what the hell lets them keep their jobs while Silver is fired? Universal, you suck rocks.
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This movie sounds like it was gonna suck anyway. If it were live action, I would be a little more disappointed. Don't be too sad. It's probably for the better.
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Take it easy. The project is not dead.
As to "cutesypoo-ification":
Yes, the script is being rewritten but no, it's not going to be a happy, musical extavaganza with funny talking animal sidekicks. Casey Silver's original idea was to make a PG-13, CG horror flick. As much as you think that's a cool idea, the studio decided it would be wise to pull back to a PG. Here's why: Thanks to decades of market domination by Disney, the American audience has come to think that animated films are for kids and, conversely, that any animated film is a totally "safe" place to park your 5-year-old for an hour and a half. The overwhelming majority of the audience for animated films is children under 13 and their parents. Recent releases of slightly-more-adult movies like "Antz" have done little to change this. (DreamWorks and PDI received mail from outraged parents complaining about "bad words" in the PG-rated "Antz.") So why should Universal cut its own throat by making a PG-13 movie - one that is "not recommended for children under 13"? Even if you and everyone who logs on to AICN bought a ticket, it still would be a financial flop, and that would set back the cause of more adult animation in general. The PG version of "Frankenstein" will still be true to the tone of the original movies.
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Yippee! No Frankenstein movie. Thank God. It would have been a horrid piece of garbage AGAIN! Hollywood ruins Frankenstein and I mostly blame that dipshit Karloff for screwing up the whole beautiful story. He took Frankenstein's monster and made him into some pathetic, lumbering, brainless cretin. Did that stupid shit even read the book? Frankenstein's monster is the baddest Mofo on the block. He's smarter than anyone, he's faster, he's stronger. He was an ugly precursor to . . . well, nobody seems to make characters like that. So, I say bravo to Universal for squashing a movie that once again would have made a mockery of the greatest "monster" ever. Now if only we can destroy all those wretched prints of Karloff and Branagh's sorry attempts at bringing the story to the screen.
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Maybe they should have thought about the audience for the film BEFORE they spent a gazillion dollars not only on this movie, but to start a whole DIVISION dedicated to doing CG monster movies...but no, that would have meant that they had an actual game plan for their features division... The jet-setting people in charge don't have time for cool projects like these...they're too busy patting themselves on the back for NOTTING HILL, a film that they had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH, that was already in the can MONTHS AGO and that they only acquired in a bit of good luck during the studio's purchase of Polygram and Working Title, who actually made the movie.
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Okay, I've seen enough ILM guys talk, to know that ILM only picks good movies. Why? Beccause they can afford it. So if ILM agrees to do a project, they know their reputation is on the line, and most likely the movie is going to be pretty good. Why Universal doesn't know this is beyond me. Of course, it might be that ILM wasn't so eager anymore after the change of the script...
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