63 replies to this topic

[Loomis]

- Even back when everyone was getting excited over DIE ANOTHER DAY, Halle Berry's Jinx was never an icon. Not as far as the man in the street was concerned, anyway. Sure, plenty of people may have been drawn to the film because of Berry's involvement, but to me there is nothing about the character that suggests she merits her own movie or franchise.

- A Jinx solo outing would seem to have two main selling points, one larger than the other. The larger selling point would be the participation of Halle Berry. The smaller selling point would be the film's connection to the James Bond series (smaller since Joe Public probably couldn't care less about the idea of "a Bond series spinoff" - Bond is a near-guaranteed cash cow; "Bond-related" is, well, much less of a surefire winner).

Can you picture the following conversation taking place? I can't:

MAN: Hey, let's check out this new Halle Berry movie, JINX.

WOMAN: Maybe. I've heard nothing about it, have you?

MAN: Well, only that it's a spinoff from the James Bond series.

WOMAN (reverently) Wow.... SOLD!

Let's face it: spinoffs never create the same excitement as the "property" they're spinning off from, at least not among general audiences. I mean, who apart from fanatics give a damn about THE EWOK ADVENTURE or the various STAR TREK offshoots?

- Let's look at Berry. She seems to be a very, very busy woman indeed (check out her "to-do" list at the IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000932/). Rumours of a November 2004 release for JINX have been scotched. It appears that Berry will be unable to start work on the film until 2005 at the earliest.

And if JINX won't be with us until 2005.... won't most moviegoers have long forgotten DAD and the Jinx character by then? "Strike while the iron is hot", anyone? There will no longer be a wave to surf, not that there was much of one anyway.

By early 2005, Eon will be hard at work on BOND 21. Would Eon be able to make BOND 21 and JINX at more or less the same time? Doubtful. Could JINX go ahead without Eon's participation? Yes, but if it did.... well, this brings us to the smaller selling point:

- A non-Eon Jinx film would (surely?) have to downplay its origins in DIE ANOTHER DAY/the Bond series. Would Eon let another film company advertise off the back of the Bond films?

- Back to Berry. A reminder: she has not yet signed to do a Jinx movie. Would she? I'd calculate the odds as being at least 60% against it. It would cost an awful lot of money to get her: at least $10 million upfront, I'd say (Berry was paid $4,000,000 for DAD, but being the star would change everything: Angelina Jolie was paid $7,000,000 for the first Lara Croft flick, and $12,000,000 for the second).

- And JINX would in other ways be very expensive. How much does it cost to bring in an average action flick these days? $100 million at least? LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE cost $90 million, while CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE cost $120 million; so $100 million seems about right for JINX.... although $100 million would probably be doing it on a bit of a shoestring in today's Hollywood.

- Ask yourself: if you were a studio executive, would you greenlight JINX for that sort of money? Berry has never opened a movie. There is no built-in audience, no "brand name", attached to JINX in the way there was for Lara Croft or the Angels. Also, the common wisdom is that the bubble has burst for "buttkicking babe" genre. If anything's going to be a franchise for Berry, it'll be CATWOMAN, with its ready-made audience of comic book fans, not JINX.

- Could they do JINX without Berry? Sure, but why would they want to? Can P&W's screenplay really be all that good? I doubt it. Would a fat fee to MGM/Eon be part of the equation, too? Would it be worth it? Why not just make a "buttkicking babe" movie with original characters, since the Jinx "property" really has no "name value"?

I can see P&W's script eventually being cannibalised for a Bond film, or maybe another action/adventure movie. But the Halle Berry Jinx film that us fanboys have been discussing for months? Forget it.

[thuffner]

For the James Bond series' sake, I hope you're right.

[DLibrasnow]

If there is not going to be a Jinx film, why did Purvis and Wade write a script???

[Loomis]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow

If there is not going to be a Jinx film, why did Purvis and Wade write a script???

I have no trouble believing that there were serious plans for a Jinx film at one point, but it's looking increasingly unlikely that it will go ahead. Projects get scrapped in Hollywood all the time.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Loomis


I have no trouble believing that there were serious plans for a Jinx film at one point, but it's looking increasingly unlikely that it will go ahead. Projects get scrapped in Hollywood all the time.

Loomis, did you even read my post. There is already a script, Halle Berry has already read it and said it was "great."

Why would they write a script and send it to Halle Berry if they were not intending to make it??!!

[BONDFINESSE 007]

well untill its made and hits the screen there always hope that something will happen to stop it from being a reality

[Loomis]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow

Loomis, did you even read my post. There is already a script, Halle Berry has already read it and said it was "great."

I know that a script has been sent to Berry, but so what? Is that a guarantee that the film will be made? Like I say, projects get abandoned all the time.

And of course Berry said it was "great". No way would she have dissed it in public. Whatever she felt about it (and, to be fair, she may really have thought it was great), she was bound to say it was great when journos asked her about it.

[DLibrasnow]

I think the movie will get made and released towards the end of 2004. EON knows they are a one horse act and they are no doubt aware that if their 007 stock goes south they will be left with nothing!

[Simon]

Well I'm glad that's all cleared up then.

Now shall we move on to who we would wish for the next Bond girl or something?

[ray t]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow
I think the movie will get made and released towards the end of 2004. EON knows they are a one horse act and they are no doubt aware that if their 007 stock goes south they will be left with nothing!

eon has been a one horse act for some time...their stocks fine...they know how to bounce back from thier lows...

why waste time on a movie fronted by a black american chic with no pedigree

any normal going concern would focus in on the stuff they know best...something that can generate $1 billion in final all in revenues with an outlay of $150-200 million

jinx is a distraction to the big picture...they'll try and swat it away as if it were a fly...it was always a marketing tactic to sell more DAD d.v.ds.

btw, scripts are sent to 'actors' all the time and most end up gathering dust...i figured u'd know that, being in the industry and all...

[Triton]

We should see a press release or press conference fairly soon, perhaps December, if they intend to release the film in Fall 2004.

I often wonder if the Mariah Carey theme song and cameo rumor applies to the Jinx film and not Bond XXI. It would seem reasonable that Eon would be approaching recording artists to see if they were interested in performing a theme song for the Jinx film.

Plus, what if the recce rumors of Bond XXI going to Berlin, Australia, and South Africa are really for the Jinx film? They would have had to perform location recces already if they intend to start in Fall 2004.

Eon Productons was completely truthful when they rejected the rumors because all the rumors regarded Bond XXI. They just never offered that they were location scouting for the Jinx film.

Of course the production could entirely fall apart. But I think that it's likely that the movie will be made.

[DLibrasnow]

Actually I think the term is "African American"??!!

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Triton

Plus, what if the recce rumors of Bond XXI going to Berlin, Australia, and South Africa are really for the Jinx film? They would have had to perform location recces already if they intend to start in Fall 2004.

Eon Productons was completely truthful when they rejected the rumors because all the rumors regarded Bond XXI. They just never offered that they were location scouting for the Jinx film.

Of course the production could entirely fall apart. But I think that it's likely that the movie will be made.

Particularly because they have a script for the next Jinx movie, but haven't even started on a script for Bond 21.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by ray t

btw, scripts are sent to 'actors' all the time and most end up gathering dust...i figured u'd know that, being in the industry and all...

You are not very good at reading between the lines are you ray....you are the easiest person to wind up on CBN, it's hilarious

[Simon]

Hands up all those who really think this will see the light of day.

This is probably poll worthy material. A simple accountability from those who give reason as to its liklihood. Yes or no.

Me? No.

[ray t]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow
Actually I think the term is "African American"??!!

well...thats all p.c. stuff that, being a canadian, i gladly dont have to adhere to.

besides, was halle born in africa?

point being if a hot and dirty white girl like angelina jolie cant keep a known character like lara croft going....then i doubt a black girl character would fly.

both have oscars...so the comparison is a direct one

and no one has still answered the question posed in the thread "Is Jinx Movie an Eon Production?"...

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Simon

Hands up all those who really think this will see the light of day.

This is probably poll worthy material. A simple accountability from those who give reason as to its liklihood. Yes or no.

Me? No.

No. Does anyone seriously believe that MGM would make a film that smart money says would be a $100 million writeoff?

Hmmm.... ROLLERBALL, WINDTALKERS.... yeah, they're probably going full steam ahead on JINX as I type this.

But seriously....

No.

[Robinson]

I think the one thing that folks are forgetting is that besides CATWOMAN, Berry's also been linked to do a remake of FOXY BROWN. If there was a go-ahead on a Jinx spin-off, that would be 3 action films Berry would be doing consecutively.

Physically, would she be up to the job, who knows. I think she needs to be more physically adept on the big screen.

I'm not pressed either way. If Jinx happens, it could be worth seeing; if not, then you've Bond 21(with a possible Berry cameo).

I'd like to think that EON would try spin-off films. I also think that a spin-off could be done for less than the modern-era Bond films(fewer locations, fewer explosions). However, I think they missed a great chance w/Yeoh for the Wai-Lin character.

Why not go the DR. NO approach to these spin-off characters? Hell, why not shoot on HD ala SW:ATOC and ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO?

There are plenty of ways to produce films for under $80million. The question is if EON's too stuck in it's present ways to do so.

[Simon]

Originally posted by Robinson
Physically, would she be up to the job, who knows. I think she needs to be more physically adept on the big screen...................However, I think they missed a great chance w/Yeoh for the Wai-Lin character.

Good points.

Halle just didn't convince in the fighting scenes the way Wai did. Bless her, maybe she wouldn't need to if filmed in her own slot with the emphasis on brains and beauty.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Robinson

I think the one thing that folks are forgetting is that besides CATWOMAN, Berry's also been linked to do a remake of FOXY BROWN.  If there was a go-ahead on a Jinx spin-off, that would be 3 action films Berry would be doing consecutively.

I think the window of opportunity for JINX has pretty much closed.

Originally posted by Robinson

I also think that a spin-off could be done for less than the modern-era Bond films(fewer locations, fewer explosions).

JINX could certainly be made for less than a Bond film (after all, the Bonds seem to be just about the most expensive productions out there at the moment).... but maybe not all that much less. Fewer locations? Almost certainly. Fewer explosions? About the same, I'd guess. Cast and crew probably wouldn't come any cheaper than on a Bond. Berry would cost $10 million-ish. I don't see a Jinx film being made for less than $100 million.

Originally posted by Robinson

I think they missed a great chance w/Yeoh for the Wai-Lin character.  

Agreed. I'd love to have seen a Wai Lin spinoff film.

[DLibrasnow]

Yep, I expect we'll see the announcement that the Jinx spin-off is a go in the next couple of months.....
Hope she gets her own gun barrel

[Loomis]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow

I expect we'll see the announcement that  the Jinx spin-off is a go in the next couple of months.....

I hope so. It would be nice to have JINX to look forward to as well as BOND 21. I'm certainly not against the idea of a Jinx film - indeed, I'd be very interested to see it go ahead.

But you know what? It won't. Halle's moved on. She's got her work cut out for her on a number of other films she's signed up for (once again I remind you that she hasn't signed for JINX), and she's also got her pick of projects. She won't even be free to shoot JINX until 2005, and by then do you really think she'll be interested in reprising her character from DIE ANOTHER DAY? The parade's gone by.

[DLibrasnow]

I think EON has been trying to get a female 007 type character off the ground since the early 1990s.

At that time (during the six-year hiatus) there was talk that EON and MGM had decided to make the Bond character a female and cast Sharon Stone in the role.

It wouldn't surprise me if EON had dusted off one of those old scripts, handed it to Purvis and Wade and told them to fashion it into a Jinx movie!

[Loomis]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow

I think EON has been trying to get a female 007 type character off the ground since the early 1990s. ... It wouldn't surprise me if EON had dusted off one of those old scripts, handed it to Purvis and Wade and told them to fashion it into a Jinx movie!  

I think there's probably a lot of truth in that. But I think they've missed the boat with Berry. The Sharon Stone plans fell through, and it may be the case that they approached Catherine Zeta-Jones at one point but those plans fell through, too. And now it appears that the Berry/Jinx plans have also fallen through.

Did you read the recent report on JINX at MI6? If the project isn't as dead as a doornail, it sure as heck looks like it. If they were going to do JINX with Berry they should have engineered a situation whereby they'd be ready to start shooting next January, at the very latest. But a January start - or even a 2004 start - is just not possible.

But, yes, I have no trouble believing that Eon would like to get a "female 007 type character" off the ground. Maybe they'll eventually succeed, and P&W's script for JINX will end up being used a few years from now, with the heroine's name changed from Jinx to something else.

[DLibrasnow]

First Sharon Stone, thern Catherine Zeta Jones, then Michelle Yeoh and now Halle Berry. They have had over 10 years to perfect that script -- I wonder if it can be retooled into a Bond script?

[Loomis]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow

I wonder if it can be retooled into a Bond script?  

I don't see why not. Parts of it may be cannibalised for BOND 21 or another Bond flick further on down the line. Heck, I guess it could be adapted wholesale into a Bond script.... or maybe kept aside for the day Eon manages to strike a deal with an actress to a play a female 007-type character.

Here's what I think has happened (and, obviously, I'm an outsider): Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and others and Eon (and maybe some people at MGM, too) have indeed wanted for quite a long time to create a female-led spy/action franchise to run alongside the Bond series. Perhaps they're now even more interested than before in creating such a franchise since the Bonds will now be delivered at the rate of one every three years, rather than every two years.

Having failed to come to an arrangement with the likes of Stone, Yeoh and Zeta-Jones, they saw another chance with Berry and Jinx. They did indeed commission a script, which has indeed been written (by Purvis and Wade). And I guess a few months back, JINX came a lot closer to being greenlit than any of the previous spinoff attempts.

But, at the end of the day, Berry has passed on JINX. She may not necessarily have done so because she didn't like P&W's script. It may simply be the case that she's just too busy. But pass on it she has done, throwing the project into limbo.

Obviously, you'd never expect to read a press release like: "Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions is proud to announce that Halle Berry has turned down the opportunity of reprising her role as Jinx....". But if you read between the lines of the press release over at MI6 (which I won't reproduce here), it's very obvious indeed that Berry has said no.

[Blue Eyes]

The only thing that would stop the Jinx film, IMO, is the success of Catwoman - another spin-off.

[DLibrasnow]

I think Loomis' scenario is quite plausible. I am not however sure that Halle Berry has entirely passed on Jinx though!

[Triton]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow
I wonder if it can be retooled into a Bond script?

I don't think that Eon Productions has ever thrown away what they consider to be a good idea. I think that you can find numerous examples over the past forty years that if they cannot film an idea or a sequence in one film, it can turn up in a later film in the series. For example, remember that the helicopters with saw blades was originally intended for GoldenEye, at one time the script for Diamonds Are Forever had a supertanker that contained a high-powered laser, or Acrostar jets were originally going to be used in Moonraker.

[DLibrasnow]

They also kept trying to do the keel-hauling sequence from the novel LALD into a couple of movies before finding a place for it in For Your Eyes Only