82 replies to this topic

[tdalton]

The biggest thing that Marvel has going for it is that it's highly organized and the public has a huge appetite for superhero films.  If DC could get as organized as Marvel, it wouldn't be a contest.  Aside from a couple of the Iron Man films, which succeed largely if not entirely because of Robert Downey Jr., Marvel's output is, at the very best, quite mediocre.  I would prefer that Bond doesn't fall under that umbrella.

[x007AceOfSpades]

Since MGM's contract is up with Sony once Spectre is released, I can't see them renewing with Tom Rothman in charge. I'm sure they'll be looking at other, potential studios to co-finance with and I'm sure studios like say Paramount would love to get their hands on Bond. Especially since MGM has already released some films with Paramount in the last couple of years. But who knows, maybe Rothman will be different this time - only time will tell. MGM could renew with Sony, since they've been working together on the Bond for nearly ten years. After recent issues with Sony and the hacks and whatnot, MGM may just seek co-finances elsewhere, which is what I'm banking my money on.

 

Feige made some inspired moves by hiring Jos Whedon, James Gunn (wayyyy off the big time radar), the Russo Bros. and best of all Shane Black.

Joss Whedon, yes. The rest? Absolutely not, I wouldn't call them inspired moves or choices at all, especially Shane Black.

[SecretAgentFan]

Sony will do everything to keep Bond under their wings, that´s for sure.  Of course, it would help if SPECTRE outperforms SKYFALL.  If its B.O. take is significantly lower there will be a problem for the negotiations since Rothman will want to prove himself to be a factor - but I don´t think that will happen.

 

It all depends on how Rothman will harmonize with EON.  If they don´t gel BB and MGW will gladly and quickly go for other relations.

 

But it won´t be Marvel - or to put it correctly: DISNEY (which owns Marvel now, together with Lucasfilm).   

 

It will be PARAMOUNT (looking for steady franchises) or FOX.  WARNER BROS.  is probably too busy with building their DC empire.

[Odd Jobbies]

 

Feige made some inspired moves by hiring Jos Whedon, James Gunn (wayyyy off the big time radar), the Russo Bros. and best of all Shane Black.

Joss Whedon, yes. The rest? Absolutely not, I wouldn't call them inspired moves or choices at all, especially Shane Black.

Wow, i've found someone who didn't like Guardians of The Galaxy!

[tdalton]

Just about everything under the Marvel banner is extraordinarily overrated.  I still can't understand all of the over-the-top rave reviews for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the rest of their non-Iron Man films have been equally as disappointing.  If EON set up shop there and gave them any amount of creative input, I'm not sure I'd be able to continue on with the franchise as the quality would drop considerably.

 

I know that Pascal is only working on Spider-Man with Marvel, and she won't have much if any input in reality, but Marvel would do well to involve her.  Given the overall quality of their films, she could only help improve them.  Sadly, though, Marvel's output has been inexplicably successful at the box office, which means they'll take an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach, even though their films are in dire need of a creative spark.

[Odd Jobbies]

Look, as i said i, nor anyone else here has suggested Eon would go to Marvel - it was just a crazy 'what if'  scenario. Much like a 'what if it was Weinstein?'  Never gonna happen, which is a good thing, because he's apparently a control freak (like Rothman).

 

So shall we park this 'never-gonna-happen' debate that i so misguidedly began?  

 

Paramount is a good bet. The mega-franchise infra-structure and personnel are all in place for such a juggernaut of a franchise as Bond, so it'd probably be the smoothest transition.

 

Legendary along with Warner Bros have worked well with Nolan - undoubtably a near future Bond director - could that be a clincher? I don't see Warner worrying about having a full slate with DC; Eon do all the heavy lifting and Bond is a guaranteed profit maker. In fact they might be perfect, since their DC responsibilities may mean they leave Eon to just get on with it.

 

Could Columbia make a bigger investment above distribution (which i think they currently do for Bond - they have SPECTRE  slated)?

 

Could United Artist & MGM get some kind of venture together in time?

 

Dreamworks, or even Amblin would be an interesting, if unlikely choice.

 

It's a massive leap for them, but could Bond 'come home' to BBC Films? They did a lot of plaudits at this year's BAFTAs - maybe a co-op with Pinewood?

 

Since Spyglass bought MGM they've scaled back to just a couple of movies a year. I bet they'd love to make Bond one of their select investments.

 

I'd love to see what Studio Canal would encourage Eon to get up to with Bond; if this were Dragons Den (a BBC reality-business investment show for those not in the UK) i'd value their artistic input as investors above the rest. Their involvement would certainly attract interesting talent.

 

Another left field notion is WingNut Films. Sure Jackson has milked the Hobbit franchise way beyond the point he should've, but he's one of the few genuine cinematic genius around - i look forward to him finishing his obsession with hairy toed midgets so he can get back to innovating, rather than repeating.  Anyhow, he has a genuine love for film - that's obvious - and can foster great talent and give it wings (Neil Blomkamp) and has arguably the best effects house on the planet. I'm guessing Mendes, Nolan etc. would love to work with him.

 

Fox is an even bet  - plenty of cash and influence to through around, but i'd prefer Bond not to be associated with this great partisan news embellishing propaganda empire.

 

Maybe Eon will stay with Sony and try to ride it out, but i hope not - i'll leave you with this from an article on todays Slashfilm.com  about Neil Blomkamp run in with Rothman:

There’s no release date for Blomkamp’s Alien film at this point.

(What I do find amusing here is that it is possible that Blomkamp came up with this idea when he was developing Halo at Fox, where he had big run-ins with Tom Rothman, then the head of that studio. Blomkamp said he’d never work for Fox again, thanks in large part to Rothman. Now Rothman is out of Fox and installed at Sony, which released Elysiumand will release Chappie — just in time for Blomkamp to go back to Fox for Alien.)

 

http://www.slashfilm...lomkamps-alien/

Edited by Odd Jobbies, 26 February 2015 - 11:53 AM.

[SecretAgentFan]

EON needs a distributor who can pony up the big promotional bucks for international advertising.  So it must be a decision between Sony, Paramount, WB and Universal.  Yeah, well, and Disney - but I hardly can imagine that.

[Dustin]

The actual creative input of the studio is probably the least import with the Bond series. We've seen what happens when the studio pushes for a cheap money-making vehicle, and we've seen what happens when they get their way with ultimately generic output. For the Bond series its make-or-brake element is keeping its own distinctive tone and quality, outside the league of the competition. It doesn't always work out that way, it's always a tricky balance. But overall you can quickly tell when the army of suits from fifth floor had too much influence, it just shows. The next partner in this affair - whoever that may turn out to be - would be well-advised when they trust Broccoli and Wilson and support their decisions, rather than trying to put their own stamp on it.

[Odd Jobbies]

The next partner in this affair - whoever that may turn out to be - would be well-advised when they trust Broccoli and Wilson and support their decisions, rather than trying to put their own stamp on it.

We all know that, but someone needs to tell Rothman.

[tdalton]

 

The next partner in this affair - whoever that may turn out to be - would be well-advised when they trust Broccoli and Wilson and support their decisions, rather than trying to put their own stamp on it.

We all know that, but someone needs to tell Rothman.

 

 

I don't think that Rothman is going to have much of an opportunity to really be an obstructionist on this or put his own stamp on it.  They're too far along to majorly change things.  All Sony can really do at this point is put their heads down, grind through the end of production on SPECTRE, and then hope that EON/MGM decides to re-up with them for another contract. 

[Dustin]

Quite. Production is fairly underway, anybody interfering now is bound to end up under the wheels. Rothman will be aware of this and look for something else to build his reputation on. As was said already, the task now is to make good weather with an eye on possible future productions.

[SecretAgentFan]

The problem is Rothman does have a reputation for being extremely hands-on or wanting to be, resulting in second-guessing all the time, and minimizing budgets.  The latter is not the worst thing, especially with Bond films becoming more bloated the longer an era is going on.  Still, Rothman seems to drain creativity in that process.

 

With SPECTRE I guess he won´t interfere because if anything goes wrong with Pascal-overseen productions it will be easier for him to point to her.   But the next time...  BB and MGW, however, know the game for too long, so I don´t worry they will make the best decision.

[Admiral Messervey]

The problem is Rothman does have a reputation for being extremely hands-on or wanting to be, resulting in second-guessing all the time, and minimizing budgets.  The latter is not the worst thing, especially with Bond films becoming more bloated the longer an era is going on.  Still, Rothman seems to drain creativity in that process.

 

With SPECTRE I guess he won´t interfere because if anything goes wrong with Pascal-overseen productions it will be easier for him to point to her.   But the next time...  BB and MGW, however, know the game for too long, so I don´t worry they will make the best decision.

Aye. Even his track record of schlock movies from 2000 through 2012 is big barring X-Men and X2 (as compiled by SuperHeroHype's message boards):

 

 

Big Momma’s House

Bedazzled

Dude, Where’s My Car?

Monkeybone

Say It Isn’t So

Freddy Got Fingered

Dr. Dolittle 2

Glitter

Black Knight

Joe Somebody

Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

Like Mike

Swimfan

Drumline

Just Married

Daredevil

Down with Love

From Justin to Kelly

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Stuck on You

Cheaper by the Dozen

Catch That Kid

Welcome to Mooseport

The Day After Tomorrow

Garfield: The Movie

I, Robot

Alien vs. Predator

Paparazzi

First Daughter

Taxi

Flight of the Phoenix

Fat Albert

Elektra

Hide and Seek

Guess Who

Fever Pitch

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

Rebound

Fantastic Four

Supercross

Cheaper by the Dozen 2

Tristan & Isolde

Big Momma’s House 2

Date Movie

Aquamarine

Just My Luck

X-Men: The Last Stand

Garfield 2: A Tail of Two Kitties

My Super Ex-Girlfriend

John Tucker Must Die

Deck the Halls

Eragon

Night at the Museum

Epic Movie

Firehouse Dog

Pathfinder

Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Live Free or Die Hard

The Seeker

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

Hitman

Alvin and the Chipmunks

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

27 Dresses

Meet the Spartans

Jumper

Shutter

What Happens in Vegas

The Happening

Meet Dave

Space Chimps

Babylon A.D.

Max Payne

The Haunting of Molly Hartley

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Bride Wars

12 Rounds

Dragonball: Evolution

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Post Grad

All About Steve

Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel

Tooth Fairy

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Marmaduke

Ramona and Beezus

Vampires Suck

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Gulliver’s Travels

Big Momma’s House 3: Like Father Like Son

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules

Mr. Popper’s Penguins

Monte Carlo

What’s Your Number?

The Big Year

Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Chipwrecked

The Darkest Hour

This Means War

The Three Stooges

The Watch

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3: Dog Days

Won’t Back Down

Parental Guidance

[Admiral Messervey]

Sony will do everything to keep Bond under their wings, that´s for sure.  Of course, it would help if SPECTRE outperforms SKYFALL.  If its B.O. take is significantly lower there will be a problem for the negotiations since Rothman will want to prove himself to be a factor - but I don´t think that will happen.

 

It all depends on how Rothman will harmonize with EON.  If they don´t gel BB and MGW will gladly and quickly go for other relations.

 

But it won´t be Marvel - or to put it correctly: DISNEY (which owns Marvel now, together with Lucasfilm).   

 

It will be PARAMOUNT (looking for steady franchises) or FOX.  WARNER BROS.  is probably too busy with building their DC empire.

They'll go back to the drawing board if (and I do mean IF) Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice doesn't break the bank as Tsujihara and co are hoping for let alone win audienceand critics over. Then again, the WB under him is slowly getting better since Jeff Robinov left (though one could argue Man of Steel is the last bastion of his era since it was greenlight on his watch)

Edited by Admiral Messervey, 26 February 2015 - 06:38 PM.

[x007AceOfSpades]

While Rothman doesn't have the best track record of films and certainly isn't a great guy - during his tenure at FOX, he had the best profit margins of any studio. So There's that.

Sony will do everything to keep Bond under their wings, that´s for sure.  Of course, it would help if SPECTRE outperforms SKYFALL.  If its B.O. take is significantly lower there will be a problem for the negotiations since Rothman will want to prove himself to be a factor - but I don´t think that will happen.

 

It all depends on how Rothman will harmonize with EON.  If they don´t gel BB and MGW will gladly and quickly go for other relations.

 

But it won´t be Marvel - or to put it correctly: DISNEY (which owns Marvel now, together with Lucasfilm).   

 

It will be PARAMOUNT (looking for steady franchises) or FOX.  WARNER BROS.  is probably too busy with building their DC empire.

I can see the move to Paramount, though they already have the Mission: Impossible franchise. FOX and Warner Bros. have also worked with MGM lately, so there's that. I don't think it'd be a problem for FOX, but possibly for Warner Bros. as they're too busy putting their eggs in the DC Universe basket.

 

 

 

Feige made some inspired moves by hiring Jos Whedon, James Gunn (wayyyy off the big time radar), the Russo Bros. and best of all Shane Black.

Joss Whedon, yes. The rest? Absolutely not, I wouldn't call them inspired moves or choices at all, especially Shane Black.

Wow, i've found someone who didn't like Guardians of The Galaxy!

 

I didn't dislike Guardians Of The Galaxy. I'm also not head over heels for it like a lot of other people are. I thought it was entertaining, and their best feature in a very long time. I did rewatch it this last fall and I found more flaws and gripes, but it's not entirely awful. I just wouldn't say that James Gunn is an inspired move, along with the Russo Bros.

 

Much like a 'what if it was Weinstein?'  Never gonna happen, which is a good thing, because he's apparently a control freak (like Rothman).

 

So shall we park this 'never-gonna-happen' debate that i so misguidedly began?  

 

Paramount is a good bet. The mega-franchise infra-structure and personnel are all in place for such a juggernaut of a franchise as Bond, so it'd probably be the smoothest transition.

 

Legendary along with Warner Bros have worked well with Nolan - undoubtably a near future Bond director - could that be a clincher? I don't see Warner worrying about having a full slate with DC; Eon do all the heavy lifting and Bond is a guaranteed profit maker. In fact they might be perfect, since their DC responsibilities may mean they leave Eon to just get on with it.

 

Could United Artist & MGM get some kind of venture together in time?

 

Dreamworks, or even Amblin would be an interesting, if unlikely choice.

 

Since Spyglass bought MGM they've scaled back to just a couple of movies a year. I bet they'd love to make Bond one of their select investments.

 

Fox is an even bet  - plenty of cash and influence to through around, but i'd prefer Bond not to be associated with this great partisan news embellishing propaganda empire.

Oh god not Weinstein. That man literally condemns films if he doesn't get his wishes (See Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer for example.)

Like I said to SAF, Paramount would be the best bet, but my only concern is their establishment with Mission: Impossible - though after giving it some thought, I'm starting to think it won't be too much of a problem.

Same thing with Warner Bros. except with their business and production advancements on the DC Universe. Legendary is no longer with Warner Bros. and has signed a deal with Universal, so there's that.

Last I checked, MGM got United Artists back from Tom Cruise. I could be wrong though.

DreamWorks has a history of money problems. They nearly came close to bankruptcy twice. Paramount and Viacom later purchased DreamWorks until DreamWorks broke free. They can barely finance their own films and have since released films in co-production with Reliance Entertainment and Touchstone Pictures (Spielberg's films are usually in co-production with FOX).

I know Roger Birnbaum who is the head of Spyglass was at one time the Co-CEO and Co-Chairman of MGM when he was apart of the holdings company. Since then, Spyglass has significantly scaled back their operations.

Personally, I'm putting my money on either FOX or Paramount (Despite Mission: Impossible) should EON pack up and move elsewhere.

[Admiral Messervey]

While Rothman doesn't have the best track record of films and certainly isn't a great guy - during his tenure at FOX, he had the best profit margins of any studio. So There's that.

Sony will do everything to keep Bond under their wings, that´s for sure.  Of course, it would help if SPECTRE outperforms SKYFALL.  If its B.O. take is significantly lower there will be a problem for the negotiations since Rothman will want to prove himself to be a factor - but I don´t think that will happen.

 

It all depends on how Rothman will harmonize with EON.  If they don´t gel BB and MGW will gladly and quickly go for other relations.

 

But it won´t be Marvel - or to put it correctly: DISNEY (which owns Marvel now, together with Lucasfilm).   

 

It will be PARAMOUNT (looking for steady franchises) or FOX.  WARNER BROS.  is probably too busy with building their DC empire.

I can see the move to Paramount, though they already have the Mission: Impossible franchise. FOX and Warner Bros. have also worked with MGM lately, so there's that. I don't think it'd be a problem for FOX, but possibly for Warner Bros. as they're too busy putting their eggs in the DC Universe basket.

 

 

 

Feige made some inspired moves by hiring Jos Whedon, James Gunn (wayyyy off the big time radar), the Russo Bros. and best of all Shane Black.

Joss Whedon, yes. The rest? Absolutely not, I wouldn't call them inspired moves or choices at all, especially Shane Black.

Wow, i've found someone who didn't like Guardians of The Galaxy!

 

I didn't dislike Guardians Of The Galaxy. I'm also not head over heels for it like a lot of other people are. I thought it was entertaining, and their best feature in a very long time. I did rewatch it this last fall and I found more flaws and gripes, but it's not entirely awful. I just wouldn't say that James Gunn is an inspired move, along with the Russo Bros.

 

Much like a 'what if it was Weinstein?'  Never gonna happen, which is a good thing, because he's apparently a control freak (like Rothman).

 

So shall we park this 'never-gonna-happen' debate that i so misguidedly began?  

 

Paramount is a good bet. The mega-franchise infra-structure and personnel are all in place for such a juggernaut of a franchise as Bond, so it'd probably be the smoothest transition.

 

Legendary along with Warner Bros have worked well with Nolan - undoubtably a near future Bond director - could that be a clincher? I don't see Warner worrying about having a full slate with DC; Eon do all the heavy lifting and Bond is a guaranteed profit maker. In fact they might be perfect, since their DC responsibilities may mean they leave Eon to just get on with it.

 

Could United Artist & MGM get some kind of venture together in time?

 

Dreamworks, or even Amblin would be an interesting, if unlikely choice.

 

Since Spyglass bought MGM they've scaled back to just a couple of movies a year. I bet they'd love to make Bond one of their select investments.

 

Fox is an even bet  - plenty of cash and influence to through around, but i'd prefer Bond not to be associated with this great partisan news embellishing propaganda empire.

Oh god not Weinstein. That man literally condemns films if he doesn't get his wishes (See Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer for example.)

Like I said to SAF, Paramount would be the best bet, but my only concern is their establishment with Mission: Impossible - though after giving it some thought, I'm starting to think it won't be too much of a problem.

Same thing with Warner Bros. except with their business and production advancements on the DC Universe. Legendary is no longer with Warner Bros. and has signed a deal with Universal, so there's that.

Last I checked, MGM got United Artists back from Tom Cruise. I could be wrong though.

DreamWorks has a history of money problems. They nearly came close to bankruptcy twice. Paramount and Viacom later purchased DreamWorks until DreamWorks broke free. They can barely finance their own films and have since released films in co-production with Reliance Entertainment and Touchstone Pictures (Spielberg's films are usually in co-production with FOX).

I know Roger Birnbaum who is the head of Spyglass was at one time the Co-CEO and Co-Chairman of MGM when he was apart of the holdings company. Since then, Spyglass has significantly scaled back their operations.

Personally, I'm putting my money on either FOX or Paramount (Despite Mission: Impossible) should EON pack up and move elsewhere.

I take it UA under cruise didn't work out since it been years since I last heard about that buyout

[x007AceOfSpades]

Cruise only had a stake in the company for roughly five years or so, until MGM reacquired it and I believe, his stake.

[Odd Jobbies]

While Rothman doesn't have the best track record of films and certainly isn't a great guy - during his tenure at FOX, he had the best profit margins of any studio. So There's that.

Which can be the only reason (barring blackmail) that he keeps getting hired. Sounds like the corporate psycho-pitbull type you get in when the finance department are screaming blue murder and you need a someone nasty to do a culling. After the email gripes about SPECTRE's soaring budget this might make some sense from the point of view of the Sony board. But it may set the franchise back ten years in the process, as all that good faith they've kindled with talented directors and actors is undone as they find no one wants to work on Bond as long as Rothman's at liberty to apply the thumb screws.

 

And it's not too late for a dick like this guy to assert his ego upon a production until it's picture locked.

 

So hopefully Eon will indeed jump ship at the next port. It sounds like you certainly know your studio beans better than me, so i defer to your judgements on those - they all seem pretty sound to me.

Edited by Odd Jobbies, 26 February 2015 - 08:18 PM.

[x007AceOfSpades]

 

While Rothman doesn't have the best track record of films and certainly isn't a great guy - during his tenure at FOX, he had the best profit margins of any studio. So There's that.

Which can be the only reason (barring blackmail) that he keeps getting hired. Sounds like the corporate psycho-pitbull type you get in when the finance department are screaming blue murder and you need a someone nasty to do a culling. After the email gripes about SPECTRE's soaring budget this might make some sense from the point of view of the Sony board. But it may set the franchise back ten years in the process, as all that good faith they've kindled with talented directors and actors is undone as they find no one wants to work on Bond as long as Rothman's at liberty to apply the thumb screws.

 

And it's not too late for a dick like this guy to assert his ego upon a production until it's picture locked.

 

So hopefully Eon will indeed jump ship at the next port. It sounds like you certainly know your studio beans better than me, so i defer to your judgements on those - they all seem pretty sound to me.

 

It's really the only reason why he's getting hired still, because of the profit margins he had at FOX.

 

Personally, after all the initial production issues for Spectre in the beginning, this is their last film at Sony, and I think it'll stay that way.

[glidrose]

The Curse of Heaven's Gate

Huh? Heaven's Gate was a UA film. Had nothing to do with MGM.

[Odd Jobbies]

 

The Curse of Heaven's Gate

Huh? Heaven's Gate was a UA film. Had nothing to do with MGM.

 

But unfortunately it had everything  to do with every Hollywood movie thereafter.

[glidrose]

Our own TDalton will be in another spiffy miff if he learns that SP ends with a badly hobbled Bond captured, presumably being prepped for brainwashing, fade to gun barrel logo. No Bond, instead a question mark appears. No blood this time either. (How do those spoiler tags work again?)

Err... Not sure if that's a joke, or a real spoiler. If the latter, then can the mods please get rid of this idiot, or is it best the rest of us whom wish not to be spoiled (too late now, perhaps) stay away from CBN until we've seen the movie.
 
I know it's hard to prevent such stupidity, but once it's apparent it needs a hasty remedy from the mods.

Fooled you!

[Odd Jobbies]

 

 

Our own TDalton will be in another spiffy miff if he learns that SP ends with a badly hobbled Bond captured, presumably being prepped for brainwashing, fade to gun barrel logo. No Bond, instead a question mark appears. No blood this time either. (How do those spoiler tags work again?)

Err... Not sure if that's a joke, or a real spoiler. If the latter, then can the mods please get rid of this idiot, or is it best the rest of us whom wish not to be spoiled (too late now, perhaps) stay away from CBN until we've seen the movie.
 
I know it's hard to prevent such stupidity, but once it's apparent it needs a hasty remedy from the mods.

 

Fooled you!

 

 

Revenge is a dish best served cold