C'MON HOLLYWOOD: Wolverine, Aronofsky and the sad state of Fox
Mar. 23, 2011
That said, over the last few days, there’s been a lot of speculation that Aronofsky decided to step down due to BLACK SWAN’s success, which has made him bankable for the first time in his career. WOLVERINE was supposed to be the paycheck job that would do that, but instead audiences seem to have finally embraced Aronofsky’s work in its most undiluted form. Instead of WOLVERINE, I imagine he’ll be signing onto something less commercial, and more in line with his own interests as a filmmaker.
If that’s the case, then it’s still probably for the best that he’s stepping down, as who really wants to see a diluted Aronofsky film? Fans are understandably upset that he won’t be tackling the character, but how edgy would Fox have let Aronofsky make the film?
Since about 2005, 20th Century Fox, once one of the best studios in town, has made some of the worst “tentpole” films on record. Both FANTASTIC FOUR films, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, ERAGON, LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, HITMAN, both ALIEN VS. PREDATOR films, THE HAPPENING, MEET DAVE, X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE, BABYLON A.D, MAX PAYNE, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN LI, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS, THE A-TEAM, the list goes on and on. Other than the occasional fluke like TAKEN (produced by Luc Besson’s Europa Corp), AVATAR (credit that one to James Cameron alone, rather than the studio) and WALK THE LINE, their output has been atrocious.
Of course, this doesn’t include Fox Searchlight, with them consistently putting out good films. But as far as the high-profile blockbusters go, what the hell is going on? Considering their full production slate, at least a few of the films I listed should have been good, but none of them were. Why? I think the big problem is the infamous way that Fox seems to make these films by committee. Many of the films I listed, including HITMAN, LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, X-FILES, BABYLON A.D, and WOLVERINE were apparently butchered in the editing room, with many of the directors going on record stating that Fox ruined their films by insisting on PG-13 ratings, and a 100 minute running time.
Gavin Hood’s been a scapegoat for the failure of X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, but I doubt anyone working under the same circumstances could have made that into a good film, and that includes Aronofsky. The budget looks like it was nickled and dimed (Wolvie's claws are some of the worst CGI in memory), and I've heard a lot of the film was reshot by the studio in the hope of "saving it" but likely making it even worse (although, that's purely speculation on my part). Under Aronofsky, WOLVERINE might have been a tight superhero flick, but would they have allowed him to make it truly unique? Remember when Ridley Scott was forced to cut an hour out of KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?
Perhaps we’re to blame, as Fox many not be good at making good movies, but they sure are good at making money. If we had taken a stand and boycotted X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, or the FANTASTIC FOUR films, maybe they would have seen the error of their ways- but they still made a mint off each film, no matter how bad they were.
To give Fox a modicum of credit, they are improving somewhat. Despite his experience on KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, Ridley Scott is returning to the studio to make the intriguing sounding PROMETHEUS. Whether or not they allow him to make a good film remains to be seen, but I’m hopeful. Matthew Vaughn was brought on board to make X-MEN FIRST CLASS, which seems to be an inspired choice, but once again- whether or not it ends up being a good film remains to be seen.
As for WOLVERINE, I’m convinced it’ll get made no matter what. It’s as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning, as it’s all but a guaranteed hit no matter how bad the film might end up. My hope is that greed won’t rule the day, and that they’ll wait for someone with a unique take on the material to come along, rather than assigning it to one of their resident hacks like John Moore. My choice would be for them to wait for Bryan Singer to wrap JACK THE GIANT KILLER, or give it to an interesting up-and-comer like Duncan Jones, or better yet- someone like Edgar Wright, who could probably make a killer comic book film. Sadly, I’m not too optimistic, as they likely want someone who’ll jump in right away and get the production rolling by the fall so they can make a summer 2012 release date.
| Extra Tidbit: | Of course, there's also the whole question of whether or not the film will still be shot on location in Japan in the wake of the Earthquake/reactor crisis. Hopefully, the studio will go through with their plan to shoot on location. |
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| Source: | JoBlo.com |
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Huh?
STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN LI? DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION?
THE A-TEAM?
I think all these movies were better than expected. Live Free or Die Hard was better than Die Hard 3. The Chun Li movie was much better than the first Street Fighter movie (possibly one of the worst movies of all time). And while Dragonball was lackluster, I thought the casting was good, although I never watched the original animation.
Anyway, you forgot Daredevil and Elektra. Daredevil
STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN LI? DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION?
THE A-TEAM?
I think all these movies were better than expected. Live Free or Die Hard was better than Die Hard 3. The Chun Li movie was much better than the first Street Fighter movie (possibly one of the worst movies of all time). And while Dragonball was lackluster, I thought the casting was good, although I never watched the original animation.
Anyway, you forgot Daredevil and Elektra. Daredevil was cut to ribbons, so I've heard, but the finished product wasn't a bad movie. Elektra was a bad movie but a good Elektra movie would have to be rated R. She's not a goody two shoes hero. The same logic would apply to making a Catwoman movie.
However, would have been interesting to see DA's take on it.
Personally would much prefer to see other characters from the X-men stable get their own movies - Gambit, or Psylocke maybe for my choice...
However, would have been interesting to see DA's take on it.
Personally would much prefer to see other characters from the X-men stable get their own movies - Gambit, or Psylocke maybe for my choice...
Batman Begins (2005)
Superman Returns (2006)
Lady in the Water (2006)
The Ant Bully (2006)
Beerfest (2006)
We Are Marshall (2006)
300 (2007)
10,000 BC (2008)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Watchmen (2009)
Observe and Report (2009)
The Hangover (2009)
Trick 'r Treat (2009)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Ninja
Batman Begins (2005)
Superman Returns (2006)
Lady in the Water (2006)
The Ant Bully (2006)
Beerfest (2006)
We Are Marshall (2006)
300 (2007)
10,000 BC (2008)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Watchmen (2009)
Observe and Report (2009)
The Hangover (2009)
Trick 'r Treat (2009)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Ninja Assassin (2009)
Clash of the Titans (2010)
Jonah Hex (2010)
Inception (2010)
The Town (2010)
Due Date (2010)
Sucker Punch (2011)
Yeah, some of those are shit, but the ones that aren't are amazing films and they perform well at the box office. Case and point; Schumacher fucked up the batman franchise so WB let chris nolan take a stab at it and BB helped resusitate life back into the franchise and gave it credibility. Once people saw that batman was good again TDK destroyed records at the box office. So Fox, let directors take a chance and make good films because when they do score, they usually score big.
C'MON JOBLO #1 - GET SOME NEW MATERIAL
and for the record, Die Hard 4 was awesome.
and for the record, Die Hard 4 was awesome.
- Shoot the movie in the US.
I know the story takes place in Japan but exteriors can be shot in a month and the rest of the movie shot in american studios.
- If Aronofsky can't be convinced to stay: Hire Christopher McQuarrie.
He wrote the script and his "The Way of the Gun" is extremely underrated. He probably has more experience with action than Aronofsky
- Shoot the movie in the US.
I know the story takes place in Japan but exteriors can be shot in a month and the rest of the movie shot in american studios.
- If Aronofsky can't be convinced to stay: Hire Christopher McQuarrie.
He wrote the script and his "The Way of the Gun" is extremely underrated. He probably has more experience with action than Aronofsky
Well...
When Aronofsky was announced, it looked like they had enough confidence in his recent success that they were going to let him fly with whatever he wanted. But now that he's out, I wouldn't count on Fox picking someone as good as Aronofsky.
Given how bad X3 and
When Aronofsky was announced, it looked like they had enough confidence in his recent success that they were going to let him fly with whatever he wanted. But now that he's out, I wouldn't count on Fox picking someone as good as Aronofsky.
Given how bad X3 and Origins were (and how poor Origins' box office was) you'd think Fox would be willing to pay top dollar to an incredible director to helm The Wolverine. Let's hope that is the case.
Personally, I'll only be interested in this project if they get another Auteur on board (Alfonso Cuarón, Park Chan-wook, etc.)
Well said
Shitty that My Favourite Comic book character is in the Hands of these Rich Pricks who make money by making shit movies.
It proves that content of the film means fuck all, and that marketing of the film is what
Shitty that My Favourite Comic book character is in the Hands of these Rich Pricks who make money by making shit movies.
It proves that content of the film means fuck all, and that marketing of the film is what makes them money providing by dumbing down movies to fit the PG rating. (Notice how EVERY movie seems to be PG?)
I wish this movie was given to me to Direct. :(
It's not for his family...
Fast forward to now, Black Swan is a huge success, he gets an 8-figure reward and thus has no reason to do Wolverine. THAT'S why he's out.
Fast forward to now, Black Swan is a huge success, he gets an 8-figure reward and thus has no reason to do Wolverine. THAT'S why he's out.
It could be a big combination of reasons for Aronofsky's departure, but I wouldn't be surprised if Fox's committee approach to butchering films had some influence. Also, I'd rather see him tackle his own projects.
It could be a big combination of reasons for Aronofsky's departure, but I wouldn't be surprised if Fox's committee approach to butchering films had some influence. Also, I'd rather see him tackle his own projects.
Fox has screwed up alot of movies or have made these movies "less than average". But they're still not
Fox has screwed up alot of movies or have made these movies "less than average". But they're still not the worst movies out there. They're all good fun, popcorn flicks.
As for who should direct "The Wolverine". Either wait for Aronofsky to get his act together or let Singer/Duncan Jones/Edgar Wright/Matt Reeves direct.
Best thing to do
I do think that there is more behind Aronofsky's reasoning than the family thing, but you actually brought up a good point about "Black Swan". Darren's films have never been bankable. I'm still surprised at how popular "Black Swan" became. It may not be my favorite Aronofsky film by any means but when I hear my mom and other casual moviegoers discussing an Aronofsky film, well that's just cool as hell. Whatever he does next is going to be great, like always, I just hope it's The Wolverine.
If I was Jackman I would demand more creative control over the film (hell the guy has played the character for four films and is one of the major reasons the movies are popular) That way if Darren doesn't come back Hugh can still keep some of his ideas alive.
Where do I sign?
Having Aronofsky helm Wolverine is like giving Nolan Batman.... it's a gutsy move that breaks records!
TCF gave X-Men to Singer for two pretty great installments, then they let Ratner literally kill off the series!! Now they're trying to cash-in on the individual characters and I promise you that people will lose interest after
Having Aronofsky helm Wolverine is like giving Nolan Batman.... it's a gutsy move that breaks records!
TCF gave X-Men to Singer for two pretty great installments, then they let Ratner literally kill off the series!! Now they're trying to cash-in on the individual characters and I promise you that people will lose interest after another one like ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. Aronofsky would've turned that shit around.. he's a master storyteller and could've easily set the groundwork for a whole new stand-alone series.
TCF, what are you doing? Do what it takes to get that guy back!! GO!!!!!!
God Bless You