Barbie? He-Man? Ghost Rider 2? Oh My! Who Said Good Cinema Was Dead?
Marvel + Disney = Rushed Superhero Movies
As if the dirge accompanying this summer's blockbusters wasn't enough a whole slew of sweet-tooth for-the-dollars films were mentioned in the online pages of Variety today in three separate stories announcing sequels, reboots and more films based on toys.
First comes word Universal Pictures has made a deal with Mattel to build a live action film around, Barbie, its signature toy line. Producer Laurence Mark said the next step will be to canvas writers and decide a creative take for a family-friendly movie based on the popular doll. Perhaps I should go review the recently released Barbie and the Three Musketeers for future reference. I wonder if Aqua will be called in for the title track.
Next comes news that Sony has stepped in where Warner Bros. stepped out and is finalizing a deal to produce a bigscreen adaptation of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the popular action figure line from toymaker Mattel with Escape Artists shepherding the project.
When the project was last discussed, John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) was going to direct a script originally written by Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li) and then rewritten by Evan Daugherty. The film was titled Grayskull. However, rights to those scripts now belong to WB, meaning a new writer will likely be hired and Stevenson is no longer attached. Mattel wound up taking back the rights and leaving Warner Bros. after Mattel, the studio and Joel Silver couldn't agree on the creative direction of the film.
Finally, the big kahuna, Mike Fleming is reporting that not only is the long talked about Ghost Rider 2 about to get underway with David Goyer in early talks to create the story and supervise writers for Columbia Pictures, but talk persists of Fox delivering a Daredevil reboot, a Silver Surfer film and the already announced reboot of Fantastic Four along with Universal's continued work on adapting Sub-Mariner.
I didn't read any of the speculative "what does it mean?" pieces all the bloggers wrote when Disney acquired Marvel, but one thing it definitely means is that everyone is now going to rush to get their respective Marvel titles in the can before the rights expire. Fleming writes:
The activity is necessary for those studios to keep the superhero properties. If the properties atrophy, they can be reclaimed by Marvel Entertainment, which happened with such properties as Dr. Strange, Black Panther and Iron Man, the latter of which languished at New Line before Marvel turned it into the self-financed blockbuster.
So basically, if a writers strike doesn't rush a troubled project into theaters why not let business dealings do it for you. Long live quality cinema!
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He-Man = Citizen Kane. I have the power(echoechoecho)!
i'll not go to see blockbusters during the next 5 years
Are anybody else's good memories from childhood cartoons and comics being destroyed by these adaptations? G.I. Joe, Transformers, Superman… I think we're actually becoming dumber as a species because of this crap we go see.
Finally with Ghost Rider 2. Get Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow and there will be zero doubt in my mind it won't be excellent and be a huge blockbuster.
He-Man will be really good no matter who writes it.
I wish they would Fantastic Four 3 instead of a reboot, but perhaps if they can make it more serious and have it involve villians not used on screen yet (like The Incredible Hulk used Abomination) it can be pretty good.
More Daredevil=Really Good Again.
And FINALLY with the Silver Surfer movie. This movie should've been already out with the Venom movie, and neither should be thought of in the same way the Wolverine movie was (someone at some point said the spin-offs were waiting to see how it did before they were made).
Here is to be hoping Disney drives Marvel nuts to put out more movies so we can actually see good movies and not crap like Revolutionary Road (killing Kate Winslet was so freakin stupid; otherwise I would've liked it) or Friday The 13th 2009 get anywhere in the movie industry.
@Seiko
Next time put more spoilers in your comments one isn't enough. I guess I no longer need to see Revolutionary Road, thanks
@Tim: Strictly speaking, that movie's been out for 8 months, 3 months for after dvd was released. I guess we need to put a spoiler alert next to every movie (and dvd) that was released by that standard…But, imo, I would've added a small spoiler alert.
Hollywood roll out the barrel for an annual scrape. I actually like many comic book films but so many are done badly. Unless, they get a decent screenplay and director with a bit of a brain like Sam Raimi, Jon Favreau or Christopher Nolan most of them end up being crap. I accidentally caught CATWOMAN and then DAREDEVIL on TV a few weeks ago and they are horrendous movies. I needed Film Therapy after that so watched FIGHT CLUB and REVOLUTIONARY ROAD.
** REVOLUTIONARY ROAD: Spoiler Alert **
@ SEIKO – Kate Winslet wasn't killed in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, but a tragic accident. She died following a desperate attempt to change what she felt was an empty/trapped existence. Her death was an unexpected turn in a moving and brilliant film. Stand out performances from Kate Winslet, Di Caprio, Kathy Bates and Michael Shannon; the latter being an actor who hopefully will get bigger roles.
Wouldn't mind seeing Sam Mendes have a go at a super-hero adaptation! Just not rubbish like BARBIE or GHOST RIDER!
@Anonymous' Friend:
"Are anybody else's good memories from childhood cartoons and comics being destroyed by these adaptations? G.I. Joe, Transformers, Superman… I think we're actually becoming dumber as a species because of this crap we go see."
You should just do what I do.
Don't go see them.
Crisis averted.
@Steve Mott: Agreed , nobody go see them , they flop. problem solved. Im surprised so many people in this "crisis" economy can afford to drop $11 on a film that gets a half a star. I wouldnt say it ruines my childhood memories of these great comics but I purposely avoid seeing movies of comics I love like Daredevil and Ghost Rider, actually I avoid most movies starring Nicholas Cage, cept Adaptation of course.
What a load of shit projects. Barbie? WTF? Excuse me while I wait in line for Toy Story 3 instead.
@Steve Mott: Yeah but the rub is that some of these adaptions are actually great (Iron Man, Dark Knight). Can you blame a guy for revisiting the great cartoons of his youth turned into potentially good movies?
I have to honestly ask what the Barbie movie would be about.
It's a freakin doll.