I admit that I wasn’t paying too much attention to the Monster House movie with Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis attached. Mainly because it didn’t really tickle me.
However I’ve just watched it and the animation looks superb. You can see it over at Apple Trailers with various formats ranging from iPod to HD. Have a look and see what you think, I was struck by the colour and depth of the animation.
Yet something stuck with me, and it didn’t stick well. Right up front we’re told that Spielberg and Zemeckis are Executive Producers, wooo, and it’s not until the credits are almost gone and the darkness appears that we’re told who the Director is. Gil Kenan. Who you ask? Well, he’s going to be directing Pac Man adaptation…yes, Pac Man.
So is the film going to be so great because of the two Exec Producers? See the IMDB explanation:
A producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the filmmaking process, but who is still responsible for the overall production. Typically an executive producer handles business and legal issues.
Yeah. So why are they so important up front for the movie and poor Gil get’s left till last? I’ll tell you, because it’ll fool the audience into believing that those two big names will make the movie superb. I’m not saying it isn’t, but the Exec Producer role is nothing to do with making the movie good, that’s the Director, Writer, Actors, etc. You’re supposed to hear those two names, be seduced, and head to the cinema because you think they’ve made it, meanwhile Mr Voice-Over Man is whispering in the background…”Directed by a newbie”.
dRob,
I can’t wait to see the Marble Madness movie. I hope there aren’t any spoilers leaked by that darn Aint it Cool News guy. He’d probably just say something like, “Starts on a high point, but it’s all downhill from there….”
No, wait, how about Myst? All shot as first-person, Point-of-view camera angles. That would ROCK–walk up hill, turn knob, walk down hill, walk across bridge, pull lever, walk back across bridge, walk back up hill, look for key, key not there, walk back down hill, walk up similar-looking but somehow distinct hill which has that flower on it, step into cavern, flip switch, step out of cavern, walk down hill, walk across bridge, pull lever…
Goosebumps, I tell ya’. Goosebumps.
Pac Man’s going to blow Super Mario Bros. right out of the water. I can’t wait for them to do a Tetris movie.
If you look at the other movies Spielberg has chosen to executive produce (especially in the 1980s), they’re directed by a fair amount of people who would later be rather celebrated – Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist), Joe Dante (the Gremlin films) and Zemeckis himself (Back to the Future).
There are also some duds on that list, but Spielberg seems to have at least some talent in associating himself (and his pull) with young director talent (even when he himself was young). Based on the trailer, it just might be possible that Spielberg found another wunderkind. And if that’s true, it will ultimately be what puts more butts in seats over the long term.
But it won’t hurt to have Spielberg’s billing opening weekend.
Ah Mike, much less of a cynic than myself! However, perfectly possible that’s what happened.
Yes it is show business after all, but have we become so jaded and paranoid that we think Hollywood will always lead us down the garden path? I’m beginning to think moreso than not. But, that said, I’m not sure the negative thought is entirely the best one in this situation.
There’s no “fooling” with those two up front. In my experience Exec Producers can be either completely hands off or watch very closely. I’m sure Spielberg wouldn’t negotiate his name up front if he weren’t involved in some way, and heavily. My bet is that he and Zemeckis had this project kicking about, one of them knew the newbie and want to give him a shot.
Spielberg to Zemeckis: “Let’s see what this kid can do.”
Mr Kenan is probably being watched so closely that he needs to be escorted to the bathroom outside the editing suite by a Zemeckis/Spielberg rep taking notes on whether it was numbers one or two and how long it took. Time is money.