On today’s Mail Bag installment:
1) Halo gets dumped by Fox and Universal
2) How we record commentaries
3) Studios releasing identical films at the same time
4) Superhero films using the same old villians
5) Why John hates the Rush Hour 3 situation so much
6) Toughts on The Departed
7) Favorite Documentary of all time
All this an a few things more.
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if the studio are prepared to give chris tucker that kind of money why blame tucker?? fucking good on him…he asked for it..they gave it..like any of you fuckers would turn it down…..
be angry with the studio not tucker….
the departed is the best film of the year…for me anyway…can’t think of anything i have seen thios year that has been better..all and all the year has been pretty terrible really for films…..
next year doesn’t look to be any better…the year of 3!!!!
(oceans, bourne, shrek, pirates, spidey etc etc)
neither did Arnie deserve his 29 mil for T3. ah well blame the studios and not the stars i say. the buck stops with them. if they’re stupid enough to pay..
I have to agree that Tucker’s Smokey character was comic genius but in no way do I think he deserves 25 million dollars.
“chris tucker is a talentless hack.hee has no acting ability.”
HAVE U SEEN ‘FRIDAY’?
The Smokey role was pure comic genius!
Henrik – i said MOST of the films they do. there are exceptions of course. so now i emphasise that word: MOST of the roles they take and/or are known for are them doing the the same schtick.
for any and all who have not seen it,watch Dead Presidents before saying that Tucker cannot do more serious work. the potential is there.
do not drill a guy for a handful of movies:
Friday (one of the funniest movies ever made)
Dead Presidents
Money Talks
5th Element
Rush Hour 1&2
when fuckers like Carrey,Ferrell,Sandler etc have made buckets of cash doing lame unfunny rehashes of their tv days. Tucker is just getting paid to do an extension of his stand-up persona just like those guys i just mentioned.
and just in case anybody thinks i’m racist. oscar nominated trash like Denzel have really only got a handful of movies that give them cred. which i might add are few and far between. checheck it
Glory
Malcolm X &
Training Day.
everything else that fool has done are the same lameass roles.
Hi Jay,
Thanks for pointing that out, about the commercial he directed. I was only aware of the Joburg short film, which was actually quite interesting to watch.
…anyway…
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a certain amount of faith in a newcomer. In fact, I think it’s actually a rather noble sentiment, and one which I wish more movie-executives would have. I myself, think the fear of company performance/stockholders that most executives succumb to is one of the main reasons so many films suck.
However, as John said earlier “…there are good, well advised risks… and then there are poor risks…”, which I completely agree with.
If the newbie pulls this off and makes a great & profitable film, I would be very happy for him. It’s always nice to root for an ‘underdog’ of sorts who beats the odds & other peoples’ expectations. It’s something which I would love to see happen.
Unfortunately, I truly believe that in this case, that ‘leap of faith’ isn’t justified.
Sorry….
Arnie wasn’t the same guy in T2 and Twins.
Owen Wilson wasn’t the same guy in Behind enemy lines and You, Me And Dupree.
Jim Carrey wasn’t the same guy in Ace Ventura and Man on the moon.
Bruce Willis wasn’t the same guy in Die Hard and The 6th sense.
Will Ferrell wasn’t the same guy in Anchorman and Bewitched.
Ben Stiller does play embarrased alot though… I guess you’re right!
I’ve only seen Chris Tucker in Rush Hour and 5th element, and I don’t know if they’re same character – but other than your Hughes Brothers example, he hasn’t really done anything else. So throughout his ‘career’ he hasn’t shown any range at all. Two roles, both of which are annoying. What an actor.
“chris tucker is a talentless hack.hee has no acting ability.”
Campea has obviously never seen Dead Presidents.
“he’s the same guy in everything he does’
doesn’t that apply to most of Arnie’s (who was overpaid to spoof himself in T3)Owen Wilson’s,Jim Carrey’s,Bruce Willis’,Will Ferrell & Ben Stiller’projects? aren’t they playing the same guy in most of the crap they were overpaid for..
yes,Tucker is a bitch for holding up production. yet,he’s not the first or the last actior to do that. some of those guys mentioned above have done the same..
And Ted1108,
Bloomkamp directed Johns favorite commercial.
The transforming, ice-skating car ad.
And the 200 million is a rumor that has somehow become fact.
The current budget is 128 million. That’s 145 million less the 12.5% rebate for shooting in New Zealand.
Will it go up from there. Probably.
But for right now, let’s just stick to what we know to be true.
And Aaron.Z,
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments, but as I’ve said before I have never played HALO in my entire life nor do I own an X-Box. So that just blows your whole theory out the window, huh?
As for the validity of my argument… well… I’ll just say that you are entitled to think whatever you want.
Darren and John,
You are both absolutely right to be cautious about this guy. He has ZERO feature film experience. A fact that I have never argued. It’s a lot of money. Another fact I have never argued. It would be better if he had experience. Yet another fact I have never argued.
All I’ve ever said is that I have confidence in this guy. I have never, NOT ONCE, said that he WILL do a great job. I have always stipulated that the short film and his passion for the material are what gives me the confidence to think that he may do it justice. It’s what gives me hope.
As far as making decisions with other peoples money goes, what decisions have I made other than to say that if Bloomkamp directed HALO I would be OK with it. I never said he is the one and only guy for the job. I never said it wouldnt be OK if they hired another director to shoot it. I was merely giving reasons why I thought he would be a decent choice. And just so you know, I am not the one that will or will not greenlight this movie. So my “decision” is nothing more than an opinion, which I thought we were free to voice.
“To spare” was meant exactly as it was written. It wasnt disingenuous. It was what it was. If I only had 200 million, I wouldnt give it to anyone to make any movie. I’d be on a beach in Maui sipping pina coladas until I croaked. If I was a studio and Peter Jackson brought me this guy and was behind him 100% then yes, I could see giving him the chance. Why is that so hard for you to believe? I know that there were discussions between Peter, Bungie and Bloomkamp before any announcment was made and I know in those conversations, in some way, Bloomkamp convinced them he was capable and was the right guy for the job. They wouldnt have hired him otherwise.
Darren,
The quote you highlighted about passion and inate ability wasnt offered as proof of why he WILL be the right guy, it was offered as an explanation as to why I have hope that he is the right guy and why I have the confidence in him that I do.
And passion does mean crock. You guys were all up in arms when Heath Ledger said he didnt care for comic book movies. Everyone cried about the fact that he didnt have passion for the role or the genre. I guess passion only counts in actors, not directors.
The Superman Returns reference was perfect. Look at how much confidence everyone had in Singer going into that movie. Did it mean anything? Did you love the movie as much as you thought you would? Judging from your use of the word terrible, I’m guessing not. My point here is that experience doesnt neccessarily mean that the end produst will be great, just like inexperience doesnt neccessarily mean that the end product will be worthless.
My desire through all of this has been solely to let you see that there is another way of looking at it. Is it the right way? No. Is it the wrong way? No. It’s just a way. Just like the way you guys are looking at it.
I’m sure you do have passion for your writing. I’m sure John does have passion for a King Conan movie. What does that have to do with my right to have confidence in Bloomkamp.
And my confidence is nothing but hope, and hope is defined as an emotional belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances. Hope implies a certain amount of perseverance — ie. believing that a positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary. Hope is the wish for something with expectation of it’s fulfilment. Why do you think your way is the “right” way and my way is frivolous and uninformed. The facts presented in the case of Bloomkamp for HALO have been enough to inspire confidence within me. They have not been enough for you. Be upset with the decision if thats what floats your boat. I dont care. I, on the other hand, will be happy with the decision for the reasons I have given. If another director is chosen… Guess what. I’ll probably be OK with him too. Unless it’s Uwe Boll. But even if it was Boll, I would still go see the movie and hope for the best. I’ve seen every one of his movies and I’ll always give him a chance, because you never know when he’s going to turn in a gem.
See… that’s the positive, hopeful disposition I’ve been trying to tell you guys about.
I believe that you guys have no faith in this guy.
Why is it so hard for you to believe that I do?
HAHA …. HALO ….. RIDICULOUS!
HEY HERE’S SOMETHING … HAS ANYBODY SEEN ‘THE PRODUCERS’???
Art is personal and unique. Craftsmanship is not.
we should sign a petition to keep the mailbag.
I’m going to miss the mailbag, I loved it, good times.
I saw Infernal Affairs last week. I thought parts of it were better then the Departed but I also perfered parts of Departed to IA. Overall I perferred Departed to AI.
I got to agree, I would also love to see Bane done right in a future Batman movie. If you go to http://www.batinthesun.com
they have some great fan movies. One trailer with Bane breaking Batman’s back. I would love to see Bizzaro done in a Superman movie, something different to Lex and Zod.
Your marketing theory on Supervillains, I disagree. Its the comic fans that demand the major villains not the average joe, who has no clue who the villains are, case in point is Doc Ock, it was for the fans that he was in it, its just that Spidy has many many main villains, and to appease the Comic fans Raimi is adding Venom to Spidey 3. The average joe had no clue who Ock was or who Venom is. Joker is being demanded by the fans because his last appearance was the 89 Batman. The fans need to stop asking for the same old villains. But they don’t as soon as Batman Returns ended they were talking Joker. Even if Nolan was hinting at his return & that could have been for BR3 not Dark Knight.
“Passion and inate ability are what got him the job, not his resume. If you’ve read the interview that Quint did with him at AICN you would see the obvious passion he has for the material”
If I was a first time director with no previous expierince, I, too, might be passionate about being in a 200 million sandbox to play in. That does not mean I am the right person to be in the sandbox.
By the way, I’m very passionate about the stories and spec scripts I write. Last month, in fact, an indie studio requested one of those specs, and after the release forms ,codes on the envelope and whatnot, I sent it to them. I’m very passionate about my material, and my writing in general. Others have told me I have inate ability in writing as well.
Two days ago they passed.
I’m still passionate, and haven’t given up hope. There’s still light at the end of the tunnel. I’m just still in the tunnel.
I’m sure John Campea is passionate about a new “Conan” movie.
Doesn’t mean crock.
I wish you would continue to do the mailbag. They are very entertaining shows. I understand that producing the podcast is alotta work. I think you should start some sort of Premium version of the podcast. I would glady pay to hear this show every week. At some point podcasters are gonna have to step it up. Don’t be afraid to create a paid version of the movie blog. If I had to pay a ‘reasonable’ fee to get you, Doug and crew on a regular basis, I would. I think others would also.
Anyway… you got a great thing going here John.
holla
Jay,
You’re kinda putting words in my mouth. I never ever ever said Halo WILL suck… or that Neil WILL do a horrible job. Never said that at all.
However, there are good, well advised risks… and then there are poor risks. In my opinion, this is a poor risk. As in any risk, there is a CHANCE this could work out just fine.. but getting another director who has at least done SOMETHING like this before would have increased those chances
I’ve directed a couple of short films before too… don’t think that qualifies me to direct Halo. Directing a commercial or a 5 minute short is NOTHING like direting a film. NOTHING at all.
Anayway, as you said… agree to disagree. There is no conversation without differing opinions.
Cheers.
~John
lol i like when the x-box (halo) fanboys gave you a hard time about the whole halo thing, don’t worry these guys travel in packs and gang rape anything that is negitive toward anything x-box related , whether it is a valed point or not.
Jay, That’s a disengenous answer (i think I spelt that right…)
NO ONE. I mean, NO ONE at a studio has $200 million dollars ‘to spare’! This is serious shit being invested.
Please Jay, tell me who in the film world has $200 million ‘to spare’?
I don’t give a shit what anyone says (it could be a Jackson, a Spielberg, or Eastwood) I will NEVER ‘spare’ $200 million on someone who never directed anything. That Joburg film, though interesting, still doesn’t count. If I’m not mistaken, he hasn’t directed any commercials either.
So answer this question honestly, not with the “to spare” bit at the end, ‘casue like I said, NO ONE has that kinda money to spare, and if they did, they wouldn’t be making films, they’d be livin in Tahiti.
Would you give a complete newbie $200 million when, in order to start making any profit on that investment, you’d have to hope the film makes $600 million dollars?
Honestly, you have every right to feel however you feel. It just bugs to no end, how easy it is for some people to make such decisions with other peoples’ money.
Hell, even known directors can fuck up a big-budget movie, just look at Singer’s Superman Returns (it surprised me how terrible this film was, considering he did a decent job with the X-Men films, especially the second one)
And of course the short film counts. As do the commercials.
You know why? Because he directed them. Hence, directing experience.
I think you mean no feature film directing experience.
Wait for it…
I can hear John right now…
“No feature film experience what-so-ever”
I’ll just settle it all right now.
Bloomkamp WILL do a horrible job if he ends up directing HALO.
He IS a terrible choice and there is NO WAY he will do a good job.
For all the people that know all these things without a shadow of a doubt you guys really need to start buying lottery tickets because the ability to see into the future could probably earn you some serious cabbage.
Oh wait. Nobody actually can see into the future so nobody actually knows that Bloomkamp is a bad choice. So in essence all any one of us is doing is making a guess as to the outcome.
Do I KNOW he will make a good movie? No, I dont, but I think he will.
Do you KNOW he will make a bad movie? No, you dont, but you think he will.
Hope for the best, fellas.
That’s all I’m doing.
If peter Jackson said he had the talent and I had the monet to spare… yes, I would.
Ok, anyone rooting for this new guy to direct Halo, I have a question.
Would any of you part with $200 million dollars to a director with no directing experience? (sorry, but that short film he did doesn’t count)
Hey, I might consider giving him a few bucks to make a smaller film, if I felt he deserved the chance, but NOT $200 fuckin’ million!
One other note about costs/profits for films;
John, at $200 million (not including marketing/prints-costs), this film will have to gross well over $600 million to ‘honestly’ break even.
For example:
A film that costs $100 million dollars & grosses $100 million (in let’s say, 4 weeks), did NOT break even. It lost a shit-load of money. The distributor generally (and I’m being very general here) get 70% of the gross the first 2 weeks, and that percentage starts dropping (to as low as 35% of the gross) every week afterwards. So that $100 million gross in 4 weeks is more like a $65 million take for the studio (and you STILL have to take away from the 65, the gross-points owed to any of the talent, which means it’s even less than $65 million, probably around $45 million). I’m basing this on 75 million the first 2 weeks (50 then 25), and 25 million the next 2 weeks (15 then 10), at a percentage of 70/50.
There is NO FUCKING WAY, I would give a person who never directed before $200 million with a break even point of $600 million.
Of course what I’m talking about is just regarding the theatrical, and not the dvd sales, but still….
And thats enough for me to have confidence, John.
It’s cool brother.
I still got respect for ya, and I understand completely where you’re coming from.
Would it be better if he had a little more experience?
In some ways… yes.
But I still have high hopes for him and the flick regardless.
To be honest, I might be a little more apprehensive if there was nothing to judge him on, but there isnt “nothing”. I have “something” to base my judgement on. And guess what? I think that “something” is pretty damn good. Sue me.
Again I want to reiterate, I’m not trying to change your mind, I’m just trying to let you see that there is another way of looking at the situation and that’s the way I’m looking at it.
To each their own, dude.
No hard feelings.
A craft is a skill, especially involving practical arts.
Crafts are defined either by their relationship to functional or utilitarian products.
Art is the word we use when we refer to a creative activity or its result. Directing would fall into the category of fine art.
Fine art refers to arts that are concerned with beauty or which appeal to taste.
I would call flying a plane a learned skill set. While you may say that directing is a learned skill set, I would agree to a point, but the point at which I disagree is the point that seperates a director like Brett Ratner and a director like James Cameron. Both possess the learned skill sets required to direct, or know the craft if you will, but both do not possess the same artistic level of talent.
You can learn the craft of piloting a plane and become a great pilot. You can’t learn the art of directing and make great movies. There has to be something in you beyond how much of the skill you learn to make you a great artist. That to me is the distinction between craft and art.
Jay,
This isn’t even about Neil. I would have the same feelings about ANYONE in that position. Let him cut his teeth as an assistant, get some experience working with real directors… do ANYTHING.
I accept that you “have confidence” in Neil… but based on what I have no idea. Someones word? A 10 minute short?
To each their own. Your opinion on this is totally your own and thus as valid as mine.
CHeers.
Well,
Again we have to agree to disagree, because I remember it vividly.
Either way, you are correct about one thing, Singer is irrelevant.
Any comparisons to any other directors are irrelevant.
The only thing that is relevant is the fact that you have no confidence in Bloomkamp and I have confidence in Bloomkamp.
Can we just agree on that and let that be it.
What is the distinction between a craft and an art?
Darren,
“Perhaps my analofy was a bit extreme…or maybe not. Was Blomkamp a DP? Did he work on smaller movies?”
I don’t see what that has to do with anything. Your analogy wasn’t extreme – it was invalid and uninformed. You were comparing a craft to an art.
Sorry Jay,
I remember all the fire over his selection of Jackman… but no significant up roar over Singer himself.
Selective memory??? Why would I WANT that to be the case??? The point is that Singer had 4 films under his belt including some really critically acclaimed film (Apt Pupil, Usual Suspects).
People trusting Singer or not is irrelevant. He actaully worked on films before… Neil hasn’t.
If people were saying they didn’t trust Singer, then I’d be able to sing “I TOLD YOU SO” because I always liked him being picked. But the fact of the matter is there wasn’t much negative hype about him being selected.
Listen, all bashing and disproving points aside –
Can we just agree that we both want this movie to be good and our difference of opinion stems from what we think the outcome is going to be given the current situation.
Truce?
Sorry for the “friggin” but I dont see how you can ask that with a stright face.
Everywhere I went at that time I saw people trashing Singer.
Are you friggin kidding me, John
Nobody liked the idea of singer. I think you’re the one experiencing selective memory now.
Jay,
You just proved my point. Singer actually made movies. Blomkamph hasn’t.
And who said no one trusted him to make X-Men???? I don’t remember that at all. I know people hated Hugh Jackman as Wolverine… but I never heard any significant grumbling about Singer at all.
Bryan Singer had made some fantastic low budget movie, but still no one had any confidence in him to direct the X-Men movie.
And look how that turned out.
Darren,
I understand where you’re going with the Kerry Conran thing, but how does that effect Bloomkamp’s chances? How does what happened in the case of Conran effect what may or may not happen with HALO and Bloomkamp?
And everyone keeps saying “How can you hand him the reigns of a big-budget monster?”
What does budget have to do with the ability to create art?
Hell, if anything, a bigger budget would allow him to be even more creative by allowing him to explore avenues that he would not be able to with a lower budget.
Passion and inate ability are what got him the job, not his resume. If you’ve read the interview that Quint did with him at AICN you would see the obvious passion he has for the material, and when I watch his short films and commercials I see the inate ability he possesses.
Even A-List directors can make shitty movies. Anybody seen “The Terminal”?
And do you really want Steven Spielberg to direct HALO? Where everybody lives and skips off into the sunset at the end? That was a rhetorical qustion, I know you didnt actually say S.S.
To me, Bloomkamp only adds to my excitement. Could be bad (could be bad with anybody at the helm), but it could be (and most likely will be) something you’ve never seen before. Something new, something fresh and quite possibly something great.
The fact of the matter is that everyone is writing him off completely because of his lack of experience. If we would have taken to that idea a few years ago we would have never gotten the incredible “Dawn of the Dead” remake and we wouldnt be getting the fantastic looking “300”. Snyder had ZERO experience, let me repeat that – ZERO EXPERIENCE in feature films. I know what you’re going to say – “Yeah, but Dawn of the Dead was low budget”, but it was the budget that was required for that particular movie.
The beginning and the end are all I’m focusing on.
Guy with ZERO experience, but with an inate ability and a passion for the material (Snyder loves the horror genre) makes a great movie.
Bloomkamp has the inate ability and passion. Just forget about the numbers for a little while, because that seems to be all anyone is focusing on. Just ask yourself how would some low budget indie drama give you any more confidence in this guys ability to direct HALO? A huge sci-fi action movie. How would being the DP on another movie give you any more confidence in him? Because he would still hire another DP th work on HALO. Everyone would still be referring back to his short film because that is the closest thing he has done to HALO. And that film looks exactly like I want HALO to look like. We already know he has a great producer to rely on and a fantastic effects house to handle their portion of it, if he ends up with a good script I have supreme confidence that we’re going to end up with a great movie.
By the way, I think the script should be everyone’s #1 concern.
Again this is coming from someone with no personal involvement in the HALO universe but just wants to see a kick-ass sci-fi action movie.
I know what I said earlier but… too bad.
Sorry to see you deciding to shut down the mailbag. I find it a great complimentary companion piece to the Monday editions. Monday is movie opinion from a small, finite resource while the mailbag is from a much larger pool. The mail bag is our ‘In’ into the Movie Blog.
If its a work load issue, that is understandable. I will truly miss the mailbag.
The mock-conversation was brilliant. That’s one hell of a patient producer.
The mock-conversation was brilliant. That’s one hell of a good producer.
Hey Danger Shark/Master Cheif (same guy from the same IP address)
About Weta and Bungie: Yes, that was just a verbal typo on my part
About sucking my own dick: I’ve never had to find out because your mom does a great job for me.
Henrik:
Perhaps my analofy was a bit extreme…or maybe not. Was Blomkamp a DP? Did he work on smaller movies?
Now, you mention Renny Harlin…hmmm…while I loved ‘Deep Blue Sea’, Harlin’s hit or miss, but if he were behind Halo, since he is seasoned, I don’t think this plug would have been pulled that soon.
The better director analogy is actually Kerry Conran…but let’s take a good look at his leap from short film to feature. His short film, “World Of Tommorow” was 6 minutes long. A name producer, Jon Avenet saw it, and soon came “Sky Captain and the World Of Tommorow”.
But…hold on. Conran wrote, did the production design for, did the visual effects for, produced and directed his short film. It took him four years to do it. When “Sky Captain” was greenlit as a feature, Conran was the writer, director and production designer. It got actors attatched. *It had a budget of 40 million*
Blonkamp’s short film was two minutes longer. He’s given a big budget monster which he only directing and he did not create. No actors have been attatched, let alone any actors throwing thier own money into the production, as Jude Law did on ‘Sky Captain”.
True, “Sky Captain” just barely broke even (when theatrically released), and we haven’t heard much from Conran, although we will see him again at some point- he has, after all, done something Blonkamp hasn’t done yet. Write and direct a feature film…for 40 mil. Think about that. Could a studio (or studios) use that as a measuring stick? I sure would. New feature directors should be given a low to modest budget on a first film. Then, after proving themselves, could take on bigger films if they choose to do so.
As for spending too much time here, you frequent just as much as I do, and I don’t always see eye to eye with Campea all the time. But when he is spot on, he’s spot on.
Is it hard to suck your own dick John?
Bungie has creative control, not Weta.
Bungie made the game.
Weta does special effects.
Get it right.
I was also curious abou the new site design?
Hi John,
What’s happened to the new site design? I really liked it. Have you scrapped the idea?
What the fuck??? No more mailbag? That just sucks balls man. Keep it going!
This Halo thing has been a joke from the very start and it will continue to be a joke. Scrap the whole damn thing
Tucker is a dip shit
The Departed was ok, but nothing too special
John, without the mailbag, how will continue to plug your movie? :P Keep that in mind.
Hi John,
just a nit-pick point to make. I’m pretty sure that Ridley Scott’s first feature film was “The Duellists”, not “Alien”.
You’ve spent too much time on this website because you’re using the same ridiculous analogies that John does from time to time.
It can’t be stressed enough that you are comparing a craft like piloting, to an art. You don’t need training to be an artist. Having worked on smaller movies may make you experienced in the way that you will know what lense to use to achieve the shot you’re looking for, but with an experienced DP that’s not a giant setback.
When we rule out the possibility of a good named director – of which I might add there are extremely few, and most of them direct their own stuff, this is about as good as it gets. They could have gotten a straight-forward jobber like Renny Harlin (who actually has made two good movies – Die Hard 2 and Long Kiss Goodnight – but instead they went in a different direction, and went with somebody who actually has impressed in his own field – AND probably has a passion for the subject matter.
I can only recommend to everybody that you watch “Alive in Joburg”. It’s very short and easy to watch, and very impressive. It looks so much like Halo it’s ridiculous. Here’s the Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zep9TlaPSo
From 89: The Abyss- Levithan- DeepStar Six.
Seen all three, best to worst. Would it be a surprise to know that the latter two beat Abyss to the box office? Would it not be a surprise that most everyone remembers the Cameron film, fewer recall the George Cosmotos flick, fewer still recall Sean Cunningham’s “Six”.
BTW, John Campea left one other possibility out. Coincidence.
Blair Witch Project – The Last Broadcast.
(or in that case, *extreme* co-incidence by two different indie filmmakers)
*********
I think Bizarro would work in a Superman film, maybe Parasite.
I would love to see Bane done right, and an Azarel/Batman disagreement would be gold.
(Deadshot I’d also like to see)…but Begins was more about Batman, and no so much about the villians. Batman Begins had three villians (or four, if you are a comics fan and include Zsaz) : Ras, Scarecrow, mobster Falcone. While Knight’s main villian will be Joker, there’s also a question of other villians/poential villians. But Joker will be the main selling point.
As for Black Mask- I would not be surprised at alll if in the course of developing ‘Knight’, Mask does in fact, show up. It’s reasonable: didn’t Ra’s say in the film that The League Of Shadows “infiltrated” all parts of Gotham? Were all of Ras ninjas captured – what about those leaving the train? Lots, loads of possiblities. But Mask would be a minor character at best.
*******
Halo: I’m one of the few who actually agree with John on all this, only I wonder if Master Chief not taking his helmet off in the script was the true death knell….aside from a lack of actors, a ballooning budget, a director with…well, let’s put it this way. It’s like asking me to make a paper airplane, then liking how that design took off, then offering me the chance to pilot a 747, even though I’m not a pilot…and now I’m in the cockpit, ready for takeoff. I’ve had no training, haven’t flown small planes, not even in a sim. And now, come on board, show the lovely Jessica Alba stewardess clone your ticket and let’s fly!
Yes, we are kind of close to those mountain peaks, but that is no cause for alarm…
I think Blomkamp will bow out and look for another movie to do first, one of a lower to modest budget, or make a smart choice for a chosen director and say “200 imil is nice, but we can do it for 50”
– Sealer Has Spoken.
Hey John,
well I found a short on youtube that seems to be the only gauge that Neill Blomkamp can be judged on… here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmd8BDiB-qU
It is something called yellow which doesn’t show up on his imdb profile, wondering what you actually think it is. Do you think this is something that he may have done for Jackson?
Michael
Hey John,
I think you should do mailbag whenever you feel like it… As a surprise once you got enough great questions and have free time. Maybe setting yourself to do it every Wednesday is the problem rather than the concept of doing a mailbag, because we love interacting with you and hear what you have to say!!!
Nice list of duplicate films! We forgot Happy Feet’s upcoming sequel in a couple of months: Surf’s up!
1) I don’t really see HALO actually earing more than 150 million, and that is streching it
4) I would like to see Metalo and Parasite in a Superman movie, and in a Batman i would like to see Black Mask
5) So you don’t like Chris Tucker, you are a racist.
Of course i am just kidding. It is rediculous that this hack of an actor who hasn’t made a movie since Rush Hour 2 ca demand the things you said. I wish Chan had said, since he already critizised him that if Tuckers demands are met he would walk. Seriously what is Chris Tucker but an annoyance that we have to live through to see Chan work his magic. God his character annoywd me in Fifth Element. if i could i would jump into the movie and rip his tounge out
Since you live in Canada you probably haven’t seen the new episode of Battlestar Galactica yet called Exodus part 2, but Seriously this was the shows best episode yet, and one of the best episodes i have seen of any TV-shows ever.
Damn, John
Dont hold anything back on the Chris Tucker thing,
tell us how you really feel.
I agree with you whole-heartedly, by the way.
I think you meant Bungie doesnt know anything about making movies not Weta right?
That sucks you’re not going to do the Mailbag edition anymore.
But hey,
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
I promise…
I swear I’m not going to say anything about HALO.
Everyone is welcome to think whatever they want as far as this situation goes.
Peace and chicken grease.