BlueSkyDriveBy
Well-Known Member
Methinks studio executives were so eager to get Spielberg in the Disney bullpen, they took their eyes off the ball and lost the game.
Of course, this excuse won't fly when Pete's Dragon crashes and burns next month.
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Of course, this excuse won't fly when Pete's Dragon crashes and burns next month.
BlueSkyDriveBy
Well-Known Member
My money is on the latter.
Although... in the DVD/digital extras, Anderson talks about meeting with Dahl's widow for her approval on the script. He didn't want to stray from the original message of the story. And she supposedly loved what he came up with.
Maybe FMF was the perfect blend of Dahl's story and Anderson's intuitive filmmaking.
FigmentJedi
Well-Known Member
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Dick Cook was, back when he signed Steven and DreamWorks live-action to that distribution deal in 2009; which featured a co financing mechanism they only used on BFG. But the Weatherman decided that anything that wasn't a BRAND wasn't worth it to him. Dick was fired not long after he made that deal. The fact that the man thinks ideas are more important than people in a execution dependent business like motion pictures should tell you something about his leadership abilities. So it didn't help this film to have that baggage surrounding it. Disney's involvement on BFG feels like an admission they made a mistake in treating Speilberg like a second class citizen yet by picking a bad release date, they doubled down on it. It's so weird to see a company like Disney finally get a film from the creators of "E.T.", which back in the 80's made the studio furious it couldn't make films like that, now prioritize an aggressive strip mining of its legacy instead of building on it.Methinks studio executives were so eager to get Spielberg in the Disney bullpen, they took their eyes off the ball and lost the game.
Of course, this excuse won't fly when Pete's Dragon crashes and burns next month.
Despite the box office numbers, the film is solid and appreciation for it should follow in due time, but I hope some folks in the dwarfs building feel the sting of throwing away a relationship that could have produced something more than a last minute coproduction and a sequel to a franchise that should have ended with Indy riding off in the sunset.
Addendum: Steven has been prepping/shooting "Ready Player One" during much of what should have been the time to promote the film; that should explain his feelings on the matter.
Rodan75
Well-Known Member
Interesting, because I saw way too much marketing for BFG and although they tried hard to create a 'buzz', the movie never really seemed to be that interesting...there was no hook that made me want to go see it. Granted I'm not the targeted audience, but I don't see a hook for anyone. I think Disney spent money advertising this, but just didn't have the goods to deliver.
I get the impression that this movie was about ending the Dreamworks (now Amblin Partners) deal on a positive note to keep Spielberg in talks for future Disney projects, or to finish out a contract obligation that was never completed during Disney's distribution contract. This was also, apparently, a passion project for Kathleen Kennedy....
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Michael Eisner talks to Alec Baldwin on WNYC's Here's the Thing.
http://www.wnyc.org/story/htt-michael-eisner
http://www.wnyc.org/story/htt-michael-eisner
Quinnmac000
Well-Known Member
And all his promotional interviews involved his history working on the Universal lot to becoming who he was today. Seems like a big slap in the face for the Mouse.
Quinnmac000
Well-Known Member
Its was Speilberg's and Kathleen's...I don't think Speilberg is going back to Disney. It also seems Disney pushed away Alan Menken as well.
Rodan75
Well-Known Member
I'm curious on your perspective here, nearly everything I've read seems to indicate that Steven was never quite as attentive as he should have been in steering DreamWorks' movies when they were distributed by Disney and financed by Reliance. Not that Disney showed DreamWorks disrespect, outside of some grumbling about Lincoln's release date and advertising. This seems to have been an unfortunate marriage all along, no one seemed passionate about it. The BFG seemed to be everyone's way of completing their contractual obligations and letting Amblin Partners form over at Universal.
Rodan75
Well-Known Member
Alan Menken, really? They gave Galavant a second season pretty much just to keep him happy and they were big on turning it into a Broadway-style show.
Rodan75
Well-Known Member
He's already committed to an Indy 5, so he isn't completely ditching the mouse. But I agree, he was never really with Disney and outside of Indy 5, I doubt he will do anything with them again. I'm not sure if that is Disney's problem or his. He has had a love/monetary connection to Universal since the beginning and he made a mistake not aligning DreamWorks to Universal when they needed a distro partner.
Quinnmac000
Well-Known Member
Looking at his history he was exclusive Disney...the only Disney project he has now is Beauty and The Beast and the rest is with other studios.
Magenta Panther
Well-Known Member
So, do you always personally attack people whose opinions differ from yours? Insecure much?
But you go right on defending the guy:
My beloved sister Olivia died when I was six and I truly had to wrestle with my identity as my poor old dad, so devastated by the loss of his first-born, took it out on me. Making it clear I was a poor understudy, a very inferior replacement.
‘Why can’t you be like her?’ he screamed. I wet my bed. Tried hard to be someone else and ‘they’ – although I really mean my father – upped my medication. So I could not process grief or sadness or pain or any of the other natural emotions I should have had.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...ife-father-best-selling-childrens-author.html
He was a REAL prize.
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doctornick
Well-Known Member
Agreed. I knew about the movie for a while, but didn't recall when it was being released. I was shocked when I finally saw my first ad for it last week (I think the Tues or Wed before it opened) and had no idea it was opening so soon. In my mind, I assumed it was a late summer or fall release because I surely would have seen heavier advertisements.
It strikes me that Disney didn't care about the movie's performance and was more interested in making sure what Finding Dora stayed strong. But with Spielberg and Dahl and family friendly and summer and decent reviews all together -- this should have at least been a modest hit and... it's not. At all.
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Once Dick Cook was fired, the partnership was doomed because no one at Disney was willing to fully commit to it. Internally, Cook had committed Disney to financing part or all of the DreamWorks slate, outsourcing the production of the singles and doubles Touchstone and Miramax used to make with the prospect of home runs via Spielberg directed Disney films. I would consider going back on your word like that to be what killed it, but they still went along after Reliance became their backer.
It seems we have both read that profile in the Hollywood Reporter last month that noted his seeming lack of interest in DreamWork's output. Spielberg's 20+ years of running DW makes it clear that he isn't a great businessman who has always failed to pay proper attention to DW. That profile puts a lot of blame on everyone and everything, from not landing Harry Potter, 9/11 recession, DWA split, the Disney relationship, and the weak DW II slate, but him.
Spielberg is best behind the camera and he's an individual who is as uniquely suited to be a vital part of Disney as someone like John Lasseter is. But as a certain spirit would say, Steven is high maintenance and UNI is his true home.
Addendum: It would be foolish to rule out a return if Kennedy gets a promotion, like chairmanship of TWDS, under the new guard come 2018 though.
Thinking back on it, Kennedy's role in the company is likely the reason why Disney put the effort it did into BFG.
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the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
I'm convinced that has more to do with Lasseter and the Pixar crew still feeling bitter over the dump he took on "Toy Story" during its production at its lowest point. Menken has a good relationship with the company, but Lasseter would rather work with others like the Lopezes and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
That's one story I haven't heard before. What's the short version?
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
When Toy Story was having its well known production problems as a result of Katzenberg pushing for Woody to be an 'edgy' character, Disney execs went to ask Menken* for advice. He told them the film wasn't working because it didn't follow the norms of the Rennaisance era musicals and suggested the film be redone as a musical. Lasseter and Co wanted "Toy Story" to be a film that wasn't a Menkenesque musical with a 'Happy Village' song, 'I Want' song or any songs really. Katzenberg's notes had made it hard for them to achieve what they wanted to do and Menken's notes felt like a slap in the face because it would have forced them to make a film they didn't want to make.
*When Ed Catmull and Andrew Stanton have told this story publicly, they never refer to Menken by name.
FigmentJedi
Well-Known Member
And now he's reduced to doing crap like Sausage Party.
