Disney picks Hancock to direct "Alamo" movie
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES, CA (Reuters) -- In a move that will cut costs on a major project, the Walt Disney Co. has decided to put "Rookie" director John Lee Hancock at the helm of its epic film, "The Alamo," after Oscar winner Ron Howard pulled out, studio sources said Tuesday.
Talks with Howard broke down after Disney balked at a skyrocketing budget that, with the Oscar-winning director of "A Beautiful Mind" aboard, rose above $130 million, the sources said.
Howard and partner Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment will stay on to produce the movie that recounts the famous battle in Texas' war with Mexico for its independence in 1836.
A budget around $130 million would have put "The Alamo" in the financial league of Disney's World War Two epic, "Pearl Harbor" which, while successful financially last year, represented a major risk for the studio and company chief Michael Eisner.
Hancock, author of the screenplay for "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," directed his first movie, "The Rookie," starring Dennis Quaid as a high school coach who wins a spot on a major league team. The film, a breakout hit for Disney this year, reportedly cost about $20 million to make and pulled in more than $75 million domestically.
Owing to his relative lack of experience, Hancock commands a directing fee in the six figures compared to the millions that Howard would receive. Disney is trying to pare the budget of the film to about $75 million, the show business newspaper Daily Variety said.
Like other media companies, Disney's stock has been routed in the recent market downturn, losing some 24 percent in two months since a closing price of $23.23 on May 30. Moreover, Disney shares have slumped for nearly two years due to a weak overall economy and a lackluster advertising market.
DISNEY AND HOWARD AT ODDS
Disney shares closed up 8 cents at $17.43 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
Owing to the stock market weakness, media company CEOs are under the gun to lower their costs and improve profits, and Eisner is not immune from the current pressure.
In the current climate, approving an expensive movie deal like "Alamo" would seem even more risky. Howard, not only takes a fee reportedly up around $10 million, but he and Grazer also get a percentage of gross receipts, which reduces profits.
A Disney spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment.
Differences between Disney and Howard also reportedly arose over the level of violence in "Alamo," which might lead to an "R" rating that, also, could lower the film's profit potential. But those issues could not be confirmed by studio sources.
As a general rule, a film can be profitable after video, DVD and other ancillary revenues if it makes its cost back in domestic release, so raking in nearly four times its cost means that "Rookie" was a major movie success.
"Pearl Harbor" was produced and directed by the high-profile team of Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, who had taken salary cuts in order to trim the price of the $135 million film. The producer and director, respectively, as well as star Ben Affleck, received a percentage of the film's profits, which cut into Disney's take.
Still, the movie generated $450 million in worldwide ticket sales, and Disney subsequently said "Pearl Harbor" would contributed $100 million to its own coffers after revenues from home video, DVD, television and other sources.
07/30/02 19:57 ET
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES, CA (Reuters) -- In a move that will cut costs on a major project, the Walt Disney Co. has decided to put "Rookie" director John Lee Hancock at the helm of its epic film, "The Alamo," after Oscar winner Ron Howard pulled out, studio sources said Tuesday.
Talks with Howard broke down after Disney balked at a skyrocketing budget that, with the Oscar-winning director of "A Beautiful Mind" aboard, rose above $130 million, the sources said.
Howard and partner Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment will stay on to produce the movie that recounts the famous battle in Texas' war with Mexico for its independence in 1836.
A budget around $130 million would have put "The Alamo" in the financial league of Disney's World War Two epic, "Pearl Harbor" which, while successful financially last year, represented a major risk for the studio and company chief Michael Eisner.
Hancock, author of the screenplay for "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," directed his first movie, "The Rookie," starring Dennis Quaid as a high school coach who wins a spot on a major league team. The film, a breakout hit for Disney this year, reportedly cost about $20 million to make and pulled in more than $75 million domestically.
Owing to his relative lack of experience, Hancock commands a directing fee in the six figures compared to the millions that Howard would receive. Disney is trying to pare the budget of the film to about $75 million, the show business newspaper Daily Variety said.
Like other media companies, Disney's stock has been routed in the recent market downturn, losing some 24 percent in two months since a closing price of $23.23 on May 30. Moreover, Disney shares have slumped for nearly two years due to a weak overall economy and a lackluster advertising market.
DISNEY AND HOWARD AT ODDS
Disney shares closed up 8 cents at $17.43 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
Owing to the stock market weakness, media company CEOs are under the gun to lower their costs and improve profits, and Eisner is not immune from the current pressure.
In the current climate, approving an expensive movie deal like "Alamo" would seem even more risky. Howard, not only takes a fee reportedly up around $10 million, but he and Grazer also get a percentage of gross receipts, which reduces profits.
A Disney spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment.
Differences between Disney and Howard also reportedly arose over the level of violence in "Alamo," which might lead to an "R" rating that, also, could lower the film's profit potential. But those issues could not be confirmed by studio sources.
As a general rule, a film can be profitable after video, DVD and other ancillary revenues if it makes its cost back in domestic release, so raking in nearly four times its cost means that "Rookie" was a major movie success.
"Pearl Harbor" was produced and directed by the high-profile team of Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, who had taken salary cuts in order to trim the price of the $135 million film. The producer and director, respectively, as well as star Ben Affleck, received a percentage of the film's profits, which cut into Disney's take.
Still, the movie generated $450 million in worldwide ticket sales, and Disney subsequently said "Pearl Harbor" would contributed $100 million to its own coffers after revenues from home video, DVD, television and other sources.
07/30/02 19:57 ET
