Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Illustrating the Choosing Process - Directors


Is "Godzilla" (2012) going to be directed by a lesser known?
By Evan Brehany
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This morning, Variety published an article by Tatiana Siegel. It was a very detailed report regarding the job market for directors today. Due to our country’s recession, financial struggles have started hitting the film market. This has lead to directors who had high quotes (which usually says how much they are paid per a film) like Ridley Scott or Michael Bay or possibly even Spielberg to lower their quotes. Even after that, some studios may feel it is too much money to be paid to said director. Because of this, a lot of new and young directors are being hired on because they have lower quotes.
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When it comes to the news specifically pertaining to "Godzilla" (they report it without the "2012" or "3D" subtitles) and other Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures productions, an "…abundance of idle helmers" were reported as to be "chasing" these assignments. Here is the full on quote:
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"In recent weeks, an abundance of idle helmers chased less than a dozen open directing assignments: "Oz" at Disney, "Wolverine 2" at 20th Century Fox, "The Hobbit" and "Final Destination 5" at New Line, an untitled Jack Ryan project at Paramount, "Ghost Rider" at Columbia Pictures, "The Bourne Legacy" at Universal, and "All You Need Is Kill," "Clash of the Titans 2," "Godzilla" and "Snabba Cash" at Warner Bros."
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However, while names were given in the report for some of the productions, "Godzilla" still remains director-less. However, with this information, we Godzilla fans can assume that unless Toho says something, Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers - for sake of financial security - will hire a fairly young director. Is this bad? In some ways, yes, because they would be inexperienced. However, it may be a young director who may respect the source material but yet not necessarily be a fan or like it - such as "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan. However, if a bigger name is chosen to helm the project, then we can see that Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures are really going for a good amount of money. How far can Godzilla’s pop culture status carry him?
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"LEGENDARY PICTURES TO DEVELOP AND PRODUCE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE BASED ON TOHO COMPANY’S ICONIC MONSTER, GODZILLA

Burbank, CA – March 29, 2010 – Legendary Pictures announced today that they will develop and produce a new film based on Toho Company’s famed GODZILLA character. Through the terms of the agreement, Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a movie inspired by Toho’s Godzilla, a franchise the Japanese company created and has nurtured for over fifty years.

Toho’s GODZILLA franchise boasts one of the most widely recognized film creatures worldwide, resulting in a series of books, television programs, video games and more than 25 films worldwide. Legendary intends to approach the film and its characters in the most authentic manner possible. The company will, in the near future, announce a filmmaker to helm the film for an intended 2012 release. The film will fall under the company’s co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Toho will distribute the film in Japan."

"Godzilla" is coming back -- this time, with Legendary Pictures taking the lead, co-producing and co-financing with Warner Bros. for release in 2012.

Legendary announced Monday it had obtained rights to the iconic monster character from Japan's Toho Co., which has overseen more than 25 "Godzilla" films. Toho will release the pic in Japan.

Legendary said it's planning to announce a director shortly.

In addition to Legendary, producers on the new film will be Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Brian Rogers. Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira and Doug Davison will exec produce.

"Godzilla is one of the world's most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise," said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary. "Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has."

Legendary noted the film will fall under its co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Legendary's productions with Warners have included "The Dark Knight," "300" and "The Hangover."

Speculation about a new "Godzilla" has been active since last summer. The Bloody Disgusting web site reported in August that the project was in development.