The Playlist

Cannes: Michel Gondry Discusses 'The Green Hornet' & Admits "Fans Didn't Like My Vision Of The Superhero"

By Edward Davis
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May 24, 2012 10:02 AM
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4 Comments

News

Just one more reason why we love French filmmaker Michel Gondry: not only is he constantly challenging the preconceptions of who he is as a filmmaker by moving from documentary to mainstream tentpole back to micro-budgeted indie film, he's also frank with his opinions on his on work. Maybe it's a lost in translation thing, but the Gallic director just doesn't seem to beat around the bush.

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5 Unnecessary, Unwanted Sequels That Bit The Dust & 5 More That Are Somehow Getting Made

By Oliver Lyttelton
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March 13, 2012 3:33 PM
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26 Comments

Features

Earlier today, producer/enemy of quality Neal Moritz confirmed what anyone with a brain and cursory knowledge of the box office charts of early 2011 was aware of: a sequel to "Green Hornet," his Michel Gondry-directed, Seth Rogen led superhero movie of last January, isn't happening any time soon. The film wasn't a giant flop -- it made a good-but-not-great $98 million domestically, part of a total $227 million worldwide haul. Not a bad number, but considering the movie cost $120 million plus whatever they poured into the extensive marketing campaign, the profit margin was likely razor thin.

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Neal Moritz Admits Cost Of 3D Conversion & L.A. Shoot Have Killed Plans For A 'Green Hornet' Sequel

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 13, 2012 11:17 AM
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2 Comments

News

It was a rough and bumpy ride for "The Green Hornet" as it made its way to theaters. With chatter of studio dissatisfaction, poor test audience results, shifting release dates and a late game decision to convert to 3D, the superhero flick still managed to bank a respectable, if not quite blockbuster worthy $227 million worldwide. Sequel plans were always in works, with screenwriter Evan Goldberg saying before the film's release that the story for a followup was already mapped out. And while some folks have been holding out hope that Britt Reid would be back in action, the film's producer has candidly confirmed it's likely not going to happen.

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Time To Put Away Childish Things: Is 2011 The Year Grown-Ups Started Buying Movie Tickets Again?

By Oliver Lyttelton
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April 5, 2011 3:47 AM
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22 Comments

For some time now, the received wisdom has been that the kind of mid-budget, star-driven serious films that once dominated Hollywood were on their way out. Dan Jinks, the producer of "Milk," told Mark Harris at GQ a couple of months back that, "Everyone has cut back on not just 'Oscar-worthy' movies, but on dramas, period. Caution has made them pull away. It's infected the entire business." Indeed, the new regime at Disney announced their intention back in 2010 to focus entirely on tentpoles, even canceling a proposed sequel to the $200 million-grossing hit "The Proposal," a film that cost a relatively meager $40 million, because it didn't fit with the company's new remit.

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Weekend Box Office: Audiences Get Their Strings Attached To 'No Strings Attached'

By Gabe Toro
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January 23, 2011 6:41 AM
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3 Comments

Not much news to report during this quiet January weekend. One wide release opened to numbers that a studio would expect given two publicity-heavy stars in January ($20.3 million). “No Strings Attached” matched industry expectations, bringing good news to all involved, though if you're the only wide release in a single weekend, you're really banking on at least $20 mil. Budget numbers on this film go from $25 to $35 million, but there were extensive reshoots and it couldn’t have been too cheap to get these two multi-tasking stars in the fold.

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Evan Goldberg Says Shane Black Was Once In Line To Direct 'The Green Hornet'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 18, 2011 8:39 AM
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5 Comments

Also Talks Toning Down Britt Reid's Dickishness & Squaring Off Against Online FanboysIt turns out the already lengthy development history for "The Green Hornet" has another piece (and probably a few more) we didn't know about. The film, which has been in the works for nearly two decades already saw directors Kevin Smith, Stephen Chow and Michel Gondry (who was linked to the project in its earliest days before being brought back on years and years later to deliver the film that's currently in theaters) circle the director's chair with a wealth of talent including George Clooney, Jake Gyllenhaal, Greg Kinnear and Mark Wahlberg all eying or offered the lead role (we won't even in get into the various writers that tackled the script). But speaking to Film School Rejects, writer Evan Goldberg, who penned the script with Seth Rogen, reveals that "Lethal Weapon" writer and "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" writer/director Shane Black was once considering the director's chair and met with the duo to discuss their approach to the film, encouraging them to continue flipping superhero clichés on their head.

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Cheer Up Michel Gondry Fans, 'The Green Hornet' May Be Seth Rogen's Fault

By The Playlist
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January 16, 2011 9:05 AM
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8 Comments

Gondry Didn't Have Final Cut, Or Full Authority, But Says He "Accepted" This Early On“The Green Hornet” may have topped the box office this weekend, bringing in a respectable $34 million but its critical reception was mixed at best. Personally, this writer thought the film had some good laughs but really stumbled when going through the motions of yet another superhero origin story. More importantly, it was a far cry from director Michel Gondry’s best work (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, his music videos) and seemed like more of a compromise than a collaboration with star/co-writer/producer Seth Rogen. Well, according to an article in the LA Times that was exactly the case.

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Weekend Box Office: 'Green Hornet' Nests At #1, 'Dilemma' Disappoints

By Gabe Toro
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January 16, 2011 6:55 AM
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3 Comments

This is how business works in Hollywood: you break records or else. "The Green Hornet" was a big ticket for Sony, opening at #1 as everyone expected. But that isn't enough for the film, which set the studio back somewhere between $90 (before reshoots?) and $140 million (after?). As such, simply making money wasn't going to do the film any good unless it totally dominated its Martin Luther King holiday weekend.

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'Green Hornet' Defeated By 'Green Lantern' In Release Date Battle; Originally Planned For March

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 14, 2011 10:03 AM
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0 Comments

Michel Gondry Says Stephen Chow's Wild Ideas For The Film Included "AIDS" & "Plastic Boobs"When it was first announced that "The Green Hornet" was moving from it's previously planned December bow to January to allow for 3D conversion, many assumed that the early winter date was an indication the film was a stinker and move by Sony to cut their losses. Not so it would appear.

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In Theaters: 'The Green Hornet,' 'The Dilemma,' 'Barney's Version,' 'Ong Bak 3'

By Katie Walsh
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January 14, 2011 5:31 AM
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0 Comments

Screw Serious Cinema, It's Time for Some Laffs 'n Action Ah January, what a curious moviegoing month you are. You're the dumping ground for the studio dreck (long live Nic Cage's Festival of Wigs) because it's a time of AWARDS fever, with noms and screeners and Hollywood Foreign Press luncheons (and YOU get a Blu-Ray player, and YOU get a Blu-ray player!) up the wazoo. Hence the highly mixed bag of new releases we get every week. Some of these may benefit from the relative lack of competition, but it's pretty much a giant risk! The wide releases gambling this weekend are two comedies for those fans who are just SO tired of serious movies about heartbreak and family problems 'n shit. Seth Rogen's action comedy "The Green Hornet" hits screens after much speculation, skepticism, and a revolving door of talent (Cage's Jamaican accent NEVER FORGET), while Vince Vaughn and Kevin James bring the pain (and offensive jokes!) in the Ron Howard comedy, "The Dilemma." More serious minded comedy fans can catch "Barney's Version" in limited release and the true actionheads can geek out over Tony Jaa's sick moves in "Ong Bak 3."

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