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How JJ Abrams jilted Paramount for Episode 9

S

SCULLIBUNDO

Banned
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...aramount-episode-ix-1041357?facebook_20171020
If there is one thing Paramount chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos could use right now, it's the hope of a few hit movies. He inherited a pretty bare cupboard when he took over the studio in April, and the crushing failure of Darren Aronofsky's mother! over the Sept. 15 weekend did not help in terms of revenue or perception.

One promising thing Gianopulos found waiting for him at the studio was the prospect of a movie directed by J.J. Abrams. The filmmaker has made his home at Paramount since 2006 with a deal now said to be worth a hefty $10 million a year in overhead and development. It is very possibly the last, richest deal of its kind. But if Gianopulos hoped that pact soon would bear fruit in the form of an Abrams-directed project — which Paramount hasn't had since Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013 — he soon learned that it was not to be.

His predecessor, Brad Grey, had tried to ensure that such a film was next on Abrams' dance card. Grey was known to be furious when Abrams, in January 2013, signed on to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens for Lucasfilm and Disney. He didn't understand how Abrams' generous deal with his studio could allow the director to take the job. So once Abrams finished his duties on Force Awakens, which was released in December 2015, Grey entered into a renegotiation obligating Abrams to direct his next movie for Paramount.

Jump forward in hyperspace to Sept. 5, when Lucasfilm parted ways with Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow, who was supposed to write and direct Star Wars: Episode IX. With the movie scheduled for a May 2019 release, Lucasfilm needed a replacement fast. "The question was, who can drop into this world and get it done?" observes one source with knowledge of the situation. There also were the optics, with Ron Howard having just been brought in to take over the young Han Solo spinoff after Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired. Lucasfilm did not need a prolonged who-is-going-to-direct-this-movie debate on the internet.

The solution was Abrams, 51, and though the release date was pushed to December 2019, the pressure remains. With the script still unwritten, Abrams is going to be occupied for the next two years. (His deal at Paramount runs through summer 2018, long before he finishes his work in a galaxy far, far away.) The director declined comment, but a source in his camp says he was enticed by a "once-now-a-twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity," and all parties understand that.

As for Gianopulos, the exec accommodated the move even if he was not happy, say sources. Paramount declined comment, but the studio chief is said to be irked to see Abrams get poached again — this time despite a specifically negotiated obligation. But fighting Abrams would have meant alienating the filmmaker and taking on major adversaries: Lucasfilm, Disney and possibly even Steven Spielberg, who isn't involved with Star Wars but has a long-term association with Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy and has taken credit for luring Abrams to helm The Force Awakens in the first place. And then there are Abrams' reps at CAA. With Paramount in need of all the support it can get, Gianopulos had to be realistic.
Click to expand...

Much more at link.
 
S

SpaceWolf

Banned
Yeah, I stumbled across this article earlier.

Still pretty gutted that JJ is returning. Always found him to be a very bland film-maker and Force Awakens didn't do a huge amount to change that opinion for me. I really wish Lucasfilm got someone else.
 
G

gdt

Member
Hmm, I’d imagine it’s only fair for that Paramount contract to be extended? Favor for a favor.

Still, you can’t stand in the way of Abrams directing a Star Wars finale.
 
D

Discotheque

Banned
SpaceWolf said:
Yeah, I stumbled across this article earlier.

Still pretty gutted that JJ is returning. Always found him to be a very bland film-maker and Force Awakens didn't do a huge amount to change that opinion for me. I really wish Lucasfilm got someone else.
Click to expand...

Not an exciting choice for me either. But a far better director for the movie than trevorrow.
 
S

SpaceWolf

Banned
SCULLIBUNDO said:
Yup.

Crazy the amount of people bitching when we just went from Trevorrow to Abrams. People will bitch about anything.
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Oh, it's an improvement for sure (Trevorrow's involvement in 9 was rather disheartening for me, to say the least). I just think Trevorrow stepping down gave the studio the opportunity to bring a more exciting director onboard with a stronger body of work behind them who would have been likely to bring a more unique sense of vision to the film, as opposed to just digging someone up who's already given us something before.
 
J

jman2050

Member
graffix13 said:
Can we start bashing the prequels yet or should I come back on page 11?
Click to expand...

Gotta wait for the guys who unironically say that as flawed as the prequels were they were at least "daring" or "tried something new" or [insert other similar irrelevant qualifier] to show up first.
 
F

Futureman

Member
"the crushing failure of Darren Aronofsky's mother! over the Sept. 15 weekend did not help in terms of revenue or perception"

sorry to pick out one little part of one little off topic sentence, but did anyone really expect an Aronofsky movie to be a big box office hit?

edit... looked up numbers and I guess Noah and Black Swan did pretty well.
 
J

jelly

Member
Paramount have Mission impossible, is that about it unless they make another Star Trek.

They should start the comic version of video games, good ones! Nobody doing a Life is Strange film yet?
 
S

SpaceWolf

Banned
Futureman said:
"the crushing failure of Darren Aronofsky's mother! over the Sept. 15 weekend did not help in terms of revenue or perception"

sorry to pick out one little part of one little off topic sentence, but did anyone really expect an Aronofsky movie to be a big box office hit?
Click to expand...

(Looks at how much money Black Swan made)

Probably.
 
G

gdt

Member
Tom_Cody said:
The lawyers at Paramount didn't do their job.

That said, as a fan, I'm happy with the outcome.
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They could’ve locked him down. They have a contract. But do they really wanna fight that fight? They’d get killed by JJ’s agency not to mention Disney will play hardball with actors and directors and releases days and etc etc etc. A nightmare scenario
 
K

korona15

Banned
Irvin Kershner best Star Wars director actually.

People are bitching about JJ because they wanted a film that would have an actual style to it and an auteur's touch, instead of a bland, cartoonish, filmmaking-by-committee tone, which is exactly what The Force Awakens turned out to have.
 
J

Jumeira

Banned
Enjoyed ep7 apart from the unsually poor soundtrack from John Williams. The lack of effort from JW almost destroyed the movie, StarWars is as much about music as it is about story. What did George do to bring out the best in JW? Either its age or working atmosphere, JJ better look for much better output from JW this time, its crucial to get this right for the final chapter of Skywalker saga.
 
H

Hasphat'sAnts

Member
Tom_Cody said:
The lawyers at Paramount didn't do their job.

That said, as a fan, I'm happy with the outcome.
Click to expand...

the article explained why paramount had no choice even if they had an ironclad contract. it's not about the lawyers, it's about where it is as a company that talents wants/does not want to work for.
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
korona15 said:
Irvin Kershner best Star Wars director actually.

People are bitching about JJ because they wanted a film that would have an actual style to it and an auteur's touch, instead of a bland, cartoonish, filmmaking-by-committee tone, which is exactly what The Force Awakens turned out to have.
Click to expand...

WE HAVE A TRIBUTE
 
G

George Oscar Bluth II

Banned
Paramount
dH6SQwM.gif
 
T

Tonedeff

Member
ABRAMS IS 51 YEARS OLD?!?!?!? Why do I always think of him as some baby-faced motherfucker?

Also, sucks for Paramount. Dat Disney clout
 
SiteSeer

SiteSeer

Member
Pandy said:
The little soul left in the franchise?
Yes. Yes, he will.

On topic: Movie contracts are weird.
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my take-away is that paramount is doing so poorly i can't even enforce its contracts. it's paying good money for talent that got poached but can't back out or force retention. lol
 
B

Blader

Member
SpaceWolf said:
Yeah, I stumbled across this article earlier.

Still pretty gutted that JJ is returning. Always found him to be a very bland film-maker and Force Awakens didn't do a huge amount to change that opinion for me. I really wish Lucasfilm got someone else.
Click to expand...

korona15 said:
Irvin Kershner best Star Wars director actually.

People are bitching about JJ because they wanted a film that would have an actual style to it and an auteur's touch, instead of a bland, cartoonish, filmmaking-by-committee tone, which is exactly what The Force Awakens turned out to have.
Click to expand...

Pandy said:
The little soul left in the franchise?
Yes. Yes, he will.

On topic: Movie contracts are weird.
Click to expand...

It's kind of amazing that you guys have gotten this far with your interest in Star Wars. Thirty years of prequels and special editions and whatever people bitch about in ROTJ couldn't kill Star Wars for you, but JJ Abrams did.
 
A

Acorn

Member
A golden handcuffs deal that comes with a key to use at will.

Dumbass deal. Whoever made that deal needs to be shot into space.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
He inherited a pretty bare cupboard when he took over the studio in April, and the crushing failure of Darren Aronofsky's mother! over the Sept. 15 weekend did not help in terms of revenue or perception.
Click to expand...

This honestly seems like actual nonsense. It's a $30 million (net negative) budget film, and it's grossed $15 million so far, one week into release with some other territories still to open. Sure, sure, promotion and distribution, but the largest possible write-off they'll take on this is $20 million give or take. That is not apocalyptic, and it's not a thing that it requires a JJ Abrams sized hit to recover from. It seems like an attempt to bizarrely connect all the chortling coverage of the film's Cinemascore to the actual thesis statement of the article.
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
I can understand Paramount being a little salty. JJ is over at the other camp making billion dollar movies and Paramount is paddling to keep their head above water. Imagine if they could've semi-rebooted Transformers and been able to attach Abrams' name to it?
 
V

vinnygambini

Why are strippers at the U.N. bad when they're great at strip clubs???
At least Paramount got money out of it, right? right....

Let us pray
 
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