Demimonde

[emc5466]

That JJ Abrams deal with WB never made any sense. If you’re going to pay that much money you have to be exclusive and yet Abrams is busy producing the next Star Trek feature film for Paramount.

 

[NotNickFury]

I mean, yeah. When was this deal announced? 2019, right? And what have we seen from Abrams under the WarnerMedia umbrella since then? Westworld was already underway by the time the deal happened.

 

[emc5466]

I mean, yeah. When was this deal announced? 2019, right? And what have we seen from Abrams under the WarnerMedia umbrella since then? Westworld was already underway by the time the deal happened.

One season of Lovecraft Country, which I believe was also announced before the deal. Outside of that it’s been literally nothing.

 

[Filmfreak]

It’s a company first and honestly these moves make most financial sense. For Cry Macho, why on earth would you agree to make a movie that you know will lose money? No actor/director should be above financial common sense.

When you have big director names such as Clint Eastwood having one film flop is a drop in the ocean. It's an investment. You are building a relationship for future films as well (and yes I realise how old he is ). Then there's the possibility of awards and even more recognition.

Look at Scorsese. Most of his films in the last decade flopped and yet Apple gave him 200 million for a mystery drama. It's highly unlikely that Killers of the Flower Moon will make any of that money back, whether in streaming or even in cinemas, and yet every studio will still rally to get the rights for his next feature.

 

[#root]

Yeah but apart from Shutter Island, every single movie that Scorsese directed in the last two decades has received widespread critical acclaim and Oscar nominations among other awards. Clint Eastwood doesn’t have that. Neither does J.J. Abrams. The budget that they’re demanding for this show sounds insane.

Anyway despite all his flaws, I still like Abrams and I think he has the potential to improve and overcome his flaws. But it is kinda sad that he hasn’t even started a new directing project since the Rise of Skywalker in 2019. It hasn’t been that long admittedly but I hope he’s not feeling too burnt out by that experience. Lots of producer credits on his IMDb page but no directing. Heck, no non-Star Wars directing gig since 2015.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Eastwood’s budgets I assume aren’t very high. And again his last two films before Cry Macho were huge hits for the studio, Sully and The Mule. Sully was also critically acclaimed.

I could see the studio thinking that Cry Macho might play like The Mule.

 

[Prison Mike]

I think there was an article where the WB execs admitted they knew the movie wouldn’t make money. They only put it out because of the relationship with Clint. Zaslav wants to do away with that type of thinking, which I agree with. Each project should be looked at on an individual basis.

 

[DarkKnight88]

I think there was an article where the WB execs admitted they knew the movie wouldn’t make money. They only put it out because of the relationship with Clint. Zaslav wants to do away with that type of thinking, which I agree with. Each project should be looked at on an individual basis.

I agree to an extent. Most of the time these studio execs are clueless anyway other than relying on their algorithm. I think it should be a mix of what you said looking at the individual project but also trusting the filmmaker and their vision based on their past success.

Some of the most popular movies came out of what studio execs thought would initially bomb.

 

[Filmfreak]

WB had been a studio that didn't rely exclusively on what brings the most money, unlike some other theme-park related production companies that only try to milk popular franchises to death and don't put faith in anything that does not belong in a pre-existing IP. Their strength in catalogue has always been due to the creative freedom they allowed, the trusting relationship they had built with their talent and also the risks they took in projects that sometimes paid off and sometimes didn't. Think of how many film gems we eventually had that didn't manage to make any money in their cinematic run or others that turned out extremely popular and yet in different circumstances they would never had seen the light of day.

I'm not saying that business executives should always greenlight anything, regardless of prospects of profitability, but where talented directors that brought them money and award recognition in the past are concerned, they should give them the benefit of a doubt and trust them more. And even if they stumble once or twice, having a steady relationship with people who make quality content and/or commerical hits is far more important of an investment.

The logic behind only focusing on profit definitely makes the more business sense and is certainly the safest approach, but it also kills creativity, which is ultimately what we should care for as movie fans. Not every studio needs to use its filmmakers as working cogs that their pure existence is to satisfy the insatiable hunger of this cold money-making machine.

 

[Pennywise]

J.J. Abrams’ ‘Demimonde’ Dead at HBO – The Hollywood Reporter

 

[Filmfreak]

It'd be funny if another streamer buys it and it becomes a huge hit after all.

 

[MadVillainy]

New Times Warner management not playing around

 

[NotNickFury]

It'd be funny if another streamer buys it and it becomes a huge hit after all.

Well, Abrams does have that Speed Racer series for Apple TV+, so maybe they'd pick it up.

 

[Filmfreak]

Well, Abrams does have that Speed Racer series for Apple TV+, so maybe they'd pick it up.

Yeah, it's a promising high profile project that was deep in pre-production, so I bet someone is going to pick it up and Apple is the strongest contestant. Not only because of the deal they already have with Abrams for three projects, but also because back in 2018 they were outbid by HBO at the last moment for this particular series.

 

[Closerframe]

It's hard to gauge what Apple considers a success versus WB. Abrams is insane for asking for a $200M budget on something that's unproven as it's not linked to any existing IP, and for him to take 3 years to put this together after signing the deal, this is further proof of why some of these creators are really trying to take advantage of these streaming services by working on projects simultaneously with competing services resulting in inconsistent output in quality.

 

[Filmfreak]

Abrams is a proven name that sells and the project looks promising. HBO Max needs a few big event TV series by talented creators, rather than lots of cheap content for the sake of content, like Netflix. We'll see how Zaslav will do, but so far he seems to be leaning towards the latter.

 

[emc5466]

Apple loves throwing money away so Abrams fits over there like a glove. Also, Abrams used to be a proven name but after Rise of Skywalker his star has dimmed considerably.

 

[Filmfreak]

It's a good thing that with them throwing away money we are able to watch expensive projects that are thankfully not based on the same old franchises all the time.

The Rise of Skywalker was mostly the studio's fault for trying too hard to please fans and for wanting to change course midway (again). One unpopular film on a preexisting franchise doesn't define someone's work. He was always better when he has doing his own stuff. And I'm not even a big fan of his. But I'll always support spending money on ambitious new ideas.

 

[emc5466]

It's a good thing that with them throwing away money we are able to watch expensive projects that are thankfully not based on the same old franchises all the time.

The Rise of Skywalker was mostly the studio's fault for trying too hard to please fans and for wanting to change course midway (again). One unpopular film on a preexisting franchise doesn't define someone's work. He was always better when he has doing his own stuff. And I'm not even a big fan of his. But I'll always support spending money on ambitious new ideas.

HBO chief Casey Bloys has an impeccable track record, he passed on this for a reason. Remember that this is a project that has changed showrunners multiple times and has been in development for over three years. It’s been a mess for a long time.

 

[MadVillainy]

Abrams is a proven name that sells and the project looks promising. HBO Max needs a few big event TV series by talented creators, rather than lots of cheap content for the sake of content, like Netflix. We'll see how Zaslav will do, but so far he seems to be leaning towards the latter.

Is Abrams a proven name that sells? People may know who he is and of course he's had successes but he's not like a huge director/talent that everyone and there mom knows like say Spielberg or even a newer hot director like Wahtiti or Peele. And even those names arent guaranteed slam dunks

 

[Filmfreak]

Nah they may be more acclaimed but Abrams is far more profitable than Waititi or Peele, who are for the most part more indie writers/directors. All the TV shows that he's written have been very successful, while, for example, Peele's The Twilight Zone flopped.

In any case, I'm not saying he's necessarily a name that automatically attracts people, I'm saying that he knows how to make shows that eventually sell and that with high profile projects like this he is a pretty big asset for a studio to have.

 

[Closerframe]

Alcatraz and Almost Human would like to have a word with you.

 

[psylockolussus]

Honestly 200 million for a streaming series (or for episode?) just doesn't seem realistic especially for a new IP. Even the Disney+ Star Wars and Marvel series don't look that eXpensive compare to the Mcu/Star Wars Disney movies.

 

[Filmfreak]

Alcatraz and Almost Human would like to have a word with you.

I said the shows he's written. He was only an executive producer in those two.

 

[Closerframe]

I said the shows he's written. He was only an executive producer in those two.

If you think the general audience knows the difference between executive producing and writing you’re giving them way too much credit. My point is, he’s not a guaranteed success and typically has seen success in general because he’s been attached to existing IP or his work has followed the same plot structure. I’m not denying some of the talent he has, but this project wasn’t a guaranteed success so WB not willing to take the risk makes sense.