Watch the first minute of this trailer and tell me it doesn’t feel like ‘Brave’, even before you see the girl has red hair too. Then it gets a bit interesting with it’s visuals. Dreamworks Animation has had a ton of animation success lately, but this just isn’t hitting me. Thoughts?
Hey Paramount,
A few years ago you guys were doing big things, dropping big franchises, and raking in billions of dollars. Flash forward to yesterday and I have no idea what your film strategy is. You used to have the Marvel franchise, and then you sold it. You used to have DreamWorks Animation, and you couldn’t reach an agreement and lost that too. You used to release summer movies, and now I barely even know what you did this past summer? Don’t sit there and look at me like everything is normal. Look at what you did last Summer!
2011
Thor (Hit)
Kung Fu Panda 2 (Sequel Hit)
Super 8 (Original Hit)
Transformers 3 (Shitty Sequel Megahit)
Captain America (Hit)
Cowboys & Aliens (Bomb)
You were 5 for 6 at the plate, with one grand slam, and three extra base hits. You looked good. Now lets look at this Summer.
2012
The Dictator (Bomb)
Madagascar 3 (Sequel Hit)
Katy Perry: Part of Me (Bomb)
You were 1 for 3. It doesn’t even look like you are the same player!
Now I’m looking back on your year and remembering that all I hear about is production problems. GI Joe 2, a genuinely cool looking movie, you pulled 5 weeks before released to tack 3D onto it, and more Channing Tatum scenes. World War Z has been moved what seems like a million times, and has ballooned into a close to 250 million dollar film. About zombies. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters was made like two years ago and STILL isn’t out yet. And to top it all off, everything I’ve heard about you rebooting Ninja Turtles as Alien Turtles sounds like dogshit I never want to see. Paramount, you need to get your shit together. I don’t even like all your movies, but at least you used to make enough of them, that would at least be something for me. The objective is to buy franchises and properties, and hang on to them. You don’t let them go for nothing (DreamWorks, Marvel). Get it together!
After months and months of unsuccessfully securing a new distribution deal with Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks has reached a 5 yr deal with 20th Century Fox worth billions. Starting in 2013, all animated films produced by DW will be distributed by Fox through 2017. What this means:
20th Century Fox now has DreamWorks Animated and Blue Sky (Ice Age, Rio) under it’s banner and becomes the dominant home in animated films. Yes, Disney/Pixar still puts out mostly better films, but they only make one a year. Now Fox has the luxury of being able to put 3 animated films out each year and really rake in the dough. Considering that most DW films have or will have sequels (Shrek, Madagascar, HTTYD, Puss in Boots, Kung Fu Panda), this deal has already paid for itself.
DreamWorks is now completely split between film and animation divisions. Disney distributes DreamWorks’ live action films, and Fox distributes the animated films.
Disney will have to ramp up it’s own efforts in Disney Animated, to make it not look like Fox is completely owning them.
Paramount has nothing. Which leads to my next article…
There’s another ‘Godzilla’ is being made. There’s talk of a new ‘Popeye’ film. ‘The Lone Ranger’ is coming to the big screen. We’ve talked extensively about how their are no new Hollywood ideas left.
Well now you can buy movies wholesale.
Continue reading