Michel Gondry to Direct Green Hornet
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Another director is in negotiations to take over the big screen adaptation of the Green Hornet. Its being reported that Michel Gondry is in negotiations to direct the Green Hornet, starring Seth Rogen. He is a replacement for Stephen Chow, who left the project over creative differences.
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Columbia is intent on making the movie one of its tentpoles in 2010.
Gondry’s credits include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep and Be Kind Rewind.
(THR)
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won’t happen.
it’s too bad about Steven Chow, he would’ve been good for this project.
YES! This would be so awesome! Please Hollywood, make at least one cool super hero movie rumor come to fruition…
It seems like there’s conflicting sensiblilities behind this film. It seems like they’re trying to bring interesting talent to the film and make off beat and fun along the lines of the first Hellboy movie.
And then someone apparently goes and says they want this to be some Summer “tentpole” movie? I sincerely doubt that the person who said that was pulling for Michel Gondry (or Stephen Chow).
Also, didn’t Chow drop out as director over creative differences? If their not willing to give their directors leeway why are they going in such oddball directions?
It makes me think that somewhere a roomful of executives are having a fist fight.
Why can’t a summer tentpole movie have an oddball director?
Usually a “tentpole” movie refers to a film with a huge budget and a solidly commercial sensibility.
And if they’re really throwing caution to the wind to create something less conventional why is Stephen Chow quitting over creative differences?
I would rather they give a director like Gondry or Chow a smaller budget (30-50) that way they can afford to give them lots of creative freedom while still reasonably allowing the film to be profitable.
If the budget gets too big then I expect film-by-committee pap. It’ll be like when whichever studio hired Spike Jonz for Wild Things and then complained that his film wasn’t commercial enough.
I’m watching Zardoz right now. Gondry should do a film like that!
What makes you think The Green Hornet is going to have a huge budget? If they decided to do this thing Mariachi syle they could easily make it for 100 million, maybe even less.
I think the reason Chow quit was becuase he didn’t want to make the same movie Seth and Evan did, it doesn’t have to be the work of the big bad Studio. I haven’t read the script, so I don’t know what kind of tone the film is supposed to have. But I do know that Gondry is a filmmaker whose work is always worth watching and I’ve love to see what he does with a summer action movie
Nick, I think your’ trying to cast me as some summer movie hating snob but I’m not that guy. I love the Pirate movies! All of them! I like Spider-Man 3. But the term tentpole (which Ben brought up, not me) is pretty much the definition of commercial success above artistic ambition.
If a film’s budget is too high then it becomes harder for directors to be creative. Big budget movies have to be all things to all people and that means no creativity allowed.
If you’re more optimistic than me, that’s great. You could be right, I don’t know anything you dont. But this is exactly what happened with Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are. IMDB lists the film’s budget as 80 million(!) and that means “no being creative”. The film has to have fart jokes, and romantic interests and a tie in music video and is not allowed to be downbeat for a consecutive minute.
The reason for all of this is that audiences don’t want to risk accidentally being entertained or surprised by a film. The studios are absolutely right to think that Gondry’s sensibilties aren’t commercially viable. His low budget Jack Black comedy didn’t even break even! And no wonder, stuff happened in the movie that wasn’t even in the trailer! Fuck that shit! And besides, no one watches VHS anymore, what a terrible film!
They want to see Paul Blart and Transformers every time they go to the theater. And they want to see a trailer of the movie that spells it all out for them beat by beat. Also Transformers gave audiences what they crave and Adam Sandler’s worst film is Punch Drunk Love.
I like the idea of Michel Gondry directing an action film written by Rogan and Goldberg. But it’s hard to make a good movie under these “tentpole” conditions. I rather he do this:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412978/
If only I lived in that alternative world where Kevin Smith did this way back when staring Seth Rogen…
Take me with you to this alternate world! Please?