No studio confidence in new TMNT

[Brazoo]

These days it is common for two studios to share the risk of financing a film, and they make a deal. For example, one studio will get the money from and is responsible for domestic box office distribution and the other studio the foreign BO. Or they figure out who gets what from theatrical, home video, cable, etc (domestic and foreign). I don't know what kind of deal Disney and Viacom worked out though. I'm guessing that it's possible that since Paramount already had a pre-existing deal regarding the Iron Man franchise (and Robert Downey Jr?) that they were in a position to work out a deal with Disney once Disney took control of Marvel.

Yeah, I kinda follow some of the strategies the studios use for financing - to get a rough idea of what's going on just because of my interest in movies - but I don't usually follow closely project to project or anything.

Wikipedia's entry on the movie lists Marvel Studios as the production company and Disney as the distributer (which would usually mean their company Buena Vista I would think, unless they don't always use that now, I'm not sure).

Wikipedia says this:

"As part of the deal transferring the distribution rights of future releases of Marvel Studios films to Disney, Paramount Pictures's logo appears instead of any Disney logo. However, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is credited at the end of the film."

I'm still not sure the article did a good job of making that clear, but oh well.

From what I know (and this might not be correct) Paramount has had a big comeback the last 5 or so years, so if they're thinking about slowing up big budget projects for the next year or so it might be because they want to make a bigger impact with quality over purely gambling with licensed projects and trying to muscle out key release dates. This is PURE speculation on my part. It will be interesting to see what happens though.

[cjefferys]

Yeah, it sounds complicated, but I'm sure it's part of some convoluted deal due to the contract Paramount already had with Marvel (made before Disney bought them, when Marvel had to depend on outside studios for help in financing and distributing their films). Sounds like that after this film, it's all Disney's show. Now if only Disney/Marvel could work out a deal with 20th Century Fox to get the Fantastic Four back in their fold so it can (hopefully) be done right.

[jwyblejr]

I'm wondering if maybe it has more to do with Michael Bay producing it?

[samurainoir]

TMNT (2007)
Production Budget: $34 million

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: *$54,149,098 ***56.6%
+*Foreign: *$41,459,897 ***43.4%
=*Worldwide: *$95,608,995 *

[Werewolf]

I wonder if it was the bad word of mouth the project has been getting? There was a pretty big backlash against Bay's "re-imagining" the Turtles into aliens instead of actual mutant turtles. Maybe Paramount figured it's a better idea and cheaper to work on the script a bit more instead of ending up with the mess of reshooting and pulling back the GI JOE movie a year because test audiences hated it?

[ctc]

>Maybe Paramount figured it's a better idea and cheaper to work on the script a bit more instead of ending up with the mess of reshooting and pulling back the GI JOE movie a year because test audiences hated it?

It's an idea.... or maybe someone flinched over 80's toy remakes? Not that TMNT is EXACTLY a toy-based property, but it's the toys and cartoon folks remember.... moreso than the comic.

>I wonder if it was the bad word of mouth the project has been getting? There was a pretty big backlash against Bay's "re-imagining" the Turtles into aliens instead of actual mutant turtles.

Oh, I SOOOOOO hope.... Perhaps marketing has a problem with the logo. "Teenage Alien Invader Ninja Turtles" isn't quite the same....

Don C.

[cjefferys]

So instead of TMNT, we'd have TAINT!

[BlackKnight]

So instead of TMNT, we'd have TAINT!

It Taint Turtle, and it Taint Ninja .

[MegoMark71]

I didn't know Bay was working on it. I think for sure it's him screwing with it that has caused the delay. I am not a fan of him.

[boynightwing]

I'm glad they're holding it back. From what I heard, Micheal Bay was planning on doing terrible things to the turtles. The public backlash to his "ideas" must have been too much for the studio to bear.

I love TMNT. I always have. They're just so interesting and strange. Don's always been my favorite.

If they do a big budget movie, they have to get it right.

[boynightwing]

This web comic says it all

[ctc]

>The public backlash to his "ideas" must have been too much for the studio to bear.

The only confounding variable is that he messed with the Transformers, three times.... and each film, despite being panned by critics and nerdophiles alike made more money than the one before. I could see a studio giving him complete carte blanche on anything he wanted to do.

I wonder if Eastman and Laird had any effect on this. (I can remember a quote from when the original film was made: "movie people just want comic people to go away.")

Don C.

[Nostalgiabuff]

i seem to recall that the CHI TMNT did pretty well at the box office. it was a pretty good movie too. i can see the reboot doing well but Bay's vision of them being aliens has "alienated" the fan base so who knows