No
script, director, or actors? No problem! Not when you have major studio
backing, an army of computer geeks working on CG effects, and a well-publicized
release date to stick to.
Variety
recently published an interesting article discussing how the well-oiled machine
that is Hollywood has to increasingly look further ahead in its calendar in
order to stay healthy. While most dedicated moviegoers rarely look beyond the
next summer season, studios are already roadmapping their 2009s and 2010s.
"As films rely increasingly
on CGI, you have to think further and further out, and it’s harder to
distinguish from picture to picture, so that puts more pressure on you to get
the right date," said Hutch Parker, Fox Entertainment president. "If you don’t,
it can really bite you."
Thinking this far ahead has
become a common practice among studios as more and more goes into not only
making the movie, but promoting it, too, with marketing and franchising.
"You have to get there
early, particularly for big dates around Memorial Day and the Fourth of July,
and it takes a tremendous amount of work," said Anthony Marcoly, vice president
of sales and marketing for Buena Vista International. "Our message is that
‘this
is not just a teen movie’ or a ‘family film’ but something that is for everyone
from 8 to 80 in every country. These are truly global properties."
2009
looks to house some new potential franchises like Prince of Persia, The Green
Hornet, and Avatar. Here’s a look at some of the major releases:
July 10,
2009
Prince
of Persia.
Based on the long-running videogame series, with
Michael Bay as possible
director.
May 1,
2009
The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The third of what is now
to be presumed seven films.
May 22,
2009
Avatar.
A space epic from James Cameron.
Monsters
vs Aliens. A 3D monster mash from DreamWorks. The most no-nonsense title since
Snakes on a Plane?
June 12,
2009
Up. Pixar’s post-Wall-E flick. Early plot descriptions describe it as a
coming-of-age story starring a 70-year-old detective who fights wild beasts.
July 1,
2009
Ice Age
3. Earth freezes over again. Hilarity ensues. Again.
Summer
2009
The
Green Hornet. Based on the American radio crimefighter. Columbia will
distribute.
November
6, 2009
The
Fantastic Mr. Fox. Based on
Roald Dahl’s children’s classic, Mr. Fox features
stop-motion designed by Henry Selick, and is directed by
Wes Anderson with
George Clooney voicing the title role.
2009
Nottingham.
Ridley Scott and
Russell Crowe team up again for this action/drama
based around Robin Hood lore.
And for
2010, what looks to be summer 2007-redux: (a possible) Pirates of the Caribbean
4, Spider-Man 4, Shrek 4, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The 23rd
James Bond is also slated for 2010.
Source:
Variety
