Now, of course, this has to stay in strict “rumor mill” mode, but honestly Drew McWeeny from HitFix is a very well connected guy in the movie industry, so I would think this is something we should pay some attention to, and it does connect some dots for us.
According to the aforementioned HitFix, Paramount’s decision to move the film release date has created some contention between the studio and director Jon M. Chu, and in fact, Paramount may be attempting to press forward with reshoots without Chu’s involvement. This could be huge, and would certainly explain the director’s Twitter silence.
Chu has long established his fandom of the G.I. Joe franchise, and has been exceptionally well connected to the fans through social media, so if Paramount tries to lock him out of the reshoot process, do we all risk losing some connection to the production, and losing the assistance of someone who will fight for what we want to see in a G.I. Joe film? However, also according to HitFix, producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura (who has some klout with the studio) is standing firm by Chu’s side and supporting him against the studio. Check out the full paragraph here:
“We’ve been hearing reports of rough test screenings for the film, but things are starting to get genuinely contentious between director Jon Chu and the studio, and right now, there is a chance he won’t be directly involved at all with the reshoots. There’s also a chance Chu might try to legally force his way back onto the film, which could create even more strain in the relationship he has with Paramount. Word is that producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura is firmly on Chu’s side, which could help, but I shouldn’t be shocked if we get word soon that Stuart Baird or someone similar is being brought on to “consult.””
Obviously this turns the entire production process on its ear, and unfortunately injects even more doubt and chaos into what is already a bizarre, uncomfortable next nine months for everyone involved.
Interestingly, among this is other news according to IGN.com, who reports that another Paramount production, World War Z is also going through a long series of reshoots and have also endured a date change, signifying that this isn’t a problem necessarily focused purely on G.I. Joe. It sounds like Paramount is scrambling to refocus on their films and find a better, more effective formula for their story telling. In light of the massive domestic failures of John Carter and Battleship, and in light of the tremendous success of Avengers, it looks like Paramount is paying more attention to the narrative. Hopefully the results in March show that to be the right move, but if the voyage over the next nine months is fraught with the same chaos, uncertainty, and train wreck under tones that we’ve seen over the past two weeks, G.I. Joe’s public face is just going to suffer further.
At the end of the day, it feels like the G.I. Joe brand in general is a brand that has been skirting the line of viability and profitability over the past several years, and this constant barrage of press for all the wrong reasons isn’t going to do it any favors long term. Buckle up, Joe fans.
Big thanks to Ed Dam from JoeCanuck.com for the heads up to the article, and check out the full article at HitFix.
Paramount execs suck!!! They deserve to all be fired.
YO Paramount, just look at the success at Warner and Disney are having with their franchises. You wanna know why? It’s because they bring on directors and people who actually want to make a good movie and stay true to the mythos.
Thanks for screwing up Gi Joe and Transformers as well, I haven’t bothered watching the 2 and 3rd either.
I agree about the mythos. There is several years of story information they could either take from the toon or comics. Why would you not start with that and then branch out into something new?
I’ve always thought Chu was done on this thing.
“it looks like Paramount is paying more attention to the narrative.”
Wow, I’m glad someone told them telling a good story is occasionally helpful in a movie.
The only reason there’s a problem with Chu is because the people bankrolling this thing don’t like what they see/hear about the movie. If the movie had worked there’d be no problem with this “9 month delay”, but there are obviously problems. The “post-conversion” excuse is BS, if anyone believes that as legit, hand me your wallet because you’re going to be suckered out of it anyway. The problem is with the story in the movie….and, perhaps more specifically, the execution of the story.
If its screening badly, its obviously not hitting the right chords with the audience.
That could be due to all kinds of things under the directorial sphere–from failing to properly “place” characters in context ( having some of them come across as silly or hokey because there’s not enough “build-up” for them) to not hitting the story structure beats properly ( too much emphasis on a chase, for example, or too much chatter with the characters).
These sorts of things would be symptomatic of a director with little dramatic experience under his belt, and Chu has a small filmography as a director.
Its not fair to assign blame just yet because the film really does need to be seen as it is right now, to ascertain its faults.
But its clearly got flaws and that is not a good position to be in.
Hopefully, as far as the clips I’ve seen. Bruce in a El Camino, etc…. There shouldn’t be any problems, As Far As Budget, in any way
comparable to John C. or Battleship. If there is or if GI Joe has to Save A dying mess…… Welll That just isn’t realistic.
We all saw the first one.
Well, Bruce Willis wouldn’t be a problem except for one thing: If he’s supposed to be the original GIJOE ( Joe Colton) then why doesn’t he have a scar on his cheek??? That would be a good question ask the director.