Judging by today's movie climate, I'm saying it now.
Steven Spielberg will be confronted with unfamiliar territory- an unsuccessful
film.
ravenadal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun-front-movies-pay-apr27,0,7094348.story
chicagotribune.com
FRONT AND CENTER
Indiana Jones' quest for more than $400 million
By Claudia Eller
Tribune Newspapers
April 27, 2008
Click here to find out more!
HOLLYWOOD The "Indiana Jones" series is known for its cliffhangers.
But the real cliffhanger in the coming sequel is when and if the
famous filmmakers and the star will make money.
That's because before executive producer George Lucas, director Steven
Spielberg and leading man Harrison Ford get their hands on any
treasure, Paramount Pictures will need to collect $400 million in
revenue to recover its costs and make a sizable fee to distribute
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
If that seems like a no-brainer, consider the norm in Hollywood, where
top-tier filmmakers and stars traditionally earn huge upfront fees and
get a big cut of ticket sales before a studio recoups its investment.
The atypical arrangement between the studio and the triumvirate
illustrates the new economic realities of the movie business. As
production and marketing costs escalate amid flat theater attendance
and declining DVD sales, studios are looking for ways to protect
themselves from colossal losses on a single picture.
"It's good for both parties," media analyst Harold Vogel said. "If the
talent has a true belief in the movie, they are taking a little more
risk by getting no significant compensation upfront but a much larger
share of the ultimate profitability.
It makes sense for studios,
which are cash-constrained."
With the movie industry becoming less lucrative in recent years, the
studios would prefer to have talent shoulder more of the risk. One way
is getting expensive stars, directors, writers and producers to defer
their customary fees and forfeit their cut of box-office dollars from
the first ticket sold, known as "first dollar gross."
"Crystal Skull," which opens worldwide May 22, is the first "Indiana
Jones" movie in 19 years. The fourth installment in one of Hollywood's
iconic franchises arrives after years of development, script rewrites
and dashed hopes among fans who are eager to see how the
archeologist-adventurer outsmarts another gang of nefarious forces.
Most movie franchises, including "Harry Potter" and "Spider-Man," are
owned by studios. The "Indiana Jones" copyright, however, is held by
Lucas, who created the adventure story in the 1970s. Lucas, who also
invented the "Star Wars" empire, is one of the few contemporary
filmmakers to own and control his movie properties.
The structure of the deal between Paramount and Lucas' San
Francisco-based Lucasfilm Ltd. predated the current 3-year-old regime
at Paramount, headed by Brad Grey. Grey and his associates
subsequently tweaked the arrangement to further lower the studio's
risk. When it became clear the movie would cost more than expected,
Lucas, Spielberg and Ford agreed to offset it by waiving their large
upfront fees.
Paramount executives declined to be interviewed, as did Spielberg,
Lucas and Ford. "Crystal Skull" will have to generate around $400
million for Paramount to make its money back and earn its distribution
fee. Only at that point will Lucas, Spielberg, Ford and smaller profit
participants, including screenwriter David Koepp, begin collecting
their portion.
Paramount will take 12.5 cents from every dollar thereafter, while
Lucas and company will earn 87.5 cents.
In the event that "Crystal Skull" fails at the box office, this
arrangement will leave the filmmakers and talent empty-handed.
Paramount would lose part of its investment but not as much as under a
conventional deal with top talent.
Although the "Indiana Jones" franchise is considered one of
Hollywood's surest betsthe first three pictures amassed $1.2 billion
in worldwide ticket salesthere is no guarantee that younger
moviegoers will turn out in droves to see a now 65-year-old action
hero in a fedora dust off his trademark leather jacket and crack his
bullwhip.
Los Angeles Times
Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune
"There is no reason Good can't triumph over Evil, if only angels will get
organized along the lines of the Mafia." -Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A
Country"
---------------------------------
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
