By Borys Kit
2 hours, 6 minutes ago
"It's not a fad," Marvel Studios president of production
Kevin Feige said of the onslaught of movies built around comic
book avengers. "It's the new archetype for the summer
blockbuster. Everybody loves special effects, everybody loves
epic entertainment, and that's what comics have been delivering
for decades and decades."
"Iron Man" will be followed by "The Incredible Hulk" and
"Wanted" on June 13 and 27, respectively, both from Universal.
"Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" unleashes July 11, again from
Universal, while "The Dark Knight," Warner Bros.' Batman
sequel, alights July 18. Lionsgate releases "Punisher: War
Zone" September 12.
On July 2, Sony opens its Will Smith-starrer "Hancock,"
which is not actually based on an actual comic but does promise
to turn superhero conventions on their head with its tale of a
depressed, alcoholic, bumbling hero.
It speaks to the vitality of the genre that Hollywood can
schedule all these movies in the same time period without fear
that they will cannibalize each another. "Iron Man" is a Marvel
action movie featuring a man in a super-powered armor, while
"Wanted" is an R-rated action movie about a society of
super-assassins. "Hulk" is a Marvel monster movie set amid a
realistic backdrop, while "Hellboy" aims to take audiences to
underground worlds fertilized by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo
del Toro's imagination. "Dark Knight" is expected to offer
another dark, psychological exploration from director
Christopher Nolan.
"If they were all about a guy who runs into an alley and
changed into a costume or into a phone booth to put on a mask,
they would have come and gone in a year or two," Feige said.
Maintaining a heroic diversity is important to Marvel as it
gets ready to greenlight its next films from a slate that
ranges from "Ant-Man" (directed by Edgar Wright) to "Thor" (a
Norse God adventure from Matthew Vaughn) to the patriotic,
flag-waving "Captain America."
"Because they can be so varied in genre, in rating, in
execution, there is a lot of room for them (in the
marketplace)," said Donna Langley, president of production at
Universal Studios. "But you should be mindful about the
competitive landscape. You obviously don't want to release
'Superman' and 'Spider-Man' the same day."
These movies are not slam dunks, by any means. The riskiest
among the crop is the Marvel-backed "Hulk," which has seen a
behind-the-scenes drama play out between star Ed Norton and
Marvel over competing visions. There is also the hurdle of
getting audiences to see a movie that is not a sequel but a
relaunch of a film that bombed five years ago.
On the other hand, not all of these flicks are $100
million-plus gambles. Universal has been keen on keeping the
budgets on "Hellboy 2" and "Wanted" in the $80 million range.
As it ups the superhero ante, Hollywood is still learning
is to be mindful of the characters' fan bases and creators. The
comic book fans scrutinize everything from director and actors
to costumes to how closely the films follow the source
material. Creators, meanwhile, can spout off against any movie
that they feel betrays their vision. Alan Moore, for example,
never publicly blessed the movies "V for Vendetta" and "The
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," which were based on his
comics.
In the summer, "Wanted" strays from its source material.
The original miniseries was, in part, a nihilistic tale of evil
super-assassins killing one another as well as the good guys.
But because that comic's fan base isn't as big as that of
Hellboy or Spider-Man, Universal felt comfortable veering from
the comic to make it more appealing to a broader-based
audience, with a little help from Angelina Jolie. But it also
made sure creator Mark Millar was involved, going to him for
ideas and using his dialogue for voice-over bits.
"If you deviate from the comic book, do it in concert with
the creator so he doesn't wage an Internet campaign," Langley
said.
While another ironic take on costumed heroes, 1999's
"Mystery Men," fizzled at the box office, times, audiences and
movies have changed, making "Hancock" as close to a sure-bet as
you can find at the box office.
"Every summer I get asked how long is this going to last,"
Feige said. "The truth is, that's like saying how long are
people going to make movies based on novels. Well, for as long
as there are cool stories to be told."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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