Christopher Nolan has wrapped filming on The Dark Knight Rises in Pittsburgh; he still has more principal photography in New York and Los Angeles. The film opens July 20, 2012.
Universal has dropped its Ouija movie, just a few weeks after it ditched plans to remake the Hasbro board game, Clue, into another movie. The Ouija adaptation was meant to be produced by Michael Bay. Maybe they’re backing off big-budget game adaptations based on their would-be 2012 tentpole Battleship?
Deadline published a rather sweet letter from one of the four credited screenwriters on the remake of Conan the Barbarian, partially posted below, which answers the question: “What’s it like to have your film flop at the box office? Don’t they know how bad it is before it comes out?”:
When you work “above the line” on a movie (writer, director, actor, producer, etc.) watching it flop at the box office is devastating. I had such an experience during the opening weekend of Conan the Barbarian 3D.
A movie’s opening day is analogous to a political election night…One joins a movie production, the same way one might join a campaign, years before the actual release/election, and in the beginning one is filled with hope, enthusiasm and belief. I joined the Conan team, having loved the character in comic books and the stories of Robert E. Howard, filled with the same kind of raw energy and drive that one needs in politics.
You hope that advertising and word of mouth will improve the numbers, and even as the numbers get tighter and the omens get darker, you keep telling yourself that things will turn around, that your guy will surprise the experts and pollsters. You stay optimistic. You begin selectively ignoring bad news and highlighting the good. You make the best of it. You believe.
You tell yourself to just enjoy the process. That whether you succeed or fail, win or lose, it will be fine. You pretend to be Zen. You adopt detachment, and ironic humor, while secretly praying for a miracle.
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