The trials and tribulations of getting this thing to the big screen have been well documented -- L.A. Weekly did a decent write-up about a week or two ago -- and it got me wondering:
If you had greenlight power at Universal, would you have given the go-ahead for Ridley Scott and Brian Grazer to make this film? Keep in mind you already sunk $30 million into the aborted Antione Fuqua version thanks to play-or-pay deals.
Now you're on the line for an estimated $100 million production and maybe another $50-80 million in P&A. (That's L.A. Weekly's estimate, not mine....)
$180-210 million period (read: 70s) / gangster / character-driven film?
I love Denzel and think Russell Crowe does masterful work with the right role but, frankly, this wouldn't get the thumbs up from me.
Denzel consistently hits solid doubles and triples at the box office but hasn't had a truly massive hit in quite some time. (I thought MAN ON FIRE deserved to make way more than the $70-something it did domestically but DEJU VU was pretty much a disappointment all around.)
Russell Crowe has proven time and again he's not a guaranteed B.O. draw.
That said, Ridley's films -- save a real misfire like A GOOD YEAR -- always perform respectfully if not very well, as do a most of Grazer's films.
Still, like I said, I would take a pass on this particular project.
You?
If you had greenlight power at Universal, would you have given the go-ahead for Ridley Scott and Brian Grazer to make this film? Keep in mind you already sunk $30 million into the aborted Antione Fuqua version thanks to play-or-pay deals.
Now you're on the line for an estimated $100 million production and maybe another $50-80 million in P&A. (That's L.A. Weekly's estimate, not mine....)
$180-210 million period (read: 70s) / gangster / character-driven film?
I love Denzel and think Russell Crowe does masterful work with the right role but, frankly, this wouldn't get the thumbs up from me.
Denzel consistently hits solid doubles and triples at the box office but hasn't had a truly massive hit in quite some time. (I thought MAN ON FIRE deserved to make way more than the $70-something it did domestically but DEJU VU was pretty much a disappointment all around.)
Russell Crowe has proven time and again he's not a guaranteed B.O. draw.
That said, Ridley's films -- save a real misfire like A GOOD YEAR -- always perform respectfully if not very well, as do a most of Grazer's films.
Still, like I said, I would take a pass on this particular project.
You?
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