Speaker 1: Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
Speaker 1: analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Monday, March ninth, twenty
Speaker 1: twenty six. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am co
Speaker 1: editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in
Speaker 1: La He's in New York, and Variety has reporters around
Speaker 1: the world covering the business of entertainment. In today's episode,
Speaker 1: in our box office segment, we'll hear from Variety's Brent
Speaker 1: Lang on what the weekend brought for Pixar. The imprint
Speaker 1: looks to have launched its first big original property since
Speaker 1: Coco back in twenty seventeen. And then I go into
Speaker 1: the wayback machine to look at a Daily Variety front
Speaker 1: page from fifty years ago today March ninth, nineteen seventy six.
Speaker 1: I'm always looking for the parallels to contemporary times, and
Speaker 1: they are not hard to find. There was so much
Speaker 1: cool stuff going on in that bicentennial year. Fans of
Speaker 1: Jack Nicholson, Robert Altman, Linda Ronstadt and Ruth Engelhardt should
Speaker 1: stay tuned. But before we get to all of that,
Speaker 1: here are a few headlines just in this morning that
Speaker 1: you need to Know. Paramount Skuidance president Jeff Shell is
Speaker 1: facing a fifty million dollar lawsuit from a self styled
Speaker 1: whistleblower who claims that Shell renegged on an agreement to
Speaker 1: have Paramount produce a TV show with him. Plaintiff R. J.
Speaker 1: Cipriani also claims he's owed for crisis pr services that
Speaker 1: he offered to Shell, who left his job as CEO
Speaker 1: of NBC Universal in twenty twenty three after admitting to
Speaker 1: having an intimate relationship with a subordinate. Live Nation has
Speaker 1: reached a settlement in its antitrust fight with the Department
Speaker 1: of Justice. The Biden administration had been pressuring the concert
Speaker 1: promotion and ticketing giant to split off its ticketmaster division
Speaker 1: from the concert promotion arm. Live Nation has reportedly agreed
Speaker 1: to make structural changes to its business and to pay
Speaker 1: two hundred and eighty million in damages to various states. However,
Speaker 1: my colleague jem Oswad reports that litigation goes on in
Speaker 1: twenty seven states, including New York and California. AMC Network
Speaker 1: has renewed The Audacity for season two one month before
Speaker 1: the series premiere. The show stars Billy Magnuson and Simon
Speaker 1: Helberg in a drama wrapped around the outsized personalities among
Speaker 1: Silicon Valley tech leaders and hopefuls. The series will get
Speaker 1: a sneak peek on Saturday at the south By Southwest
Speaker 1: Festival in Austin, Texas. Good for You, Drew Threw Barrymore
Speaker 1: Show has been renewed for two more seasons by CBS
Speaker 1: season seven and eight. That's a feat for a syndicated
Speaker 1: talk show in this daytime TV marketplace. All of these
Speaker 1: stories and so much more can be found on Variety
Speaker 1: dot com right now and now it's time for conversations
Speaker 1: with Variety journalists about news and trends and show business.
Speaker 1: Brent Lang, Variety's executive editor, joins us to unpack what
Speaker 1: went wrong for Warner Brothers The Bride and what went
Speaker 1: right for Disney Pixar's Hopper. As Lang explains, The Bride
Speaker 1: hails from director Maggie Jillen Hall and features stars Christian
Speaker 1: Bale and Jesse Buckley, but it is turning out to
Speaker 1: be a pretty epic misfire. Brent Lang, thank you so
Speaker 1: much for joining me to talk about the box office.
Speaker 2: Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: Well, it seemed like it was a good weekend for
Speaker 1: furry creatures from Pixar, and not such a good weekend
Speaker 1: for a reimagining from the great Maggie Jillen Hall pop
Speaker 1: line Brent, what happened this weekend?
Speaker 2: And I think it just really shows you that the
Speaker 2: box office giveth and it taketh away. In the case
Speaker 2: of Hoppers, you had a really great performance from the
Speaker 2: Disney film, and I think there were some concerns that
Speaker 2: it wouldn't do as well because it's been about a
Speaker 2: decade since Pixar has had an original movie. Coco was
Speaker 2: the last one that really took off. But actually Hoppers,
Speaker 2: which had some great reviews. I think it was like
Speaker 2: ninety six ninety seven percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, open
Speaker 2: to forty six million in the US and Canada, and
Speaker 2: then it went internationally at eighty eight million, and I
Speaker 2: think some people within the industry privately are predicting that
Speaker 2: it could make upwards of five hundred million dollars, which
Speaker 2: would be a really fantastic result for Pixar and a
Speaker 2: big shot in the arm because it means that this
Speaker 2: is potentially another franchise. Pixar has had a lot of
Speaker 2: success with sequels to things like Inside Out, and Toy
Speaker 2: Story not as much success in launching original properties. But
Speaker 2: then on the other end of the ledger, you had
Speaker 2: The Bride, which is an unmitigated disaster. I would say
Speaker 2: it's the year's first really big bomb. It cost about
Speaker 2: ninety million dollars, It endured about two different rounds of reshoots,
Speaker 2: and the film itself wasn't excoriated by critics, but it
Speaker 2: was not. It didn't get the kind of reviews that
Speaker 2: really got people in there. And it is very offbeat.
Speaker 2: It's really a genre mashups. It's kind of a crime film,
Speaker 2: it's kind of a horror film, it's kind of a comedy,
Speaker 2: it is kind of a musical. It's kind of a
Speaker 2: lot of different genres, and that's very hard to sell.
Speaker 2: It's very hard to market something like that. And it
Speaker 2: did have some big stars in Jesse Buckley and Christian
Speaker 2: Bale and Maggie Jillenhall really impressed with her last film,
Speaker 2: The Lost Daughter, but I think she just couldn't kind
Speaker 2: of crack the code here. And this film made only
Speaker 2: seven million dollars in the US and Canada, and I
Speaker 2: think about thirteen million now going into the weekend. Warner
Speaker 2: Brothers had predicted that the film was going to make
Speaker 2: about sixteen million dollars domestic, sixteen to eighteen million dollars
Speaker 2: and about forty million and change internationally. So their projections
Speaker 2: were wildly off.
Speaker 1: What do you think gave them the faith that it
Speaker 1: would do so well internationally?
Speaker 2: I think it maybe had to do with a sense
Speaker 2: that Bail has a big international following, and maybe in
Speaker 2: places like the Buckley is a bigger name. I think
Speaker 2: that always seemed a little optimistic. I do think that
Speaker 2: Warner Brothers kind of knew they had a bomb here
Speaker 2: for a while. They moved this movie out of last year.
Speaker 2: It was supposed to originally open in the fall, and
Speaker 2: they moved it into March. It had a kind of
Speaker 2: a stink on it for a while.
Speaker 1: Warner Brothers was humble in their statement and noting that
Speaker 1: they have had an incredible success of number one openings.
Speaker 1: This is not that weekend.
Speaker 2: I always think about something that Sony's Tom Rothman said,
Speaker 2: which is I'm paraphrasing, but basically that you should be
Speaker 2: creatively bold but financially conservative. And I think there really
Speaker 2: was no reason for this film to cost ninety million dollars.
Speaker 2: I'm assuming everybody kind of got their full faire here,
Speaker 2: and you really need to get creative talent on a
Speaker 2: movie this risky, to kind of buy in a little
Speaker 2: bit more and maybe defer more of their salary. And
Speaker 2: I also just feel that, I mean, to be quite honest,
Speaker 2: I thought this was one of the worst major studio
Speaker 2: movie I've ever seen. It is a complete mess. It's
Speaker 2: kind of an astonishing disaster in my opinion, just purely
Speaker 2: looking at the timing of it.
Speaker 1: Given that Guillermo del Toro has really triumphed in a
Speaker 1: creative sense, it maybe didn't have the kind of impact
Speaker 1: that a big theatrical release would have for Frankenstein on Netflix,
Speaker 1: but nonetheless, especially in the creative community, it was seen
Speaker 1: as a as a high water mark for him, and
Speaker 1: I think that anything that perhaps wasn't just flat out
Speaker 1: farce and a real spoof that would not cost nearly
Speaker 1: ninety million dollars is going to pay by comparisons.
Speaker 2: I think they knew what they had on their hands,
Speaker 2: and I think they moved the film frankly to have
Speaker 2: a better twenty twenty five. You know that's smart. Studios
Speaker 2: do this all the time.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about hoppers I'm sure you hear it from
Speaker 1: producers a lot too, like there is a concern at
Speaker 1: what point do we run out of things to remake,
Speaker 1: so something wholly original that the little furry creatures were
Speaker 1: awfully adorable, and also the kind of things that you
Speaker 1: can see plush toys selling. So if this really takes
Speaker 1: root for Disney, the potential in merchandising and even off
Speaker 1: screen profit potential is huge. I'm sure they are quite
Speaker 1: excited to see this open decently. I guess by Pixar standard,
Speaker 1: it's not off the charts, but for holy original property
Speaker 1: in this day and age, it's They're pretty encouraged.
Speaker 2: You would say, oh, I think this is a pretty
Speaker 2: pretty good result for them. It's not Zotopia two numbers,
Speaker 2: but this is showing support for this brand. Also, the
Speaker 2: thing about family films is they tend to stick around.
Speaker 2: They have really good multiples, so despite the fact they
Speaker 2: don't always open as large, they really can have great,
Speaker 2: strong second and third weekends. And I feel like the
Speaker 2: word of mouth here is going to help. And I
Speaker 2: think just as you said, like, if this could be
Speaker 2: another franchise for Pixar, that would be extremely important because
Speaker 2: there's only so many times you can kind of go
Speaker 2: back to the well with your franchises. So I think
Speaker 2: they are feeling very confident, and I think they were concerned.
Speaker 2: I think when we did a story on Josh Tomorrow,
Speaker 2: I talked to some people at the studio and privately
Speaker 2: they were saying, you know, Hoppers is great, but it's
Speaker 2: a risk. Original films are a risk. So I think
Speaker 2: they are breathing a huge cyber relief right now.
Speaker 1: It really is stark when you point out that the
Speaker 1: last wholly original property was Coco in twenty seventeen. That's
Speaker 1: almost ten years ago. Just to button up this weekend
Speaker 1: to your point about the box office giveth and take
Speaker 1: it away, it was definitely taketh away time for Scream
Speaker 1: seven had a great opening led last week, but it
Speaker 1: was a steep drop of seventy four percent, as Rebecca
Speaker 1: Rubin reported. But nonetheless, I think it did its job
Speaker 1: in opening weekend and probably got people watching the other
Speaker 1: previous six where they could.
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely think it coasts about half of what the
Speaker 2: Bride cost. And our films traditionally are very front loaded.
Speaker 2: They're the opposite of family films. They really make a
Speaker 2: disproportionate amount of their money on opening weekend. That'll be
Speaker 2: a very profitable film for Paramount, And unsurprisingly, they're apparently
Speaker 2: already developing a Scream eight, so they're okay.
Speaker 1: With the drop. Let me close out, Brent by asking you,
Speaker 1: what are you looking forward to coming to the multiplexes.
Speaker 1: I will volunteer that I went to see Elvis Presley
Speaker 1: in concert last night thoroughly enjoyed it. Total kudos to
Speaker 1: Baz Luhrman. I saw a whole bunch of trailers. The
Speaker 1: trailer for The Odyssey, by far was the one that
Speaker 1: was like, Okay, Bookmark, we're making a date. What about you?
Speaker 2: I mean, I totally agree with you. I think The
Speaker 2: Odyssey looks like the reason you go to the movies,
Speaker 2: the other film that it can plug. I was able
Speaker 2: to see Project Hail Mary, and I think people are
Speaker 2: going to really dig that. It's a very fun film,
Speaker 2: a little bit long, but a really great central performance
Speaker 2: by Ryan Gosling, and it's just sort of demands to
Speaker 2: be seen on.
Speaker 1: A big screen. That sounds good. Brent, Thank you so much.
Speaker 2: It's always fun to talk to you.
Speaker 1: Thanks And now we're stepping into the wayback machine for
Speaker 1: the fun of turning back the clock fifty years to
Speaker 1: see what was going on in our business on March ninth,
Speaker 1: nineteen seventy six. What's the point of Variety being an amazing,
Speaker 1: irreplicable and encyclopedic chronicle of entertainment and media if you
Speaker 1: never take the time to dive back into the past
Speaker 1: to look at how it informs the future. In this
Speaker 1: Vintage Variety segment, we'll also look at a few things
Speaker 1: that never did happen, but we're definitely being considered and attempted.
Speaker 1: The stories of the movies and TV shows that got
Speaker 1: away are also one of the many things that only
Speaker 1: the Variety Archives can bring you. So here we go, Tuesday,
Speaker 1: March ninth, nineteen seventy six. Our Banner story is about
Speaker 1: a legal fight between New York City theater owners over
Speaker 1: exclusive bookings of movies. The Walter Reed Organization filed suit
Speaker 1: against rival exhibit Are Cinema five and Warner Brothers over
Speaker 1: what Walter Reid claimed was Warner brothers decision to renege
Speaker 1: on a deal to exclusively license the re release of
Speaker 1: mel Brooks's Blazing Saddles to Reid's theater on thirty fourth Street.
Speaker 1: The suit claims that, under pressure, Warner Brothers decided to
Speaker 1: give it to Cinema Five's theater on fifty seventh Street.
Speaker 1: All of this activity over films playing in a handful
Speaker 1: of New York theaters, it just goes to show the
Speaker 1: primacy and the importance of the exhibition window. In this time,
Speaker 1: it was really the only window for a few years
Speaker 1: until a movie would make it to broadcast television. The
Speaker 1: Walter Reed organization in its lawsuit also noted that Warner
Speaker 1: Brothers was putting onerous terms on exhibitors for the revenue
Speaker 1: split on its buzzy Al Pacino drama Dog Day Afternoon.
Speaker 1: Our box office coverage a few pages later in this
Speaker 1: issue demonstrates just how many movie theaters there used to
Speaker 1: be in New York City boards of eighty by this
Speaker 1: story's count. The other page one story that is a
Speaker 1: sign of the times is an effort to modernize theater listings.
Speaker 1: A company called Theater Information Systems was desperately trying to
Speaker 1: sign up studios to pay for its telephone service that
Speaker 1: would inform callers in the LA area where they can
Speaker 1: find specific movies. The phone number was area code two
Speaker 1: one three t h EA. Tr Live operators would guide
Speaker 1: callers to the closest movie theater to their location for
Speaker 1: specific titles. We note that Theater Information Systems founder Alan
Speaker 1: Mostow had been working for four years just to convince
Speaker 1: enough distributors to sign up just to do a test.
Speaker 1: On this day, Variety reported that American International Pictures had
Speaker 1: agreed to do so for its latest release, The Devil
Speaker 1: Within Her. As we turned to page two, there's a
Speaker 1: ton of action going on in Army Archards just for
Speaker 1: Variety Cold Michael Douglas and Jack Nicholson are just coming
Speaker 1: off a grueling international press tour for One Flew over
Speaker 1: the Cuckoo's Nest, a movie that is destined to sweep
Speaker 1: the Oscars in a couple of weeks. Nicholson talked to
Speaker 1: Army about the wild press conferences in Europe, and he
Speaker 1: noted that the Italian reporters were the most lively. Here's
Speaker 1: a quote that you can absolutely hear Nicholson delivering. But
Speaker 1: I'm a genius at encountering the Marxist dialectic. Nicholson told
Speaker 1: Army his next effort was going to be to direct
Speaker 1: a Western called Moontrop for UAMGM. That movie never happened.
Speaker 1: A few grafts. Below, Robert Altman is talking to Army
Speaker 1: about coming off the Rush that was Nashville, his landmark,
Speaker 1: critically beloved movie that really cemented his reputation. Altman tells
Speaker 1: Army that his next priorities include directing an adaptation of
Speaker 1: Kurt Vonnegut's novel Breakfast of Champions and an adaptation of
Speaker 1: the great El doctor O novel Time. Neither movie came
Speaker 1: to fruition with Altman, But you know who did bring
Speaker 1: Ragtime to the screen to great acclaim in nineteen eighty one,
Speaker 1: director Milos Foreman. That's who. And he just happened to
Speaker 1: direct One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. You can't make
Speaker 1: this stuff up, folks. Some fun other tidbits from the
Speaker 1: rest of the issue. Ruth Engelhardt has been promoted to
Speaker 1: full agent at William Morris Agency. If you know, you know,
Speaker 1: Ruth wrote the book on TV packaging, Doing there All
Speaker 1: for the Home. No less of a motley crew than
Speaker 1: Burt Bacharack, Pat Boone and Clint Eastwood will take part
Speaker 1: in the seventh annual Le Club International Pro Celebrity Tennis
Speaker 1: Classic benefit for the Motion Picture Television Fund Home in
Speaker 1: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from March twenty fifth through twenty eighth.
Speaker 1: Can you imagine stars of that caliber doing that today.
Speaker 1: Linda Ronstadt did two benefits at the Troubadour this month
Speaker 1: in support of a state proposition to put more restrictions
Speaker 1: around the development of nuclear power in California. The proposition
Speaker 1: did not pass, but undoubtedly Linda put on great shows.
Speaker 1: Looking into the classifieds of this issue, Disneyland was recruiting
Speaker 1: sound and lighting pros to work on various events at
Speaker 1: the park, and the Whiskey Nightclub on Sunset Boulevard was
Speaker 1: hiring waitresses from one to three pm on this day.
Speaker 1: This was advertised in a tiny little box ad on
Speaker 1: one of the back pages. They really counted on people
Speaker 1: reading Variety cover to cover and early in the morning
Speaker 1: back then, thanks for joining me for a vintage Variety
Speaker 1: trek through the wayback machine. As we close out today's episode,
Speaker 1: here's a few things we're watching for. It's gonna be
Speaker 1: a big week. South by Southwest begins on Thursday, March twelfth.
Speaker 1: The Oscars arrive at Long Last on Sunday, March fifteenth.
Speaker 1: We'll have feet on the ground at both events and
Speaker 1: much more to come. Elana Glazer's launching a stand up tour.
Speaker 1: She'll play twenty seven dates, starting May six and Vancouver
Speaker 1: and ending August nineteenth in Portland, Maine. She has some
Speaker 1: UK and European dates scattered in between. If you need
Speaker 1: a little more Plinko in your life, Samsung tv plus
Speaker 1: has you covered. Samsung tv Plus is launching a streaming
Speaker 1: channel featuring episodes of The Prices right from Bob Barker's
Speaker 1: proud thirty five year run as host. Come on down
Speaker 1: and don't forget to spay or newt your pet. We
Speaker 1: love to hear from our listeners, so please send thoughts, scripes,
Speaker 1: and other feedback about Daily Variety to podcasts at Variety
Speaker 1: dot com. Before we go, congrats to River Gallo. They
Speaker 1: are a writer, actor and creator who has just signed
Speaker 1: a first look deal with Fox Entertainment Studios for scripted
Speaker 1: TV and movie projects. Gallo is behind the twenty twenty
Speaker 1: four Sundance Film Festival entry, pony Boy, and other projects.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. This episode was written and reported by
Speaker 1: me Cynthia Lyttleton, with contributions from Brent Lang and the
Speaker 1: Variety editorial staff of nineteen seventy six stick Snick's hick Picks.
Speaker 1: Please leave us a review at the podcast platform of
Speaker 1: your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for another episode
Speaker 1: of Daily Variety.