Thursday, September 27, 2012

Wait...20th Century Fox Still Has a Say in Marvel Comics?

Mark Millar Now Consulting on All Marvel Films at 20th Century Fox

Although Disney now owns Marvel, 20th Century Fox is not through with all of the productions they began before selling the franchise at the price of $4 billion dollars. 20th Century Fox has decided to hire a head for their final Marvel movies: Mark Millar of popular films Kick-Ass and Wanted.

Millar spent 10 years with Marvel writing comics earlier in his career, and in reaction to his promotion, he has stated, "As someone who has spent his entire life obsessed with both comic-books and movies, this is essentially my dream gig as it's a unique combination of both...I really like the Fox team, love this bold new direction they have for their franchises and am proud to be working alongside some of modern cinema's biggest talents. James Mangold is incredible, Matthew Vaughn's one of my closest pals and Josh Trank gave us, in my opinion, one of the greatest superhero movies of the last decade with 'Chronicle.' The invitation to join this crew was maybe the coolest phone-call I've ever had."

This surprises me because I did not know that 20th Century Fox could still make Marvel movies. Why weren't all their productions shelved when Disney took over the multi-billion dollar franchise? The ability of 20th Century Fox to finish what they began is something that I did not think the competitive movie industry would allow. It's fascinating to know that Disney is permitting 20th Century Fox to continue producing movies under the Marvel name. To me, it shows an altruism that I did not know existed in the Darwinistic world of film.

In the industry, this means that there is a significant change of hands in the 20th Century Fox Marvel world. Now that former CEO Tom Rothman is resigning and Millar is taking his place, the movies that are being made for the company may change significantly. Who knows if the actors, directors, writers, or anyone on the crew will remain the same? Maybe even the screenplay will be adjusted!

Reading this as the film student I am, it gives me perspective on how the industry works when a franchise such as Marvel switches hands. I did not know that something this large could be handled so humanely and effectively. From my filmmaker eyes, I know that Millar can pull off being the creative head of 20th Century Fox's Marvel. Kick-Ass was one heck of a film, and I would love to see more movies of that caliber, especially the Fantastic Four reboot. I am excited as a consumer to see these films now that I know the production is in good hands. Hopefully these final films from 20th Century Fox meet or exceed my expectations!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Ponzi Scheme in Hollywood?

State of California Sues Movie Producers Over Alleged Ponzi Scheme

The State of California is suing Windsor Pictures, Skylight Pictures, and other associated companies under the allegation that the production companies were running the infamous Ponzi Scheme and received $32 million dollars of unaware investors' money. The suit claims that the companies "targeted unsophisticated senior investors." The suit was filed by Jan Lynn Owen, California's corporations commissioner.

Apparently, the movie Not Forgotten, produced by Skyline Pictures and directed by its CEO, Dror Soref, was presented to senior investors as a "safe investment that would pay a higher return than the savings and investments [the investors] currently held".  The movie did horribly in the box office, only earning $54,000, and the investors lost millions of money for putting their faith in this horrendously bad turnout of a film.

Both production companies were disbanded in 2011 along with the checks that were sent out to investors. All of this evidence will be used by the state of California in order to get the $32 million dollars back from the frauds and criminals who ran Windsor and Skylight Pictures.

Why is this important? It proves the relevancy of the Ponzi scheme. To most today, the idea of someone running a scam that all know is doomed to fail seems preposterous, yet in this instance, it is shown that some still use mediocre ways of stealing money. The Ponzi scheme becomes more realistic to the readers now that they have heard of a current, real event that deals with this form of crime. This is definitely something to keep an eye on.

As a student, this article shows that the real world can be conniving and deceitful, and that I always must be on watch for those who try to con me or lie to me. As a filmmaker, this tells me that I must be wary of what company I choose to let produce any future films I might pitch. I would not want my ingenious idea to go to waste at the expense of something as silly as a Ponzi scheme movie production company. As a consumer, this also makes me want to be more cautious. I do not want to invest in something that will not deliver, especially something that I have been lied to about. I must always be on watch in order to not be another countless victim of fraud.

This raises the question of the integrity of the movie industry for many. How do we know who is not corrupt in this place called Hollywood? What can we do to shield ourselves from it? There is not a definite answer for either of those questions, but we still must find our own ways to protect ourselves (and our money) from falling into the wrong hands.

Maybe Hollywood isn't the golden world everyone dreams of. This is just one more piece of evidence to put on top of the growing pile of reasons why it's not.