SDCC 08: How to Kill 'The Punisher' Without Using Bullets
Filed under: Action, Lionsgate Films, Festival Reports, Celebrities and Controversy, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, ComicCon
The RocknRolla adventure, unfortunately, kept me away from the Punisher: War Zone party and panel, which I had every intention of attending and covering for all of you. In retrospect, it was probably a good thing, since the talk of the convention wasn't the panel or its footage, but of director Lexi Alexander's departure from the project. Obviously the news surprised me, although the timing did not. It was obvious from the scheduling that Lionsgate was trying to bury the panel -- if a studio is trying to sell their new comic book movie, they generally don't schedule a panel at 8:00pm when the geeks are out feasting and drinking. They put it at 2:00pm in Hall H and give us a free t-shirt.
Now, this movie could be terrible. This movie could be pure awesome. I don't know, I'm certainly not going to judge it or Alexander's direction at this stage. But it frustrates me to see any movie this badly handled, its chances of being successful destroyed before it even gets to a theatrical trailer. I just don't understand how or why it happens when the ultimate goal of a movie (from the studio perspective, anyway) is to turn a profit.
This whole debacle has made me a very sad panda. First, for Alexander, who I admire purely from a feminist standpoint. Female directors are too far and few between, and it was exciting to see one not only directing an action movie, but one based on a comic book. I wanted her to succeed in a big way -- and I hope that whatever happens with this film, she has a solid career kicking cinematic ass. At least some studio people are in her corner -- according to MTV Movies, producer Deborah Del Prete says she and Alexander are working together on an adaptation of a little-known British fantasy novel. (I hate teases like that.) So at least she's not persona non grata yet, which is a relief. We need chicks like her in the business.
And I especially feel for Ray Stevenson, who I had the privilege to meet on Thursday afternoon. (See the photo above -- oh, for the days when you could be photographed next to the celebrity in question!) Like a lot of people, I know him mostly as Titus Pullo from HBO's brilliant series Rome. If you haven't seen this series, dear readers, you need to finish this post and then hit your preferred rental outlet. You will love it, and you will love Stevenson in it. You will not doubt that he is capable of being an excellent Punisher.
I've been rooting for this movie to make it largely because Stevenson deserves a bigger career -- and having met him now, it really does break my heart that this movie is getting the run-around. He was so friendly and enthusiastic, and really wants to do justice to the character. (Oh yeah, and he was incredibly handsome. Damn. They make such nice men in the UK.) I haven't attended a lot of promotional signings, but often they are dull and duty-bound affairs. Stevenson and Tim Bradstreet seemed happy to be there meeting everyone. And if they were pulling off that level of enthusiasm despite the Alexander news, then they really deserve a round of applause.
And so, Lionsgate, from one girl who willingly queued to meet your new Punisher, who did it as a fan and not a member of the press, I beg you to do right by this film. It's obvious that all involved worked hard on it and care about it, and they deserve to have their faith rewarded. Don't hack at it, slap a heavy metal soundtrack on it, and shove it out into theatres. Do whatever it takes to make a good film. Your profit margin will thank you, fans of the character will worship you, and you can take your place in the comic book franchise world.
Now, this movie could be terrible. This movie could be pure awesome. I don't know, I'm certainly not going to judge it or Alexander's direction at this stage. But it frustrates me to see any movie this badly handled, its chances of being successful destroyed before it even gets to a theatrical trailer. I just don't understand how or why it happens when the ultimate goal of a movie (from the studio perspective, anyway) is to turn a profit.
This whole debacle has made me a very sad panda. First, for Alexander, who I admire purely from a feminist standpoint. Female directors are too far and few between, and it was exciting to see one not only directing an action movie, but one based on a comic book. I wanted her to succeed in a big way -- and I hope that whatever happens with this film, she has a solid career kicking cinematic ass. At least some studio people are in her corner -- according to MTV Movies, producer Deborah Del Prete says she and Alexander are working together on an adaptation of a little-known British fantasy novel. (I hate teases like that.) So at least she's not persona non grata yet, which is a relief. We need chicks like her in the business.
And I especially feel for Ray Stevenson, who I had the privilege to meet on Thursday afternoon. (See the photo above -- oh, for the days when you could be photographed next to the celebrity in question!) Like a lot of people, I know him mostly as Titus Pullo from HBO's brilliant series Rome. If you haven't seen this series, dear readers, you need to finish this post and then hit your preferred rental outlet. You will love it, and you will love Stevenson in it. You will not doubt that he is capable of being an excellent Punisher.
I've been rooting for this movie to make it largely because Stevenson deserves a bigger career -- and having met him now, it really does break my heart that this movie is getting the run-around. He was so friendly and enthusiastic, and really wants to do justice to the character. (Oh yeah, and he was incredibly handsome. Damn. They make such nice men in the UK.) I haven't attended a lot of promotional signings, but often they are dull and duty-bound affairs. Stevenson and Tim Bradstreet seemed happy to be there meeting everyone. And if they were pulling off that level of enthusiasm despite the Alexander news, then they really deserve a round of applause.
And so, Lionsgate, from one girl who willingly queued to meet your new Punisher, who did it as a fan and not a member of the press, I beg you to do right by this film. It's obvious that all involved worked hard on it and care about it, and they deserve to have their faith rewarded. Don't hack at it, slap a heavy metal soundtrack on it, and shove it out into theatres. Do whatever it takes to make a good film. Your profit margin will thank you, fans of the character will worship you, and you can take your place in the comic book franchise world.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-30-2008 @ 8:55AM
mike said...
"I just don't understand how or why it happens when the ultimate goal of a movie is to turn a profit."
This is the studio's goal! They are trying to recut or something it the way it makes more profit for them. Even if it kills the movie for fans.
Reply
7-30-2008 @ 9:33AM
Riley Freeman said...
im lost so why is she gone? and is the movie finished or not? they should have never made another movie without thomas jane
Reply
7-30-2008 @ 9:56AM
Jennifer said...
U know I really like the first Punisher with Thomas Jane. I thought he played Frank Castle quite well. And I'm with you Elsabeth- After seeing Ray Stevensen as Pullo I think he would play the part quite well. I really hope that they give this movie the proper chance cause I'd hate to see it tuned into the David Hasselhoff version of NIck Fury.
Reply
7-30-2008 @ 11:31AM
Julie said...
Way to go. Let's hope someone at Lionsgate is listening. Ray Stevenson was a really sweet guy, talking to everyone and happily signing posters. I hope Lionsgate does right by everyone involved and the fans get a decent movie out of the deal. Stevenson stole Rome right out from under the other characters, I'd really like to see his career move forward.
Reply
7-30-2008 @ 12:00PM
Pendragon said...
Have you seen the trailer yet?
It looks really horrible.
Just really bad.
It's extremely cheezy.
Reply
7-30-2008 @ 12:06PM
madgamer said...
The trailer for this thing looked cool to me. It had more bullets and carnage crammed into 2 minutes than I think I may have ever seen before. It was on IGN the other day (for anyone wondering), and I think there may have been a link posted on here..
Reply
8-04-2008 @ 5:46AM
Nomad said...
Here are two relevent posts taken from other sites that may throw another sort of light on this subject. The first is from a person obviously connected to the film. The second was written by a knowledgable fan who is an international banker and DOES have sources within Lion's Gate.
*****************************************************************************
1)
Lionsgate, you're in my crosshairs.
Punisher: War Zone had a crapload of negative publicity to overcome from the go. It began when Lionsgate switched directions and popular 2004 Punisher lead actor Thomas Jane walked away heartbroken from "something he couldn't believe in." Fair enough, Tom's entitled to his opinion based on his own experience with the project at the time. OUCH.
Then writer Kurt Sutter, who had contributed to the PWZ screenplay early on, chose not to take credit because so little of his own contribution remained, but publicity hounds primed for negativity immediately twisted that to mean that he'd taken his name off it because it sucked. Shall I remind anyone that PWZ writers Matt Holloway and Art Marcum, who eventually contributed enough to justify accepting credit, are the creative team that brought audiences Marvel's successful Iron Man?
Despite this early negativity, PWZ director Lexi Alexander stepped in and managed via her blog at http://lexialexander.com to get many fans behind HER vision for this REBOOT, a vision that had brought new lead actor Ray Stevenson and most everybody else on board. Cast and crew suffered a brutal Montreal winter to bring that vision to bear. When some fans questioned cinematographer Steve Gainer's colourful lighting in the first teaser, she showed them the colourful panels pulled directly from the comics. When they questioned other artistic choices, she informed them that her role as director required her to deliver a product which appealed to both die-hard fans AND a broader general audience. But she was ALWAYS keen on informing FANS that no matter those choices, she was giving them the MEAT they wanted: Garth Ennis's violent, bloody, darkly humorous, psychologically tortured, hard-R MAX PUNISHER, set in NEW YORK CITY, pitted against one of the vigilante's most memorable adversaries: Jigsaw. Many who had been on the fence before were won over by the new redband trailer and music video from San Diego Comic-Con 2008 which finally offered a peek at what Lexi had delivered!!
LIONSGATE FILMS: YOU greenlit the screenplay, YOU greenlit this tough-as-nails Oscar-nominated director, she delivered what YOU'd agreed upon, and YOU caused her positive publicity machine to grind to a halt. You know, while Gale Ann Hurd and Ray and Julie Benz and Tim Bradstreet were busting their arses to garner positive publicity for PWZ at Comic-Con, Tom Jane was in attendance with his own project and grumpily told PWZ fans that PWZ is "a piece of shit." Tom left PWZ before it even settled on a name, so he can't offer any reasonable opinion on what's going to the screen, but many actors' roles have been recast before without QUITE this level of bitterness (think oft-recast Batman / Dark Knight franchise). Then a mere DAY after all the GOOD publicity generated by Comic-Con, your own "insider" broke the "bad news" to aintitcool.com that you were limiting Lexi's further involvement because she revolted when you changed the rules (anybody still buying the "Lexi's fired" rubbish? No? Good!), and Lexi scrubbed her blog of all PWZ material to replace it with a very loud nondisclosure-contracted "silence." Two artists at OPPOSITE ends of the spectrum and you managed to piss off BOTH?? Brilliant! PERHAPS THE MESSAGE HERE IS THAT DEVOTED, INFLUENTIAL, OUTSPOKEN ARTISTS WHO SINK THEIR BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS INTO THEIR JOBS GET RATHER CROSS WHEN THEY'RE JERKED ROUND. I'm curious what it's going to take to crack good-natured Ray, who flew 6000 miles to promote your film while you sat on that ticking bomb.
As for those who HAVE seen Lexi's cut, Deborah Del Prete (producer of Frank Miller's highly anticipated "The Spirit") said she loved it and thinks it will really please fans. Another source (since lost to me) posted to a message board: "A bunch of us have seen her cut and are aware of the changes the studio wants to make and trust me, no Punisher fan would agree with those changes. If the suits would have any balls at all, they would find a dozen hardcore Punisher fans on the web, invite them to a screening of the director's cut and a screening of the studio's cut, to see which they prefer." Which, incidentally, is what Lexi had proposed not terribly long before she went "silent." Anybody else claiming to have a negative review of Lexi's cut invariably turns out to be another Lionsgate "insider". Would Lionsgate care to remind us why their own employees are so keen to dash to the press slagging off their company's property?!
LIONSGATE: Stop jerking EVERYBODY around. YOU are responsible for the bad publicity this production continues to suffer. This isn't something you simply "blame the director for" and "fix in post" with "the Hulk editor" and a clapped-on metal score. You might start by repairing a few bridges you burnt. Countdown to 5 December US release, tick follows tock, GO!
TOM JANE: If PWZ tanks, we'll all join you in a collective "thanks for the piece of sh-t, Lionsgate!" But do be fair with your pre-release criticism.
TIM BRADSTREET & STEVE GAINER: You both handled disagreements with admirable civility. Now why can't EVERYBODY do that??
PUNISHER FANS: It ain't about Jane vs Stevenson. Sh-t flows uphill, and LGF has rained it back down on them both. If you liked Lexi's vision for Frank Castle and the new redband trailers showing her footage, you may yet like the finished product. Just keep your umbrellas handy till the shower of B.S. clears.
...and feel free to copy this message anyplace it might help. Thanks. I'm out.
******************************************************************************
2)
I believe the architect behind the bad press is the fairly newly appointed LGF head honcho Joe Drake.
Multiple sources inside of LGF have claimed that he is dumping 19 movies greenlit by the previous head honcho, in an effort to make the previous guy look like a monger who shouldn't be in the movie industry, and pushing himself as a saviour who will turn things around with his movies. It would appear that PWZ is among those nineteen movies to be dumped.
One which is known to be among those nineteen is Clive Barker's "Midnight Meat Train".
MMT is a hard R horror movie which is quite original, and very unlike Japanese remakes, Saw and Hostel. The horror community has been looking forward to this for a long time.
The movie has been given the seal of approval By Clive Barker himself (and he is known to be extremely picky), the trailer tested as the highest rated trailer in LGF history, and the movie itself has received reviews ranging from very good to stellar in advance screenings and at festivals. The movie has all the makings of a certified hit.
However, its initial release date in May got pushed to an unspecified date for no real reason. According to LGF insiders, this was done for the sole purpose of removing competition from the Joe Drake produced movie that opened on the same date, "The Strangers". A new release date has been announced for MMT; tomorrow, August 1st. Bet most of you had no idea. What was supposed to be wide release is now being dumped into the contractual minimum 100 theaters with zero promotion - and all the theatres are minor ones, located well outside of the major moneymaking cites. A movie which could have been a hit for LGF is being dumped out of sheer spite and malice courtesy of Joe Drake.
I think the IESB article, which is inconsistent with all the other alleged insider scoops, was fed directly by him or his posse to the most anti-PWZ site on the web simply to create bad press and ease their planned dumping of the movie. I think so because all other articles, even the first one from AICN, have consistently claimed that despite the final edit needing work, the raw footage is sold and there are the makings of a good movie in there. Here are some other tidbits:
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/07/29/punisher-war-zone-helmer-lexi-alexander-to-direct-fantasy-adaptation/
"In the meantime, the "Punisher" movie that everybody is now down on? Hold your tongue, Del Prete said. It's actually, well, it's actually pretty awesome. Frank Miller and I both saw it, so I know more than most people do, she insisted. And I love it. I think it's going to really please fans."
http://movieblog.ugo.com/index.php/movieblog/more/punisher_war_zone_news1/
"The funny part is, my source tells me, that the raw footage is fantastic. The visuals are great and there are some awesome action sequences; but like any film of this size it needs tweaking. Alexander's previous films have been low budget independents and perhaps she's just not accustomed to the machinations of larger budget filmmaking. There is, indeed, a new post-production team in place (and new composer), folks that have worked closely with the Marvel camp on their recent projects."
Excerpt from a comment of another insider: (no link, sorry)
"A bunch of us have seen her cut and are aware of the changes the studio wants to make and trust me, no Punisher fan would agree with those changes. If the suits would have any balls at all, they would find a dozen hardcore Punisher fans on the web, invite them to a screening of the director's cut and a screening of the studio's cut, to see which they prefer."
There are several more like that.
IESB on the other hand, not only claims (in a very unprofessional manner) that PWZ is beyond all hope, but also explicitly acknowledges Joe Drake and recommends that he fire people. A sign of things to come? Seems very odd for a site like that to seemingly out of the blue comment on the internal politics of Production Company and give their support to Drake.
This is a horrible situation. The movie no doubt has the potential to be excellent, but LGF seems to have every intention of destroying it, and in the process destroy all our hopes of another Punisher movie.
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