Eric the Clown

CW: Gr*ce Ra****ph If only Miss Randolph got the message beforehand. 🙄

I don't want another sequel or anything. Shuri or Nakia or Okoye and M'Baku can show up as supporting characters in other movies, but this franchise simply isn't the same without Chadwick

Legit up there as one of the hardest celebrity deaths for me. He was all set to do amazing work for decades, but now he went away too young. Really does show how much cancer is a bitch.

@baumer @excel1 @YourMother the Edgelord @Brainbug Got the next batch up, and I hope you guys are still enjoying all my work here still. Also gonna @DAJK, since I feel like this whole series is up your alley and I think you would like what I've written since 2002 onwards. 2007 was a pretty fun year to track, partly because of all the films I have a strong soft spot for. But I personally can't wait to talk about the next two years. Because if you guys remember what came out those years...let's just say things are gonna get crazy!

Eleventh domestic, sixth worldwide was Pixar’s Ratatouille. Patton Oswalt voices Remy, who has a distinct love of quality food and dreams of becoming a chef. The downside? He’s a rat. Feared by kitchens, and living in a colony that only cares about eating garbage, Remy finds himself trying to achieve his dreams with the help of Skinner, the garbage boy for the most famous Parisian restaurant. And through his escapades, he can prove to the world that anyone can cook. This concept had been a part of Pixar since 2000, spearheaded by animator Jan Pinkava. The sets, characters, and basic storyline were conceived by Pinkava, who would direct the movie alongside fellow Pixar animator Bob Peterson. However, as time went on, the Pixar heads felt the story wasn’t really progressing or shaping up in a way they hoped. So while Petersen left the project in favor of Up, Incredibles director Brad Bird was approached to direct Pinkava’s idea. Bird loved the outlandish storyline and concept and immediately signed on to direct, with major changes to the screenplay itself. With the film being set in Paris, a unique location compared to Pixar’s previous films, Brad Bird, producer Brad Lewis, and other Pixar crew members traveled to Paris for a week, attempting to better understand the city’s locales, transportation, and restaurants. Animators also had to take several culinary classes in San Francisco both to understand the inner workings of a kitchen and to ensure the food presented was as distinct, lively, and mouth-watering as possible. Gourmet experts were also consulted, as were rat experts. Like previous Pixar titles, Disney had a massive marketing campaign behind Ratatouille. But one unique plan came from a planned wine collection. A French-produced wine branded after the movie was set to appear in Costco stores, but the California Wine Institute lobbied complaints over having a Disney movie promoted on alcohol, fearing it will encourage underage drinking. The Disney execs were also concerned that Ratatouille would be hard to pronounce for many, so they included a phonetic spelling in both the trailers and posters to help make it easier for people to comprehend. However, despite the big campaign, the opening weekend was on the small side in the US. Opening on June 29, Ratatouille saw $47 million in its first three days, earning the lowest Pixar opening since A Bug’s Life in 1998. Whether it be the oversaturation of CGI animation or the outlandish concept, Ratatouille simply didn’t catch on compared to Cars or The Incredibles. However, that obviously wasn’t the only story here. With immense acclaim, with many arguing Ratatouille was the best Pixar yet, the animated film had incredible legs, at about 4.39x, resulting in a $206.4 million domestic haul. Overseas was the real story however. With the immense popularity of Pixar and its Paris setting, Ratatouille was huge in France, earning the biggest animated opening ever and dethroning Titanic by earning the most consecutive weeks at #1 in the territory. This, alongside solid results in other countries, resulted in $417.3 million overseas, all for a worldwide total of $623.7 million. Since then, Ratatouille has lived on as another iconic staple in the Pixar canon and a favorite amongst fans of the studio. Disneyland Paris saw a ride based on the film that featured groundbreaking trackless ride technology, and is set to come to Disney World’s Epcot sometime in the future. Twelfth place, with an eighth place spot worldwide saw Springfield on the big screen with The Simpsons Movie. This follows everybody’s favorite idiot father Homer Simpson, who irresponsibly pollutes the lake in Springfield after a massive push to clean the town up. This causes such irreparable damage the whole town of Springfield are now trapped under a giant dome by the EPA. This results in a massive adventure for the Simpson family, including a plot to destroy their home, family drama, and Homer realizing his oafish actions have consequences. I don’t think The Simpsons needs any introduction. Conceived at the last minute during a pitch and beginning life as brief animated segments on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987, this animated series from Matt Groening debuted in December 1989, becoming one of the most important television series in history. Immense critical acclaim, high ratings, and way too much merchandise to count, the television show was still alive and well 20 years after The Tracey Ullman Show’s debut. And ever since Bartmania, a theatrical movie has been in the cards. A movie was actually supposed to serve as the series finale for the show, but the show’s good ratings and countless seasons nipped that idea in the bud. The biggest problem was finding a story that was sufficient for a film and stood out from a regular episode, and it was even harder to think of that idea when the writers and creators were still working full-time on the show itself. In fact, several movie ideas morphed into television episodes later on down the road. Things finally started rolling in 2001, when the voice cast signed on for a project and Groening managed to hire more animators and producers to help develop both future seasons and this future movie project all at the same time. For the project, Matt Groening hired the best of the best from the show, including many of the staff members from the early years. Mike Scully and Al Jean returned as producers, David Silverman left Pixar to direct, and writers David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, George Myer, John Swartzwelder, and Jon Vitti worked on the script. Conan O’Brien and Brad Bird, who both worked on the show’s early years, said they were interested, but both were busy with other commitments. The script saw life in 2003, and went through over 100 revisions and rewrites just to make the product right, with the script’s main topics focusing on environmentalism, religion, and Homer’s relationship with Marge and Bart. But even after all those rewrites, The Simpsons Movie was subject to countless edits and rewrites up until the film’s release. Most animated films typically don’t see such extensive changes during active production, as it would escalate the cost. However, the team extensively analyzed every story beat, every line of dialogue, and every character, with rewrites and changes happening as late as May 2007, two months before release and animation being completely finished. This included voice cameos from celebrities like Minnie Driver, Edward Norton, Isla Fisher, Erin Brokovich, and even Kelsey Grammer, who voices Sideshow Bob in the series, all getting cut. Characters like Lisa’s boyfriend Colin, Homer’s actions, Grandpa’s purpose in the narrative, and even musical numbers were either heavily changed or cut out of the film entirely. Groening stated they had enough material cut out that was worth two movies. Because it was based on the most popular animated series of all time, marketing was everywhere. 7 Elevens turned into Kwik-E-Marts, Homer appeared during both American Idol and The Tonight Show, The Simpsons Game was developed in time for the movie’s DVD release, Burger King toys and other merchandise was on the shelves, it just never ended. Yet perhaps the most brilliant piece of marketing was a premiere contest. Fox held a competition among 16 Springfields across the United States to host the American premiere. Each Springfield produced their own film that explained why they felt they should host the premiere. The winner was Springfield, Vermont, with the yellow carpet unraveled on July 21. For its general opening on July 27, The Simpsons Movie was an absolute monster, earning $74 million on its debut. This served as the biggest debut ever for a television adaptation, usurping Mission: Impossible II. This was also the third-biggest animated debut, the fifth-biggest July opening, the fifth-biggest non-sequel opening, and the fifth-biggest debut for a Fox title. The hype and excitement was apparent to everybody, and despite the series not being as mighty or as popular in the 90s, there was enough intrigue and hype here to get fans and even newcomers excited. Personally, I was about 9 when The Simpsons Movie was released, and this movie served as my introduction to the television series, and I feel this was the same for other kids around that time. This has only further kept The Simpsons alive on Fox, with it going on to have 15 more seasons, with the 31st one finishing this past May and Season 32 set to air this fall, featuring their 700th episode. And with all the merchandise it makes as well as its recent Disney acquisition and becoming one of the killer apps for Disney+, it’s fair to say the series isn’t ending anytime soon. The Simpsons would go on to see two more short films in theaters, but what many are curious about is a sequel. Matt Groening mentioned Fox had asked him for another film, but there were no immediate plans at the time. There have been reports a sequel has been in development since 2017, and Groening has stated he has no doubt Disney will get a sequel made some day. 14th place was the return of Judd Apatow with the R-rated comedy Knocked Up. This follows slacker Seth Rogen and career-minded media personality Katherine Heigl after a one-night stand that sees the gorgeous Heigl holding the baby of schlubby Rogen. Hi-jinx ensue! After the success of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Judd Apatow became the new hit director in town, and with this film, he brought along a wide variety of his friends and collaborators from his other projects, like Virgin, Freaks and Geeks, and Undeclared. This included Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Paul Feig, Steve Carell, and Apatow’s wife Leslie Mann. Other actors here include Jonah Hill, Harold Ramis, Alan Tudyk, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Ken Jeong, Adam Scott, and Stormy Daniels. For the role of Alison Scott, Heigl’s character, Anne Hathaway was set to star, but dropped out due to creative disagreements with Apatow. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Kate Bosworth were also considered, but the role was given to Katherine Heigl, fresh off her immense success on the television series Grey’s Anatomy. With the popularity of Virgin, as well as coming out as counterprogramming just weeks after the Big May Three, Knocked Up saw a surprising victory with a $30.7 million opening weekend. This was a considerable jump from Virgin’s opening weekend, and was on par with other 2007 comedy hits like Norbit and Blades of Glory, both of which had major comedy stars. Seth Rogen was still a relative unknown to most moviegoers, which made Knocked Up’s debut all the more impressive. And with great reviews, Knocked Up saw incredible staying power, spending eight weeks in the top ten and going on to earn $148.8 million at the domestic box office, with $219.9 million worldwide. In the same summer, the Apatow-produced comedy Superbad was also released, which featured Jonah Hill as the star and Seth Rogen in the supporting cast. This summer basically turned Hill, Rogen, and Apatow into household names and some of the biggest producers/actors working in the comedy world today. Yet with all the critical praise and box office success, there was still plenty of controversy after its release. The first major one came from Canadian author Rebecca Eckler, who wrote a book with a similar premise to this film titled Knocked Up: Confessions of a Hip Mother-to-Be. Eckler pursued legal action against Apatow and Universal over alleged copyright infringement, though Apatow argued that both the book and movie are two different stories based on a common experience. Yet as time went on, the biggest debate is its more sexist undertones. Many critics felt the film’s tackling of unexpected pregnancy and depiction of Alison Scott was full of sexist attitudes, and Apatow’s former associate Mike White thought the depiction of women and gay people in the movie was uncomfortable and hurtful. And in 2009, Katherine Heigl herself stated she enjoyed making the movie, but felt it was hard to enjoy the movie itself, feeling it was sexist in how it portrays women as uptight shrews and men as goofy, lovable, fun-loving guys. Heigl’s words were widespread by the media, and sadly kind of hurt her own credibility as an actress to many. Although reportedly, Rogen and Heigl still have great respect for each other. In December 2012, Apatow directed a spin-off to Knocked Up titled This is 40, focusing on Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann’s characters. It sadly saw mixed reviews and worse box office, only generating $88.1 million worldwide. At 15th place was Juno. This stars Ellen Page as Juno, a high school teenager who is confronted with an unplanned pregnancy. This film follows Juno dealing with an adoption process with a neighboring couple, as well as her relationships with the baby’s real father, her parents, and the father set to adopt her child. This project was the brainchild of writer Diablo Cody, who was pitching an adaptation of her memoir Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper to film producer Mason Novick. While Novick was on board with the idea of adapting Candy Girl, he suggested to Cody to write a screenwriting sample to show off to studios her talent. That sample would later develop into Juno. Cody interviewed adoptees, and both birth parents and adoptive parents to further develop the idea, but much of the film was based on her own high school experiences. Juno’s boyfriend was similar to her boyfriend, her best friend was a cheerleader, and she even had the same hamburger phone Juno has in the movie. The script was finished seven weeks later. Novick then handed the script over to Jason Reitman, who attempted to direct the film immediately after reading the script. Reitman stated that if he said no, he would have made the biggest mistake of his life. While there was concern Jason Reitman would be rejected as the script for Juno was floating around before the release of his debut film Thank You for Smoking, Reitman got the job in the end. Because of its controversial subject matter, no studio was interested in funding the idea, and there were concerns that financial issues would stop the film’s production. Thankfully, John Malkovich’s production company Mr. Mudd gave financing and Fox Searchlight saw distribution. For the casting of Juno, Reitman immediately picked Ellen Page for the role after seeing her performance in Hard Candy. Reitman also had Olivia Thirlby as Juno’s friend and Michael Cera as the father right from the start as well. Filming occurred in Vancouver, the stomping ground of both Page and Cera. The movie features several songs by indie singer Kimya Dawson and her band The Moldy Peaches at request of Ellen Page. She felt Moldy Peaches was the band Juno would likely listen to, and Reitman was able to contact Dawson. She loved the script and allowed her entire soundtrack to be a part of the movie. Juno saw warm reception in its debut at the Telluride Film Festival, but its big break came a week later at Toronto, where Roger Ebert stated Juno earned the warmest, longest standing ovation he had ever seen at the festival. This would later see the film opening on December 5 in seven theaters. The first five days would see the film earn $525.1 thousand. The following weekend saw it expand to 40 theaters, earning $1.4 million and just barely missing the top 10. Weekend three was Christmas weekend, which saw it make it into the top 10 and earn $6.8 million over the long weekend, landing in 998 theaters on Christmas Day. With a further expansion to over a thousand on New Year’s Juno earned $16.1 million over the long weekend. And when we got into 2008, with three Golden Globe nominations and four Oscar nominations, things got crazy. Throughout January and February, expansions continued and people became more curious to check the film out. It placed number 2 on its fifth weekend, and continued to play in the top 10 until early March. All told, Juno would go on to earn $143.5 million domestically and $232.4 million worldwide. This would not only serve as the highest release from Fox Searchlight, but also the first time ever a Searchlight film earned over $100 million in the domestic box office. Searchlight president Peter Rice stated, “This is an astonishing feat for us and the film has surpassed all our expectations. We knew this film had crossover potential and it has resonated with audiences all across the country.” This success is still unbelievable today. A teen pregnancy dramedy is not an easy sell, and there was no real star to pull in interested audiences. But the simple reason why this did so well was because Juno is just good. Really good. Up there as one of my favorite films good (fun fact: every Reitman-Cody collab is up there as some of my favorite films). It has such creative and fun dialogue and a slew of interesting characters that make it easy to enjoy, even with uncomfortable subject matter, and has a gripping and emotional story. At the same time, this film's subject matter has been hit with heavy scrutiny. Debates have emerged over whether the movie is a pro-choice or pro-life piece, and there was concern over whether there was a “Juno effect” happening. In 2008, 17 students at a Massachusetts high school became pregnant, which made many concerned that films like Juno or Knocked Up glamorized teen pregnancy. However, that’s complete bullshit, and quite honestly disrespectful to the intelligence of teenage girls and takes away that Juno in fact humanizes pregnant teens. Regardless, Juno was an astonishing success by all accounts, and would result in carrying the careers of Ellen Page, Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman for years to come. And finally, after discussing two movies about pregnancies, let’s shift gears and discuss the Disney musical Enchanted, which finished in 20th place. This follows Gisele, the stereotypical Disney Princess who lives in an animated world full of talking animals and dashing princes. Before her wedding with Prince Edward, Gisele is tricked by the Prince’s evil stepmother and is transported into live-action New York City. Now played by Amy Adams, Gisele tries to find her way home and learns that the world of New York doesn’t quite fit her own world, and that there’s more dimension when it comes to love and relationships. The script for Enchanted had been in the works for 10 years, seeing life by writer Bill Kelly in September 1997. However, Kelly’s script was supposed to be R-rated and inspired by films like Ridgemont High and American Pie (yes that rhyming was intentional). This did not go over well with Disney executives, and meant there were several rewrites on the project. Even Kim Possible creators Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle worked on the script. Directors like Rob Marshall, Jon Turteltaub, and Adam Shankman were all attached at various points, while Kate Hudson and Reese Witherspoon were considered for Gisele. However, things got rolling when Tarzan director Kevin Lima joined the fray. Working alongside Bill Kelly, the two created a new version that finally cracked the code to this crazy idea. Instead of making an R-rated spoof of Disney fairy tales, this was the perfect opportunity to make a loving homage to Disney’s classic films. After Lima pitched his ideas to Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook, it was green lit for an $85 million budget. As an homage, this served as the first Disney film to feature hand-drawn animation since 2005’s Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, with the animation done by James Baxter Animation, named and headed by the former Disney animator of the same name. These animated moments at the very beginning of the film were chock full of moments that made fun of but also paid great tribute to films like Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. In fact, the whole film was full of Disney fan service, with references to Old Yeller, Shaggy Dog, and Swiss Family Robinson, as well as cameos by Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel, Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle, and Judy Kuhn, the singing voice of Pocahontas. Even the musical numbers were written by Disney staples Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz and served as homages to classic Disney tunes. As for the role of Gisele, she too was an homage to the classic Disney Princess. Kevin Lima stated that Gisele’s personality was “80% Snow White, with some traits borrowed from Cinderella and Aurora”. At the same time, Gisele also had the spunkiness of Ariel. Out of the 300 women who auditioned for the part, Amy Adams, a relative unknown at the time, got the part. Lima felt Adams was the only actress who both fit the look of a Disney Princess and had the commitment in making this character come to life. Patrick Dempsey played Robert, the divorce attorney who Gisele lives with and later falls in love with. His appearance in Grey’s Anatomy, where he earned the title of McDreamy from fans, made him the perfect fit as the modern-day Prince Charming of the story. For the live-action segments, filming in New York City was a bit of a nightmare, as the city was constantly moving, renovating and changing every day. The scene where Gisele emerges in the middle of Times Square was shot with regular pedestrians filling in as extras because there was no way the crew could block out the area for filming. Yet the most challenging scene Lima and his team shot was the That’s How You Know musical number in Central Park. Due to bad weather and Dempsey fans infiltrating the set, the five-minute sequence took 17 days to film, with the help of 300 extras and 150 dancers. But hey, you gotta have that big bombastic Disney musical number. With a debut on November 21, Enchanted was a force to be reckoned with that Thanksgiving weekend. With strong reviews and the Disney marketing machine behind it, Enchanted earned $34.4 million over the 3-Day and $49.1 million over the 5-Day. This served as the second-biggest Thanksgiving debut, only behind Toy Story 2. In fact, Enchanted was the first time since Toy Story 2 a new movie opened at #1 over Thanksgiving. This led to a really impressive haul, earning $127.8 million domestically and $340.5 million worldwide. And honestly, it’s easy to see why, because this is personally another one of my favorite films of all time. It so perfectly walks the tight line of poking fun at Disney conventions while also celebrating Disney heritage, all topped with Amy Adams delivering comedy, drama, and heart all into one fantastic performance. It’s legitimately criminal she wasn’t nominated here. Alongside great musical numbers and an earnest story, it's the one movie that picks me up every time I watch it. And in a way, Enchanted’s success was a turning point for many of Disney’s future successes, and that's something most people don't realize. Disney Chairman Dick Cook said he hoped Enchanted served as both a potential new franchise and a rejuvenation of older ones. And in the case of the latter, it kind of worked. The film managed to make the dormant princess films Disney is known for seem fresh and engaging in a way that hadn’t been seen since the 90s, and managed to both subvert and update the fairy tale convention in a way that allowed it to seem modern and clever. These ideals would become the backbone of the Princess films of the 2010s. This also served as the breakout role for Amy Adams. While not her first role, it’s generally regarded that Adams is one of, if not the best part of the whole film, and Enchanted’s success turned her into a household name, kind of similar to Julie Andrews after Mary Poppins in fact. This would result in her appearing in several critical and commercial hits, including Julie & Julia, The Master, Her, American Hustle, Arrival and more. A sequel to Enchanted has been on-again, off-again since 2010, though reportedly pre-production is underway as of 2020 with Adam Shankman as director and both Menken and Schwartz working on a new soundtrack. And that’s only a sampling of what happened in 2007. There were so many compelling movies and stories to talk about I honestly didn’t know where to start. But to mention a few, Wild Hogs saw the biggest March debut for a live-action film before 300 stomped it in the curb. Rush Hour 3 saw awful reviews, yet solid if diminishing returns. Live Free or Die Hard was the franchise’s first foray into PG-13. Fantastic 4 tried again with Rise of the Silver Surfer. American Gangster was Denzel’s biggest opening ever. Superbad continued Apatow’s reign. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry tried to bring up gay issues to great financial success but awful artistic results. Bee Movie became a meme 10 years later. Hairspray gave a boost to the musical box office. Ocean’s Thirteen course corrected from Ocean’s Twelve. Evan Almighty was an expensive misfire. Ghost Rider saw Nic Cage become a Marvel hero. Blades of Glory is high-key the greatest movie ever made (don’t @ me). Norbit cost Eddie Murphy the Oscar. Meet the Robinsons became the first film from Disney Animation under Lasseter’s eye. The Game Plan was lowkey the first instance of the Dwayne v Vin feud. The Golden Compass almost put New Line into bankruptcy. No Country for Old Men gave the Coens Oscar gold. Rob Zombie remade Halloween to disastrous fan reaction. Epic Movie continued Seltzerberg’s terrifying reign. Hitman was an ill-fated video game adaptation. Zodiac failed to see box office success but earned mass critical appraisal. Hot Fuzz continued Edgar Wright’s cult adoration. Walk Hard deserved better. Hot Rod deserved better. Cuba Gooding, Jr. was in a Daddy Day Care sequel for some reason. Bratz was put on the big screen. And lastly, Fred Claus...came out I guess. This was 2007.

In sixth place, seventh worldwide was Will Smith yet again with I Am Legend, based on the 1954 novel of the same name. It’s a post-apocalyptic New York City. A deadly virus, intended as a cure for cancer, has wiped out 90% of mankind. 9.8% live on as Darkseekers, nocturnal mutant zombies. The other 0.2% are the immune humans, prey to the Darkseekers. Will Smith is the last remaining human in New York City, and every day goes to him developing a cure, studying the Darkseekers, and possibly finding more than one human out there in the world. This adaptation first saw light in 1995 under Warner Bros., who had the rights to the Richard Matheson novel since 1970, with the release of Sean Connery’s The Omega Man in 1971. The screenplay was written by Mark Protosevich, based off his work on the spec script for The Cell, and Neal Moritz and Ridley Scott signed on as producer and director respectively. For the casting, there were plenty of promising contenders for the lead: Tom Cruise, Michael Douglas, Mel Gibson. However, the one set to earn the lead role was Arnold Schwarzenegger, with him and Scott set to begin filming September 1997. However, months before filming began, Ridley Scott fired Protosevich and hired John Logan for this new iteration. Scott and Logan’s version was more experimental, with zero dialogue in the first hour, a more somber ending, and a mixture of sci-fi and psychological thriller than an action movie. This made WB’s suits very anxious on the film’s commercial prospects, resulting in Logan’s screenplay being gone and Mark Protosevich reluctantly returning to the project. However, another problem came from the escalating costs. With $108 million in its budget, the commercial prospects of the film was becoming sour to executives and shareholders. It also didn’t help that Ridley Scott saw three commercial disappointments in a row (1492: Conquest of Paradise, White Squall, G.I. Jane), Warner Bros. saw major big-budget sci-fi failures with both Sphere and The Postman, and Schwarzenegger was fresh off Batman & Robin. I don’t think I need to explain that last one. So in March 1998, I Am Legend was scrapped altogether, despite Scott rewriting the film to cut down the budget by $20 million. August 1998 saw Protosevich writing a third draft with Rob Bowman as director. However, Bowman would go on to direct Reign of Fire instead, and the project went nowhere. However, 2002 would see Schwarzenegger step in as a producer, with plans for the film to be directed by Michael Bay and star Will Smith, with a new draft that would see a dramatically reduced budget. However, WB president Alan Horn was not a fan of the draft, so the project was scrapped. However, two years later, Akiva Goldsman was asked to produce the film by WB’s head of production Joe Robinov. And it’s through Goldsman the film finally saw traction. Goldsman signed on as a fan of the The Omega Man, though he would also go on to rewrite the film so as to make it stand out compared to the zombie films inspired by the original novel and the recently released 28 Days Later. Goldsman also consulted experts on diseases and solitary confinement. Francis Lawrence, who worked with Goldsman on Constantine, signed on in late 2005, with plans for a 2006 shoot. Rewrites continued during filming, due to Will Smith’s strong improv skills, as well as Lawrence wanting to add more silence to the picture. Will Smith was re-attached to the film in April 2006, believing the film had potential to be like Gladiator or Forrest Gump; films that combine crowd-pleasing elements with artistic values. This also served as Smith’s toughest role yet, due to the isolation of the lead character. This meant an actor known for his comedic edge and love to crack jokes inbetween takes had to restrain his humorous personality. He also visited the CDC and people who have suffered from solitary confinement to truly get into the role. Originally the film was set to be filmed and take place in Los Angeles, but Akiva Goldsman felt New York City would be a more exciting location, because while LA can occasionally be empty, New York is always active and full of people. There was a reluctance from Warner Bros. to do so, but when Francis Lawrence shot on location, then removed the people walking in the city through special effects, this test footage startled Warner Bros. executives so much they decided to go forward with the New York setting. Speaking of filming, the Darkseekers were originally going to be real actors in prosthetic, but after a week of filming, Lawrence felt it was better to create the characters through CGI, which boosted the budget and extended post-production. But despite the changes, I Am Legend still saw a release on December 14, with a teaser first attached to Order of the Phoenix in July. And with commercials and posters everywhere, a tie-in comic, and an online video game featured in Second Life (lol remember that?). And this would lead to an opening for the ages. On its initial release, I Am Legend opened to $77.2 million, becoming the host to a bunch of records. The biggest opening in Will Smith’s career, as well as the seventh number one in a row for Smith. The fifth-biggest non-summer debut, only behind Potter 1, 2, and 4, and Passion of the Christ. But most important of all, it was the biggest December opening of all time, beating Return of the King’s $72.6 million. December usually has muted openings because of holiday shopping and traveling, so the fact that I Am Legend, which didn’t have the immense hype and goodwill of Return of the King, was able to do these kinds of numbers is downright astonishing, and further proof at how much goodwill and popularity Will Smith earned in the 2000s. However, things weren’t very rosy on the critics side of things. While it had its fans and there was praise for Smith, the action, and direction, many of the screenplay decisions and deviation from the source material drew criticism. Most infamously, the third act, which completely changed the nuanced and layered ending of the book, drew very heavy criticism, with many arguing it made I Am Legend the most regressive adaptation of the original novel. However, an alternate ending that features the original book conclusion was featured on the DVD. Still, it didn’t detract from the massive numbers I Am Legend would soon generate, with about $256.4 million domestic and $585.4 million worldwide, becoming Smith’s biggest film since Men in Black back in 1997. A prequel was announced with Will Smith set to reprise, but development has stalled since 2014. Seventh place was home to The Bourne Ultimatum. This sees Matt Damon return as Jason Bourne, as he finds himself trying to discover more about his past before he was a part of Operation Treadstone, all the while facing off against a similar assassination program. As one would expect, The Bourne Supremacy’s success encouraged Universal to make one more movie to round out the trilogy, with Paul Greengrass returning as director and Tony Gilroy as writer...well, kind of with the latter. You see, Gilroy was dissatisfied with The Bourne Supremacy, feeling the ideas of Bourne repenting for his murders were omitted in the final product. So while he did end up writing the first draft, he did not participate any further, leaving the rest of the work to Scott Z. Burns and George Nolfi. As of 2009, Gilroy has yet to see the final film. Regardless of Gilroy’s thoughts, hype was massive for this. The last two Bourne films were well-made thrillers, and Supremacy practically leap-frogged from its predecessor. Truly Ultimatum could do the same. And in a miraculous turn of events, it did. Opening on August 3, Ultimatum saw some of the best reviews of the year, hailing it as the best of the series. This goodwill resulted in $69.3 million for its opening weekend. This was not only the best opening in the series, but also the second-biggest opening for a Universal title, only behind The Lost World, as well as the biggest opening ever for an August movie, beating out Rush Hour 2. This was a 32% jump from Supremacy’s opening, and would result in a massive increase by all accounts: $227.5 million domestic (29% more than Supremacy), $444.1 million worldwide (53% more). In a way, people in the box office community kind of take the Bourne trilogy for granted. Both for its performance and influence. Performance is an obvious one. It’s pretty difficult, unless you’re Marvel, for a series of movies to increase one after the other. So the fact Bourne was able to keep hype and interest growing with every installment is mad impressive, and it’s surprising people don’t talk about that much compared to, say, Lord of the Rings. The trilogy also served as the perfect blueprint for spy movies to come. Before Bourne, properties like Mission: Impossible and Bond prided themselves as goofy, over-the-top spectacles. And while they have their place, even today, there was a yearn for these films to take themselves more seriously. Jason Bourne as a character played so well because he was just an average man in an average world stuck in a grand adventure. He’s an everyman trying to figure out why he’s so important, and the film prides itself on realistic fights, car chases, and modern technology that doesn’t go too far into cartoony antics. This would define Bond and Mission: Impossible going forward, as while they may not be as realistic, they still took themselves more seriously in the future and pushed themselves more towards grit and realism. Without Bourne, we probably wouldn’t have gotten the later M:I movies or features like Skyfall. While Ultimatum was intended to be the last of the series, a fourth film was announced in 2008. However, with Damon only wanting to make another one if Greengrass was involved, and Greengrass admitting reluctance to make another one, Universal decided to go the spin-off route with The Bourne Legacy in 2012. This starred Jeremy Renner as a different Treadstone member named Aaron Cross. While seeing an okay gross of about $113.2 million domestic and $276.1 million worldwide, it saw mixed reviews. However, in 2014, Damon and Greengrass officially signed on for another sequel, with Jason Bourne releasing in 2016. It yet again saw mixed reviews, but solid box office, earning $162.4 million domestically and $415.5 million worldwide. A sixth film was rumored, but Damon has shot down the idea. But hey, ya never know. Eighth domestic, ninth worldwide saw Nic Cage on a new treasure hunt with National Treasure: Book of Secrets. This time, Benjamin Gates, follows a series of clues found in John Wilkes Booth’s diary, all to help prove his great-great grandfather’s innocence in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. And to do that, Ben Gates must go on another adventure that sees him traveling to different American landmarks and also sees him kidnap the President. Yes really. The first National Treasure wasn’t expected to be a big hit, and the producers had no real plans for a sequel. But of course, money talks, and Bruckheimer’s team decided to go ahead with a sequel in 2005. One of the cooler elements about the film was that many of the scenes were shot on location. Scenes taking place at Mount Vernon and Mount Rushmore were actually shot at those locations. The goodwill from the first National Treasure meant interest for the sequel was strong. And after all, considering the boost the second Pirates movie got, surely the other Disney-Bruckheimer collab could see the same results. Book of Secrets opened on December 21, and despite strong competition from both I Am Legend and Alvin and the Chipmunks, it managed to open to a very impressive $44.8 million. This served as the third-biggest Christmas weekend opening, only behind Fellowship and Meet the Fockers, as well as Cage’s second-biggest opening, just barely behind Ghost Rider the same year. Like Dead Man’s Chest, Book of Secrets was able to shake things up just enough, while also keeping the same elements people loved from the first movie. And with a Christmas debut, Book of Secrets climbed to greater things. With $220 million domestically and $459.2 million worldwide, while obviously not as huge as Dead Man’s Chest, it was still a sizable jump from the last movie, and seemed to establish another potential live-action franchise for the Mouse House. Again, it’s another instance that letting creative people have fun with an idea can go a long way. However, unlike Pirates or even Narnia, National Treasure’s franchise prospects weren’t that simple. While Jon Turteltaub confirmed more sequels were on the way in 2008, production was stalled time and time again for a third film. In 2013, Bruckheimer said all parties were interested, but the script wasn’t up to par. A new set of writers jumped on in 2014, and a script was finished in 2017, but Disney was unimpressed. And so, despite Book of Secrets doing everything in its power to justify a third installment, the movie never got made. But in 2020, things seem to be turning around. The third film was finally announced to move forward, with Bad Boys for Life's Chris Bremner set to write the script. Bruckheimer and the original cast are set to return, and just this past May, not only did Bruckheimer reveal the film is still being worked on, but a Disney+ series, focusing on a younger cast of characters, is also in the works. So I guess in the end, it all works out. At ninth was the return of Alvin and the Chipmunks, based on the Ross Bagdasarian characters. Starting out as a novelty record where Bagdasarian sang songs while digitally modifying his voice to sound squeaky and high-pitched, Alvin and the Chipmunks has lived on through many mediums. Albums, cartoons, animated movies. A live-action film had been a point of interest for Ross Bagdasarian Jr., who inherited his dad’s franchise after his death, since 1997. It wasn’t until 2004 when Fox 2000, 20th Century Fox Animation and Bagdasarian Productions announced a live-action/CG hybrid of the famed property. Simpsons writer Jon Vitti was attached as a writer, while Max Keeble and Garfield 2’s Tim Hill signed on to direct. Chevy Chase was set to play Dave Seville, but the role was given to Jason Lee, who liked that he was playing a more clean-cut character than his usual roles. As for the Chipmunks, Bagadasarian Jr. and his wife Janice Karman always voiced the trio since they revived the franchise. However, Fox was adamant in replacing them with celebrity voices as a way to drive up ticket sales. I don’t really get that reasoning, since their voices are going to be sped up to the point they’re unrecognizable, but I’m not a rich Hollywood executive, so what do I know? The roles were then given to Justin Long as Alvin, Matthew Gray Gubler as Simon, and Jesse McCartney as Theodore. The trio had to read their lines slowly so as they can be sped up to normal speed during post-production, which was a challenge for all three actors. For the designs and animation of the chipmunks, the studio behind them were Rhythm and Hues, best known for films like Babe and Narnia. Getting the exact look for the chipmunks proved to be a challenge for the studio. Jr. and Tim Hill wanted the chipmunks to look realistic to the point where it seems like they’re there, but not so realistic they don’t look like the original cartoon. It wasn’t until September 2006 Rhythm and Hues made the design they were looking for. Between studying and observing real-life chipmunks, the animators also studied all the previous iterations of the characters, in order to help find the perfect rendering, fur texturing and animating they desired. With a December 14 release date, Alvin and the Chipmunks became one of those hits that did so well it even shocked its studio. Despite opening on the same day as I Am Legend, Alvin served as great counterprogramming and delivered $44.3 million in its opening weekend. This meant it was the second-biggest PG December opener, only behind Narnia, and more than doubled the expectations Fox and box office experts had going in. Alvin saw such a massive opening for two major reasons: there was little in the way of fare for younger kids and its broad comedy played well to its target audience despite being panned by critics. And with the Christmas season behind it, Alvin and the Chipmunks managed to earn $217.3 million domestically and $365.3 million worldwide. Even Fox 2000 head Elizabeth Gabler was surprised at these numbers, mentioning her team were consistently amazed at its numbers every weekend. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this film’s legacy was an infamous beef between two comedians. I’m not kidding. Alvin and the Chipmunks was panned by critics for its predictable story, awful gags, and wasting the talents of its stars. In particular, fans of David Cross, the actor who played the antagonist studio executive Ian, were berating and insulting Cross for signing on to such garbage. This would also result in Patton Oswalt getting onto MySpace and mentioning how he was asked to play the role of Ian, along with fellow comedian Brian Poesehn, but both rejected it: “We both threw the script across the room in disgust. David Cross caught it." As a result, David Cross went onto his website The Bob and Davider to explain why he signed on for the movie. He actually rejected the script and only came around on the project six months later when he had no work and had a down payment due for his New York cottage. This defense still wasn’t enough, with people still calling him a sell-out just for wanting to pay the bills. The Internet’s fucking weird. But despite all the backlash, what matters in the end is that Alvin and the Chipmunks was a huge hit. And that success rejuvenated the brand for a whole new generation, resulting in three more sequels from 20th Century Fox, as well as a new television series on Nickelodeon currently on its fourth season and set to have three more in the future. Tenth place on both accounts was the Grecian epic 300, based on the Frank Miller comic book series. A loose retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae, this follows King Leonidas leading a group of 300 Spartans in a battle against the Persian King Xerxes and his army of 300,000 soldiers. And while the battle may be tough, it could very well rally the people of Greece and bring in the world’s first democracy. This film adaptation was the brainchild of producer Gianni Nunnari, who was interested in adapting Miller’s 300 out of an interest in a film about the Battle of Thermopylae. Mark Canton would also sign on as a producer and Michael B. Gordon wrote the script. Zack Snyder was attached to direct in June 2004, just months after the release of Dawn of the Dead. Snyder was actually developing a project based on Miller’s story at around the same time. Much like the film adaptation of Sin City, 300 served as a shot-to-shot adaptation of the Frank Miller novel, with Snyder photocopying panels and directly referencing them in many shots. Despite production requiring hundreds of weapons, costumes, and animatronics, production was at a pretty cool $60 million. In fact, outside of one scene where horses travel across the countryside, every shot of the movie was done in a soundstage surrounded by bluescreen. This led to an artificial, yet very distinct look in terms of the production design and lighting that helped it stand out from a visual standpoint. This was a film that saw countless controversy, which we’ll get into more detail later, but one of the smaller ones came from the music side of things. The soundtrack of 300, composed by Tyler Bates, saw controversy in the film composer community, with Bates’ work sounding eerily similar to other works, from the body of James Horner, to the music in Troy and especially 1999’s Titus, composed by Elliot Goldenthal. Warner Bros. even acknowledged the issue, stating the score of 300 was done without their knowledge or participation, and they resolved the matter with Goldenthal peacefully. Anyways, with an already established fanbase, interest in Snyder’s 300 was already strong. The website launched in December 2005, full of concept art and video diaries. 2006 Comic-Con had an exclusive trailer debut. UFC and NHL promos arrived. An unfinished cut of the film was unveiled at Butt-Numb-A-Thon in December 2006, and its world premiere was at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2007. With all that hype and a digital stylized look unlike the other sword-and-sandal epics, 300 exploded on its March 9 release. With $70.9 million in its first three days, 300 not only saw the third-biggest debut for an R-rated movie, but also the biggest debut ever for a March release, toppling Ice Age: The Meltdown just one year prior. It also saw the biggest IMAX debut ever at the time, earning $3.4 million from the large-screen format. This opening was more than double what studio executives predicted and made the film one of the most-talked about of the year. With little competition, 300 would go on to earn $210.6 million domestically and $456.1 million worldwide. Yet despite its immense box office success, 300 would go on to be one of the most polarizing films in recent memory. That’s gonna be a running theme with Snyder productions. Some thought it was an epic action piece, others thought it was a campy and ridiculous mess. Perhaps the heaviest scrutiny came from its politics, both in its racist depictions of Persians, and its East vs West undertones and supposed fascist leanings. Regardless, 300 became a staple in pop culture, being parodied and spoofed and quoted to death in TV shows and Internet forums. A sequel, titled 300: Rise of an Empire, was released in 2014, earning $337.6 million on a $110 million budget.

Second place domestic would see another member of the Big May Three, Shrek the Third. After the death of King Harold, Shrek and Fiona are now the King and Queen of Far Far Away. But because Shrek feels he is unfit to rule and would rather enjoy his time back in the swamp, he, Donkey and Puss go off on a quest to find Fiona’s dorky underacheiving teenage cousin Arthur Pendragon, voiced by Justin Timberlake. All the while, Prince Charming is looking to overthrow the monarchy and take the throne. After Shrek 2 became the biggest animated movie in history, Jeffrey Katzenberg was understandably eager to capitalize on its success, with not one, not two, but three follow-ups. Shrek 3 and 4 were set to reveal unanswered questions, while Shrek 5, the final film in the series, would show viewers how Shrek came to be in that swamp. Truly a question man was pondering. For this installment, Andrew Adamson did not return as director due to his commitment with Narnia, though he was an executive producer and gave advice every four months over the state of the film. This time, the film would be directed by Chris Miller, no relation to Lego Movie Chris Miller, and Raman Hui, both of whom worked on the previous two movies. Initially the film was set to be titled Shrek 3. However, the title was changed to Shrek the Third so as to make the film stand out. Says Miller, “[we] didn't want to just sort of title it like it was just a sequel. [We wanted] something to make it stand on its own, give it its own personality and really try to treat it as a chapter in Shrek's life.” And since Shrek was set to be king in this installment, it also made the title seem more royal. The film was also supposed to come out in November 2006, but it was changed to May 2007. This was because as a summer release, the DVD could release in time for the Christmas season and earn bigger bucks in the process. Like Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third had a giant marketing campaign, with trailers, toys, books, clothes, and video games. However, one thing that Shrek the Third had help with in terms of advertising were two comedians who didn’t even like Shrek in the first place. Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, who most people know better as Tim and Eric, were a comedy duo that were arguably the faces of Cartoon Network’s late night programming block Adult Swim, producing several of their shows. Tim and Eric were both annoyed by the constant advertisements they were seeing over the film. So in their own weird comedic flair, they produced satirical, low-quality, low-budget commercials and promos for Shrek the Third that encouraged their fans to watch the film in an ironic sense. An odd decision to be sure, and I doubt it really got people to go out and see it, but it at least showed that advertising for the film was everywhere and everybody was talking about the film up to its release, even with Spider-Man 3 releasing earlier. On its May 18 release, Shrek the Third’s opening day consisted of $39.3 million when accounting for early Thursday shows, becoming the biggest opening day for an animated movie ever. This would all amount to $122.5 million for its opening weekend. This resulted in the third-biggest opening weekend of all time, only behind Dead Man’s Chest and Spider-Man 3, the biggest opening weekend for both Dreamworks and Paramount, who made a distribution deal for all future Dreamworks productions at that time, as well as the biggest animated opening weekend of all time. Shrek the Third would go on to hold the animated record for nine whole years. Like Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third saw a record opening thanks to immense goodwill and intense marketing that promised both familiar and new elements. However, like Spider-Man 3, this would also see poor reception. Critics were discouraged from the film, feeling it failed to capture the same comedy and wit of the last two, and with the intense competition in the weeks to come, the film suffered. Legs were poor for the film, resulting in only 2.65 times its opening. It would thus go on to gross $322.7 million domestically and $813.4 million worldwide, serving as the second-biggest film in the series. The only other notable bit post-release was a bit of controversy that rose with Eric Idle, who played Merlin in the movie. The beginning of the movie saw Prince Charming in a dinner theater, with a guy in the background using coconuts to make it sound like the horse’s hoof beats. This was a direct homage to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but when Idle saw that moment, he was reportedly so furious he left the premiere and threatened to sue Dreamworks for an unauthorized use of the gag. However, there has been no legal action made since then. In November 2007, in time with its release on DVD, Shrek the Halls, a Shrek-themed Christmas special, aired on ABC, directly following up the events of the movie, and has played on TV just about every year. And despite mixed reception from the last one, Katzenberg promised more movies, and in 2010, we got yet another one. But that’s another story. Third place wasn’t a part of the Big May Three, but was obviously still a monster hit: Transformers. Shia LaBeouf plays Sam Witwicky, a young teenager who through a wacky series of events, becomes caught up in an epic war between the Transformers, a group of alien robots who can disguise themselves by transforming into everyday machinery and vehicles. Both the heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons are currently in battle for the AllSpark. The Autobots need it to rebuild their home planet of Cyberton, while the Decepticons need it to build an army that will destroy the world. And the Earth hangs in the balance of it all. Ever since its humble beginnings in 1984, after Hasbro rebranded two Japanese toys for Western audiences, the Transformers franchise had been an evergreen property. Toys, comic books, cartoon shows, even an animated movie that had Orson Welles of all people as a voice. So a live-action movie has been in development for a long time, first finding life in the year 2000. But this specific adaptation started in 2003. Producer Don Murphy was developing a G. I. Joe movie, but after the Iraq invasion, Murphy and Hasbro felt making a movie would have been inappropriate, so the two decided to look at Transformers instead. Tom DeSanto would also join Murphy as a producer, both as a fan of the property, as well as wanting to make something unique in the blockbuster landscape. Said DeSanto, “In all the years of movie-making, I don't think the image of a truck transforming into a twenty-foot tall robot has ever been captured on screen. I also want to make a film that's a homage to 1980s movies and gets back to the sense of wonder that Hollywood has lost over the years. It will have those Spielberg-ian moments where you have the push-in on the wide-eyed kid and you feel like you're ten years old even if you're thirty-five." Speaking of Spielberg, he attached himself to the project in 2004, being a fan of the comics and toys. John Rogers would then write the first draft, with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman in charge of rewrites. Spielberg suggested to the duo that the main focus of the film should be “a boy and his car”, which helped the movie develop themes focusing on adulthood and responsibility. Initially, the producers did not allow the Transformers to talk, because the producers felt talking robots would be too ridiculous and silly...okay? However, the writers felt that even if it would look silly, not allowing the robots to talk would betray and alienate the fanbase. In perhaps the smartest way to keep that fanbase happy, Optimus Prime would be voiced by none other than Peter Cullen, who voiced Optimus Prime in the original 80s cartoon. With a screenplay underway with Spielberg giving notes, the next quest was a director. Spielberg was insistent on getting Michael Bay for the film, but Bay was uninterested, thinking it was a “stupid toy movie”. However, upon Spielberg’s insistence and a visit from Hasbro, Bay signed on to the project. When reading the first draft, he felt it was too kiddie and wanted to expand the role of the military in the story so people could take a movie about giant fighting robots based on a toy line for 8 year olds seriously. Filming began in April 2006, with Bay cutting his usual fee by 30%. One of the first things Bay was adamant about was shooting the film in the United States, because he gets to work with a crew he’s familiar with and understands his worth ethic. It also allowed for some very distinct locales and filming locations. Holloman Air Force Base was the first filming location, which was used to film the scenes set in Qatar. Los Angeles was the focus for the climax, with six weekends spent there, as well as some moments being filmed in the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood. Two of the more notable filming locations come from the Hoover Dam and the Pentagon. Both were actually filmed on location, with Transformers making history as the first to film at these locations since 9/11. For the Hoover Dam, the crew had to shoot early in the morning, before it was opened to tourists at 10 AM. When the doors were open, the crew then shot inside for the remainder of the day. The special effects were arguably the most important thing to get right, and one thing Bay was adamant on was making sure the robots, designed and animated by Industrial Light and Magic, were as detailed as possible. Says Bay, “"I just didn't want to make the boxy characters. It's boring and it would look fake. By adding more doo-dads and stuff on the robots, more car parts, you can just make it more real." The robots had numerous mechanical pieces visible in order to give off a more realistic and dynamic look, with even something as simple as turning a wrist needing 17 visible parts on screen. This was ambitious, but was an issue for ILM. Just one frame took 38 hours to render, meaning the company had to increase their processing facilities just so the movie could be done on time. After a handful of premieres, Transformers released on July 3, with 8 PM screenings on July 2. The marketing was omnipresent, as thanks to it being a Hasbro production, toys, books, and video games were all over the shelves. 200 other companies across 70 countries also made deals to promote the movie. And this all led to an explosive opening. Monday night previews amounted for an already impressive $8.8 million, leading to an opening day of $27.9 million, the biggest Tuesday of all time. Wednesday, the Fourth of July, was $29 million, beating Spider-Man 2’s numbers for the holiday. All told, Transformers’ FSS was about $70.5 million, and when you include all of its previous days, this saw an opening week of $155.4 million, becoming the biggest opening week for a non-sequel ever, as well as the biggest opening week for both Paramount and Dreamworks. And with strong word of mouth, Transformers would go on to finish with $319.2 million. Overseas was also impressive stuff with the most notable of the bunch being China. Not only did it saw a record opening with about $3 million, it became so popular in the Middle Kingdom it would go on to earn $37.3 million, becoming the second-biggest foreign film in the region, only behind Titanic. This all resulted in a worldwide gross of $709.7 million. Transformers being big in China will become very important in the future. Anways, Transformers was one of those rare success stories that changed everything. For starters, Michael Bay’s career was given a massive resurgence. After The Island became a massive box office flop, the famed director was able to bounce right back and become in charge of one of the biggest movie franchises of all time, alongside other flicks like Pain and Gain, 13 Hours, and 6 Underground. Shia LaBeouf also saw his stock rise. At the time, most people knew the guy from his work on the hit Disney Channel series Even Stevens. However, this and to an extent films like Disturbia and Surf’s Up, gave the guy a banner year and a career that is very wild, yet very interesting all the same. But of course the real victor was the Transformers brand itself. While some criticism was levied by fans over the radical redesigns and emphasis on human characters, Bay’s film made the Hasbro toy line bigger than it’s ever been. Awareness and popularity of the property exploded upon its release, drawing in many new fans. Its immense popularity, especially among kids, also helped military parents better explain what their work was like to their children. And of course, this led to one of the biggest franchises in Paramount history, with four sequels, three of which we’ll talk about later, a prequel featuring the Autobot Bumblebee, and a whole bunch of other projects in varying forms of development. We're finally at last of the Big May Three with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Following up on the cliffhanger from the last movie, the Black Pearl crew are looking to find a way to rescue Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones’ Locker. All the while, fighting against the East India Trading Company, who are controlling Davy Jones and are looking to end piracy forever. As I said in the last post, At World’s End was filmed alongside Dead Man’s Chest, as a way to capitalize on the surprise success of the first Pirates movie. For this iteration, Gore Verbinski wanted to make this final installment into a character piece, as Dead Man’s Chest was much more focused on plot. Verbinski also wanted to focus on making this film the end of an era, with the Golden Age of Piracy coming to an end, myths dying away, and the legitimate becoming more corrupt. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio took inspiration from the real-life confederation of pirates, creating characters based on real historical figures as a way to expand the world and scope of the story. Speaking of new characters, two of the more notable newbies in the cast were Keith Richards and Chow-Yun Fat. Richards’ appearance as Jack Sparrow’s dad was an inspired one, as Johnny Depp used Richards as an influence for his portrayal of the infamous pirate. He was set to appear in Dead Man’s Chest, but there was no room in the story and Richards was in the middle of touring during production. As for Chow-Yun Fat, he played Sao Feng, the Pirate Lord of the South China Sea. Chow loved the role, but his appearance sparked controversy amongst Chinese journalists and media. Many considered his character to be a Fu Manchu-style stereotype, and in certain regions in China, ten minutes of Chow’s performance were removed, so as to avoid giving out a stereotypical and negative portrayal. What made this unique compared to Dead Man’s Chest was how small its campaign was. Obviously there were plenty of ads, promos, and merchandise galore, but while Dead Man’s Chest put out a trailer in time for the first Narnia movie, half a year before its debut, At World’s End saw its first trailer in March 2007, just two months before its release. This seemed like a bad idea, but the hype and excitement for AWE after DMC made people froth at the mouth for new footage that the hype still stayed strong. At World’s End would debut on May 25, Memorial Day weekend. The excitement resulted in a record theater count of 4,362, beating Spider-Man 3’s record a couple weekends prior. And like Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third before it, this installment was yet another record-breaker. Its FSS amounted to $114.7 million, making it the fifth-biggest opening of all time. However, when you include the entire long weekend, with Memorial Day Monday and Thursday night previews, it resulted in $153 million, a near identical haul of DMC’s first four days. But of course the big splashy headline was that its $153 million meant it was the biggest Memorial Day opening of all time, beating out X-Men: The Last Stand one year prior. And to this very day, not a single movie has come close to what it has achieved 13 years ago. And quite honestly, with how uncertain the box office looks to be even after this pandemic, who knows if we’ll ever see something top At World’s End? Like the other Big May Three members, At World’s End was able to get this record opening thanks to its popular and well-liked follow-ups. They brought exciting and fresh elements that made them stand out from the marketplace, resulting in mass excitement for their follow-ups. And just like the other BMT members, AWE saw mixed reviews and poor legs, resulting in $309.4 million, only a couple million above Curse of the Black Pearl back in 2003. However, the one thing that made At World’s End the hit that it was can be explained by the overseas box office. With record openings in South Korea, Russia, and Spain, At World’s End earned $251 million internationally with a global opening of $404 million through Monday, the biggest of all time for each, beating out Spider-Man 3’s opening (well technically. The three-day still saw SM3 over AWE, but...who cares?). It would go on to earn $500 million in only 20 days, another record held by Spider-Man 3. And for its final haul, while At World’s End grossed the least in the US and Canada, it became the #1 movie of 2007 worldwide with $961 million. This made it the second-biggest Pirates movie, and yet another hit for Disney’s live-action department, Bruckheimer, Depp, and Verbinski. And to think, Michael Eisner was on the verge of shutting the first movie down to its expense. While At World’s End may not have ended the series gracefully, it was still record-breaking numbers that shows the importance of creativity and trusting filmmakers to do what they do best. And with all that money made, Jack Sparrow would go on to appear a few more times after, even when Verbinski left his post. Fifth domestic, second worldwide was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Following Harry’s fifth year, this installment deals with him facing the Ministry of Magic denying the return of Voldemort, joining a secret organization known as the Order of the Phoenix, dealing with a cruel and authoritarian new teacher named Dolores Umbridge, and more. Finding a director for this installment was tough. Mike Newell, the director of Goblet of Fire, turned down a chance to return, while others like Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Vaughn, and Mira Nair also passed. In the end, British television director David Yates was given the role, due to his work showcasing his ability to handle an edgy and emotional film with a political backstory. The team really wanted to focus on the book’s political leanings here, what with the story’s focus on teen rebellion and abuse of power. Emma Watson drew parallels to the tragic July 2005 bombings in London during the promos for this movie. Steve Kloves had other commitments, so this became the first and only Potter film to not feature his talents. Michael Goldenberg, who was set to write the first film, was attached to this. Despite Order of the Phoenix being the longest book in the series, the film was cut down to only 2 hours and 18 minutes, the second-shortest movie in the series. Goldenberg was forced to cut a lot of elements in order to make this work as a film. This included cutting out Quidditch altogether, a scene where Harry sees a memory of his own father, and a diminished role for the house-elf Kreacher. Kreacher was almost cut entirely, but Rowling insisted he stay in the final draft, because Kreacher was going to play a major part in the final book Deathly Hallows, which was set to release ten days after the film. For the casting, the eccentric Luna Lovegood saw over 15,000 auditions, including Saoirse Ronan, with the role being given to Evanna Lynch. Bellatrix Lestrange was set to be played by Helen McCrory, but had to drop up due to her pregnancy. Helena Bonham Carter would be cast as Lestrange, while McCrory would play Narcissa Malfoy in Half-Blood Prince onwards. As I said earlier, with this releasing days before the final book, every casting choice made here made speculation for the last novel rampant, with the biggest one being the casting of Jim McManus as Albus Dumbledore’s brother Aberforth. Because the character didn’t even have a line in the previous books, fans felt this was a sign Aberforth would have a major role in the final book, though WB would go on to say his role was very minor. At the same time, the house-elf Dobby, who appeared in Chamber of Secrets, was completely cut from Order of the Phoenix, which also begged the question of what role Dobby would play in the final book. With Pottermania set to explode that year with OOTP and Deathly Hallows, the hype for this film adaptation was immense. There was even controversy over some of the posters. Showcasing Harry with six of his classmates, one poster had Hermione appear curvier with the outline of her breasts being enhanced. This photo manipulation caused pretty strong backlash, but not enough to hurt the movie’s box office. Presales were through the roof, and midnight showings were plentiful. And yet again, Harry Potter delivered big bucks. Order of the Phoenix opened on July 11, and was already an instant hit. With $12 million in midnight showings, it was only behind At World’s End’s $13.2 million for biggest Thursday previews/midnight showings/whatever. Including those midnights for the rest of the opening day, that amounted to $44.2 million, making it the biggest Wednesday of all time. This of course led to a dynamite opening of $77.1 million for the 3-Day and $139.7 million for the five-day. This resulted in the second-best five-day opening for a movie, only behind Spider-Man 2. With a global opening of $332.7 million, this soon led to massive grosses by all accounts. $292 million domestic, $649.7 million overseas, and $941.7 million worldwide. This not only put it only behind At World’s End for 2007, but it also served in putting the film in the top 10 all-time worldwide and made it the second-biggest Potter film ever, only behind Philosopher’s Stone. At the same time, it earned about $35 million worldwide from IMAX theaters, which featured the last 20 minutes in IMAX 3D, making it the biggest live-action hit for the format at that time. However, despite this incredible box office and solid, if somewhat lesser reception, Order of the Phoenix actually was a money loser. Studio documents were leaked out in July 2010, revealing that Warner Bros. lost about $167 million from this release. Damn you creative accounting! But regardless, it was yet another instance of Harry Potter at its peak in popularity and would of course lead to greater things in the years to come.

2007 Nancy Pelosi becomes the first woman Speaker of the House, Baghdad saw a series of attacks early in the year, and Greece sees its worst heat wave in a century. An 8.0 earthquake hits Peru, Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest-living monarch, Al Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first iPhone hits store shelves. In television, the biggest event was the Writer’s Guild of America strike, lasting from November 2007 to February 2008. This had its impacts on film, and we’ll get into some of that, but TV was hit especially hard, with production shutdowns, shortened seasons, and straight up cancellations. And in 2007, Netflix also saw the birth of their streaming platform, allowing subscribers of their DVD-by-mail service to enjoy movie and TV content online on their computers. There’s plenty to talk about with this new Netflix streaming service, but that’s a story for another day. Bob Barker left The Price is Right after 35 years, replaced by Drew Carey the same year. The most notable premiere was The Big Bang Theory, which became one of the most successful comedies in television history and launched the career of Jim Parsons. Another notable premiere was High School Musical 2, the follow-up to the surprise smash first film. Earning 17.5 million viewers on its debut, it became the highest-rated Disney Channel airing ever and the biggest made-for-cable TV movie premiere ever. Disney Channel also saw Wizards of Waverly Place, which launched the career of Selena Gomez, and Phineas and Ferb, arguably Disney’s biggest success story in TV animation. Other television premieres include iCarly, Californication, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and Mad Men. Departures were The O.C., Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, and The Sopranos, which had one of the most infamous endings in television history. Gaming’s biggest hit that year was Halo 3, which had one of the biggest marketing campaigns for any video game ever, was considered one of the greatest video games ever, and sold over 14.5 million copies. Other releases include Mass Effect, Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, Portal, Assassin’s Creed, Super Mario Galaxy, God of War II, and Uncharted. 2007 also saw many losses, with WWE star Chris Benoit tragically taking his own life, while Swedish director Ingmar Bergman passed away at the age of 89. Other deaths include Lady Bird Johnson, Boris Yeltsin, Max Roach, Luciano Pavarotti, Deborah Kerr, Jean Baudrillard, Kurt Vonnegut, and Yolanda King. At the box office, the best way to summarize this year was one month. As if the planets themselves aligned for this to happen, May 2007 featured three blockbusters. All of them were the third installments of their respective franchise, and all of them were fresh off massive critical and commercial hits. And they were each only a couple weeks apart. And coincidentally, all three would go on to be critical disappointments. It’s like God himself wanted this to happen. And of the Big May Three, the victor of the bunch, at least domestically, was Spider-Man 3. After the events of Spider-Man 2, with Peter ready to propose to Mary-Jane, this adventure finds Spider-Man coming into contact with an alien symbiote that changes his personality, dons him a black suit, and brings out his anger, influencing his behavior for the worse. All the while, he has three different villains he has to face. It was a given that Spider-Man 2 was going to be huge, with development for a third film starting in March 2004 for a summer 2007 release. January 2005 saw Sony make a seven-figure deal with Alvin Sargent, the writer of Spider-Man 2, to return to this one. Sam Raimi was also on board, and wanted to use this film as a way to explore Peter’s vigilantism. Peter finds himself to be a sinless hero, but it’s through this film he could explore that the criminals he fights have dimension and humanity. The world isn’t black and white, but fueled by complex emotions. For the villains, Raimi was adamant in having three. He wanted Harry Osborn to conclude his storyline, after learning Peter Parker was the Spider-Man who killed his father. Sandman was another villain Raimi decided to put in, as he was a visually interesting character. While a petty crook in the comics, Raimi altered his backstory, making him the man who killed Uncle Ben, challenging Peter's simplistic perception over the event, and giving him a story where he learns about forgiveness. For the third villain, things got tricky. Sam Raimi wanted the Vulture and be played by Ben Kingsley. However, producer Avi Arad instead suggested the film should include Venom, a fan-favorite character, especially since Eddie Brock was already a minor character in the script. Raimi was not a fan of the character because of his perceived “lack of humanity”, but Arad felt the films relied too much on Raimi’s personal favorite villains instead of the characters fans love. Raimi reluctantly decided to put Venom in to please the fans, and ended up liking the character more in return. The film’s producers also wanted the film to include Gwen Stacy as an “other girl” character type. The massive cast of characters was a struggle for Alvin Sargent, and he almost planned to split the script into two parts. However, he failed to find a good intermediate climax, so it was a single film. For the visual effects, Spider-Man 3 had heavy shoes to fill. John Dykstra, the visual effects supervisor for Spider-Man 2, won an Oscar for his work on the Marvel film, but he rejected working on this one. His colleague Scott Stokdyk took his place, working with 200 programmers at Sony Imageworks. Working on over 900 different visual effects shots, Stokdyk and his crew designed specific computer programs that didn’t even exist when production began in order to make Raimi (and Sony’s) dream a reality. This would rack up serious costs, with estimates between $258 million and $350 million, making it the most expensive movie ever up to that point. For the Sandman, the VFX team experimented with twelve different types of sand. Experiments include splashing, launching it at stuntmen, and pouring it over ledges. These experiments would thus be replicated in the computer in all the Sandman sequences. The black suit Spider-Man wears was also quite different from the original comics. While the symbiote suit in the comics was a plain black suit with a large white spider on the front and back, the one in the movie is a black version of Spider-Man’s traditional outfit, with a webbing motif intact. Venom also saw a webbing motif in his design. This decision allowed the symbiote to have more character and a sense of life, appearing as if it is gripped onto the character’s body. So with a packed script, innovative effects, and immense hype from fans and general audiences, Spider-Man 3 was set to dominate on its release date, May 4. Incidentally, this marked a tradition that is still going on to this day where a Marvel movie opens as the big summer kick-off. Well, up until 2020, but...more on that later. The film opened in a record number of theaters, 4,252. Ticket sales were through the roof, six times greater than Spider-Man 2. Theaters set up 3 AM showings to keep up with the demand. And on that fateful day, its opening was a record breaker. Opening day was $59.8 million, the biggest domestic opening day since Dead Man’s Chest one year ago. Saturday would see $51.3 million, and Sunday $39.9 million. All told, Spider-Man 3’s domestic opening weekend was $151.1 million. These numbers resulted in Spider-Man 3 earning the title of the biggest opening weekend of all time. The film also saw a record IMAX turnout with $4.8 million. Its success here was obvious. The first two Spider-Man films were gargantuan hits and were intensely loved. This one promised incredible effects, incredible action, more of the same things people loved from the last few movies, and offered fun hooks like a symbiote suit and baddies like Venom to really seal the deal. Its worldwide opening was also incredible stuff. Its opening Saturday was the biggest single day for any movie with about $117.6 million in all territories, and its first six days amounted to a very impressive $382 million, already more than half of Spider-Man 2’s worldwide haul. This was destined to be a giant. And it very much was. However, things weren’t 100% rosy. While the last two saw immense acclaim, Spider-Man 3 saw a very polarizing response, with complaints that the film was too busy and convoluted. Almost as if forcing in so many characters and plot details in one movie wasn’t such a bright idea. And because of this mixed response, as well as competition from the other members of the Big May Three, Spider-Man 3 saw poor legs, only 2.23 times its opening. Its final domestic run was $336.5 million, the worst of the Raimi trilogy. However, Sony wasn’t crying over this. With record openings across the globe, Spider-Man 3 was huge overseas, repping $558.3 million, the highest of the franchise. This would result in a colossal worldwide gross of $895 million, the highest film in the Raimi trilogy and the highest Spider-Man movie ever for 12 years. So despite mixed reception and some studio meddling, the executives won in the end. Heartwarming to see the underdog megacorporation win in the end. Sony naturally wanted to go forward with a fourth movie and a spin-off featuring Venom. However, things did not go as planned. I would go into those details, but I already have way too many movies to look over and I’d rather finish this whole THABOS thing, so we’ll talk about some of this stuff in the future.

Just let GDT do his thing. Let him make a fun haunted house movie, put in some cool creature designs, and call it a day.