Eric the Clown

Anything that gives Carl Weathers work deserves an award

Also I think Schitt's Creek has the most nominations. Anybody else here seen it?

You're a second-tier niche show

Apple 1. The Rental 2. The Outpost 3. Trolls World Tour 4. The Invisible Man 5. Bad Boys for Life 6. The High Note 7. A Nice Girl Like You 8. John Lewis: Good Trouble 9. The Gentlemen 10. Rad Amazon 1. The Greatest Showman 2. Trolls World Tour 3. The King of Staten Island 4. Game Night 5. Sonic the Hedgehog 6. Bad Boys for Life 7. Jumanji: The Next Level 8. The Gentlemen 9. The Addams Family 10. Bloodshot

https://deadline.com/2020/07/netflix-the-witcher-blood-origin-spinoff-series-1202995701/

Apple 1. The Rental 2. The Outpost 3. Trolls World Tour 4. The Invisible Man 5. Bad Boys for Life 6. The High Note 7. A Nice Girl Like You 8. Rad 9. Archive 10. The Gentlemen Amazon 1. The Greatest Showman 2. Trolls World Tour 3. The King of Staten Island 4. Game Night 5. Bad Boys for Life 6. Sonic the Hedgehog 7. The Gentlemen 8. Jumanji: The Next Level 9. Bloodshot 10. The Addams Family

Moving down to fourteenth domestic, eighth worldwide was the epic return of Ethan Hunt with Mission: Impossible III. Tom Cruise once again as Ethan, who just retired from the IMF, settling with his fiancee and training new recruits. However, once a dangerous arms dealer played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman threatens Ethan’s life, he's gotta get out of retirement and save the world. Despite the massive success of Mission: Impossible II, a sequel took a long time to actually get made. In 2002, David Fincher was set to direct M:I III for a summer 2004 release, but creative differences and a commitment to filming Panic Room led to him leading the project. Shortly after, Joe Carnahan was attached to the project. He worked on the film for 15 months and had a slew of interesting ideas. Kenneth Branagh was set to play the bad guy and parallel Timothy McVeigh, and there were plans to have Carrie Anne-Moss and Scarlett Johansson in the film. Thandie Newton was set to return from the last film, but she rejected it in favor of focusing on her family. In the end, Joe Carnahan also saw creative differences with the film, resulting in him quitting in July 2004. But Tom Cruise found a good replacement. After binging through the first two seasons of Alias, Cruise called up J. J. Abrams to direct this next installment. Abrams agreed, but because of his commitments to both Alias and Lost, production was delayed a whole year. Branagh, Moss, and Johansson all left the project because of this delay. June 8, 2005, Paramount finally greenlit the film, albeit far from the original product. A new cast was found, the budget was redeveloped, and Tom Cruise had to take a massive pay cut. Of course in the end, it still resulted in a $150 million budget. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film was its very controversial marketing campaign. When marketing kicked off, Paramount rigged 4,500 Los Angeles Times vending boxes with digital audio players that played the M:I theme song when the door was opened. However, those players were sometimes unconcealed or just flat-out fell on top of the newspapers in plain view. This resulted in many believing these players were bombs, with bomb squads forced to detonate many of the vending boxes and temporarily shut down a veterans hospital. However, nothing could compare to the marketing disaster that came from Matt Stone and Trey Parker. In November 2005, the hit animated show South Park did an episode titled "Trapped in the Closet", which mocked the religion of Scientology as well as Tom Cruise, both for his prominence in the religion, and his alleged sexuality. The episode was set to rerun on March 15, 2006, but it was suddenly pulled with no prior notice to the episode "Chef’s Chocolate Salty Balls". The following day, the website Hollywoodinterrupted.com alleged that Comedy Central, which both it and Paramount are owned by Viacom, canceled the rerun because Tom Cruise was so offended by his portrayal in the episode that he threatened to boycott the publicity tour for M:I III. Whether or not that’s true, this would go on to be reported by other news outlets and cause a slew of bad press for the movie going in. South Park fans then threatened to boycott the upcoming film until Comedy Central put the episode back on the air. Stone and Parker did not respond, reportedly to avoid embarrassing Cruise. Both Tom Cruise and his publicist rejected the notion, but the seeds were sowed, and South Park saw major publicity in the end while Tom Cruise’s image saw even worse reception from the public. Regardless, Paramount seemed to have high hopes for this installment. With a May 5 opening, Mission: Impossible III played in 4,054 theaters, the second-highest amount of theaters ever for a live-action film, only behind Spider-Man, as well as a massive marketing campaign. Yet despite all those locations and solid reviews, people didn’t really turn up. Opening to $47.7 million, not only was this far below industry expectations, but it didn’t even come close to what the last movie generated. Despite six years of ticket price inflation and stronger reception, Mission: Impossible II was still way above the film, opening to $57.8 million back in 2000. Maybe it was the poor reception to the second film. Maybe it was the bad publicity Tom Cruise earned since War of the Worlds. Maybe it was the wrath of South Park fans. But for whatever the reason, people didn’t really respond to this. The film would go on to earn $134 million domestically and $398.5 million worldwide. This would result in the worst box office ever for a Mission: Impossible release. This may seem like a sour note for the franchise, and it very much was. However, one thing in its favor was its critical reception. People who saw it seemed to respond to it well, bringing back some goodwill into the franchise. And that positive response gave Paramount enough confidence to both allow J. J. Abrams to work on future projects and release more Mission: Impossible films in the future. These decisions would make Paramount very happy. Sixteenth place would see the comedy/documentary hybrid Borat. The brainchild of Sacha Baron Cohen, and the second film of a very loose trilogy, this has one of the most unique formats for any movie, at least in the 21st century. For those who don’t know, the character of Borat Sagdiyev, a Kazakh journalist unaware of American customs and his offensive viewpoints, was a character in the short-lived cult favorite comedy series Da Ali G Show. Alongside other characters, Borat would conduct real interviews with unsuspecting people, making them uncomfortable by introducing them to Kazakh customs or through Borat stating antisemitic or misogynistic remarks, oftentimes exposing horrible antisemitic or misogynistic people. Sacha Baron Cohen is Jewish. To Cohen, this idea had potential for a whole feature film, and while 2002’s Ali G Indahouse was a modest success, he felt that because the series and his character were relatively obscure, he can get away with making a whole movie about Borat, following the same format as Da Ali G Show. Basically, apart from Cohen, Ken Davitian, Luenell, and Pamela Anderson, none of the characters are portrayed by actors, with most scenes completely unscripted. So why did non-actors, often antisemitic, sign on? They were under the guise this was a documentary about a Kazakh man understanding American culture, having no idea they would be exposed for their hateful rhetoric. Thankfully, Cohen and his team required the film’s participants to sign release forms agreeing not to take legal action against the film’s producers. More than 400 hours were shot, with several deleted scenes appearing on the DVD. The very idea of this saw pretty massive headlines, especially after its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Its unique format, controversial subject matter, and hilarious crude comedy kept it in the news well into its inevitable release in theaters. However, with it still a supposedly niche comedy based on a sketch show few remember, it was expected to just do modest business. But as the film garnered more and more attention and more and more headlines, people started to get excited. And it would lead to one explosive opening. On the surface, a $26.5 million opening isn’t anything to write home about. However, what makes this so unique was its limited locations. With only 837 locations, Borat saw sell-outs across the country, and had one of the strongest PTAs of the year, about $31.6 thousand. People were so excited for this film they were willing to travel far and away just to be able to watch it. Even films with similar “need to see to believe” hooks and limited theater strategies, like Blair Witch Project and Fahrenheit 9/11, still got to above 1,000 theaters. Fox put the film in 837 theaters at first as a way to bolster the film’s word-of-mouth for an expansion. But the wait just wasn’t enough, and definitely made executives there very happy. The following weekend saw the film in 2,566 theaters, and with this large expansion and repeat viewings, Borat rose from its first weekend with about $28.3 million for a 10-day total of $67.1 million. This was officially a phenomenon, as Borat would go on to earn $128.5 million domestically and $262.5 million worldwide. This instantly turned Sacha Baron Cohen into a comedy superstar and Borat becoming an icon for a time. Alongside his role in Talladega Nights months prior, this banner year allowed him to become one of the biggest comedic actors for a time. However, with that success comes controversy. A lot of controversy. Because of its unconventional filming, many participants were upset over their depictions in the movie. Some claimed their lives were ruined or they were set up to be part of a hoax, while others tried to take legal action. The villagers of Glod, Romania, where the opening depicting Borat’s homeland took place, sued and stated they were lied to about the nature of filming, and were portrayed as incestuous and ignorant. Baron Cohen reacted to the suits in an interview stating: “Some of the letters I get are quite unusual, like the one where the lawyer informed me I'm about to be sued for $100,000 and at the end says, 'P.S. Loved the movie. Can you sign a poster for my son Jeremy?'" The government of Kazakhstan also denounced the film for how Borat wrongly portrays the country and its people, though some have defended the film as anti-American rather than anti-Kazakh. Regardless, the controversy was there, and kept the film alive for years to come. And in that sense, bad publicity can oftentimes turn into great publicity with the right marketing behind it. 2009 would see the comedy Bruno, another character Sacha Baron Cohen played in Da Ali G Show, but it saw nowhere near the same popularity or reception. And because of the film’s popularity, Baron Cohen has retired the character because he is too recognizable and too hard to trick people, though he has returned to the role on occasion. In 17th place was The Devil Wears Prada, based on the 2003 book of the same name. This stars Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs, a recent college graduate with a degree in journalism who seems to get the role of a lifetime, being the co-assistant to fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep. However, it’s there she learns Priestly is vindictive, controlling, and demanding, and learns how to fit into the gossipy world of fashion. Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci also co-star. Interestingly enough, Fox bought the film rights for Lauren Weisberger’s novel not only before it was published, but before it was even finished. It may seem like an odd decision, since nobody would know if it was a best-seller yet. However, Fox executive vice president Carla Hecken loved the manuscript and outline so much, she knew this had a chance to be big. And thus, a film was underway. Producer Wendy Finerman was on the hunt for a director. And despite his limited experience, only directing one film, Miami Rhapsody, and episodes of both Sex and the City and Entourage, David Frankel was given the opportunity. But it wasn’t easy to get him on board. Frankel felt the material was unfilmable at first, though changed his mind once he saw the 1995 documentary Unzipped, which allowed him a frame of reference. Another major turn-off to Frankel was the treatment of Miranda Priestly. Not for her antagonistic nature, but for how the movie unnecessarily punishes her. Said Frankel, “My view was that we should be grateful for excellence. Why do the excellent people have to be nice?” Frankel initially dropped out entirely, but his agent persuaded him to stay on. Frankel agreed, though he gave extensive notes on the screenplay. Speaking of which, the screenplay saw four writers working on it. Peter Hedges worked on it first before passing on it, thinking he could do no more. Paul Rudnick would work on Miranda’s scenes, while Don Roos would rewrite. Yet in the end, the one who saw the final credit was Aline Brosh McKenna, who took her own experience when she was a graduate, attempting to launch a journalism career in New York. McKenna was able to get a solid draft that included Frankel and Finerman’s notes, with a plot that was very different from the novel and emphasized the relationship between Andy and Miranda. This relationship was best explored in Miranda’s famous cerulean sweater speech, where Miranda connects Andy’s sweater with the fashion found in her magazine’s pages. This was in an earlier draft and was cut from the film, but Meryl Streep insisted on keeping it in. Aline Brosh McKenna would then expand what was supposed to be a few lines into a grand speech that lasted a full page in the script, all about why fashion is so important. This was a grand showcase of the film’s witty dialogue and themes, becoming one of the most memorable parts of the film as a whole. Streep in particular was a huge selling point both for the movie and Fox. The filmmakers and Fox felt nobody could play the role of Miranda Priestly like Streep would, even doubling her salary just to keep her on board. Streep was interested in the film as it was a way to skewer the fashion world, believing fashion magazines skewed young girl’s minds. By playing Miranda, she would get back at them in a fun, feminist way. While her character was reportedly based on Anna Wintour, Streep insisted on making the character her own, with an American accent, and a more subtle, hushed delivery. Fox wanted Rachel McAdams to play Andy, thanks to her breakout roles in The Notebook and Mean Girls, but McAdams rejected, wanting to take a break from mainstream projects. Anne Hathaway was very eager to take the part, tracing “Hire me” in the zen garden found in Carla Hecken’s office during a meeting over the project. Sure enough, Frankel gave her the part without the need for an audition. Long before the film’s release, David Frankel brought over a sizzle reel to Fox as a way to convince them to give more funding to shoot in Paris. However, Fox was so impressed with Frankel’s work, they gave him something even better. They moved the film from its February release to a prime release date on June 30, as a counter program to Superman Returns. All the while, marketing the movie as an event piece. The marketing immediately struck gold with two preliminary ideas that made the film iconic. The initial teaser poster, a stiletto with a pitchfork for a heel, was supposed to be a temporary one, but became so iconic, it would define the Devil Wears Prada brand, being used on every medium and piece of merchandise for the film. The initial trailer was also just the first three minutes of the film, depicting Andy and Miranda’s first meeting. Initially intended for film festivals as a temporary teaser before they would develop something further, it went over so well it would become the main trailer, building anticipation and intrigue while not giving away anything in the process. This media hype and brilliant marketing all led to great success on June 30. It earned $27.5 million in its first three days, a solid second place debut. The long weekend, going through July 4, would result in $40.5 million. With solid reviews and broad appeal across both genders, Devil Wears Prada finished its run with $124.7 million domestically and $326.7 million worldwide. This was a career high for Streep, Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci. This would also see a strong increase in the fashion industry among general audiences. While some who worked in the fashion industry decried the film, many argued it was the most accurate it’s ever been. Anna Wintour, who Miranda was supposedly based on, was skeptical on the project, but quite enjoyed it after a viewing, and found her popularity skyrocketing. Meryl Streep would also go on to earn an Oscar nomination for her performance, while Emily Blunt found herself into the mainstream, going on to star in films like Looper, Into the Woods, A Quiet Place, and Mary Poppins Returns. Since then, Devil Wears Prada has ironically had a greater legacy than Superman Returns, the big film it counter programmed. It not only caused a spark in female event films like Mamma Mia! and 27 Dresses, but also helped cause the birth of more female antiheroines, like Scandal’s Olivia Pope or Game of Thrones’ Cersei Lannister. It would also be a major source for Internet memes and TV show parodies on The Simpsons and The Office. Just recently, word got out about then-presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar and her mistreatment of her staff and unreasonable demands. This instantly sought Miranda Priestly comparisons. A television adaptation was set to debut on Fox in 2007, but never even got to the pilot stage, and despite the novel getting a sequel titled Revenge Wears Prada in 2013, both Streep and Hathaway have little interest in continuing. A musical adaptation is also in the works. And finally, let’s go all the way down to 46th place with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. This spin-off features a new character named Sean Boswell, played by Lucas Black. After some reckless driving and delinquencies, he and his dad suddenly move to Tokyo, Japan. It is there Sean becomes friends with a kid named Twinkie, played by Bow Wow, and discovers a drifting community in the city, and becomes close with one of its members named Han Lue, played by Sung Kang. Neal Moritz was ready to make a new Fast & Furious movie, and got to begin work on the film in 2005. There was just one problem: no Vin Diesel and no Paul Walker. Because both men were busy on other projects, Moritz had to get creative and make something that was still unique enough to intrigue fans of the series. This resulted in focusing on the drifting community, a subset of car enthusiasts, having the film take place outside of America, and introduce a whole new set of characters. Moritz hired Justin Lin as director after seeing his film Better Luck Tomorrow. While Lin was not familiar with the drifting community, he was obsessed with the first Fast and Furious film when he was in film school, and wanted to harness that energy into something his own. However, it wasn’t easy. Lin hated some of the initial drafts of the screenplay, feeling it was both offensive and dated. This resulted in Lin earning more creative control, allowing him to develop the film his own way, with some mild clashes from the studio heads. For some reason, Universal Pictures was unable to get Tokyo filming permits, so the team went on ahead without permission. Reportedly, the studio gave Lin a fall guy. When the police arrived, the fall guy would say he is the director, and would spend the night in jail while Lin did his thing. Not making a word of that up. Tokyo Drift opened on June 16, and opened in third place to about half of what the last movie generated, about $24 million. And with the series’ notoriously frontloaded nature, it finished its run with about $62.5 million domestic and $159 million worldwide. It was expected to gross significantly less than the last two movies because of its spin-off nature and lack of original stars (well, kind of), but with an $85 million production budget, it was still underwhelming. Yet ironically, Tokyo Drift, the spin-off few saw in theaters, would arguably become the most important film in the entire Fast and Furious series. For starters, this was Justin Lin’s first foray into the universe, who would go on to direct four of the upcoming films in the franchise. Tokyo Drift also garnered a bigger fan following as the years went on. But most importantly, it gave Fast and Furious a bigger universe to play around with. As I said when I talked about 2F2F, having Vin Diesel/Paul Walker absent in the next few installments was a blessing in disguise. Sure, having Dom and Brian appear in the second movie would have seen a bigger gross for that film, but it probably would have just been more of the same and people would have gotten tired of the series by the fourth or fifth movie. But Tokyo Drift allowed the universe to expand and develop further. We got to see a new location, giving something distinct and fresh, as well as continuing its franchise potential. We got to see a subset of the drag race community that further shows the respect the franchise has towards the activity. We got to meet some new characters. Specifically, Han Lue, who would become the breakout character of the film and a fan favorite. And it’s thanks to one special little cameo that the franchise really took off. At the end of the movie, after Han Lue’s tragic death, Vin Diesel pops up as Dom Toretto, mentioning he was good friends with the guy. His appearance was a last-minute choice, an attempt to save the film after poor test screenings. Diesel agreed in exchange for Universal’s ownership rights to the Riddick series and character. But this moment not only connected the film to the greater F&F series, but also got people excited for Dom Toretto to return. There was a chance we got to see Dom one more time, and that fueled intrigue in the franchise, while also letting people become more open to the greater world. Since then, the films Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6 would serve as prequels to Tokyo Drift, with Han Lue not only appearing, but his death serving as one of the most important events for the series as a whole. And nine movies later, Sung Kang, alongside the rest of the Tokyo Drift cast, saw justice being served. In F9, supposedly coming out in 2021 and supposedly coming out in theaters, Han Lue will see his glorious return from the dead, becoming both the final trailer money shot, and the one thing that’s getting fans and general moviegoers the world over hyped for this next installment. And it all came from a spin-off nobody cared about upon its initial release. But of course, 2006 had many other stories that I couldn’t fit into here. Talladega Nights continued Will Ferrell’s hit streak, while Stranger than Fiction was a solid alternative piece. Click combined Adam Sandler shenanigans with a fun, “what if?” premise. Over the Hedge was yet another Dreamworks hit. The Departed gave Martin Scorsese a well-deserved Oscar. Little Miss Sunshine stole Eddie Murphy’s Oscar for Dreamgirls. Scary Movie 4 saw the second-biggest April debut. Inside Man became one of Spike Lee’s biggest hits. Open Season was the beginning of Sony Pictures Animation. The Santa Clause 3 combined Disney magic, holiday magic, and Tim Allen magic to modest results. Nacho Libre was the Napoleon Dynamite guy’s epic follow-up. You, Me, and Dupree was the beginning of the rise of the Russo brothers. Julia Roberts played a spider in Charlotte’s Web and an ant in The Ant Bully, the latter of which caused its animation studio to shut down. Monster House was Zemeckis’ second attempt in making mocap animation hot. Eragon was a book adaptation despised by its fans. V for Vendetta became the inspiration for Anonymous. Rocky Balboa returned to solid returns. Two 9/11 movies were released in the same year. Miami Vice was brought back to poor financial returns. Flushed Away was the end of the Dreamworks/Aardman deal. Poseidon was a complete financial disaster. Curious George combined Will Ferrell with Jack Johnson songs for some reason. The Prestige saw Papa Nolan doing his thing. Apocalypto was Gibson’s Passion follow-up to far less successful earnings. Date Movie saw the tragic beginnings of Seltzerberg. The Wild was Disney’s lame attempt to cash in on Madagascar. Lady in the Water made people realize Shyamalan wouldn’t be the next Spielberg. Pan’s Labyrinth put Guillermo del Toro into the mainstream. Snakes on a Plane sold itself on Internet hype and not much else. An Inconvenient Truth made people realize the planet is dying. Clerks II was a too-late sequel nobody cared about. The Wicker Man with Nic Cage became a staple in “so bad it’s good” movies. Clint Eastwood made two World War II movies back to back. Hoot saw one of the worst openings in box office history. Slither was the beginning of James Gunn’s directing career. And lastly, Deck the Halls starring Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito...came out I guess. This was 2006.

In sixth place (ninth worldwide) was the very costly Superman Returns. The final installment of the original Superman series and itself a direct follow-up to the first two releases, this follows Superman returning (oh i get it) to Earth after a five-year absence from the planet. Since then, Lois Lane has moved on with her life and Lex Luthor has risen in power, plotting a scheme that will destroy Superman and North America. Like Batman Begins, a new Superman movie had gone through decades of development hell, from project to project. And like Terminator 3 before it, the hoops this film went through are very long, very confusing, and more interesting than the final film itself. Cannon was set to release Superman V, but Cannon’s bankruptcy killed that film’s chances. After the success of The Death of Superman comic book story in the early 90s, Warner Bros. hired Jon Peters to produce a new Superman project, with Jonathan Lemkin as writer. Lemkin’s script, titled Superman Reborn, had Lois and Clark go through marriage troubles and feature Doomsday as the villain. Warner Bros. was not impressed, as the screenplay’s themes of heroism and obligations was already tackled in Batman Forever. Gregory Poirier would be asked to rewrite the script, including the character of Braniac. While Warner Bros. liked Poirier’s rewrites, Clerks director Kevin Smith was then hired to rewrite the film. Smith was not a fan of the screenplay, believing it to be disrespectful of the Superman mythos. And from that moment on, the production from Hell was born. Kevin Smith pitched Jon Peters a new story in 1996, with Peters accepting Smith’s ideas under certain conditions. Jon Peters did not want Superman to fly, because he would look like an overgrown Boy Scout apparently, and Peters wanted Superman to fight a giant spider in the third act. It was the one thing Jon Peters really wanted. Peters also wanted Braniac to fight a polar bear, have a “space dog” character that can be used to make merchandise out of, and for Braniac’s robot assistant L-Ron to be a “gay R2-D2 with attitude”...okay. Smith’s new script, titled Superman Lives, was written. Robert Rodriguez was offered the chance to direct, but the role of director would then go on to Tim Burton, who signed on with a $5 million pay-or-play contract. Nicolas Cage, a Superman fanboy, signed on for a $20 million contract, and a summer 1998 release date was set. Kevin Spacey was considered for Lex Luthor, while Christopher Walken was considered for Braniac. Sandra Bullock, Courteney Cox and Julianne Moore were approached for Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen would be played by Chris Rock. But after Burton signed on, he decided he wanted to tell his version of Superman, resulting in Smith’s script being rewritten by Wesley Strick. Smith was disappointed, especially because Burton’s immense power in Hollywood pretty much made any decisions Smith made meaningless and erased. And setbacks after setbacks continued. The art directors were forced to design a Superman movie that looked nothing like a Superman movie, Wesley Strick’s script was thrown out because of how expensive the film would have been, Dan Gilroy was forced to write a new script, Burton had several disagreements with Jon Peters, and the film was finally put on hold in April 1998. Burton would then direct Sleepy Hollow. Dan Gilroy’s script would be handed to several directors like Michael Bay and Martin Campbell and Brett Ratner, but all of them were uninterested. William Wisher, Jr. would develop a new script in June 1999, but shortly after, Nicolas Cage dropped out and Superman Lives was completely scrapped. In July 2002, a new Superman project arrived, this time by J. J. Abrams. His script, Superman: Flyby, was an origin story depicting a Kryptonian civil war. Brett Ratner signed on to direct, while Christopher Reeve was a project consultant. Several actors were approached for the role of Superman, including Josh Hartnett, Jude Law, Paul Walker, Brendan Fraser, David Boreanaz, James Marsden, Matt Bomer, and even Ashton Kutcher of all people. But for a myriad of reasons, whether they be scheduling conflicts, typecasting, or being required to appear in multiple sequels, all of these men rejected the role. With a $200 million production budget set for the film, Ratner ended up leaving the project in March 2003, as the casting delays soured his interest in the project. McG would then take the reins, still working off of Abrams’ script, albeit with rewrites from Josh Schwartz. Despite going so far as test screening actors, including Jared Padalecki, Jason Behr, Micheal Cassidy, and Henry Cavill, McG also left the project in June 2004 due to budgetary concerns and filming locations. Warner Bros. wanted to shoot the film in Australia, but because McG has a fear of flying, he pushed to film in New York. Not making a word of that up. So Superman: Flyby never got off the ground. Don’t worry, Abrams will be okay. But soon a new Superman project would replace it, this time by X-Men director and horrible person Bryan Singer. A huge fan of Richard Donner’s original 1978 classic, Singer pitched the idea of a storyline involving Superman returning to Earth after a five-year absence to X-Men producer Laura Shuler Donner, the wife of Richard Donner. So when WB lost McG and really wanted a new Superman project, Singer’s idea was approved, and was signed on to direct and develop the idea called Superman Returns. Michael Doughtery and Dan Harris would write. The casting was a very crucial element for this release, and one of the first things Singer was adamant on was Superman being played by an unknown. After thousands of potential candidates, the role was given to a man named Brandon Routh, who actually auditioned to play Clark Kent in the hit TV series Smallville. Kate Bosworth was cast amongst a heavy pool of contenders for Lois Lane, including Keri Russell, Claire Danes, and even Amy Adams. Bosworth got the role because of horrible person Kevin Spacey, who worked with her, who worked with Bosworth on the film Beyond the Sea. Spacey would play the role of Lex Luthor, and for his performance, Singer asked Spacey to tone down the campiness found in Gene Hackman’s portrayal of the character, though it still permeated. One of the more interesting casting decisions was that Singer was able to put Marlon Brando back in the role of Jor-El despite passing away in 2004. After intense negotiations with Brando’s estate, Singer earned access to all of the footage Brando filmed back in 1978. Through archival footage and CGI enhancements, Brando got to appear in one last film, albeit posthumously. With the costs needed to convincingly show off Superman’s powers, the film was budgeted initially at $184.5 million, before rising to $204 million. And because of all the money spent during the development hell of the 90s and early 2000s, this all surmounted to a gargantuan $263 million production budget. This doesn’t even include the $100 million marketing budget. So this Superman film needed to deliver big bucks. And with a year-long marketing campaign, several tie-in deals, Warner Bros. tried to do everything to make this movie’s success a reality. Superman Returns was released on June 28, and through the Fourth of July, its first week gross amounted to about $108.1 million. The five-day amounted to $84.6 million, while the three day was a mere $52.5 million. This would include a record IMAX debut with $6.7 million from 76 locations, which featured 20 minutes of converted 3D film material, the first Hollywood full-length live-action film ever to feature digital 3-D content. On paper, this opening seems fine, and it was above the numbers Batman Begins generated last year. But because Superman Returns was one of the most expensive films ever made, and opened below the likes of War of the Worlds and Men in Black II, it was seen as a major disappointment. What was made even worse was its future weekends. Because of the film’s lukewarm reviews, and releasing one week before Dead Man’s Chest became one of the biggest films in history, the film crashed in its second weekend, only generating $21.8 million, almost a 60% drop from its three-day. And so Superman Returns barely crawled to $200 million domestically and only generated $391.1 million worldwide. Even after the fact, everybody was disappointed at these numbers. WB president Alan Horn said that while the film was successful, it should have generated $500 million. Bryan Singer felt he could have made the movie more exciting and was disappointed in the marketing and promotion of the film. With Returns getting lukewarm reception, mediocre box office, and the WGA strike, the proposed Superman Returns sequel that was set for 2009 would go on to be completely scrapped. A reboot was released in 2013, but we’ll get to that later. Since then the film has kind of faded in the public eye, but it hasn’t gone away forever. Brandon Routh would go on to star in the hit CW/DC series Legends of Tomorrow as the character of The Atom. And in 2020, during the epic Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths, Routh would reprise his role as Clark Kent one more time for television. So I guess it wasn’t all bad in the end. Penguin love continued in seventh domestic, tenth worldwide with Happy Feet. This animated film focuses on a colony of Emperor penguins, who every year get together and find their soulmates through song, in an act that has gone on through centuries. But one penguin named Mumble, voiced by Elijah Wood, can’t sing, because he got dropped on the head. Instead, he has the incredible ability to tap dance...just go with it. Despite becoming an outcast to the colony, his tap dancing will go on to give Mumble an incredible adventure that will save his colony from extinction. This adventure includes alien abduction, a band of Mexican penguins, one of which voiced by Robin Williams for some reason, and a message about pollution and conservation...this movie’s weird, okay? Directed by Mad Max’s George Miller, the idea for Happy Feet came during the production of Mad Max 2. When Miller was talking with a grizzled old cameraman, the cameraman could not stop raving about how incredible a location Antarctica was and how Miller had to make a film there. And while he would not film in Antarctica, this idea would soon morph into a film all about talking penguins. In 2001, producer and friend Doug Mitchell gave WB studio president Alan Horn an early rough draft of the screenplay immediately before he and Miller would fly back to Australia. Upon landing, Horn immediately greenlit the project and provided funding. The animation was done by VFX company Animal Logic, becoming the first animated movie by the studio. Taking over four years to produce, one of the more notable aspects of the film’s animation was its usage of motion-capture technology. For the film’s tap dancing sequences, professional dancers were put into those not-so-fancy suits. The dancers had to go to “Penguin School” so they could learn how to move like a penguin, making the dances more believable. Miller didn’t intend to have an environmental message in the film, but becoming more and more aware of the ozone hole, and with global warming and climate change drastically affecting Antarctica (including today, because humanity wants to kill our planet for some reason), Miller felt it was a necessity to discuss how man is destroying the habitats of penguins. As a film about singing and dancing penguins, Happy Feet was a jukebox musical featuring a discography of artists like Queen, Stevie Wonder, Elvis, and Prince. Speaking of, Prince saw an early cut of the film in order for Miller to gain his approval and use some of his music in the movie. Prince loved the movie so much that not only did he approve the use of his music, but he offered to write an original song, titled "Song of the Heart." He would complete the song one week after he saw the film, and his work would go on to earn a Golden Globe. Released on November 17, Happy Feet opened to number one with $41.5 million, a very solid debut that narrowly beat the highly-anticipated Casino Royale. This would hopefully lead to greater things with the Thanksgiving frame the very next week. And wouldn’t you know it, it did result in greater things. With kids fresh out of school, Happy Feet dropped a minuscule 11%, earning about $37 million for the three-day, and earning $99.3 million in its first 10 days. It would stay #1 for a third weekend, dropping 53% and earning $17.5 million, for a $121.5 million total. This made Happy Feet one of only two films that year to stay #1 for three weeks. Dead Man’s Chest was the other film. All told, Happy Feet would generate $198 million domestically and $384.3 million worldwide, an impressive result for a $100 million budget release. It would go on to see solid reviews and earn the Best Animated Feature Oscar at the 2007 Academy Awards. Truly, penguin mania could not be stopped. In 2011, George Miller directed Happy Feet Two, and despite the first film’s success, the film would end up earning less than half of its predecessor with $64 million domestically and $150.4 million worldwide, resulting in a $40 million loss and the closure of George Miller’s digital production studio Dr. D. Studios. Eighth domestic but third worldwide was the return of Scrat with Ice Age: The Meltdown. An impending flood is set to hit the valley the Ice Age gang live in, meaning Manny, Diego, and Sid have to travel to find a giant boat that will keep them all safe. And during this journey, Manny discovers that he is not the last woolly mammoth alive and finds love with a mammoth named Ellie, despite her believing she is a possum. When Ice Age broke box office records and became the biggest March release ever, Blue Sky naturally began work on a sequel, with production beginning in June 2002. Producer Lori Forte would also sign on for a multi-year deal with 20th Century Fox, developing and producing future animated films. This would include The Meltdown, as well as future Blue Sky releases like 2013’s Epic and 2017’s Ferdinand. Chris Wedge did not return to direct, with Carlos Saldanah taking the helm. During production, all the characters were remodeled for this iteration, and one thing Saldanah was adamant on were the eyes of the characters. He wanted to ensure the eyes felt alive, as it would allow for stronger facial expressions and allowing people to know what the characters were thinking easier. Being a Fox production, one of the more unique aspects of the film’s marketing was its usage of the FOX network and its shows to promote this anticipated sequel’s release. One episode of the hit series Family Guy featured Scrat the squirrel in a cutaway gag, just one week before the film was set to open. And on that same night, Sid the sloth hosted the entire FOX Sunday line-up, appearing during commercial breaks. This would result in the children’s character Sid actually saying the word “sex”, which is the greatest thing in the history of television. Opening on March 31, Ice Age: The Meltdown’s opening weekend was legendary. With $68 million in the tank, it made more money than the rest of the top 15 combined, opening on par with Pixar hits like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. This was in spite of mixed reviews from critics, and surged past projections of an opening in the $50 million range. This would also serve as Fox’s sixth-biggest opening weekend and the biggest March opening weekend of all time. The Meltdown would then go on to earn $195.3 million domestically. But the real success came from the overseas markets. More than doubling from the last movie, this sequel earned $465.7 million overseas haul, repping 70% of the worldwide total of $661 million. This overseas success would define the series going forward. James Bond was back and better than ever in ninth place with the release of Casino Royale. A reboot of the series, this follows James Bond in his very first mission, trying to earn his license to kill. Here, Bond finds himself fighting a private banker funding terrorists in a big high-stakes game of poker at the famous Casino Royale in Montenegro. The Ian Fleming novel had been adapted before in TV and in a 1967 spoof of Bond, but this adaptation would be the very first time Eon Producions had a hand here, earning the rights in 1999 after Sony traded them with MGM’s rights with Spider-Man. Casino Royale would go on to be one of, if not the most important release in the Bond canon. Pierce Brosnan signed on for four movies, with Die Another Day being the last one on his contract. And sure enough, in February 2004, Brosnan officially announced he retired from the role. This meant Eon had to find a new Bond, a new story, and fast. About 200 different actors were considered, including Karl Urban, Sam Worthington, and Henry Cavill. But out of all the names chosen, the offer was given to Daniel Craig. While he was hesitant to join, as he felt the previous Bond films fell into formula, he became interested in the film once he read the script, and was officially announced on October 14, 2005. The Bond girl casting was extensive too, with Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron and Audrey Tautou considered. In the end, Eva Green got the job. It’s crazy to say this today, now that Craig’s been loved in the role for so long, but there was massive backlash against Daniel Craig’s casting. Unlike the previous actors, Daniel Craig did not have the typical Bond appearance. The tall, charismatic, and handsome image people associate with Bond didn’t seem to exist in Craig, which resulted in fans feeling as if the producers made the wrong decision, with such catchy websites like danielcraigisnotbond.com. And I thought Star Wars fans were whiny. *ba dum ts* However, what these fans didn’t know, or at least failed to understand, was that Casino Royale was set to be an entire reinvention of the Bond formula. Both critics and Eon agreed that the Bond franchise was getting stale and too goofy, with Die Another Day being cited as a major example. This meant Casino Royale would serve as a reboot, both in terms of cast, and in tone and style. Writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade made sure that their screenplay was more in line with the original, darker Ian Fleming novels, using the recent Batman Begins as a template on how to do a gritty, more realistic origin story on a timeless character. This resulted in a more inexperienced Bond on his first mission, realistic stunts that stayed far away from CGI setpieces, and a tone that was more reminiscent of Jason Bourne than Roger Moore. Releasing on November 17, with a more limited marketing campaign in terms of brand and product placement deals. And on its release, Eon proved all the naysayers wrong. With praise from just about every critic, Casino Royale was considered one of, if not the best Bond film ever, with particular praise given towards Daniel Craig. Many even stated he was the first actor to truly capture Ian Fleming’s original portrayal. And with that immense acclaim, Casino Royale would go on to earn $40.8 million in its opening weekend, a nose behind Happy Feet. It was below the record opening of Die Another Day, but was still a formidable opening, considering it had far less starpower and far more uncertainty going into it. And it also served as the second-biggest debut for a Bond movie up to that point. However, what matters in the end is the final total, and Craig had the last laugh. With a strong Thanksgiving hold and amazing WOM on its side, Casino Royale finished its run with $167.4 million, ahead of Die Another Day’s $160.9 million. However, the real story came from the international box office. In the UK, Bond’s homeland, saw both opening day and opening weekend records for the franchise, finishing with £55.4 million. Including a re-release that gave the film a £64 million total, this makes Casino Royale the 19th biggest film in the UK as of 2020. Casino Royale was also the first Bond film to be shown in mainland Chinese cinemas, earning $11.7 million. This would result in an international haul of $438.6 million, and an overall $606.1 million worldwide haul. It was by far the biggest Bond release ever, by all accounts, and gave the franchise the adrenaline it so desperately needed. People loved this movie for its grittier tone, flawed hero, and engaging storyline, and Eon was rewarded for going against the grain with it. Sure enough, Craig’s Bond would take the property into the stratosphere. While James Bond was always a loved and iconic property, Craig introduced a whole new generation into the series and reinvigorated interest in the property in a big way. We’ll get into all of these in future posts, but all of Craig’s films would go on to be the highest-grossing films in the franchise and made the property into one of the most formidable film franchises out there. So much for Daniel Craig being “not Bond”. In tenth, Will Smith starred in The Pursuit of Happyness, based on the true story of Chris Gardner. Gardner is a single father dealing with struggle. He was recently evicted from his apartment, and he and his son have nowhere else to go. And despite earning an internship at a brokerage firm, the unpaid position still puts the family on the streets. But with perseverance, Chris Gardner tries to make things better for him and his son. An emotional story for sure, and one that saw major headlines. Chris Gardner appeared in a 20/20 interview in January 2002. The national response to his story was so powerful, Gardner realized there was solid Hollywood potential here. And so, Chris Gardner became an associate producer for a film adaptation of his life story, with his autobiography written months before the film’s release. One of the biggest issues Gardner had to face was who would actually play him in this story. Initially, Gardner felt Will Smith, an actor best known for his work in blockbuster action movies, was miscast to play him and wanted somebody known for dramatic work. But he changed his mind when his daughter Jacintha said, "If [Smith] can play Muhammad Ali, he can play you!" So Big Willie was the star here. And in a stroke of genius, Will Smith had his son Jaden play Chris Gardner’s son. Jaden Smith saw his film debut in this movie, because this was the time Will Smith was really shoving his kids down people’s throats. In the end, this was the perfect selling point for this movie. Not only was Will Smith playing a good dad, but he’s playing a good dad next to his cute son. That clever casting would of course do wonders for the movie itself. Opening on December 15, The Pursuit of Happyness managed to open at #1 that weekend, in spite of the other high-profile openers Eragon and Charlotte’s Web, both of which had bigger budgets and bigger marketing campaigns. At $26.5 million, Happyness was Will’s sixth number one opener in a row, yet another feather in the man’s very fancy cap. And with an uplifting story, an Oscar nomination for Will Smith, and the Christmas season, Pursuit of Happyness would go on to gross $163.6 million and $307.2 million worldwide, becoming Will Smith’s tenth $100 million hit. As said in 2005, Will Smith had this incredible knack of being able to sell anything with his presence. It could be action, a comedy, or a serious drama, and people would show up because he was just that likable. It’s the kind of versatility and success that I don’t think can or ever will be replicated again, at least when it comes to actors.

A distant, but still strong second place was Night at the Museum. This starred Ben Stiller as Larry, a divorced father who becomes the night security guard for the American Museum of Natural History. And on his first day, Larry discovers something magical. Because of an ancient Egyptian artifact in the museum, all the exhibits, from the wax figures to the miniatures to the skeletal dinosaur, come alive at night. Hi-jinx ensue! Based on the 1993 picture book, Night at the Museum was Shawn Levy’s next big swing for a major hit after the success of Cheaper by the Dozen...if you ignore that Pink Panther remake with Steve Martin, which I think most people do. The idea certainly had potential, but things really picked up when Ben Stiller signed on. As said before, the mid 2000s was when Stiller was at his peak, and according to Levy, his casting influenced a good chunk of the ensemble cast to sign on. And what a cast it was. Carla Gugino, Paul Rudd, Ricky Gervais, Dick van Dyke and Mickey Rooney appeared, but the real starpower came from the actors playing the exhibits. Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Brad Garrett, and Robin Williams appeared, and this was the film debut of Rami Malek, who would later star in Mr. Robot and Bohemian Rhapsody. When I was watching Mr. Robot when it was new, I got a pretty good laugh seeing the twisted yet depressed Elliot played by the goofy Egyptian prince from Night at the Museum. Anyways, December 22 was its release date, a very similar release date to Levy’s Cheaper by the Dozen. And with this film, Levy went above and beyond his predecessor. Its four-day weekend totaled to about $42.2 million, including 72 IMAX venues, largely in museums...because theming. This put it well ahead of Cheaper and just a couple million below the 3-Day of Meet the Fockers, and set the movie up to do solid box office business. And sure enough, Christmas legs took it to the stratosphere. Despite mixed reviews, its second weekend saw a 14% jump, with a four-day New Year’s of $48.2 million, with the film taking in $127.3 million over its first 11 days. The next few weeks continued to have strong holds, as more and more people checked the film out. Weekend 3 was a 35% drop from the previous 3-Day with $23.7 million. Weekend four, MLK weekend, saw a 28% drop, $17.2 million ($21.8 million 4-Day). Weekend 5 brought a 30% drop for a $12 million weekend. Basically, it held well through 2007, resulting in $250.9 million, an incredible 5.94x its four-day opening weekend. The film was also a huge hit overseas, resulting in a $574.5 million worldwide total, the fifth-biggest film worldwide for 2006. The success of the film is kind of obvious. Like other hit films, at least before the invasion of IP and brand recognition, the one thing that got asses in seats was a clever concept and a great leading star. The idea of a museum’s exhibits coming to life is a fun concept for kids, while the all-star cast helped bring appeal towards adults. And with Ben Stiller fresh off his Fockers fame, it became a breakout success and was another notch in Stiller and Levy’s belt. This also saw a major boom in attendance for the actual American Museum of Natural History, with a 20% jump from the previous year. In 2009, a sequel, Battle of the Smithsonian, was released with a pretty sizable 28% drop from the first film. 2014 would see another sequel, Secret of the Tomb, which was one of the last films to feature Robin Williams. It too saw diminishing returns, with a 12% drop worldwide, and a 36% drop domestically from Smithsonian. A remake is currently in development and set for release on the Disney+ streaming service. Third domestic, sixth worldwide was the Pixar release Cars. In a world full of anthropomorphic cars, Owen Wilson voices Lightning McQueen, a hotshot, overly brash racing car who is expected to race in the finals of the Piston Cup. But before the race can happen, he finds himself stranded in the small roadside town of Radiator Springs, home to a colorful cast of characters. And during his stay, this superstar racer finds himself humbled, learning about the beauty and simplicity of everyday life. Before talking about the movie itself, it's important to talk about what was going on between Disney and Pixar before its release. From 2004 to 2005, Disney and Pixar were going through...issues. I already explained it in the 2004 post, but long story short, contract negotiations and icy relations between both Steve Jobs and Michael Eisner made it seem like the companies were going to split. Pixar was looking for a new home, while Disney set up a new animation studio named Circle 7 that would do nothing but make direct-to-DVD sequels of the Pixar films Disney released. Cars, the final film in Pixar’s Disney deal, was set to release in November 2005, but in December 2004, the release date was changed to June 2006, making analysts believe this was a sign from Pixar they were buying time over the Eisner-Jobs dispute or allowing them time to focus on finding a new home. Because of this split, alongside numerous other reasons, Eisner was pulled from his role as Disney CEO with Bob Iger taking the part in late 2005. One of the first roles Iger took in his new position was appearing at the opening day of Hong Kong Disneyland, and it was there he noticed the characters at the opening day parade. The only characters from the last 10 years in that parade were Pixar characters. Not one was a character created by Disney themselves. Iger realized then and there that Disney needed Pixar more than Pixar needed them, and he needed to act fast before Disney would go through worse trouble. This would result in Bob Iger acquiring Pixar wholesale for $7.4 billion on January 25, 2006. Steve Jobs would join Disney’s board of directors, while John Lasseter would become Chief Creative Officer for both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. This was one of Iger’s first tasks as CEO of Disney, and defined what his reign at Disney truly was. Iger knew that to build Disney further and keep it fresh and exciting and relevant to modern audiences, he had to expand. The roster of IPs, brands, and characters had to not only get bigger, but come from studios and companies that people love and care about. This would become most apparent once we go into the 2010s, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. So yeah, Cars. First finding life in 1998, the idea for Cars was pitched by Jorgen Kluebein with a script titled "The Yellow Car", about an electric car living in a gas-guzzling car world. The idea saw further development that year, and it was decided this would be the next Pixar release after A Bug’s Life with a release date in early 1999. However, Toy Story 2’s production soon took over and the idea was scrapped. Lasseter would later go on and take the idea, building off a cross-country road trip he took with his family in 2000. His experience on Route 66 on that trip led to him getting into contact with historian Michael Wallis. Wallis would take eleven Pixar animators across Route 66 to gather research for the project. Lasseter also took charge because he was a noted car enthusiast. “I have always loved cars. In one vein, I have Disney blood, and in the other, there's motor oil. The notion of combining these two great passions in my life—cars and animation—was irresistible.” One of the biggest influences for the film was the documentary Divided Highways, which looked at the construction of highways during the Eisenhower administration and how it affected America. Particularly, Lasseter and co-director Joe Ranft were interested in the sections of the documentary that focused on the small towns that got bypassed and fell off the map due to the interstate highways. This became the basis for Radiator Springs. Speaking of Joe Ranft, this was the very last film he would work on. Also voicing the fire truck Red, Ranft was killed in a car accident one year before the movie’s release. The film was dedicated to him. This would also be one of the very last roles for George Carlin, who voiced the hippie truck Fillmore, before his passing in 2008, and the very last non-documentary film for actor Paul Newman, who plays the old and wise Doc Hudson. He retired in 2007, and passed away in 2008. In the future Cars sequels, Doc Hudson is memorialized in honor of Newman. For the movie’s character designs, one thing Lasseter was adamant on was having the eyes appear on the windshields, instead of the highlights, the latter of which is the more common way to anthropomorphize a car. The reason for this design was to help make the character stand out from other designs, as well as make the cars feel more human and alive. The idea was that putting the eyes in the headlights would make it look more like a snake. The animation team also studied the designs and movements of all types of cars in order to help make the animation seem believable. Sports cars like McQueen had tight suspension and movements, while older ‘50s cars like Doc were looser and bouncier. All of this helped to give each character their own movement and style, making them stand out. Releasing on June 9, Cars opened to $60.1 million. This was obviously a huge number, becoming the second-biggest June opening and the sixth-biggest opening for an animated film. However, it did end a weird streak for Pixar, where every movie they released saw a bigger opening weekend than the last. But with all that money, it’s debatable Disney was crying about this. With solid reviews and kids getting out of school for the summer, Cars would then go on to earn more than 4 times its opening with $244.1 million. Worldwide was about $461.6 million. While not the biggest Pixar movie, it was yet another hit for Disney and showed the value of having Pixar wholly owned, setting the company up for many more huge hits in the years to come. And while the franchise didn’t have the box office popularity nor critical acclaim as the other Pixar properties, it would oddly go on to make the most money in the end. Cars hit DVD in November 2006, going on to sell five million copies in two days. There was also a limited VHS run, making it one of the last Disney movies to hit VHS, and one of the last major movies to get a VHS release period. But the real money came from the toys. The popularity of toy cars among kids meant merchandise for the movie was enormous, resulting in over $10 billion in sales between 2006 and 2011. This popularity would lead to Cars being one of the biggest Disney franchises in history. Two sequels were released (Cars 2 will be discussed in the future), as well as a spin-off titled Planes released in 2013. It saw a sequel, Fire and Rescue, in 2014. There were also several short films, mainly starring the tow truck Mater, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy, released over the next few years. Cars would also see several video games and a major presence at Disney’s theme parks, with the biggest one being an entire Cars Land at Disney California Adventure. This success would also lead to several rip-offs, which is how you know you made it big. Fourth domestic, seventh worldwide was the newest Marvel joint X-Men: The Last Stand. Combining two different comic book stories, The Last Stand sees the human government developing a cure for mutations. This cure draws a line between both the X-Men and the Brotherhood. And all the while, Jean Grey starts to find herself corrupted by the dark side, turning into a dangerous, uncontrollable persona known as Phoenix. All of this results into an all-out battle. The success of X-Men, as well as the monster popularity of X2, prompted Fox to develop a third entry. However, this was set to be the first X-Men film without Bryan Singer’s touch. While a treatment was worked on, including Jean Grey’s resurrection as Phoenix and introducing the character of Emma Frost, set to have Sigourney Weaver in the role. However, in July 2004, Singer left the project in favor of working on Superman Returns (we’ll get to that). Writers Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty also joined Singer to work on Superman. With new contracts for the returning cast, Hugh Jackman’s was the most beneficial as he got to approve the director. This resulted in Jackman approaching Darren Aronofsky after the two worked on The Fountain, but Aronofsky turned it down. Other directors that were considered included Joss Whedon, Rob Bowman, Alex Proyas, Peter Berg, and even Zack Snyder. Finally, Fox landed on director Matthew Vaughn. But despite Vaughn taking part in the casting process and development, family issues and Fox’s tight schedule forced Vaughn to leave production before filming started. Finally, Fox found Brett Ratner, who was set to direct the first X-Men years ago, would take the helm. Ironically, this was after Ratner’s pitch for a new Superman movie failed. The screenplay was handled by X2 co-writer Zak Penn, as well as Fantastic Four and Elektra screenwriter Simon Kinberg. Kinberg wanted the story to adapt both The Dark Phoenix Saga as the emotional center of the movie, as well as adapt the Joss Whedon story Gifted for the political aspects of the movie. And it’s there Fox executives saw a lot of control over the project. Fox felt the Dark Phoenix part of the film would only appeal to hardcore fans, and only wanted the cure storyline to be a part of the film, feeling it was the best source of conflict for Magneto fighting the X-Men. Fox also decided that Cyclops should be killed off in the script, as James Marsden had limited availability due to his appearance in Superman Returns. At the same time Last Stand was in development, Fox was also working on X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which meant there were limitations on which mutants could cameo or pop up in the movie, as it would risk the character development and surprises set for Origins: Wolverine. The character of Gambit was set to appear, but the writers were nervous they couldn’t do the fan-favorite justice. Nightcrawler was also set to debut, with Alan Cumming eager to return, but his role in the film was so minimal it was thought best to scrap him entirely instead of wasting Cumming in all that make-up. Ratner played a part in the screenplay too. The Golden Gate sequence was supposed to be the middle of the film, with the climax set in Washington, D.C. Ratner believed that D.C. was a played out setting with films like the Planet of the Apes remake and X2. Ratner also asked for the big fight to take place in Alcatraz. With those changes, the screenplay was done, though shrouded in secrecy. When the $210 million production was revving up, the cast often did not get full screenplays, several characters were not revealed in the call sheets, and many scenes were shot in varied ways. All of this led to a campaign that was purposely dark and ambiguous, making audiences be more questionable about what’s going down. X-Men: The Last Stand premiered out of competition at Cannes on May 22, as well as debuting at the US Navy ship Kearsarge two days later, with a general release on May 26, Memorial Day weekend. And once again, X-Men broke all the records. With $102.8 million for the three-day and a mind-boggling $122.9 million over the four-day, The Last Stand saw the biggest Memorial Day weekend ever, beating out The Lost World’s almost nine-year record for an opener, and beating Shrek 2’s overall weekend gross. This also served as the fourth-biggest three-day opening for a May movie, and its $45.1 million opening day was the second-biggest opening day ever, only behind Revenge of the Sith at the time. Having said that, things weren’t particularly rosy. While X-Men was never a leggy franchise, the film failed to really keep much momentum only barely doubling from its OW with a $234.4 million domestic haul. Worldwide was $460.4 million. The biggest of the franchise for sure, and Last Stand would hold onto the franchise’s domestic record for years to come until Deadpool. But it still kind of felt like it could have done more with the substantial opening it had. Of course, it didn’t help that reviews were not the best. Critics were mixed on the piece, feeling it lacked the intrigue and emotion that the other two films nailed, while fans hated the way characters like Cyclops were killed off. This also went down to the creatives for this and the previous X-Men films. Bryan Singer felt the plot was too busy, and there were too many character deaths, though he did like some elements. Matthew Vaughn, who worked on this project for so long before having to leave, felt Ratner’s direction was poor, and that the emotions and drama couldn’t play out, with no time to breathe. Even Simon Kinberg, the writer of the film, was not happy about it. Kinberg felt the Dark Phoenix storyline should have been the main plot and felt he should have pushed harder to make it so. This would result in Kinberg directing and writing Dark Phoenix in 2019, which retold the events of X-Men: The Last Stand. Let’s just say that movie could have gone better. Going down to fifth place, we see the second-biggest film worldwide, The Da Vinci Code. Based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown, this stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, a professor of religion at Harvard University. After the murder of Lourve curator Jacques Sauniere, Langdon is the prime suspect. Framed for the crime he didn’t commit, Langdon finds himself in a mystery, where through clues in Da Vinci’s paintings, and would soon discover a mystery that if exposed could shake the very foundations of Christianity itself. Dan Brown’s original 2003 novel, a sequel to 2000’s Angels & Demons, was a monster hit when it first came out. Fueled by its heavy controversy (more on that later), it would go on to be the second-biggest book of 2003, only behind Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, selling 80 million copies worldwide. Naturally this success would lead to a film adaptation, and Sony would earn the rights to Brown’s novel, with Ron Howard as director, and Bill Paxton as Robert Langdon. However, Paxton was set to film the HBO series Big Love, so the role would later be given to Tom Hanks. While the film was largely shot in Pinewood Studios, the filmmakers actually managed to obtain permission to film at the Louvre. A replica of the Mona Lisa was used during production there, as the crew was not allowed to illuminate the original work with their lighting. At the same time, Westminster Abbey denied its premises for filming, which required the crew to shoot at Lincoln and Winchester cathedrals, both of which are a part of the Church of England. Filming at Lincoln also saw the crew hit by a group of protesters; the demonstration led by 61 year-old Sister Mary Michael. Why was there such controversy and such demonstrations? It all comes down to the subject matter. Both the novel and film saw attacks against the Catholic Church for its claims the Church is behind a two-thousand-year-old cover-up over what the Holy Grail is and covering up that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and had a daughter. The depiction of the organizations Priory of Sion and Opus Dei also garnered criticism from the Catholic Church. This criticism sparked interest in the book and turned it into a best-selling phenomenon, and this controversy seeped into every facet of the film production. The Vatican outright declared a boycott against the film for its calumny, while the Opus Dei released a statement to Sony Pictures to edit the film so it would not contain anything that could be hurtful to Christains. The film was outright banned in several countries due to outcries from Christain and Muslim communities, including Syria, Lebanon, several states in India, and China. Protests and demonstrations in religious countries were also common leading up to the film’s release. Tom Hanks and Ian McKellan argued the film’s story was hooey and nonsense, so it wasn’t worth getting upset over, but the complaints were still valid. Me personally, I watched this movie years later, and was so bored while watching I fell asleep, so I don’t have much input to add in this debate. Sony unveiled The Da Vinci Code at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17 to disastrous results. According to the Associated Press, patrons gave “a few whistles and hisses [at the end, and there was none of the scattered applause even bad movies sometimes receive at Cannes.” And with reviews from critics blasting the movie for its anti-Christainity subtext, as well as being very boring, this seemed like a movie nobody would find appeal in. However, like the novel before it, people had to watch the movie to understand all of the hype. Opening on May 19, off the back of a best-seller and massive marketing campaign, The Da Vinci Code was able to ride its controversy to an astonishing $77.1 million opening weekend, the biggest opening in both Hanks and Ron Howard’s careers. But even more impressive was its global debut. Thanks to a meaty launch in international territories ($147 million, the biggest international launch ever), the global opening racked up to a mind-bending $224 million, making it the second-biggest global opening ever for a movie, only behind Revenge of the Sith. This immediate popularity, in spite of scathing reception and boycotts propelled the film to $217.5 million domestic and $760 million worldwide. This only further helped the phenomenon that was The Da Vinci Code soar to greater heights. And three years later, Hanks returned to the Langdon role. But we'll get to that when we get to 2009.

2006 Two lunar eclipses and two solar eclipses arrived, NASA launches the first space mission to Pluto, and the United States hits 300 million in its population. Saddam Hussein is found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death, while North Korea becomes the ninth Nuclear Power. California suffered its biggest heat wave, and Barry Bonds beats Babe Ruth’s record, making over 715 home runs. For Hollywood, it saw a major split when CBSViacom broke off into CBS Corporation and Viacom Media Networks. Don’t worry, they’ll get back together in about...13 years. A major merger also happened when The WB and UPN worked together to create The CW. And when it comes to the one that's most important to us box office nerds, Dreamworks Pictures, after a few years of just getting by and nearly toppling into bankruptcy twice, was bought out by Paramount Pictures in February 2006. A couple years later, Dreamworks Pictures would move away from Paramount, apart from an ongoing deal with Dreamworks Animation, that would see it turn into a simple production company, with a deal made with Disney in 2009, only to later be folded into Amblin Partners in 2015, and has since earned a minority stake from Universal, mainly releasing films under that company. In television, a major merger happened when the broadcast channels The WB and UPN worked together to merge into The CW. The big series finales this year were Will & Grace and That 70’s Show, both of which ended on the exact same night. Other finales include The West Wing, The Bernie Mac Show, Malcolm in the Middle, Alias, and Yu-Gi-Oh! There weren’t any huge premieres in terms of general series, but we did see the debuts of shows like Psych, Heroes, Dexter, 30 Rock, and America’s Got Talent. Kids TV was another story. Disney Channel would see the debut of the sitcom Hannah Montana this year. While garnering mixed reviews, it would go on to be one of the biggest shows in the network’s history, with record-high ratings, endless amounts of merchandise, concerts that sold out in minutes, and two theatrical movies. All the while, turning Miley Cyrus into a global superstar overnight. Disney Channel also saw success in original movies with High School Musical. This was another merchandising behemoth for the company, resulting in two sequels, the last one of which actually heading to theaters, and kickstarting the career of heartthrob Zac Efron. Music saw the grand debut of Ne-Yo in 2006, while Eminem remarried his ex-wife Kim, only to divorce her three months later. Shakira’s "Hips Don’t Lie" also broke records in terms of downloads and airplay and Justin Timberlake saw the second biggest album of the year, only behind High School Musical. The biggest headlines in gaming that year were the debuts of the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii, the latter of which introduced motion controls to the mainstream and sold over 101 million units, making it Nintendo’s biggest home console. Some of the bigger losses were Coretta Scott King, Betty Friedan, Don Knotts, Billy Preston, Steve Irwin, Robert Altman, James Brown and Gerald Ford. However, 2006 was also the year we saw the births of McKenna Grace and Jacob Tremblay, the two biggest child actors working today. For the box office, it was a solid bump from last year. However, out of all the stories, there was one clear headline above the rest. The one film that blew the industry away and got people talking. That film was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. This follow-up saw Jack Sparrow on the hunt for the heart of Davy Jones, a part-octopus, part-crab, part-man creature, who hid away his heart in Dead Man’s Chest. Because of a debt he paid to Davy Jones, Jack Sparrow must find the heart, or else his soul will become enslaved to Davy Jones and he will be forced to be a part of his crew on the Flying Dutchman. All the while, other characters are on a quest for the heart for their own agendas. As I said in the 2003 write-up, Curse of the Black Pearl was a massive risk, as Michael Eisner had little fate, and its $140 million price tag was not pretty. However, after making over $654.3 million, Disney executives had dollar signs in their eyes. So to capitalize on this film’s success, as well as allow the studio to have more time with the same cast and crew, two sequels were shot back-to-back, much like what Lord of the Rings and Matrix did. When Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were developing the screenplay, they did not want Pirates to follow in the footsteps of Bond or Indiana Jones with stand-alone adventures, so they retroactively turned Curse of the Black Pearl into the first of a trilogy. This is why the film opens up with the wedding of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann and why they tag along for the adventure. When it came to the story, Elliott and Rossio initially wanted to use the Fountain of Youth as a plot device, but moved in favor of Davy Jones, the Flying Dutchman and the Kraken. The Fountain of Youth would later be used for 2011’s On Stranger Tides. Pre-production began in June 2004, with plans for a much grander production, with more shooting locations and fully working pirate ships. However, things started to hit a snag. On November 2004, just a couple months before production went underway, Elliott and Rossio’s script was unfinished, out of fear Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer would compromise what they wrote. This meant Verbinski hired James Byrkit to storyboard major sequences, with the duo using preparatory scripts for these moments. The costs were getting higher and higher, and the lack of a script made Disney anxious on the project. But after learning from the mistakes of Curse of the Black Pearl, production finally went underway on February 2005. During production, the writers accompanied the cast and crew to each location, often giving rewrites the day of, believing it would improve the spontaneity of the cast. Filming locations included St. Vincent, where the first movie was shot and many of the sets were re-used, but also the island of Dominica for scenes that feature the cannibal island of Pelegosto and the forest segment of the battle in Isla Cruces. Filming in Dominica became a nightmare for the Dominican government. The government were not prepared for the massive 500-strong crew, which meant 90% of their roads were taken over by the Pirates crew. The weather also saw an alternation of torrential rainstorms and hot temperatures, which was awful for the cast forced to wear hot period clothing. For props like the giant water wheel and the bone cages, these were practical effects, with Verbinski believing long close-up shots would suspend the audience’s disbelief. But that didn’t mean CGI wasn’t used. All of Davy Jones’ crew was computer-generated. Initially meant to be ghosts, Verbinski felt it was better for them to be flesh-and-blood creatures. A clever design choice was that the crew members had a certain hierarchy depending on how long they had been there. Newcomers had low-level injections and changes to their anatomy, while long-term members had entire undersea creature attributes. With of course Davy Jones being the most animalistic. Speaking of, Davy Jones originally had been designed with chin growths, but it was decided to have his face feature full-blown tentacles instead. Actor Bill Nighy wore a motion capture tracksuit and make-up around his eyes and mouth on the set, allowing the VFX team at Industrial Light & Magic to not deal with any reshoots on a motion capture studios, and giving a good reference for the team to splice computer-generated effects around those areas. Nighy also gave Davy Jones a more eccentric performance, allowing the animators to have great fun animating the guy. As for the tentacles on his face, their movements were done through a simulation. After a premiere in Disneyland, Dead Man’s Chest opened to the general public on July 7, with a massive marketing campaign and immense hype as the glorious return of Pirates of the Caribbean. And that excitement meant the movie exploded. On its opening day, the film generated $55.8 million, becoming the biggest opening day of all time, ahead of Revenge of the Sith. Its Saturday saw it earn $44.4 million, making it the fastest movie ever to reach $100 million. This all led to a mind-boggling $135.6 million opening weekend. This made it the biggest debut ever for a Disney release, passing The Incredibles, as well as becoming the biggest opening weekend for a film ever, beating Spider-Man’s four-year record. Even today, this is still an incredible number. Stuff like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or Spider-Man were already evergreen properties by the time the movies came out, with huge fan bases and an iconic legacy in literature and comic books. Yes, Pirates was based on a ride, but this was still a relatively new and exciting property to the average consumer. So the fact it opened so high and mighty shows how big and exciting the series was to people back then. And after earning $62.3 million in its second weekend, the third-biggest second weekend ever, the film’s 10-day total amounted to $258.4 million, which made it the biggest 10-day total for any movie ever, and made it the fastest movie to reach $250 million, beating Revenge of the Sith by just one day. The third weekend saw $35.2 million, making it the first film of 2006 to stay #1 for three weeks, as well as becoming the fastest movie ever to reach $300 million in 16 days. Revenge of the Sith took 17. Weekend four was $20.6 million, which meant it became the fastest movie ever to hit $350 million in 23 days, and became Disney’s biggest movie ever at that point. Basically, it made a lot of money, and it made its money fast. Its final domestic haul amounted to $423.3 million, making it the sixth-biggest film ever at the domestic box office at the time. But of course the real headline was its worldwide gross. On its 63rd day of release, yet another speedy record was taken down when Dead Man’s Chest earned $1 billion at the box office. This meant the movie was the third film ever to hit $1 billion, and became the third-biggest film of all time worldwide. It was a resounding success and further proof you need to take risks to make great success. If Eisner shut down Curse of the Black Pearl, Disney would have nothing to show for themselves and wouldn’t have garnered one of the biggest movie franchises ever. And even though the BTS fiascos and trepidations didn’t lead to the same critical adoration, it’s clear this had its fans and people were eager for more. And wouldn’t you know it, next year would give fans what they wanted...kind of.

https://deadline.com/2020/07/even-academy-warns-moviegoers-may-break-habit-1202995049

Apple 1. The Rental 2. The Outpost 3. Trolls World Tour 4. The Invisible Man 5. The High Note 6. Bad Boys for Life 7. A Nice Girl Like You 8. Archive 9. Rad 10. The Gentlemen Amazon 1. The Greatest Showman 2. Trolls World Tour 3. The King of Staten Island 4. Game Night 5. Sonic the Hedgehog 6. Bad Boys for Life 7. The Addams Family 8. Jumanji: The Next Level 9. Bloodshot 10. The Gentlemen

@all men, we need to try and copy Clark Gable's hair curl. 😍 Next week's Forbidden Planet