Disney Is Putting Several Fox Film Projects on the Chopping Block and Axing Them
We all knew there were going to be big changes when Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox was completed. We also knew that some of the films that were in production at Fox before the deal closed were going to be put on the chopping block and axed. Well, that is now happening.
We already reported on Mouse Guard being shut down, and now we can add Tom Hanks’ upcoming film News of the World (picked up by Universal) and an adaptation of Angie Thomas' best-seller On the Come Up (picked up by Paramount) to the list. There’s also Woody Harrelson’s mental-hospital-set dramedy Fruit Loops, which could end up at another studio as well.
It looks to me like these movies are getting shut down by Disney because they aren’t franchise material or films with wide audience appeal. From a business standpoint it makes sense, but from an artistic standpoint it sucks. Here we have some wonderful stories to be told, yet Disney doesn’t want to take the risk with them.
Thankfully, there are other studios that will pick them up and get them made, and this is another good reason to have streaming services like Netflix around to help get these movies made.
One of the reasons as to why On the Come Up didn’t make the cut is because Thomas’ last project, The Hate U Give, lost $30 million-$40 million. Now, The Hate U Give got rave reviews from critics, but because the movie didn’t make money, Disney doesn’t want to give this similar project a go.
As for the movies that they are moving forward with, the report mentions the Matthew Vaughn-directed Kingsman prequel The Great Game, Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds‘ Free Guy, Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, the supernatural thriller Fear Street, and Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. But there’s apparently even a problem with West Side Story!
One source says Disney film chief Alan Horn is questioning the apparent plan to have young characters smoking onscreen in West Side Story. "With Fox, we can make movies that right now I say no to ... We always have to think about the smoking policy. The audience for a Disney movie may not know what they are going to see, but they know what they aren't going to see. There are certain things we just can't include because we'll get letters."
It’ll be interesting to see how that whole thing plays out.
In the end, Disney is looking for “larger all-audience PG-13 and R-rated films” from Fox. They want to maximize appeal to wide audiences rather than taking chances on more niche projects, even if budgets are low. A producer at Fox had this to say in a statement:
"We are now just only beginning to see how all this consolidation will change how movies get greenlit and made. They are looking at everything."
I wish that Disney, with all of the resources that they have, would take chances on smaller project with new, fresh, and original stories.
Source: THR