Dear Marvel Studios,
First off, I just want to say that I'm a big fan of you guys. Big fan. Huge, if you will. Even as a lifelong diehard Batman fan, my bias between the two big comics giants has always been with you guys. Since my childhood a large part of my (and my parent's) disposable income has been spent on action figures, comic books, lining up for your films, buying the special-edition DVD's, even the video games. Yes, the X-Men sucked me in at an early age, and my addiction to all things Marvel happily spread to the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, and so on as a result.
When news broke a few years ago that you would be starting your own film studio, after the successes of the X-Men and Spiderman franchises, I was jazzed. After all, what this meant was that the superhero movie boom, something that I had happily blown more than a few dollars on, would continue for some time to come. So fast-forward from 2005 to now, and I've spent quite a few moments in 2008 noticing a few things regarding you, Marvel Studios, and your stars. Namely that you might be totally screwing the pooch.
CONTINUED HERE
The main reason I started thinking about this, was because of this new report today of why Terrence Howard got the boot from Iron Man 2, and the reason for it wasn't just because of Howard's reported difficulty onset, but because of salary issues. To sum it up, you replaced Howard with Don Cheadle because Howard refused a reduced salary from what he received in the first film.
This made me recall earlier in the year, when Edward Norton refused to do any press for The Incredible Hulk, after spending months feuding with your studio heads over the content of the film (Norton wanted more character development for Bruce Banner, you guys wanted more action. You won out in the end, but Norton's cut scenes are on the DVD). While Hulk made back its budget, it didn't exactly turn out to be The Dark Knight, did it? Let's face it, it hardly even turned out to be Fantastic Four.
So essentially, you've independently released two movies, with a few more on their way, ad we're already getting word from multiple sides saying that you're not working so well with your stars. Yes, those crazy, egotistical actors. They get paid to much, they show up late, party too hard, and cause trouble onset like only an over-entitled diva could. But guess what? They're also a big reason that a movie can tip the line between Spiderman and Daredevil. It's their talent.
People go to see superhero movies because they want to see superheroes do superhero things in superhero ways. That includes lots of crazy good guys and bad guys with lots of crazy powers and lots of crazy scenarios in grand places (insert Arctic/Golden Gate Bridge/Afghanistan/ Brazilian Jungle here). But what elevates a superhero movie from good (or mediocre) to great, is always an actor bringing a legendary superhero to life. Heath Ledger's pretty much a lock on an Oscar nod because he made the Joker the iconic villain of the year. Hugh Jackman became a star by seamlessly embodying Wolverine in the X-Men films. You guys watched Robert Downey Jr. revive his career this year in your own Iron Man, and propel it into the 2nd biggest movie of the year ('twas not that fancy suit that kept bringing everyone back for a second round of Tony Stark).
There are lots of talented people essential to making a great film, however, the majority of the moviegoing public doesn't care about anyone else but who they see on screen. That's who they connect to. Not only that, but the talent that actors such as Norton and Howard bring to these projects is a rare find in mass commercial fare.
So now you guys are going to continue to move forward, but at what cost? Couldn't an extra ten minutes of Norton's suggested character development actually saved the relationship with the actor, and thus save any future sequels from having Bruce Banner be played by three actors in as many movies? And it's not like Terrence Howard is Johnny Depp and costs $30 million. Maybe you could have just paid him the same amount as the first film and kept him happy, especially since you were probably planning on keeping him around to pimp out a War Machine movie in the next few years?
I only say this because I have concern for you, Marvel Studios. Actors talk to each other, and if you keep on shitting the bed with the ones you work with, maybe eventually most of the good ones won't want to work with you anymore. And that could be an issue. After all, Iron Man was good, but DC totally stole your thunder with The Dark Knight this summer, and now they plan on rolling out all of their big characters too. So learn to play nice, Marvel Studios. Because if Jessica Alba is going to continue being in your movies, I'm lining up for Wonder Woman.
First off, I just want to say that I'm a big fan of you guys. Big fan. Huge, if you will. Even as a lifelong diehard Batman fan, my bias between the two big comics giants has always been with you guys. Since my childhood a large part of my (and my parent's) disposable income has been spent on action figures, comic books, lining up for your films, buying the special-edition DVD's, even the video games. Yes, the X-Men sucked me in at an early age, and my addiction to all things Marvel happily spread to the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, and so on as a result.
When news broke a few years ago that you would be starting your own film studio, after the successes of the X-Men and Spiderman franchises, I was jazzed. After all, what this meant was that the superhero movie boom, something that I had happily blown more than a few dollars on, would continue for some time to come. So fast-forward from 2005 to now, and I've spent quite a few moments in 2008 noticing a few things regarding you, Marvel Studios, and your stars. Namely that you might be totally screwing the pooch.
CONTINUED HERE
The main reason I started thinking about this, was because of this new report today of why Terrence Howard got the boot from Iron Man 2, and the reason for it wasn't just because of Howard's reported difficulty onset, but because of salary issues. To sum it up, you replaced Howard with Don Cheadle because Howard refused a reduced salary from what he received in the first film.
This made me recall earlier in the year, when Edward Norton refused to do any press for The Incredible Hulk, after spending months feuding with your studio heads over the content of the film (Norton wanted more character development for Bruce Banner, you guys wanted more action. You won out in the end, but Norton's cut scenes are on the DVD). While Hulk made back its budget, it didn't exactly turn out to be The Dark Knight, did it? Let's face it, it hardly even turned out to be Fantastic Four.
So essentially, you've independently released two movies, with a few more on their way, ad we're already getting word from multiple sides saying that you're not working so well with your stars. Yes, those crazy, egotistical actors. They get paid to much, they show up late, party too hard, and cause trouble onset like only an over-entitled diva could. But guess what? They're also a big reason that a movie can tip the line between Spiderman and Daredevil. It's their talent.
People go to see superhero movies because they want to see superheroes do superhero things in superhero ways. That includes lots of crazy good guys and bad guys with lots of crazy powers and lots of crazy scenarios in grand places (insert Arctic/Golden Gate Bridge/Afghanistan/ Brazilian Jungle here). But what elevates a superhero movie from good (or mediocre) to great, is always an actor bringing a legendary superhero to life. Heath Ledger's pretty much a lock on an Oscar nod because he made the Joker the iconic villain of the year. Hugh Jackman became a star by seamlessly embodying Wolverine in the X-Men films. You guys watched Robert Downey Jr. revive his career this year in your own Iron Man, and propel it into the 2nd biggest movie of the year ('twas not that fancy suit that kept bringing everyone back for a second round of Tony Stark).
There are lots of talented people essential to making a great film, however, the majority of the moviegoing public doesn't care about anyone else but who they see on screen. That's who they connect to. Not only that, but the talent that actors such as Norton and Howard bring to these projects is a rare find in mass commercial fare.
So now you guys are going to continue to move forward, but at what cost? Couldn't an extra ten minutes of Norton's suggested character development actually saved the relationship with the actor, and thus save any future sequels from having Bruce Banner be played by three actors in as many movies? And it's not like Terrence Howard is Johnny Depp and costs $30 million. Maybe you could have just paid him the same amount as the first film and kept him happy, especially since you were probably planning on keeping him around to pimp out a War Machine movie in the next few years?
I only say this because I have concern for you, Marvel Studios. Actors talk to each other, and if you keep on shitting the bed with the ones you work with, maybe eventually most of the good ones won't want to work with you anymore. And that could be an issue. After all, Iron Man was good, but DC totally stole your thunder with The Dark Knight this summer, and now they plan on rolling out all of their big characters too. So learn to play nice, Marvel Studios. Because if Jessica Alba is going to continue being in your movies, I'm lining up for Wonder Woman.
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