General Film News

[Isgrimnur]

The Gamer

In the wake of the Disney-Fox merger, Disney has decided to shelve all but a handful of the currently in development film projects at Fox. Nearly 300 films have been cancelled, including films based on Mega Man, Magic: The Gathering, The Sims, and Assassin's Creed 2.

Disney will be moving forward with James Cameron's Avatar franchise (of which there are currently 4 sequels in production) as well as a future Planet of the Apes film and the indie-focused Fox Searchlight brand, all others, at least for the time being, will not be moving forward.
...
As for the cancelled films, it is unknown how far along these projects were at the time they were cancelled. Rumors of a Mega Man movie first began to circulate in 2014, but it wasn't until this past October that Capcom confirmed the project was in development at Fox. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the team behind Catfish and Nerve, were set to write and direct the film. Now, it seems that won't be happening.
...
While The Sims movie has been presumed dead for years, Assassin's Creed 2 was thought to have gone into production shortly after the release of the original. It was planned for a 3 movie franchise, but that may never come to pass now.

Other notable cancelled Fox films include Chronicle 2, Flash Gordon, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and a Die Hard reboot called McClane. It's just too bad Disney can't spare us from that Sonic the Hedgehog movie too.

[Jaymann]

I would think that if any of these movies have serious prospects they would be made at another studio.

[Daehawk]

Dont see a loss there.

[msteelers]

Sounds like Disney is making some good decisions.

[McNutt]

The Sims?

[Holman]

Disney understands that movies based on games have a *terrible* track record.

[gameoverman]

Disney has Kevin Feige, among others. All they need to do is show him the list of movies and have him pass judgment. If he laughs at a title and asks "Are you serious?" that's probably a no on that one.

[Pyperkub]

Disney has Kevin Feige, among others. All they need to do is show him the list of movies and have him pass judgment. If he laughs at a title and asks "Are you serious?" that's probably a no on that one.

A good script can make a strange idea excellent.

[Kraken]

Yeah, a real nihilistic existential script could make an awesome Sims movie.

[msteelers]

Disney has Kevin Feige, among others. All they need to do is show him the list of movies and have him pass judgment. If he laughs at a title and asks "Are you serious?" that's probably a no on that one.

A good script can make a strange idea excellent.

Like one with a talking raccoon and a walking tree?

[Jaymann]

These men are nihilists, there's nothing to be afraid of.
Nihilist : Ve don't care.

[Daehawk]

Disney has Kevin Feige, among others. All they need to do is show him the list of movies and have him pass judgment. If he laughs at a title and asks "Are you serious?" that's probably a no on that one.

A good script can make a strange idea excellent.

Like one with a talking raccoon and a walking tree?

Or a guy covered head to toe in cancer with a baby hand that cant die and never shuts up.

[Alefroth]

Sounds like Disney is making some good decisions.

Did you miss the part about 4 Avatar sequels?

[msteelers]

Sounds like Disney is making some good decisions.

Did you miss the part about 4 Avatar sequels?

Yeah, I’m not looking forward to those. Disney has thrown their full weight behind those films, with a huge presence in the parks too. Which means either the scripts are phenomenal, or they were blinded by Avatar making all the money at the box office.

[McNutt]

I'm sure we all saw Avatar and liked it to some extent. But is anyone really excited to even see Avatar 2?

[msteelers]

I'm sure we all saw Avatar and liked it to some extent. But is anyone really excited to even see Avatar 2?

My wife is.

I think Avatar was a novelty. It dominated the box office because of the 3D tech, not the story and the characters. Now, nobody really cares about 3D. I predict it’s going to be a flop and we don’t see all of the planned sequels. But as I said earlier, Disney is all in. I don’t know if they would do that unless they thought they had a major hit on their hands. Prior to Endgame it was the #1 box office hit of all time. That’s going to guarantee it at least 1 or 2 sequels, but adding an entire section to your theme parks? That requires faith and confidence in the franchise. That’s why I think there’s a chance the scripts for these next few movies could be really strong.

[Daehawk]

Never saw Avatar. Kinda wanted to but kinda didn't care either. Thought it would be a dud. Turned out different. But not seeing it on the big screen in 3D means Ill never watch that at home and lose 2 important parts.

Our cousin who died Christmas 2017 though he loved it. Him and his friends saw it I think he said 8 times. Before that I didn't even know he liked sci-fi stuff lol. He went and saw Guardians of the galaxy 2 with us just that May in 2017 too. Last movie me and my wife saw.

So Ill never see Avatar unfortunately.

[McNutt]

I don't ever count James Cameron out. That son of a bitch just might deliver

[Jaymann]

I don't ever count James Cameron out. That son of a bitch just might deliver

Maybe if the aliens turned out to be evil and tried to use human technology to conquer the galaxy.

[gameoverman]

Never saw Avatar. Kinda wanted to but kinda didn't care either. Thought it would be a dud. Turned out different. But not seeing it on the big screen in 3D means Ill never watch that at home and lose 2 important parts.

Our cousin who died Christmas 2017 though he loved it. Him and his friends saw it I think he said 8 times. Before that I didn't even know he liked sci-fi stuff lol. He went and saw Guardians of the galaxy 2 with us just that May in 2017 too. Last movie me and my wife saw.

So Ill never see Avatar unfortunately.

In my opinion, the ONLY thing Avatar had going for it was James Cameron's use of the 3d technology. No lie, it was amazing and nothing else has ever equaled it because the other filmmakers used a cheaper 2d to 3d conversion or the other filmmakers simply didn't have Cameron's level of skill in composing an image. This means people who did not see Avatar in the theaters can still get that experience, via the sequels. Watch one sequel in a theater in 3d and you will have experienced all Avatar has to offer you. Plot and characters are optional things there to provide an excuse for the 3d world.

[McNutt]

I can't stand 3D as it usually adds nothing to the experience. Having said that, Avatar's 3D was simply stunning. It got everyone so pumped about 3D that everyone started doing it and nobody ever came close to the theatrical experience Cameron achieved.

Does Pandora have the potential to suck me back in? Probably not. But if he can dazzle me like that with a different story, then I'll give him my money again.

[Isgrimnur]

Vulture

Joe Neff knew there was trouble when the horror films started vanishing.

Neff is the director of the 24-Hour Science Fiction and Horror Marathons that happen every spring and fall at the Drexel Theater, an independent venue in Columbus, Ohio. For this year’s Horror Marathon, Neff wanted to screen the original 1976 version of The Omen and the 1986 remake of The Fly, two of hundreds of older 20th Century Fox features that became the property of the Walt Disney Corporation after its $7.3 billion purchase of the studio’s parent company, 21st Century Fox, was made official this past spring. In the preceding few months, Neff had heard rumblings in his Google group of film programmers that Disney was about to start treating older Fox titles as they do older Disney titles — making them mostly unavailable to for-profit theaters. More and more film programmers and theater managers were reporting that they had suddenly and cryptically been told by their studio contacts that Fox’s back catalogue was no longer available to show. Some got calls informing them that an existing booking had been revoked.

When Neff’s requests to screen The Fly and The Omen were denied — via the Drexel, which handles the logistics of booking a programmer’s requested titles — he realized the rumors were true, and that he had to stop screening Fox films altogether.
...
Speaking of steady earners: the steadiest of them all, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, appears to be the one title Disney isn’t cracking down on — perhaps because, according to Rachel Fox, “maybe Disney knows that if they pull Rocky Horror too, there’ll be a full-scale audience revolt.”)

[Rumpy]

I can't stand 3D as it usually adds nothing to the experience.

Yeah, probably because most of them are conversions. I'd wager that 90% of 3D movies are conversions. A good 3D movie has to be shot and planned with 3D in mind for it to have the best effect, but conversions are likely much cheaper and can be applied to most movies, giving them an outlet to making more money and justification for higher ticket prices.

I think aside from Avatar, the only other movie I saw that really took advantage of 3D because it was designed that way, was Spielberg's Tintin.

[Isgrimnur]

Variety

In a move at once unsurprising and highly symbolic, the Walt Disney Company is dropping the “Fox” brand from the 21st Century Fox assets it acquired last March, Variety has learned. The 20th Century Fox film studio will become 20th Century Studios, and Fox Searchlight Pictures will become simply Searchlight Pictures.

On the TV side, however, no final decisions have been made about adjusting the monikers of production units 20th Century Fox Television and Fox 21 Television Studios. Discussions about a possible name change are underway, but no consensus has emerged, according to a source close to the situation.
...
Those logos won’t be dramatically altered, just updated. The most notable change is that the word “Fox” has been removed from the logo marks. Otherwise, the signature elements — swirling klieg lights, monolith, triumphal fanfare — will remain the same.

Insiders characterize the change as rather inevitable. Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox last March included the 20th Century Fox film and TV studios, but not the Fox broadcast network or Fox News, which remained part of Fox Corp. under CEO Lachlan Murdoch. That automatically injected a level of brand confusion at odds with the highly differentiated divisions within Disney’s ranks, and Fox Corp. has no reason to change its name.

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

Yeah, it's the end of an era, but that end really happened when they purchased the studios; this is just one of the final nails in the coffin. C'est la vie.

[Blackhawk]

To be fair, the name 'Fox' is carrying around quite a bit of baggage these days. Baggage Disney may not want to have mistaken as theirs.

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

As some articles have noted, brand confusion was most likely the main reason. Even putting aside any baggage, Fox Corp still exists, and it's not as if they're going to be changing their name any time soon.