Register  |  Sign In
View unanswered posts | View active topics It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 10:03 am



Reply to topic  [ 30 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other 
Author Message
Superfreak
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:54 am
Posts: 21876
Location: Places
Post 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Time to feel old. Hard to believe that we are upon the 20th anniversary of the summer of 2001, the time where it seemed the opening weekend record was being challenged every other week and the record books were completely rewritten. What an incredible spring & summer that year was. The summer box office explosion sparked my personal interest in the film business and it remains strong to this day.

For context, the opening weekend record at the time was $72 million. held by THE LOST WORLD from 1997. Yes, EPISODE 1 - which opened on a Wednesday to $105m 5 day gross - would have beaten it had it the standard 3 day opening. INDEPENDENCE DAY's $96 million Wed-Sunday gross in 1996 also could have topped $72m had it opened on a Friday.

Coming into 2001, the top 10 opening weekends looked like this:
1. Lost World: Jurassic Park - $72 million
2. Star Wars - Episode 1: $64 million
3. Mission Impossible 2: $57.8m
4. Toy Story 2: $57.3 million
5. The Grinch: $55.2 million
6. The Spy Who Shagged Me: $54.9 million
7. X-Men: $54.5 million
8. Batman Forever: $52.8 million
9. Men In Black: $51.1 million
10. Independence Day: $50.2 million

Enter 2001:

2/9: Hannibal - $58 million
The long-awaited sequel to the instant classic Silence of the Lambs. The return of Hannibal Lecter + the promise of a larger scale picture causes this movie to utterly blow up. Word of mouth wasn't great (it wouldn't be alone here) and film promptly tanked in the following weeks, and also sabotaged much of the hype that had previously surrounded 2002's RED DRAGON but with the 3rd largest opening in history - with an R rating no less - nobody could complain.

5/4: The Mummy Returns - $68 million
The highly-anticipated sequel to 1999's breakout smash hit THE MUMMY over-performed big time, opening to the tune of the 2nd largest opening weekend ever. Featuring THE ROCK in his first screen role, hype for this was massive. Given the massive response, it's puzzling The Mummy 3 was not green lit that weekend and instead wouldn't be released for another 7 years when Pirates had clearly stolen the Mummy's adventure thunder.

5/18: Shrek - $43 million
The combination of "still new" CG animation plus the team-up of megastars Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz - alongside unexpected stellar reviews - caused this film to explode upon opening. Unlike seemingly every other film that summer, its reception was excellent and legs were incredible. In a summer full of expensive sequels, adaptions and remakes this dark horse family friendly film beat them all and spawned an immensely successful film series.

5/25: Pearl Harbor - $59.1/$75.5 million holiday 4 day
The most media-hyped film of summer 2001 was mega-budgeted Pearl Harbor from blockbuster kings Bruckheimer and Bay. So anticipated was this movie that even though it was 3+ hour long, horribly-reviewed movie about WW2, it was the 4th highest opener ever and still is, to this day, the last "original" film to open in the top 5 of all time. This movie marked the start of Ben Affleck overload (rehab stint 1 followed this movies release) while scene-stealing Josh Hartnett became an overnight superstar (pretty sure Bay had a crush on him during filming) who would promptly abandon Hollywood. The movie was a bit more popular with audiences than critics but fell quickly in proceeding weeks and left a sizable pop culture foot print.

6/15: Lara Croft - $47 million
Angelina Jolie's truly star making role. Once again, word of mouth stunk and the film tanked in following weeks, but this opening opened eyes (in more ways than one) and caused Jolie to instantly becoming Hollywood's number 1 blockbuster actress.

6/22: The Fast & The Furious - $40 million
What is there to say other than back in 2001, WHO THE FUCK WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THIS SERIES WOULD STILL BE GOING (in outer space no less) 20 YEARS LATER? Vin Diesel was the films breakout star and would promptly be elevated to superstar status, single-handily turning 2002's XXX into a blockbuster film and opting out the films sequel, 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious.

6/29: AI - $29 million
It took 6 months for the year to have a true disappointment at the box office. The Speilberg / Haley Joel Osment (fresh of SIXTH SENSE) / Jude Law (back when he was hot shit) team up film didn't come close to financial expectation and suffered a swift decline in the following weeks.

7/13: Legally Blonde - $20m
Though not a blockbuster by any stretch, this was a dramatic over performance and launched Reese Witherspoon into the 200s superstar she became.

7/20: Jurassic Park 3 - $50.1 million
Suffering from so-so word of mouth of 1997's LOST WORLD and a stale premise, the film opening sharply lower than its predecessor but still resulted in crammed cinemas on opening weekend. The 14th largest opener at the time is nothing to sneeze at, though it's less-than-enthusiastic response would cause the series to go dormant for 14 years until 2015's JURASSIC WORLD would capitalize on early 1990's nostalgia and explode upon arrival.

7/27: Planet of the apes - $68.5 million
The ultra-hyped remake from the director of Batman and Sleepy Hollow starring Marky Mark - fresh of PERFORM STORM success the previous summer - exploded upon release. Defying the movie optimistic of expectations, the movie launched with the 2nd highest opening day ever which caused brief rumors that it would top LOST WORLD and claim the weekend record. Poor word of mouth caused sharper than expected declines during Saturday and Sunday and final result came in at $68.5. Fox announced sequels that were never to be due to the films so-so reception.

8/3: Rush Hour 2 - $67.5 million
It must have been nice to be a theater owner at this point. Fresh off the incredible reception of 1998s Rush Hour, this movie exploded upon a release - a comedy as the highest openings ever. So popular was the film that is managed to convince Chris Tucker that he should only work for $20 million a film! As with seemingly every other film from this summer aside from Shrek, word of mouth was less than great and despite the films financial success, no sequel was rushed and it would be 6 more years until Tucker and Chan would appear on screen together again.

8/10: American Pie 2 - $45.5 million
The sequel to 1999s teen comedy classic blew up on opening weekend, becoming a true must-see film for the 16-24 demographic. Once again, word of mouth wasn't great and the film quickly dropped. It did receive a quick sequel in 2003, but the hype wasn't even close to this one and series would go mostly straight to video from this point.

As summer ended, the record books looked completely different. The era of frontloading and franchising was officially underway. Big winners of the summer were The Rock, Josh Hartnett, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon and Vin Diesel.

1. Lost World: Jurassic Park - $72 million
2. Planet of the Apes - $68.5 million
3. The Mummy Returns - $68 million
4. Rush Hour 2 - $67.5 million

5. Star Wars - Episode 1: $64 million
6. Pearl Harbor - $59.1 million
7. Hannibal - $58 million

8. Mission Impossible 2: $57.8m
9. Toy Story 2: $57.3 million
10. The Grinch: $55.2 million

_________________
Ari Emmanuel wrote:
I'd rather marry lindsay Lohan than represent Mel Gibson.


Sun Apr 18, 2021 1:56 am
Profile
The Kramer
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:36 am
Posts: 23695
Location: Classified
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Summer 2001 got me into box office! Great run, and we had Potter/Spider-Man right around the corner.


Sun Apr 18, 2021 2:30 am
Profile
Superfreak
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:54 am
Posts: 21876
Location: Places
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
It is interesting that 20 years on, the things that have stuck from that summer most obviously are The Rock and the Fast & Furious series. 20 years going and they're both utterly huge. Shrek has long since peaked but that was massive too.

But the other big things from that year?

-Pearl Harbor was supposed to cement Affleck as a Cruise/Will Smith figure - he had Jack Ryan and Daredevil still to come - and yet within 2 years, his career was literally dead. Of course he had an epic comeback, but Affleck's fall from mid 2001 to mid 2003 was a straight nosedive.

-Josh Hartnett was a hugely famous celebrity in the early 2000s when the tabloids were king. I didn't realize just how young he was (21) when was in Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down but his future looked insanely bright and screamed "franchise". Lots of comps to Brad Pitt with the likable midwestern casual vibe and supermodel face. But he basically walked away from mainstream Hollywood to be a character actor.

-Chris Tucker also started a bit of a disappearing act. Holding out for huge paychecks and being extremely selective with his scripts meant he made very few movies after Rush Hour 2.

-Vin Diesel's career seemingly died after he said he was too good for the F&F and XXX sequels. Obviously he returned to mainstream with future F&F movies but other than that?

-Reese Witherspoon would have a run with Sweet Home Alabama and win an Oscar for Walk The Line, but her box office returns would also prove misleading given the celebrity she enjoyed.

2001 was a year full of very interesting actors and eagerly awaited projects that, in most cases, resulted in unfulfilled potential.

_________________
Ari Emmanuel wrote:
I'd rather marry lindsay Lohan than represent Mel Gibson.


Sun Apr 18, 2021 2:50 am
Profile
Begging Naked
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:07 pm
Posts: 14737
Location: The Present (Duh)
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
I got into following the box office in the summer of 2000, which I feel like was kind of a perfect time to get into it because it gave me a year of lead-up to this summer thinking that only follow-ups to the Biggest Movie of All Time could open above $60 million. Watching movie after movie after movie blow past that mark, with Monsters, Inc. and Harry Potter still to come, was insane and jaw-dropping for me.


Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:58 am
Profile WWW
Extraordinary

Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 1:53 pm
Posts: 11452
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary:i A Summer Like No Other
Definitely was a huge year. Other notables:

Rising Stars:

Rise of Christopher Nolan (how did you forget this one Excel? ;) ) with Memento, which opened before summer but was the independent watercooler hit that gave way to his commercial career

Mainstream success for Heath Ledger with A Knight's Tale. He could have easily become known just for 10 Things I Hate About You as a teenage film star but this film shifted his career trajectory.

Nicole Kidman rebounds from Eyes Wide Shut with Moulin Rouge and The Others. Summer 2001 was the summer of Nicole Kidman and culminated in her winning an Oscar 2 years later.

Declining Stars

Atlantis and Disney Animation. Tarzan was a strong hit but Atlantis definitely underwhelmed in the shadow of Shrek. It put the pressure on Disney to buy Pixar. Treasure Planet not to long after was the big blow but Atlantis showed signs to come.


Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:45 am
Profile WWW
Superfreak
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:54 am
Posts: 21876
Location: Places
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Nolan :wub2:

Funny enough, Heath Ledger is another one whose career kinda died after a hot 1999-2001 run. Prior to The Dark Knight, he had a bunch of flops aside from Brokeback Mountain.

_________________
Ari Emmanuel wrote:
I'd rather marry lindsay Lohan than represent Mel Gibson.


Sun Apr 18, 2021 12:00 pm
Profile
On autopilot for the summer
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:14 pm
Posts: 21628
Location: Walking around somewhere
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Jurassic Park III also opened on a Wednesday, it would have been closer to the top of the list as well.

Great summer for sure. I still put 84,89, 03, 07, 15, and 19 ahead of it though. 01 in general is a big prototype for the entire year's box office with films like Hannibal, Potter, LOTR, even Jeepers Creepers crushing the labor Day holiday.

_________________
Image

Chippy wrote:
As always, fuck Thegun.


Chippy wrote:
I want to live vicariously through you, Thegun!


Mon Apr 19, 2021 8:16 am
Profile
Forum General
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2004 2:27 pm
Posts: 6145
Location: New York
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Yes, this was a super-fun year to follow (I'd also begun tracking box office the year before in 2000).

I remember my mind being blown seeing how close The Mummy Returns got to TLW, and then I think RH2 having the 4th biggest OW ever as a comedy sequel was even more impressive (although by that point we'd become more accustomed to mega-openings).


Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:10 am
Profile
KJ's Most Embarssing Misspeller
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 4:20 pm
Posts: 106
Location: The District
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
TPM in 1999 was my first real brush with BO but summer 2001 is when it went from mild interest to hobby.

The four-week stretch from mid-July to mid-August when you had JP3/American Sweethearts, Apes, RH2, and American Pie 2 basically set the template for modern-day summer movie scheduling and frontloading as excel alluded to.

What's insane is that after such a massive summer, we then had an insane November/December with HP1, FOTR, Monsters Inc, and Oceans 11 which set the template for modern day holiday movie schedule.

2001 set the rules for how box office in the 21st century was going to be. Many of us basically exist on these forums because of it as we were all young and internet-savvy at the time and got lured to the forums due to what happen in that year.

_________________
MadGez wrote:
Listen to Magnus he knows his shit.
Darth Indiana Bond wrote:
Magnus is right
trixster wrote:
magnus is my hero
Loyal wrote:
Dr. Lecter wrote:
Magnus is the fucking voice of reason.
That's scary.
bABA wrote:
fuck Magnus
zwackerm wrote:
You're incredibly overrated and and if they made a Pixar film about you it would gross less than The Good Dinosaur.


Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:46 am
Profile
Superfreak
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:54 am
Posts: 21876
Location: Places
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Noteworthy is the insane openings of Spider-man 2002 and Matrix Reloaded in 2003 showed us that none of the 2001 break-out were even close to full potential.

_________________
Ari Emmanuel wrote:
I'd rather marry lindsay Lohan than represent Mel Gibson.


Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:53 pm
Profile
KJ's Most Embarssing Misspeller
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 4:20 pm
Posts: 106
Location: The District
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
i think it did. Mummy Returns, Rush Hour 2, Apes, etc. all did way above expectations and none of them were near the IP of SM1 or AOTC or Matrix. The fact that the 2001 films did close to 70m OW I think made the possibility of a 100m+ OW a lot clearer.

_________________
MadGez wrote:
Listen to Magnus he knows his shit.
Darth Indiana Bond wrote:
Magnus is right
trixster wrote:
magnus is my hero
Loyal wrote:
Dr. Lecter wrote:
Magnus is the fucking voice of reason.
That's scary.
bABA wrote:
fuck Magnus
zwackerm wrote:
You're incredibly overrated and and if they made a Pixar film about you it would gross less than The Good Dinosaur.


Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:14 pm
Profile
Superfreak
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:54 am
Posts: 21876
Location: Places
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
it is funny how much missed potential there was. The Mummy 3 or Rush Hour 3 in 2003 or 2004 would have huge hits. The Michael Bay/Josh Hartnett Superman film in 2003 or 2004 would have been huge. A proper and immediate Fast and Furious sequel, instead of subbing Tyrese, would have been huge. Legally Blonde 2 should have been much bigger. etc etc

_________________
Ari Emmanuel wrote:
I'd rather marry lindsay Lohan than represent Mel Gibson.


Wed Apr 21, 2021 5:31 pm
Profile
On autopilot for the summer
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:14 pm
Posts: 21628
Location: Walking around somewhere
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
2003 was a catalyst of so many movies eating into each other. The action lineup was insane that year. I remember is was like T3, Pirates, LXG, Charlies Angels, Bad Boys 2, Hulk, 28 Days Later, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Italian Job, Johnny English, Spy Kids 3, Lara Croft. And that was just the middle 2 months of the summer for Action films.

Plus you have to remember Diesel said no to sequels at the time, that Superman movie seemed like a disaster, they wouldn't have done well in that year.

I still think 89 was the precursor to 01. You had the the OW record beat 4 times that year, once in November. 6 100 million summer movies at the time. At that moment an entire year only had 6 in a year total. That wouldn't be beat until the summer of 94. Also, I think to qualify as the best Summer you need the #1 movie to have been released in Summer. 01 is a great example of also the Summer not living up to movies for the rest of the year.

_________________
Image

Chippy wrote:
As always, fuck Thegun.


Chippy wrote:
I want to live vicariously through you, Thegun!


Wed Apr 21, 2021 7:23 pm
Profile
Superfreak
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:54 am
Posts: 21876
Location: Places
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
The Superman script of the early 2000s was the one by JJ Abrams. It was Superman meets Independence Day. In Michael Bay's hands, starring of the biggest names in pop culture at the time in Hartnett, plus one of the biggest names in Hollywood at the tine (Anthony Hopkins had signed as Jor-el)?

That would have been a massive OPENER. How it held, who knows, but the film would have been insanely marketable and hyped. I would guess that tops $100 million opening weekend if it opens in 2004.

To think WB went from a concept of that insane financial potential to the borderline unmarketable Superman Returns is just... :grrr:

_________________
Ari Emmanuel wrote:
I'd rather marry lindsay Lohan than represent Mel Gibson.


Wed Apr 21, 2021 8:41 pm
Profile
On autopilot for the summer
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:14 pm
Posts: 21628
Location: Walking around somewhere
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Why would that open over 100 million in 2004 when Superman Returns opened two years later to 50 million (granted it probably would have done 70 million if not for the Wednesday opener, and Josh Hartnett was not a big draw, I don't know what you're talking about there. And Superman Returns was marketed pretty well, it did out open Batman Begins, and I'm confident a sequel with Routh would have been bigger (Not TDK big though, I think it could have gotten MOS numbers, especially at the time when they were thinking of linking Bale, and Green Lantern around for JL around 2010. They actually had their chance at a much better JL even before MCU was a thing)

But this is a summer 01 thread, no use talking about all the failed Superman attempts. I'm sure Burton's would have been a big size hit too.

_________________
Image

Chippy wrote:
As always, fuck Thegun.


Chippy wrote:
I want to live vicariously through you, Thegun!


Thu Apr 22, 2021 12:21 am
Profile
Dont Mess with the Gez
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 9:54 am
Posts: 22646
Location: Melbourne Australia
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Magnus wrote:
i think it did. Mummy Returns, Rush Hour 2, Apes, etc. all did way above expectations and none of them were near the IP of SM1 or AOTC or Matrix. The fact that the 2001 films did close to 70m OW I think made the possibility of a 100m+ OW a lot clearer.


It did. I recall many of us had Spider-man pegged at $70-$80m OW because of the 2001 mega openers. It then blew all expectations out of the water.

_________________


What's your favourite movie summer? Let us know @

http://worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=85934



Thu Apr 22, 2021 8:01 pm
Profile
KJ's Leading Idiot

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:15 pm
Posts: 36915
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Josh Hartnett was a known hot entity but he wasn't a draw. And Excel is at it again hyping things that would never happen (never change your sunny optimism :thumbsup: )


Thu Apr 22, 2021 8:06 pm
Profile
Dont Mess with the Gez
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 9:54 am
Posts: 22646
Location: Melbourne Australia
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Nice write-up Excel. It was truly a remarkable year for BO and film quality.

After the summer we still had a mega post-911 boom in November/December with HP/FOTR/MI/O11 which ended up taking 1st, 2nd, 4th and 8th positions of the year.

Having followed BO tracking since 94 - I think 2001 was the most exciting to follow since summer 96.

It also gave us TWO $300m+ grossers in the one year for only the second time (99 was close, 00 had none).

_________________


What's your favourite movie summer? Let us know @

http://worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=85934



Thu Apr 22, 2021 8:08 pm
Profile
Superfreak
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:54 am
Posts: 21876
Location: Places
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Thegun wrote:
Why would that open over 100 million in 2004 when Superman Returns opened two years later to 50 million (granted it probably would have done 70 million if not for the Wednesday opener, and Josh Hartnett was not a big draw, I don't know what you're talking about there. And Superman Returns was marketed pretty well


-Superman Returns marketing sucked, everyone knows this, primarily because the films gloomy, retro look with 1 action scene was a hideous mismatch for what was wanted at the time. Michael Bay's movie would have been ultra bright & modern, full of beautiful people and epic action. Bay makes the most marketable films in history - Pearl Harbor and Transformers in particular have iconic trailers. One can only imagine what his Superman trailer would have looked like.

-Josh Hartnett was extremely famous with the 18-30 crowd at this time and seemingly every woman was in love with him from 2001-2003. Hartnett wasn't Will Smith type draw but he was clearly the leader of young Hollywood at that time, ahead of the likes of Heath Ledger and the entire cast of Black Hawk Down, etc and was a MUCH bigger "draw" on his own than say Tobey McGuire or Christian Bale pre Batman. :funny: There is a reason WB reportedly threw $100 million (in 2003 dollars) at him for a 3 film deal. Hartnett as Superman circa 2003-2004 would have been a massive pop culture moment. Who knows how good the film would have been - everyone knows the movies Bay makes and Hartnett was barely old enough to drink beer.

Regardless, no doubt a Michael Bay + Josh Hartnett Superman film based on Superman fighting an alien invasion of Earth would have opened HUGE in 2003-2004.

_________________
Ari Emmanuel wrote:
I'd rather marry lindsay Lohan than represent Mel Gibson.


Thu Apr 22, 2021 11:02 pm
Profile
Extraordinary

Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 1:53 pm
Posts: 11452
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
The Fast and the Furious opening will always stand out to me that year.

No stars. No special effects. Could easily have opened to under $20 m and was expected to lose to Dr. Dolittle 2 OW.

Gone In 60 Second opened the year before and was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, starred Nicholas Cage who was still a bankable star in action movies at the time, Angelina Jolie in her follow up to winning an Oscar 4 months earlier, and a strong supporting cast. Made $102 m.

Fast has 10 direct sequels and 3 released or tentative spinoffs for 14 movies total from a movie expected to open to under $20M.

Universal originally had it slated for the spring but test screenings gave it confidence to shift to the summer. It may at some point outgross the Harry Potter franchise if it hasn't already once every sequel and spinoff is released which ruled that year and decade.


Thu Apr 22, 2021 11:39 pm
Profile WWW
On autopilot for the summer
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:14 pm
Posts: 21628
Location: Walking around somewhere
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Didn't Bay turn down Superman? Why is he even in discussion? and Abrams only wrote a draft, and Hartnett was only ever considered for the draft that was by the Batman Forever/Robin writer, and I think if memory serves it was mostly a ploy to get Christian Bale to sign on to Batman after Year One was cancelled. So that big scenario has a lot of gray in there. I think the directors considering doing it were Wolfgang Peterson or McG.

_________________
Image

Chippy wrote:
As always, fuck Thegun.


Chippy wrote:
I want to live vicariously through you, Thegun!


Fri Apr 23, 2021 2:57 am
Profile
Superfreak
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:54 am
Posts: 21876
Location: Places
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Abrams wrote several drafts, the first of which was was controversial and the second of which electrifying. The 2nd draft is the one the one Brett Ratner and Anthony Hopkins both signed on to make. Ratner wanted to cast Brendan Fraser but WB thought he was too old so he left. McG was in & out and wanted to cast Henry Cavill but studio said the was too young. Studio wanted Hartnett throughout but Hartnett said no. Bay was leery though Hartnett supposedly said he would do it if Bay did it. Ultimately both backed off. There are tons of articles still on the web from the time.

https://moviehole.net/hartnetts-conditi ... -superman/

Would have been insanely hyped.

_________________
Ari Emmanuel wrote:
I'd rather marry lindsay Lohan than represent Mel Gibson.


Fri Apr 23, 2021 8:32 am
Profile
On autopilot for the summer
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:14 pm
Posts: 21628
Location: Walking around somewhere
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
Yeah, but never went anywhere even Abrams has said his script never got past the "this is a mess" phase. There's no way of determining how it would have been received. Hartnett would have been a horrible Superman and Flyboy sounded campier then Green Lantern. None of them really gained any momentum after Burton. I think only Ratner and McG were seriously tossed around and the internet didn't like either of them. And I think Matt Bomer was the only one officially cast in the role outside of Cage.

_________________
Image

Chippy wrote:
As always, fuck Thegun.


Chippy wrote:
I want to live vicariously through you, Thegun!


Fri Apr 23, 2021 11:08 am
Profile
Superfreak
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:54 am
Posts: 21876
Location: Places
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
McG is on record saying Robert Downey Jr was signed onto Lex Luthor and Shia LaBuff was Jimmy Olsen in addition to Anthony Hopkins as Jor-El. They just couldn't agree on the actor for Superman. I agree that Hartnett would have been a questionable choice but the movie would made bank opening weekend, make no mistake.

https://www.slashfilm.com/robert-downey ... man-movie/

_________________
Ari Emmanuel wrote:
I'd rather marry lindsay Lohan than represent Mel Gibson.


Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:35 pm
Profile
On autopilot for the summer
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:14 pm
Posts: 21628
Location: Walking around somewhere
Post Re: 2001 20th Anniversary: A Summer Like No Other
All of that cast sounds horrible to be honest. This is 2000-2004 You have Hopkins killing the credibility of Hannibal Lecter, RDJ trying to claw his way out of rock bottom (thank God he built his career back up small and led to the studio banking on him with Iron Man, we'd probably never heard of him again if he played Lex, but let's be honest Spacey was the top choice all the way back to 1998. Shia Labouf, this would have even been before Disturbia (this is like Holes Shia) and Hartnett would be coming off of really bad negativity from Pearl Harbor much like Affleck and his only hit was a sex comedy that opened to 12 million (And he still refused the role, which went to Matt Bomer.) That cast in that time period is a disaster, and McG coming off of Charlies Angels 2 and Ratner off of Red Dragon and the Hopkins connection. Bomer is actually the only casting for the role that seems like would have been a great pick. Ironically Amy Adams was in the running for Lois Lane back in 2002 even before Bosworth was cast.

_________________
Image

Chippy wrote:
As always, fuck Thegun.


Chippy wrote:
I want to live vicariously through you, Thegun!


Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:55 pm
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic   [ 30 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 41 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group.
Designed by STSoftware for PTF.