tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137320920765013089.post4738083185547778309..comments2023-09-21T11:39:38.719-04:00Comments on Caviglia's Cabinet of Curiosities: Twilight Watch, Part 2: The ArrivalCavigliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282497659818304112noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137320920765013089.post-31868219214288165942009-01-10T13:05:00.000-05:002009-01-10T13:05:00.000-05:00Thanks, Ian. The Richard Donner business is all s...Thanks, Ian. The Richard Donner business is all starting to come back to me. I think the issue is that women directors have so rarely (if ever) been given the opportunity to direct something that a) is a huge budget, blockbuster-y, mega-hit or b) any sort of franchise. The Twilight/Hardwicke situation is just so freaking dispiriting to me. I think the closest thing an American woman has had to a franchise is Penelope Spheris with the Wayne's World movies.Cavigliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11282497659818304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137320920765013089.post-36425101549886340922009-01-10T00:58:00.000-05:002009-01-10T00:58:00.000-05:00Nope, Donner was fired post-Superman. The origina...Nope, Donner was fired post-<I>Superman</I>. The original intent was for Donner to shoot both films simultaneously, and he shot bits of <I>II</I> that are still in the final film (the moon sequence, anything involving actual footage of Gene Hackman instead of a double) but he was made to stop shooting any of the second and finish the first, and was then replaced by the faster and more producer-friendly Richard Lester.<BR/><BR/>In the case of Superman, as with <I>Twilight</I>, the franchise is the star as far as producers/studio is concerned, not any director (though Warners eventually allowed Donner to cobble together an alternate DVD version of <I>Superman II</I> that's closer to what he intended, albeit made up of screen test footage and other odd outtakes).<BR/><BR/>But yes, with the boys, they're usually given two chances at bat with a series before they aren't asked back, if the first film was a success and the second, when the director was given more of a free hand, didn't live up to what they thought it should do (Chris Columbus, <I>Harry Potter</I>; Tim Burton, <I>Batman</I>; Bryan Singer, <I>X-Men</I>).<BR/><BR/>The recent do-over on the <I>Hulk</I> franchise is somewhat a repudiation of Ang Lee's take -- and he was originally planning to do more -- but that wasn't quite a "money -making machine" (it did okay, worldwide, but not so great to keep going that way). Same with Bryan Singer's Superman plans, I guess.Ian W. Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11331302978162530012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137320920765013089.post-41677375050452375352009-01-10T00:36:00.000-05:002009-01-10T00:36:00.000-05:00Richard Donner did Superman II, didn't he? What h...Richard Donner did Superman II, didn't he? What happened there?Cavigliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11282497659818304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137320920765013089.post-17200094557616274942009-01-09T22:34:00.000-05:002009-01-09T22:34:00.000-05:00but please name one male director who has been rem...<I>but please name one male director who has been removed from a film series when the first installment was a massive, money creating machine. Right, never.</I><BR/><BR/>Richard Donner, <I>Superman</I>Ian W. Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11331302978162530012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137320920765013089.post-32676296706212865402009-01-09T21:33:00.000-05:002009-01-09T21:33:00.000-05:00I'm excited to find out if it's any good! My genr...I'm excited to find out if it's any good! My genre tastes rarely run to vampire stories, though honestly I have no excuse as to why that is.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03889912958227154143noreply@blogger.com