lol It’s certainly no great loss to cinema. Still, this franchise is a guilty pleasure of mine. It’s cartoonishly told, definitely for a YA audience like you said, but the underlying social metaphor is pretty interesting: the idea that society would be hard divided into jocks, brains, healers, judges & hippies. It’s an indictment of our limited academic career choices (military, scientist, doctor, lawyer, and at the scrappy tail end I guess artist), and in that respect it’s one of the more believable dystopian scenarios.

But yeah, they seemed to go all in on catering to the teen audience, maybe trying to copy Twilight’s formula but they missed the mark. I don’t think folks can appreciate a social parable until they’ve reached adulthood and lived it somewhat. Hence stories like 1984, Logan’s Run and Planet of the Apes being geared toward adult audiences.

This series started out with some promise, like you said ‘off to the races’ financially as well as an interesting premise I think. But it seemed to get progressively weaker especially with the dumb teen love subplot—a success in Twilight but ridiculous in any scifi that wants to be on par with the classics I mentioned.

Still, it sucks whenever a story is left unfinished. Maybe in 20 years there will be a cult fan revival like we got with Pee Wee, Bill & Ted, Hocus Pocus, etc. None of those revivals seemed to go big, but the fans were satisfied.

@rooprect said:

lol It’s certainly no great loss to cinema. Still, this franchise is a guilty pleasure of mine. It’s cartoonishly told, definitely for a YA audience like you said, but the underlying social metaphor is pretty interesting: the idea that society would be hard divided into jocks, brains, healers, judges & hippies. It’s an indictment of our limited academic career choices (military, scientist, doctor, lawyer, and at the scrappy tail end I guess artist), and in that respect it’s one of the more believable dystopian scenarios.

There was indeed some meat on that bone worth chewing. But the directions seemed, I dunno, off, to me.

I early remember thinking "if it's so important to get the faction choice right, why require that they can never change? People change, and change careers all the time. Some people"always knew" who they were ans what thwy wanted to be; others find themselves at a point in life where they need a change and do so. Yeah, this movie tried to indict the system, but it's a rather simplistic (adolescent? juvenile? immature?) view of our system.

The other early alarm bell was that, once they decided, they appeared to be forced to never see their family again. Like, what was that about?

But yeah, they seemed to go all in on catering to the teen audience, maybe trying to copy Twilight’s formula but they missed the mark. I don’t think folks can appreciate a social parable until they’ve reached adulthood and lived it somewhat. Hence stories like 1984, Logan’s Run and Planet of the Apes being geared toward adult audiences.

This series started out with some promise, like you said ‘off to the races’ financially as well as an interesting premise I think. But it seemed to get progressively weaker especially with the dumb teen love subplot—a success in Twilight but ridiculous in any scifi that wants to be on par with the classics I mentioned.

Still, it sucks whenever a story is left unfinished. Maybe in 20 years there will be a cult fan revival like we got with Pee Wee, Bill & Ted, Hocus Pocus, etc. None of those revivals seemed to go big, but the fans were satisfied.

I should stand corrected. You're right, here. It does suck when a story is left unfinished. I've seen other franchises complete their arc, profit be damned. Sometimes, art requires the sacrifice. Having David virtually pop up behind Beatrice demands some follow through. Johanna's story was also intriguing to me, would have loved to see some of her backstory fleshed out.

After investing the time to get to that point, it does suck that it never got finished.

We SO wanted a sequel to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels! That closing scene was hilarious, and left a door opened that, sadly, they apparently never seriously considered walking through. That was a shame.

One of Stephen King's greatest stories ever, in my humble opinion, was The Long Walk, written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. Of all the King stories that have been made into movies poorly, I've spent these last 30 years (since I read it) waiting for The Long Walk to hit the screen. I imagined the cast, (Tommy Lee Jones as the Major, etc....).

Frank Darabont, arguably the most consistently successful custodian of King's work, acquired the rights to The Long Walk and I was hopeful he'd do it, and do it right. Yet, my waiting appears to have been in vain. Sometimes I think about reaching out to him to buy the rights from him and do it myself, but I know nothing about making movies, let alone producing them.

So, yeah, it kinda is a shame after all.

@DRDMovieMusings said:

Having David virtually pop up behind Beatrice demands some follow through. Johanna's story was also intriguing to me, would have loved to see some of her backstory fleshed out.

I suppose if either of us were motivated, we could pick up a copy of the book and see how things wrap up. I'm not that motivated 😑

We SO wanted a sequel to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels! That closing scene was hilarious, and left a door opened that, sadly, they apparently never seriously considered walking through. That was a shame.

That was the greatest cliffhanger/letdown in cinema history! (I am biased of course)

It's funny how these days every studio is drooling to make sloppy sequels out of any profitable movie. I guess back in the day there wasn't so much sequel mania driving Hollywood. I still think DRS2 could theoretically happen since both Steve Martin and Michael Caine (until his recent retirement?) are hot items. The loss of Glenn Headly is a shame, but maybe another actress from that era might pull it off. I think Anjelica Huston would rock the part!

The Long Walk and I was hopeful he'd do it, and do it right. Yet, my waiting appears to have been in vain. Sometimes I think about reaching out to him to buy the rights from him and do it myself, but I know nothing about making movies, let alone producing them.

Now we're talking!! I'm not sure how it's done these days, but I bet money gets the ball rolling. Theoretically you could crowdfund enough money to buy the rights? Then after that, you basically make a pest of yourself pitching the idea to any bigwig you can corner in an elevator.

Interesting... just now I googled "how much does it cost to buy the rights to a stephen king story" and this article popped up:

For just $1, students get movie rights to one of Stephen King's short stories

😱😱😱

Anyway, I really think you oughta look into The Long Walk idea. Maybe even if you don't get the rights yourself, you can get in touch with Darabont and poke at the embers a bit. Tell him you've got a screenplay written (even if you don't) and see what he says?

@rooprect said:

@DRDMovieMusings said:

Having David virtually pop up behind Beatrice demands some follow through. Johanna's story was also intriguing to me, would have loved to see some of her backstory fleshed out.

I suppose if either of us were motivated, we could pick up a copy of the book and see how things wrap up. I'm not that motivated 😑

We SO wanted a sequel to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels! That closing scene was hilarious, and left a door opened that, sadly, they apparently never seriously considered walking through. That was a shame.

That was the greatest cliffhanger/letdown in cinema history! (I am biased of course)

It's funny how these days every studio is drooling to make sloppy sequels out of any profitable movie. I guess back in the day there wasn't so much sequel mania driving Hollywood. I still think DRS2 could theoretically happen since both Steve Martin and Michael Caine (until his recent retirement?) are hot items. The loss of Glenn Headly is a shame, but maybe another actress from that era might pull it off. I think Anjelica Huston would rock the part!

The Long Walk and I was hopeful he'd do it, and do it right. Yet, my waiting appears to have been in vain. Sometimes I think about reaching out to him to buy the rights from him and do it myself, but I know nothing about making movies, let alone producing them.

Now we're talking!! I'm not sure how it's done these days, but I bet money gets the ball rolling. Theoretically you could crowdfund enough money to buy the rights? Then after that, you basically make a pest of yourself pitching the idea to any bigwig you can corner in an elevator.

Interesting... just now I googled "how much does it cost to buy the rights to a stephen king story" and this article popped up:

For just $1, students get movie rights to one of Stephen King's short stories

😱😱😱

Anyway, I really think you oughta look into The Long Walk idea. Maybe even if you don't get the rights yourself, you can get in touch with Darabont and poke at the embers a bit. Tell him you've got a screenplay written (even if you don't) and see what he says?

You know what? I'm going to try it! Stay tuned!

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@rooprect said:

@DRDMovieMusings said:

Having David virtually pop up behind Beatrice demands some follow through. Johanna's story was also intriguing to me, would have loved to see some of her backstory fleshed out.

I suppose if either of us were motivated, we could pick up a copy of the book and see how things wrap up. I'm not that motivated 😑

We SO wanted a sequel to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels! That closing scene was hilarious, and left a door opened that, sadly, they apparently never seriously considered walking through. That was a shame.

That was the greatest cliffhanger/letdown in cinema history! (I am biased of course)

It's funny how these days every studio is drooling to make sloppy sequels out of any profitable movie. I guess back in the day there wasn't so much sequel mania driving Hollywood. I still think DRS2 could theoretically happen since both Steve Martin and Michael Caine (until his recent retirement?) are hot items. The loss of Glenn Headly is a shame, but maybe another actress from that era might pull it off. I think Anjelica Huston would rock the part!

The Long Walk and I was hopeful he'd do it, and do it right. Yet, my waiting appears to have been in vain. Sometimes I think about reaching out to him to buy the rights from him and do it myself, but I know nothing about making movies, let alone producing them.

Now we're talking!! I'm not sure how it's done these days, but I bet money gets the ball rolling. Theoretically you could crowdfund enough money to buy the rights? Then after that, you basically make a pest of yourself pitching the idea to any bigwig you can corner in an elevator.

Interesting... just now I googled "how much does it cost to buy the rights to a stephen king story" and this article popped up:

For just $1, students get movie rights to one of Stephen King's short stories

😱😱😱

Anyway, I really think you oughta look into The Long Walk idea. Maybe even if you don't get the rights yourself, you can get in touch with Darabont and poke at the embers a bit. Tell him you've got a screenplay written (even if you don't) and see what he says?

You know what? I'm going to try it! Stay tuned!

🎉🥳🎉

DUDE That's great! I think you got this!!

I should hasten to bring the Maze Runner franchise into the conversation.

I think I watched The Maze Runner, and it was sufficiently not interesting to me that I can't even remember the sequels, if I even bothered to watch them at all. At least I got through the Tris story before expressing mild disdain for it. That said, how did the Maze Runner franchise pay?

The Maze Runner (2014) paid $10.24, Cinemascore A-

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) paid $5.12, Cinemascore B+

Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) paid $4.65, Cinemascore B+

As bad as the Maze Runner franchise was to me, its reasonably hit its core audience expectations, and they stuck with it through all three installments, and each one of them made above-average ROI. I respect any movie-makers who get it right according to their core audience, even if I personally don't like the material itself.

These movies were in theatres relatively concurrently. The audience was out there, but it appears THG and TMR sponged up all the attention and there just wasn't much left for DIA unless they did something sufficiently different to be compelling in its own right which, apparently, they did not do enough of.

Stepping back a bit, the copy-cat thing can be tough to play:

Jaws was a phenomenon; Orca, not so much.

Star Wars was a phenomenon; Battlestar Galactica, not so much.

It seems DIA was more Orca than Jaws, more Battlestar Galactica than Star Wars.

That said, there is also Freddy Kreuger following Jason Voorhees following Michael Myers, and they all pumped out a gazillion sequels — every thesis has its counter-argument.

Some copy-cat projects work. Figuring out how to make them work is the challenge, and it is fair to observe that DIA didn't meet the challenge.

@DRDMovieMusings said:

Some copy-cat projects work. Figuring out how to make them work is the challenge, and it is fair to observe that DIA didn't meet the challenge.

Very true, a well done copy can be a financial success and also take on its own unique identity. Example: I Dream of Jeannie.

I didn't see the Maze Runner series, but after seeing your ROI analysis I'm suddenly curious to see how they achieved a core following. Usually it comes down to the characters, I think. Regardless of story, if the main characters are fun to watch, or somehow identifiable, you'll have people sticking with it no matter what. I think the Underworld and Resident Evil franchises were an example of that. Kate Beckinsale & Milla Jovovich made characters who were so memorable, fans kept tuning in regardless of whether the plots were anything new or interesting. Honestly, I can't remember any plots beyond the 1st installment of each, but I was hooked!

Side note, I think that's the main reason why the Divergent series failed. The main character Tris didn't really have a strong badass identity, not like Underworld's Selene or Resident Evil's Alice who could kick the asses of legions without any help from prince charming. In DIA, that fail isn't necessarily the fault of actress Shailene Woodley; I think Tris was written to be somewhat weak & insecure, at least at first, maybe to appeal to that demographic of YA viewers. But it's tough to build a lasting fanbase around a character who isn't a total badass. (And when she cut her hair, sorry the show's over)

I just noticed that Orca had a budget of nearly twice that of Jaws. Jaws: $7M, Orca: $17M. So we can't accuse Orca of being a cheap knockoff. It was an expensive knockoff!

Battlestar Galactica was another expensive knockoff that failed. I read that it was the most expensive tv show ever produced at the time.

Maybe if profit is what we're after, then the key is keeping it cheap. Sort of a hit & run scam? Does your database include any of the Asylum atrocities, such as The Day the Earth Stopped, Transmorphers, or The Terminators (with an 's'!)? Maybe there's money to be made in the knockoff biz if you keep it super cheap & campy?

@rooprect said:

Anyway, I really think you oughta look into The Long Walk idea. Maybe even if you don't get the rights yourself, you can get in touch with Darabont and poke at the embers a bit. Tell him you've got a screenplay written (even if you don't) and see what he says?

You know what? I'm going to try it! Stay tuned!

🎉🥳🎉

DUDE That's great! I think you got this!!

Apparently, whereas Darabont said he'd "get to it one day," he didn't before his rights lapsed, and James Vanderbilt stepped in through New Line Cinema. In 2019, New Line announced Andre Ovredal to direct (Wikipedia/sources).

And, here's its TMDb page.

That said, it's been four years, and there doesn't even appear to be casting done. Not sure what the issue is with this project. One thing that is highly noteworthy (which I did not know or, perhaps, knew and forgot, but likely the former) is that The Long Walk is actually the very first novel King ever wrote (although not first published, that was, famously, Carrie, of course). At any rate, for the prolific writing career that King has had, "the first one" is a selling point itself.

The real question is, what will happen in my life time first? This getting done, or the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup?

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@rooprect said:

Anyway, I really think you oughta look into The Long Walk idea. Maybe even if you don't get the rights yourself, you can get in touch with Darabont and poke at the embers a bit. Tell him you've got a screenplay written (even if you don't) and see what he says?

You know what? I'm going to try it! Stay tuned!

🎉🥳🎉

DUDE That's great! I think you got this!!

Apparently, whereas Darabont said he'd "get to it one day," he didn't before his rights lapsed, and James Vanderbilt stepped in through New Line Cinema. In 2019, New Line announced Andre Ovredal to direct (Wikipedia/sources).

And, here's its TMDb page.

That said, it's been four years, and there doesn't even appear to be casting done. Not sure what the issue is with this project. One thing that is highly noteworthy (which I did not know or, perhaps, knew and forgot, but likely the former) is that The Long Walk is actually the very first novel King ever wrote (although not first published, that was, famously, Carrie, of course). At any rate, for the prolific writing career that King has had, "the first one" is a selling point itself.

The real question is, what will happen in my life time first? This getting done, or the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup?

lmao it's anyone's guess, though i might bet on Toronto... My research into the Crow reboot (10+ years in the making) showed me that there are no guarantees even if you have a director and big name cast on board. I wish I knew more about that process, getting the idea from paper onto an actual set with cameras.

Wowzers, reading that wikipedia page shows me that The Long Walk has been seriously considered as far back as 1988. It seems promising that New Line is involved, a major studio. But I'm skeptical of anything that was announced pre-covid. Everything seemed to change around 2020 and many juicy projects just faded away.

@rooprect said:

Maybe if profit is what we're after, then the key is keeping it cheap. Sort of a hit & run scam? Does your database include any of the Asylum atrocities, such as The Day the Earth Stopped, Transmorphers, or The Terminators (with an 's'!)? Maybe there's money to be made in the knockoff biz if you keep it super cheap & campy?

I couldn't find any financial info for any of those movies...but, it would appear their problem is their critical reviews are low. Budget notwithstanding, a story still has to be well-told.