There's more to the United Artists announcement on Friday night that the studio has postponed production on Oliver Stone's Pinkville about the 1968 My Lai massacre because of the writers strike. Both Stone and scribe Mikko Alanne are WGA members and couldn't make the revisions on a script which I'm told "needed a lot of work. UA didn't want them to cross the line and neither did they," an insider explains. That caused a lot of sturm und drang between Stone and star Bruce Willis, and I heard the two had strong words Thursday and Friday. Also, the cast and crew had been hired and a start date in Thailand set for December 10 for what was going to be a 3-month shoot. Some of the crew were already there and now the Thai government is being notified, sets struck, hotels reservations cancelled, etc. Talk about money out the window for a fledgling studio that's part of a troubled major. This is the latest of a rash of films in retreat because of the strike despite careful planning by the major studios.
Strike Pushing Big Studio Movies Back To 2009 Because Screenwriters Unavailable
not a big loss. I did coverage of the alleged production draft for a distributor and it is a POS. I seriously thought I was reading a first draft. Seriously terrible stuff.
Comment by manny — November 19, 2007 @ 1:14 am
C’mon, the real reason this picture, like many others was postpones was because it was stunk… It wasn’t that the script wasn’t ready — it wouldn’t be ready no matter how many rewrites it went through… Put lipstick on a pig and it’s still a pig… though maybe a little more attractive than the bacon on the cash cow studio’s plate. D.
Comment by David G. — November 19, 2007 @ 5:36 am
David G is right. How many people want to run out and see a movie about the My Lai massacre…even if the script was good?
Comment by realworldperson — November 19, 2007 @ 8:29 am
War movies don’t sell these days. There’s enough tragedy on the evening news. No one wants to spend hard earned money on more of it. And lets face it, no happy ending means no happy box office. This movie is a box office disaster in the making, even if it was Oscar worthy and brilliant.
Comment by Joe — November 19, 2007 @ 9:44 am
Oliver Stone’s Vietnam films have ALL been masterpieces. All of them. Without question. In fact, aside from a few movies, almost everything he does is a masterpiece of filmmaking. The delay of PINKVILLE is a shame, because I’m willing to bet it would have been an incredible film. I hope that Stone and Alanne are able to start writing again soon, and the film gets back on track. Just keep the budget down, and keep the film personal and intense.
Comment by nick — November 19, 2007 @ 9:45 am
” Who wants to see a story about the My Lai massacre?” *raises hand* I would have been interested, especially since it was also an Oliver Stone movie. Not a Bruce Willis fan but always have had a soft spot for ol’ Oliver’s conspiracy theories. Hope this haven’t been permanently shelved, just delayed.
Comment by jym — November 19, 2007 @ 10:02 am
Wow, Stone’s doing a My Lai massacre film. How current. Talk about not letting go of a bone.
Comment by Writer/Director — November 19, 2007 @ 10:14 am
Oh really, Joe? No Country for Old Men doesn’t have a happy ending and it’s doing just fine. The Departed didn’t have a happy ending either, and it was a huge success. BTW, the only actual war movies to have come out recently were Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers (which suffered from overly high expectations) and Letters from Iwo Jima (a foreign language film). Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down did very well, I recall. Plus, Stone’s Vietnam movies have been his biggest successes: Plattoon earned 138M (around 240-250 today) and Born on the 4th of July earned 70M (120M today) on a 14M budget. Plus, Bruce Willis does have a signinficant financial draw. Lastly, the film was pretty cheap @ 35-40M. I could go on.
Comment by elessar — November 19, 2007 @ 10:26 am
It should be an HBO movie, not a $30 million wide release. Then again Im sure it would be some schmuck investors in a hedge fund flipping the bills for this passion project, so who cares I guess!
Comment by realworldperson — November 19, 2007 @ 10:45 am
The more major motion pictures get pushed back, the more AMPTP feels it, especially when the stockholders and fans really get wind of the situation. I’d say push all the blockbusters back if it’ll get us more leverage. (Note: I mean this about as seriously as it can be taken) Besides, I’d rather have my tv shows come back than worry about the premieres of movies I don’t even know about yet.
Comment by Caitlin — November 19, 2007 @ 12:08 pm
Well, writer/director, Vietnam is what Stone does best, so what’s the problem? Scorsese does a lot of crime-related movies, is that not letting go of a bone too? Secondly, this film is not just about the actual massacre but also the investigation into it. Believe it or not realworldperson, there are people who would LOVE to see this film, and if some hedge funder wants to prop it up, so be it. just because you’re too dense to appreciate something doesn’t mean no one else will.
Comment by elessar — November 19, 2007 @ 1:10 pm
Just to add: while I’m disappointed that PINKVILLE’s been delayed, I also remember that when another of Oliver’s films got delayed–Born on the 4th of July–it came back magnificently. Plus, if it brings the studios to heel, so be it. Delay as many 09 projects as you can, that’ll get their attention.
Comment by elessar — November 19, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
elessar: Actually, it’s my cup of tea…but I still think it would bomb.
Comment by realworlperson — November 19, 2007 @ 1:35 pm
Bitching that Oliver Stone went back to doing a Vietnam movie is like complaining that Kurosawa did another Samurai movie with Ran. It’s a subject that’s close to his heart and that he’s used to make masterful films. What exactly is the problem?
Comment by Zack — November 19, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
With catastrophes in the world like the war in Iraq, a city crippling strike and Shepard Smith being paid $7,000,000 a year, there is no problem, we’re just chatting.
Comment by realworldperson — November 19, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
Hot on the heels of the latest Ron Howard and Oliver Stone flicks being shut down because of the strike, you can now add the new Mira Nair drama with Johnny Depp as well as the new Rob Marshall musical. So much for Hollywood planning for the strike. Big budget projects are dropping left and right.
Comment by Non WGA Writer — November 19, 2007 @ 7:25 pm
Well, i care about the project. I was cast in it and i am gutted. Oliver is the quintessential war movie maker. The script is damn good. It’s not all blood and guts. This movie was about the investigation into Mai Lai, not just the actual atrocity itself. Let’s be honest, Oliver’s movies do have a a hard-cutting edge and a social purpose, which is more than i can say for most others. There is much to learn from the truth. Oliver’s movies don’t pull any punches. So my message to those negative people out there is “you are entitled to your opinion…..and stick to watching your candy-stick soap operas”.
Comment by Hail Oliver Stone! — November 21, 2007 @ 10:55 pm
As a Producer who worked on Platoon & Born on the 4th of July. I want this movie to be done, not because i will get paid, but because THE TRUTH NEEDS TO COME OUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by Mark Hill — November 24, 2007 @ 11:19 am