Comments on: Another Production Exec Hired By MGM

By: Les Mayfield Jr.

Les Mayfield Jr. — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:10:08 +0000

Oh, I get it. He has nothing to do with the half dozen movies that tanked, but everything to do with the 2 that were successful? And by the way, since the fall of ‘06, development was essentially running marketing. All the materials were not only approved by them, but sometimes entire campaigns(TENACIOUS D)were handled by them. Let’s see you try to market mediocre movies. Again, Schwartz wasn’t the greatest marketer, but not even close to being the worse. Cayle and every other development executive at NL need to learn that comedies need jokes to sell them. A novel idea to them, I’m sure.

By: Fielding Mellish

Fielding Mellish — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:28:27 +0000

Blame marketing for SHOOT ‘EM UP and JUST FRIENDS, both of which got solid reviews and no support from distribution whatsoever. Yeah, the fat-guy one sheet really sold JUST FRIENDS, didn’t it? And whose idea was it to release HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS — based on a huge children’s best-seller — on the same weekend that kids were going back to school?

And frankly, blame Snipes for BLADE TRINITY, which definitely sucked– due in no small part to the crazy egomaniac star, who referred to himself as “Dr. Snipes” on the set and claimed a Jewish conspiracy was working against him.

By: Les Mayfield Jr.

Les Mayfield Jr. — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:06:12 +0000

Has he developed anything else successful? Are you kidding? Try some monster hits like SHOOT EM UP, NATIVITY, and TENACIOUS D. Or stone-cold classics like HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS, JUST FRIENDS, and BLADE:TRINITY. In fact, thanks to the success of BLADE:TRINITY, the studio has wisely decided not to make any more because how could you top something so well done. Speaking of “well-done”, how about the Ray Romano/Kevin James cinematic triumph-GRILLED? Too good for the cinema, but you might be able to find a copy at your local video store. Schwartz wasn’t the greatest marketer in town, but someone tell me who could have opened crap like TENACIOUS D? A movie about rock and roll and no hot chicks in the movie? Genius.

By: JB

JB — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:22:55 +0000

What’s with the MGM-bashing? I’m personally rooting for the little guy, who may just be the last remaining (sorta) independent studio that’s not a mega-conglom in town.

By: what am i missing?

what am i missing? — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:49:01 +0000

“Elf”? “Wedding Crashers”? Has Cale developed anything successful in the 5 years since then? Just asking …

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:46:43 +0000

Schwartz clashed hard with David Dobkin over marketing and release dates on Wedding Crashers. Dobkin won and the film was a hit. It ain’t Schwartz’s credit to take. Lord of the Rings? Peter Jackson sold that baby. I think he even cut his own trailers. Running Scared has done huge on DVD, but couldn’t even muster 7 million in theaters.

By: yeah seriously

yeah seriously — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:29:07 +0000

seriously?
lord of the rings sold itself
elf sold itself
wedding crashes - did you see the one-sheet? sold itself
hairspray sold itself
do you need me to list the movies that russell couldn’t sell?
at one time, new line’s development team had a softball game against the marketing team because marketing made the argument that development greenlighted movies no one could sell and development argued that marketing couldn’t sell a movie if their lives depended on it
guess what - they were both right!

By: Seriously?

Seriously? — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:59:48 +0000

Russell Schwartz can’t market a commercial movie? Lord of the Rings? Elf? Wedding Crashers? Hairspray? Give the guy, but moreso his staff that mired away under zero leadership after he got canned, and now are all about to get fired, a break.

Congratulations Cale, you deserve this. Best of luck!

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:23:44 +0000

Cale’s a great exec and has excellent taste and people skills. But why the fuck did they hire Russell Schwartz? That guy can’t market a commercial movie to save his life. I know a dozen filmmakers who feel that he burned them over at New Line.

By: tommy

tommy — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:24:54 +0000

A very smart move for MGM, and a no-brainer for Cale. He is a great guy and a hard worker and deserves better than New Line had or has to offer.

By: chris

chris — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:05:34 +0000

Great, great hire. Everything good that came out of New Line the past few years can be traced directly to Cale. WB should have kicked Toby to the curb and let Cale run New Line — huge mistake that they didn’t.

By: Anony Mouse

Anony Mouse — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:33:12 +0000

The above poster Ryan is 100% correct. New Line would be minting money if Cale, Brener and Katz had stuck around. Whoever let them go (Toby) blew it.

Yes, definitely, this is a GREAT hire for MGM. Very smart. Cale is awesome.

By: Furious D

Furious D — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:56:23 +0000

Where in heck is all the money supposedly coming from to fund this beleaguered studio’s “renewed” movie slate?

I think Comcast and Sony are going to pony up some dough. The other conglomerates all own channels carried by Comcast cable but aren’t producing enough fresh content for all those channels. So a movie studio that is just a movie studio has the potential to be successful.

These recent hirings show a certain seriousness on the part of the Comcast/Sony partnership about making MGM a functioning studio, and I welcome it.

Hollywood seriously needs the return of competition.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:25:58 +0000

If Cale, Brener and Katz were able to do what they wanted at New Line, the company would not be in the position they are in today. Instead, Katz and Cale are gone, and I’m sure as smart as Brener is, he will be soon to follow.

By: Fielding Mellish

Fielding Mellish — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:13:49 +0000

Cale’s good people. Not everything he’s touched has turned to gold, but he’s one of the few people at New Line who learned from his mistakes and hasn’t been forced to burn bridges because of Toby. That’s a smart move for MGM.