What role does this article play in the screenwriting blog? Well, I firmly believe that screenwriters should learn as much as they can, not only about the art and craft of screenwriting, but Business The same is true. That’s why today we’re going to talk about the first and the forgotten Fantastic Four Movie.
With that in mind, from time to time I’ll offer some great stories from Hollywood lore that contain lessons that screenwriters, filmmakers, and fans can learn from. So let us understand this story together Fantastic Four Movies are not supposed to be like this.
this Fantastic Four The movie is doomed
In 1994, there was a low-cost feature film version Fantastic Four Developed and produced, but never distributed.
It’s objectively terrible in many ways, mostly because the budget was ridiculously low to pull off such a special effects-laden story. To many, its special effects are laughably bad, but that actually makes it a fun watch. It has a B-movie charm.
Surprisingly, it’s also the most comic-book-compliant Stan Lee/Marvel Comics adaptation we’ve seen to date.
“Fantastic Four” (1994)
Why 1994 Fantastic Four Has it been made?
Normally, studios don’t spend millions of dollars making bad movies that don’t make a profit.
However, it have Occurs for certain business and legal purposes.
That’s where the screenwriting lessons in this story come in. Let’s discuss options and rights contracts.
Studios, producers and production companies will typically secure the development material by optioning the rights to any project they are interested in adapting into a feature film or television series.
Options were once a hot commodity for screenwriters, especially during the lucrative screenwriting boom of the 1980s and 1990s. Screenwriters with high-concept scripts can earn tens of thousands in options starting out, often resulting in six- to seven-figure sales of spec scripts.
Sadly, those days are long gone. The options are still there, but the writers won’t be getting the five-figure option deals they were last year. Most options agreements today are free options, called shopping agreement You can sign an exclusive license with a producer or development executive to purchase your script for a certain period of time.
Read more: A simple guide to screenwriting options
Same as it was in 1994 Fantastic Fourthose in power often purchase story rights to develop certain material. Most of the time, especially with ideal intellectual property (IP), there will be certain clauses in the contract that specify specific deadlines that need to be met.
The original owner of the material will state that they will allow the new owner to possess the material as long as the new owner produces a feature film or television program by a certain date (whatever the case may be).
Why do they do this? Because they don’t want to sell their rights directly to someone who will never produce something from them.
The best examples of this occur in some of the Marvel movies of the 1990s, when superhero movies were not yet widely accepted—except by the two giants of Superheroes and Superheroes. superman and batman.
In 1986, German producer Bernd Eichinger chose to make a Fantastic Four Stan Lee’s film is estimated to sell for $250,000.
At the time, Marvel was not doing well. The company sells the film rights to its properties to the highest bidder, which is why for years Sony has had the right spider man Marvel Studios, on the other hand, was unable to use the character (along with many supporting heroes and villains from Spider-Man comics) in the MCU. It wasn’t until 2016 that Sony partnered with them to include the character in a joint profit share.
In recent years, Disney has acquired 20th Century Fox Studios, including X-Men and, yes, Fantastic Four.
Back in 1986, Eisinger’s company was trying to bring together major studios like Warner Bros. and Columbia (eventually owned by Sony) to pay for the high budgets of comic book adaptations. However, nothing happened.
By 1992, the rights to his option from Stan Lee were expiring, which meant that if the contract stipulated that the film was not produced, all rights would revert to Stan Lee. Eisinger asked Marvel for an extension, but was unsuccessful. So he figured all he had to do to keep the franchise alive was make a movie. There’s no rule that the final film has to be a big movie.
“Fantastic Four” (1994)
Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four
Eichinger collaborated with B-movie legend Roger Corman on the film, which had a budget of $1 million. Music video director Oley Sassone directed. Filming began in December 1992 and lasted 25 days.
Alex Hyde-White stars as Reed Richards, also known as Mister Fantastic, the leader of the superhero team. Jay Underwood stars as Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, and Rebecca Stubbs stars as Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman. Michael Bailey Smith donned heavy makeup and prosthetics to transform into Ben Grimm, also known as “The Thing.” The film also stars Joseph Culp as the evil Dr. Doom and Calcia Farrio as a shape-shifting version of Ben Grimm.
Special effects were handled by a team led by John Vulich, known for his work on makeup and practical effects. Their effects are relatively rudimentary given the film’s limited budget, but are an important part of the film’s ultimate charm and campy appeal.
The film’s score was composed by David Worster and Eric Worster.
According to then-Marvel executive Avi Arad, he heard rumors that the film would be released in 1993, but it was eventually postponed to January 1994. He approached Eisinger, offered him millions of dollars in cash, and asked him not to release the document. Allard then destroyed (almost) all the fingerprints. Eighinger still retains rights, however.
It is rumored that Eckinger never intended to release the film. This was a blow to the cast and crew, who believed in what they were doing.
Ultimately, Eisinger retained the rights and ended up making the 2005 version and its sequel that we’ve all seen.
“Fantastic Four” (1994)
What screenwriters can learn from unreleased movies
At the end of the day, Hollywood is a business. IP is a highly desired commodity by studios, networks and streamers. There’s no denying that Hollywood sometimes chooses IP over original scripts. But that doesn’t mean an original script isn’t needed.
This is a tangential screenwriting lesson to learn.
The studio system has changed. Studios and their TV network and streaming peers produce very few movies each year. What they usually do are IP-based projects:
Marketing directly to these corporate-owned companies is not worth your trouble. However, they do not accept unsolicited materials.
Instead, production companies are the way to go. Their mission is the acquisition and development of most of the content and talent. While many of the larger production companies can be a tough sell, you can go to smaller production companies whose logos you can see at the beginning of most movies based on original screenplays.
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1994 Fantastic Four This is an example of a movie being made not to tell a quality story or to entertain, but simply to preserve the rights to the characters for future use.
Of course, those directly involved in the production want to make the best movie possible with what little money they have.
But the producers who own the rights know full well that because of the budget (or lack thereof) a bad movie will be made.
During the 1990s (and beyond), pirated copies of the film found their way into VCRs around the world. It’s not hard to find pirated copies of this movie online if you know where to look.
There’s also a documentary that delves into the making of the infamous film.
approved Fantastic Four Movie released in 2005, released in 2015 Fantastic Four The reboot was heavily panned and failed to generate any noteworthy box office success. However, the new MCU Fantastic Four Release is currently scheduled for summer 2005.
And for you, Fantastic Four Fans please keep an eye out for them Deadpool and Wolverine! There are rumors that they will show up. But what changes will they make? Maybe the actors from the unreleased 1994 cult classic will reprise their roles…
Read more: The 25 highest-grossing original screenplays of all time
Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.
As a production writer, he participated in numerous studio meetings with companies such as Sony, DreamWorks, Universal Pictures, Disney, Warner Bros., and numerous production and management companies. He previously signed a development deal with Lionsgate and has had numerous writing assignments, including starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haley ·The miniseries “Blackout” starring Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric LaSalle and Bruce Bucklina. Follow Ken on Twitter @ken电影 and Instagram @KenMovies76
