REVERSE ANGLE
Director out, director in
Bay Area native Colin Trevorrow is no longer directing “Star Wars Episode IX.”
In terms reminiscent of those announcing Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s dismissal from the Han Solo feature, Disney’s statement read (in part), “We have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ.”
J.J. Abrams has now been named director for “Star Wars Episode IX” and the release date has been moved to Dec. 20, 2019.
Trevorrow, 40, started with the indie “Safety Not Guaranteed,” then jumped to the big leagues with the billion-grossing “Jurassic World.” However, this year’s “The Book of Henry” tanked with both critics (22 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences ($4.4 million earned on a $10 million budget).
Disney and Lucasfilm seem to be walking back their push for a younger generation of directors to guide the franchise. Rian Johnson, 43, apparently has “Last Jedi” on track, but Lord (42) and Miller’s (41) take on Han Solo was apparently not what the “Star Wars” people wanted.
They were replaced by old hand Ron Howard, age 63.
Josh Trank, 33, left an unspecified “Star Wars Anthology” film, rumored to be about Boba Fett, following the flameout of his “Fantastic Four.”
Even the successful “Rogue One,” with third-time feature helmer Gareth Edwards, 42, needed extensive reworking and reshoots with “Bourne” vet Tony Gilroy, age 60.
And now, reports have an ObiWan Kenobi anthology entry in the works, with 56-year-old Stephen (“The Hours”) Daldry’s name being mentioned.
Trivia question
What pop stars reportedly shot a cameo for “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones”?
Summertime blues
Summer 2017 was one of the hottest on record. But people did not rush into air-conditioned movie theaters to beat the heat.
A total gross of $3.8 billion sounds nice, but it’s a 14.6 percent decline from summer 2016.
This summer’s box office was the lowest in 11 years, and that’s without adjusting for inflation. Its 430 million ticket buyers represented the fewest in 25 years.
What happened? Perhaps heatstressed viewers looked at miserable reviews for “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Transformers” sequels, and they decided to stay home and watch Netflix.
Three huge comic-book hits (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and top grosser “Wonder Woman”), “Dunkirk” and a few smaller moneymakers (“War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Girls Trip,” etc.) did well. But this is a wake-up call for the industry after a few big hits (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Fate of the Furious”) buoyed spring 2017 to record highs.
Critical success, box office failure
Fox Searchlight, one of the more successful indie arms of any major studio, has a trifecta of Sundance-rooted box-office meh on its hands after “Patti Cake$” performed disappointingly.
“Patti” was the subject of a Sundance bidding war that ended in its reported $9.5 million acquisition by Searchlight. The unlikely rapper drama grossed only $66,000 in its debut (14 venues). At this writing, its worldwide gross stands under $600,000. That follows other Sundance disappointments, such as “The Birth of a Nation” and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.”
The indie house has promising titles on the way, though, including “Battle of the Sexes” with 2016’s top-paid actress, Emma Stone, and Steve Carell; Oscarwinning top playwright Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and Guillermo Del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.” So there’s still time.
Trivia answer
A Lucasfilm spokesperson announced an intended cameo for NSync in 2002. It was reportedly shot at George Lucas’ daughter’s request, then edited out.