Another movie from Platinum Dunes in the works - new writer hired

[Leo656]

Part of me feels like what they're doing now, is simply scraping together what was left of the last series and trying to get SOME money back, hoping they can finagle a reboot under the gun and at least get SOMEthing out before the original deal expires. It's usually a situation where "We need Movie X done and in theaters by Y, or else a bunch of guys in suits don't get a bonus." It's all already on paper, so the actual movie itself (and the quality thereof) is an afterthought in the big picture of "Bitches Gots Ta Get Paid."

With the timing of it being so "smooshed", whatever movie they're racing to get started on was almost certainly, originally, the third BayTurtles film. The timing makes sense; it's a little wider gap than there was between the first two, but still close enough so that it feels like it's right where the third movie would go. Plus, we already know there was a sequel penciled in based on all the unfinished business at the end of the second one, and they were talking trilogy from the beginning.

This is almost certainly NOT a "start from scratch" job; this is an "Amazing Spider-Man comes out on the date we more or less had Spider-Man 4 slotted for, but it's a reboot Because Reasons and we did the best we could with 5 minutes of prep time to start an entirely new franchise, please don't be mad at us" type of situation.

A friendly reminder, that I and only I liked ASM, and that movies that are made under these conditions are almost unanimously awful.

[ranger_scout]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Oh, I absolutely love that that's what happened. And it absolutely deserved to.

And I'm sure that you must have been devastated when TMNT, a film that mostly drew inspiration from the 2003 TV series and the comics, didn't get a sequel.

[Leo656]

I personally didn't see TMNT 2007 take any inspiration from anything except "a bunch of guys who've never read or watched TMNT before, sitting in a board room, trying to cram an entirely unrelated and just-cancelled CGI kids movie about monsters into a TMNT movie, with the 'TMNT' stuff all pulled from Wikipedia."

I like it okay, but I don't see any Mirage or 4kids influence at all, outside of Karai being in it, and she bore zero resemblance to any other Karai. That movie's biggest problem was that it was entirely its own thing, when it really should have been a straight continuation of one of the pre-existing TMNT "brands", if they wanted it to make any money at the time.

I'unno man. I don't see it.

[Wildcat]

Nobody should say the first movie (or any single movie in any franchise) is the best we’ll ever get.

The Turtles have been around for 20+ years and we’ve had 6 movies but I count the last two as 1 attempt since they were the same thing/version.

Anyway my point is that’s barely a legitimate attempt. How can we say nobody, in 20 more years or in all of time can never make a better movie?

New writers and directors always come along. Who would have thought Nick would acquire the turtles?

I like the first Turtles movie but compared to everything the series has to offer it’s as basic as it could get.

[Leo656]

Don't be silly. It's easy. Watch.

In 1990, the franchise was owned by people who cared about it as something more than a toy commercial.

In 1990, the people making the movie also cared about it as something more than a toy commercial.

Neither of those statements are true anymore, and never will be again.

TMNT is owned, now and forevermore, by a soulless corporation that exists for no other reason than to make you waste your paycheck on plastic trinkets, by reminding you that you loved this sh*t when you were 5.

That's a PRETTY big difference from where we were in 1990, and a pretty solid indicator that the future remains bleak. Don't counter with "They were always trying to sell toys." Duh. But that wasn't the ENTIRE raison d'etre. Now it is. Not telling stories. Not developing characters. Pushing plastic to a gullible and overly-forgiving fanbase, who they've already force-trained to swallow anything, no matter how vile, that has a TMNT sticker on it.

It's EASY to say, with conviction, "It's not possible for anyone to make a good TMNT movie ever again". All you need is perspective, foresight, hindsight, 20/20 vision, an understanding of Cause/Effect relationships, and at least a rudimentary understanding of statistics.

"Wish in one hand, sh*t in the other," and so on. Mark my words: A flying seagull will sh*t the winning PowerBall ticket into your mouth while OJ tearfully confesses to everything, before you'll ever see a TMNT movie that's worth anything more than... well... seagull crap. That exact sequence of events is infinitely more likely than a "good" TMNT movie coming out in any of our lifetimes.
-------------------------

"People like to say, 'Well, you never know.' Bullsh*t! Sometimes, you know."
- George Carlin

[Wildcat]

The franchise being owned and the 90 filmmakers being people who cared about it as more than a toy commercial are not requirements to get a better movie.

It takes 1 writer/director to care about it more than the average person to surpass the first. Like I said it’s as basic a TMNT movie as possible.

Regardless if Nick or the studio is indifferent towards it. It’s not like all good movies based on popular franchises have been owned/filmed by those who care about it most. That’s not how that works.

People like to think studios or corporations do not care as long as they make money but if that were truly the case nothing would ever change if making tons of profit was easy as throwing stuff together and slapping a name on it.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Never happen, man. You gotta lower them expectations.

"Just give me a not-$hitty TMNT, please."

...

Actually, that's still too high. Lower.

"Just give me a non-kiddy TMNT, please, even if it sucks."

...

Nope, we're still not low enough.

God. This is where we're at, really, isn't it?

[Leo656]

A writer or director is completely powerless in this kind of situation. Viacom isn't going to go hire 1985-era Steven Spielberg and give him carte blanche to do a Ninja Turtles movie. Who writes it, or directs it, does not matter when movies are made the way these types of movies are.

Viacom says, "We need a movie that will sell billions of toys. It's okay if older people like it too, but we mostly want little kids." They skim Wikipedia, watch maybe one episode of the Fred Wolf cartoon, and make a list of "essential" bits. Then they hire some hack to add dick and fart jokes to it, and another one to tell the guy in the trucker cap where to point the camera. That's the way it works at this level. They're not making "real" movies. You can't expect the same type of quality as a "real" movie when zero effort is actually being made towards it.

Even if there exists, somewhere in Hollywood, some magical, completely altruistic person who wants NOTHING more than to deliver the "perfect" TMNT experience to movie theaters, Viacom wouldn't let them do that, because they wouldn't see any upside in it.

I'm gonna tell you a secret. It's the truth, so try not to get mad: The people who own TMNT? They think it's really stupid, and they think you're stupid for liking it. They don't own it because they think it's cool; they bought it because they think "pizza" and "Cowabunga!" is about the lowest common denominator type of nonsense they can churn out, especially when the audience already exists and has proven that they really don't care about anything except "Yay! More toys!" They see guaranteed profits and gullible manchildren. They have no regard for the actual TMNT lore, its history, or any of that. They think it's stupid. Not one person in charge of it has ever even read a comic or watched any of the shows, outside of board meetings or "market research". They look at it and roll their eyes, disgusted that anyone could ever be entertained by "this". But they shrug, and say "Well, at least we don't have to do any real work; if they want stupid junk, by god let's give 'em stupid junk! We'll give 'em the STUPIDEST junk this stupid franchise has ever seen! They'll LOVE us!"

When someone who owns a property shows THIS much shameless disdain and disgust for said property, as well as its fans... (deep breath) it becomes impossible for them to actually create anything of value. You cannot create something of value if you openly hate the thing you are creating.

It IS, however, "that easy" as churning out crap and slapping a name on it. How do I know that? Because almost every one of You People paid to see BOTH of those movies in theaters, even though half of you claim to almost have chewed your arm off on the way out. You still paid. Some of you watch Rise, and constantly whine about it, instead of turning it off. "I can't. It's Turtles!" Then I'm sorry, you're a mark. If you're a type who says, "Even if it's bad, I HAVE to watch/like/defend it, it's TURTLES!", then you're a mark, and they own you. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about people who genuinely like those movies, or that cartoon - I can question their taste, but if they genuinely like it, that's fine for them - I'm talking about the LEGIONS of people who talk about how awful BayTurtles or Rise are, but torture themselves with it anyway because they're Good Little Consumer Cattle, afraid they'd somehow "hurt the feelings" of a fictional character by turning off the TV if they really, truly don't like something.

"I hate this... but it's TMNT! Here's my money!" Got 'em. It IS that easy. Just look around this place.
------------------

I mean, I'm allowing for a few things here. One of those things being, I'm (very) loosely-connected to the entertainment industry and have a few friends who've worked in movies, so I have a tiny bit of perspective even if its through hearsay. Another being, you clearly think they care at least a little bit about making "a good movie". You think that, but I know that they don't. Which is why I have such conviction in making these statements.

It's not like if a good movie ever comes out, I won't gleefully admit that I was wrong. I'd love to be wrong. But that's not gonna happen, and watching people needlessly cling to hope rather than just accept the situation is... frustrating.

[Redeemer]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Don't be silly. It's easy. Watch.

In 1990, the franchise was owned by people who cared about it as something more than a toy commercial.

In 1990, the people making the movie also cared about it as something more than a toy commercial.

Neither of those statements are true anymore, and never will be again.

TMNT is owned, now and forevermore, by a soulless corporation that exists for no other reason than to make you waste your paycheck on plastic trinkets, by reminding you that you loved this sh*t when you were 5.

That's a PRETTY big difference from where we were in 1990, and a pretty solid indicator that the future remains bleak. Don't counter with "They were always trying to sell toys." Duh. But that wasn't the ENTIRE raison d'etre. Now it is. Not telling stories. Not developing characters. Pushing plastic to a gullible and overly-forgiving fanbase, who they've already force-trained to swallow anything, no matter how vile, that has a TMNT sticker on it.

It's EASY to say, with conviction, "It's not possible for anyone to make a good TMNT movie ever again". All you need is perspective, foresight, hindsight, 20/20 vision, an understanding of Cause/Effect relationships, and at least a rudimentary understanding of statistics.

"Wish in one hand, sh*t in the other," and so on. Mark my words: A flying seagull will sh*t the winning PowerBall ticket into your mouth while OJ tearfully confesses to everything, before you'll ever see a TMNT movie that's worth anything more than... well... seagull crap. That exact sequence of events is infinitely more likely than a "good" TMNT movie coming out in any of our lifetimes.
-------------------------

"People like to say, 'Well, you never know.' Bullsh*t! Sometimes, you know."
- George Carlin

I agree with Wildcat Andrew. It only takes one director who cares for and respects the property to bring change, to be the difference. The most recent scenario would be Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. The previous two movies were simply cash grabs and toy marketing. Nolan made the difference and gave us a great trilogy.

The Sam Rami spider-man movies are also similar. The movie rights, but Sam Rami still showed respect for the property and gave us a couple of good movies.

Originally Posted by Wildcat

The franchise being owned and the 90 filmmakers being people who cared about it as more than a toy commercial are not requirements to get a better movie.

It takes 1 writer/director to care about it more than the average person to surpass the first. Like I said it’s as basic a TMNT movie as possible.

Regardless if Nick or the studio is indifferent towards it. It’s not like all good movies based on popular franchises have been owned/filmed by those who care about it most. That’s not how that works.

People like to think studios or corporations do not care as long as they make money but if that were truly the case nothing would ever change if making tons of profit was easy as throwing stuff together and slapping a name on it.

[Wildcat]

@Leo656,

I’m not mad for you saying it but I just can not agree that Nick themselves hate TMNT. That totally contradicts thier entire being. Making “stupid” shows is what they do. I mean that in a good way. I mean would you say they feel the same about thier own original franchises?

To own any franchise you must care to some extent. That’s just common sense. I’m sure Nick cares if people run thier property into the ground.

Yes I know how that sounds but this situation aside (as it’s not really the norm) Nick is not going to let thier property tank.

I don’t know what kind of connections you have but as surprising as it may be I am fully aware there’s people who if fact do NOT care about certain things. That’s in every profession though. I can’t realistically label everyone in the entertainment industry as “Mr. Burns”

[frank_one]

Originally Posted by Leo656

In 1990, the franchise was owned by people who cared about it as something more than a toy commercial.

In 1990, the people making the movie also cared about it as something more than a toy commercial.

Neither of those statements are true anymore, and never will be again.

TMNT is owned, now and forevermore, by a soulless corporation that exists for no other reason than to make you waste your paycheck on plastic trinkets, by reminding you that you loved this sh*t when you were 5.

Today is all about the money, absolutely nothing else. Not just for the Turtles. The bigger the company is, the less they care. We, as consumers, should give our money to smaller company, better people.

[TigerClaw]

Looks like some people have gloss over what I mentioned from a previous post. But what about Travis Knight as the director for this reboot? I think he's the perfect candidate to reboot the TMNT movie.

Michael Bay had zero input on the Bumblebee movie. So maybe they learned there lesson and allow the director to have creative control over it?

[Candy Kappa]

I donno about perfect, but just by Bumblebee's trailer he's miles better then Lieberman and Green

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

The unrealistic insistence for optimism by some of you never ceases to befuddle me.

Originally Posted by TigerClaw

Looks like some people have gloss over what I mentioned from a previous post. But what about Travis Knight as the director for this reboot? I think he's the perfect candidate to reboot the TMNT movie

I strongly, STRONGLY, disagree.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Knight#Filmography

Look at that. A bunch of animated features, only one of which I've heard good things about (Kubo and the Two Strings). And one decent Transformers film.

No, give me James Gunn, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, or James Wan.

But sure, he's at least an improvement.

[Candy Kappa]

I wish they got Gunn or del Toro

[MikeandRaph87]

After seeing Aquaman, james Wan! Who is the showrunner for this one?

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

After seeing Aquaman, james Wan! Who is the showrunner for this one?

TBD.

That's To Be Determined. I spelled it out for the sake of ten characters, not to be insulting.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

TBD.

That's To Be Determined. I spelled it out for the sake of ten characters, not to be insulting.

You are fine. I just could not find any update on the thread. James Wan, but I doubt we would be so lucky. Either a no name that will not make a name or someone who is too full of themselves and does not try to be true to the spirit of the product.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

You are fine. I just could not find any update on the thread. James Wan, but I doubt we would be so lucky. Either a no name that will not make a name or someone who is too full of themselves and does not try to be true to the spirit of the product.

I dunno, we could somebody get lucky. People do have passion projects.

The odds are just massively against it.

[ranger_scout]

There are plenty of reasons why TMNT: Out of the Shadows did not find an audience. If the creative team behind it wanted to make a better movie, then maybe they should've taken the approach that The LEGO Batman Movie had. They updated the well-known elements of the light-hearted Adam West series, especially Dick Grayson/Robin and Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, very nicely.