It may have looked like Universal had a terrible 2012, mostly thanks to the high-profile dud that was Battleship, but thanks to films like Ted, Pitch Perfect, and Les Miserables, it ended up as one of their best ever. 2013 is already off to a great start with the studio scoring two #1 hits in Mama and Identity Thief. We already know that talks are underway to turn Mama into a franchise, and now Universal chairman Adam Fogelson has similar plans for the Melissa McCarthy/Jason Bateman comedy. He also talks to THR about what's in store for a Snow White and the Huntsman sequel, more Bourne flicks, and Fifty Shades of Grey.
Despite getting trashed by critics, the audiences turned out in droves for Identity Thief, with the film rapidly approaching $80M worldwide. Fogelson noted that Universal has had to create a number of their franchises from scratch, citing Fast and Furious as one of the most successful. He sees the same sort of homegrown potential in Identity Thief, saying that a sequel is "absolutely a conversation" they are having. Rex Reed probably just threw up his Blue Plate Special.
For some reason, everyone has been all excited about Universal's adaptation of E.L. James' YA smut Fifty Shades of Grey. For all the buzz, there hasn't been a lot in the way of movement to tap into fan excitement. Kelly Marcel was recently hired to pen the script, but we don't know who the young leads will be. Nor do we have any idea of a director outside of an old rumor about Angelina Jolie, which Fogelson took time to debunk. As for missing a great window of opportunity, he doesn't seem all that worried....
Fogelson: " I certainly understand why some people might take that point of view. But I don't believe that [author EL James] had any interest in going to a studio where rushing it into production was the vision. I don't believe that the second or third film would have benefited from that strategy. And I think that there are totally legitimate questions about what this book is as a movie. I will tell you that it is an absolute priority for us. It's conceivable that we could be ready to release it as early as next summer."
Snow White and the Huntsman turned out to be one of the studio's bigger hits, but a sequel was marred by the Kristen Stewart/Rupert Sanders scandal, leading to his departure from the project. After some speculation that Stewart's character may be reduced or even cut out altogether, Fogelson says that the film is moving forward with Snow White as a central character. He also says they would like to do more 'Bourne' movies, even though The Bourne Legacy didn't exactly set the box office on fire with new star Jeremy Renner.
Fogelson also talks about their planned Van Helsing reboot, and the trouble making a franchise based mostly on classic monsters. He also talks future films with Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves in 47 Ronin, and Universal's acquisition of Broadway hit, Wicked. It's a good interview, so check it out in full here.
