Bosco685 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 More Big Changes At Marvel Studios As The "Creative Committee" Is Brought To An End According to Birth.Movies.Death, Marvel Studios' Creative Committe has been disbanded this week following the severing of ties between the studio and Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter. For those of you unfamiliar with the group, it was apparently made up of names like Alan Fine, Brian Michael Bendis, Dan Buckley, and Joe Quesada. Their job was to give notes and weigh in on Marvel productions while they were being adapted. Their input was clearly not appreciated by Kevin Feige (because, let's face it, he hardly needs the help of someone like Bendis) as now it will just be him, Louis D'Esposito, and Victoria Alonso making key creative decisions. So, why scrap what sounds like a relatively useful group of people to have around? According to the site, this committee was something of a burden, offering up "notes that are pedestrian, motivated by 'save the cat' story logic and sometimes a drag on creativity." So, why scrap what sounds like a relatively useful group of people to have around? According to the site, this committee was something of a burden, offering up "notes that are pedestrian, motivated by 'save the cat' story logic and sometimes a drag on creativity." Perhaps their greatest crime were being responsible for the -script notes which led to Edgar Wright deciding to depart Ant-Man, while their lateness with such revisions would often play havoc with a movie's development. In other words, good riddance! Another interesting titbit revealed by the site is that "Ike, with a background in toys, believes girl toys do not sell and thus vetoed them again and again," and that explains the lack of Black Widow merchandise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashsaytr Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug33fouf Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 x2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco685 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Wow! BIRTH_MOVIES_DEATH: The Marvel Creative Committee Is Over What was the Creative Committee? It was a group of people who would give notes and thoughts on Marvel productions as they made their way from -script to screen. Some of the guys on the committee included Alan Fine, who came with Perlmutter to Marvel through Toy Biz, Brian Michael Bendis, who is a prolific Marvel Comics writer, Dan Buckley, publisher of Marvel Comics and Joe Quesada, former editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and the current Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Enterprises. On paper that sounds like a great line-up of talent, but it seems as if in practice it was often a source of frustration. Over the years I've heard many stories of the Creative Committee giving notes that are pedestrian, motivated by 'save the cat' story logic and sometimes a drag on creativity. One Marvel creative talked to me about battles with the Creative Committee where they focused on details of nit-picky science that ignored the general tone of the -script itself. The notes that drove Edgar Wright off Ant-Man came from the Creative Committee. What's more, the Creative Committee was often very tardy with their notes, making movie development a much slower process. All of the Committee members have other, very important jobs, so you understand why that would be the case, but it was a pain for filmmakers. And that's before taking into account the political divisions within Marvel that also created friction with the Creative Committee. Now that the Creative Committee has been dissolved and now that Ike is out of the picture, Marvel Studios is facing a real new dawn. It won't be evident on Captain America: Civil War or maybe Doctor Strange, which is already deep in pre-production, but everything coming afterwards could reflect a new energy at Marvel. Key creative decisions are now being made by Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito and Victoria Alonso alone. Any drag or difficulty caused by the Creative Committee is over, and any skinflint choices and bizarre decisions made by Ike are out of the way (trivia: I understand the reason there are no Black Widow toys is specifically because Ike, with a background in toys, believes girl toys do not sell and thus vetoed them again and again. One guy was the roadblock.), and now we're going to see Marvel Studios operating at full power as it goes into Phase Three. I don't think this means we're going to see Captain Marvel suddenly get a $300 million budget - I think Marvel understands that reasonable frugality is what has allowed Ant-Man to become a success - but I think we're going to see happier actors, more dynamic creative visions and a Kevin Feige who could be leading Marvel well into the next decade. More than that, I think the doors to diversity have opened in a big way, especially post-Ike. For anyone that feels like there will be no difference between Marvel Studios and Marvel TV going forward, it sounds like you may want to think again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Is this a good thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco685 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 From the readout on this committee, it sounds like it was more a burden than a benefit. Sounds like Mister Feige had some big chains taken off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firespitter Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 We are witnessing the birth of the Feige-averse. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artboy99 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Is this a good thing? Is a great question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr 9.8 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I wish the merry band of I diots running DC comics would disband. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronty Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 From the readout on this committee, it sounds like it was more a burden than a benefit. Sounds like Mister Feige had some big chains taken off. No one knows the truth except the players. You can have a boss you think is a jerk who gets good work out of you. Feige will be happier, we know that much. Probably boiled down to him saying either this happens or I walk. Whether the movies will be as good is anyone's guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco685 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 From the readout on this committee, it sounds like it was more a burden than a benefit. Sounds like Mister Feige had some big chains taken off. No one knows the truth except the players. You can have a boss you think is a jerk who gets good work out of you. Feige will be happier, we know that much. Probably boiled down to him saying either this happens or I walk. Whether the movies will be as good is anyone's guess Very true. But it would be interesting if follow-up feedback from former creative leads gives this a positives thumbs up. Though it was Feige who recently stated Kenneth Branagh was not invited back to direct the next Thor movie, as if they had run across different approaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco685 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 I wish the merry band of I diots running DC comics would disband. The comic creators, movie creators, or both? I'd like to see the superhero movie division broken off separately, with its own P&L. Then it would be forced to show an on-going profit with all its ventures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjrjr Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) I wish the merry band of I diots running DC comics would disband. The comic creators, movie creators, or both? I'd like to see the superhero movie division broken off separately, with its own P&L. Then it would be forced to show an on-going profit with all its ventures. That would be the opposite of what Disney just did however. They just brought Marvel movies into their movie division. Or rather, that is the next logical step now that it is separate from the rest of Marvel. Edited September 2, 2015 by rjrjr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr 9.8 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I wish the merry band of I diots running DC comics would disband. The comic creators, movie creators, or both? I'd like to see the superhero movie division broken off separately, with its own P&L. Then it would be forced to show an on-going profit with all its ventures. The geniuses behind DC comics, comics universe. Hasn't been the same since the new 52. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco685 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 I wish the merry band of I diots running DC comics would disband. The comic creators, movie creators, or both? I'd like to see the superhero movie division broken off separately, with its own P&L. Then it would be forced to show an on-going profit with all its ventures. That would be the opposite of what Disney just did however. They just brought Marvel movies into their movie division. Or rather, that is the next logical step now that it is separate from the rest of Marvel. Different hurdles between the two companies. - Marvel Studios: All rumors lead to the picture Marvel Entertainment management were slightly disruptive to recent movie development. - 'DC Studios': Able to crank out excessive poor movies by writing off the losses and hiding within all other movies coming out of Warner Bros. Make them stand alone, and now force transparency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 From the readout on this committee, it sounds like it was more a burden than a benefit. Sounds like Mister Feige had some big chains taken off. No one knows the truth except the players. You can have a boss you think is a jerk who gets good work out of you. Feige will be happier, we know that much. Probably boiled down to him saying either this happens or I walk. Whether the movies will be as good is anyone's guess Very true. But it would be interesting if follow-up feedback from former creative leads gives this a positives thumbs up. Though it was Feige who recently stated Kenneth Branagh was not invited back to direct the next Thor movie, as if they had run across different approaches. I thought Kenneth Branagh did a nice job with the first Thor movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisInBaltimore Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 From the readout on this committee, it sounds like it was more a burden than a benefit. Sounds like Mister Feige had some big chains taken off. No one knows the truth except the players. You can have a boss you think is a jerk who gets good work out of you. Feige will be happier, we know that much. Probably boiled down to him saying either this happens or I walk. Whether the movies will be as good is anyone's guess Very true. But it would be interesting if follow-up feedback from former creative leads gives this a positives thumbs up. Though it was Feige who recently stated Kenneth Branagh was not invited back to direct the next Thor movie, as if they had run across different approaches. I thought Kenneth Branagh did a nice job with the first Thor movie. I think most people did too. Was a reason given for removing Branagh? I thought I read that Branagh didn't want to direct again. I'm not sure I like Feige separating from the comic guys. I guess time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco685 Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 From the readout on this committee, it sounds like it was more a burden than a benefit. Sounds like Mister Feige had some big chains taken off. No one knows the truth except the players. You can have a boss you think is a jerk who gets good work out of you. Feige will be happier, we know that much. Probably boiled down to him saying either this happens or I walk. Whether the movies will be as good is anyone's guess Very true. But it would be interesting if follow-up feedback from former creative leads gives this a positives thumbs up. Though it was Feige who recently stated Kenneth Branagh was not invited back to direct the next Thor movie, as if they had run across different approaches. I thought Kenneth Branagh did a nice job with the first Thor movie. I think most people did too. Was a reason given for removing Branagh? I thought I read that Branagh didn't want to direct again. I'm not sure I like Feige separating from the comic guys. I guess time will tell. Creative Differences Are Knocking Directors Out of Marvel Movies (2011) All this to say, Jon Favreau felt Marvel didn’t really know what they were doing with the next Iron Man movie and he wanted out. Kenneth Branagh also doesn’t want to return for Thor 2, so Marvel brought in Monster director Patty Jenkins who would have been the first female director to work for the studio. After she signed on, met with the cast, all things were positive until out of the blue she also dropped out. Then there was the story why Patty Jenkins jumped ship on Thor 2. 'Thor 2' Director Patty Jenkins Exits The filmmaker, best known for directing the Charlize Theron movie Monster and AMC’s pilot for The Killing, was to have been the first female director of a Marvel Studios movie. Alas, “creative differences” are being blamed. "I have had a great time working at Marvel," Jenkins told The Hollywood Reporter in an exclusive statement. "We parted on very good terms, and I look forward to working with them again." The director's departure is the second for Thor 2; Kenneth Branagh, who directed the first movie, did not return for a second outing, also citing “creative differences.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doktor Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I'm not quite sure I like the idea of separating the comic guys from the movie guys completely. Having the comic guys have some say prevents non-comic movie guys from essentially turning comic movies into their multi-million-dollar budget fanfic or having movie guys like that one dude at Sony that wanted the Spidey "Snapchat circle" or EDM playlists or junk like that. You can look at the results so far & be pretty certain that they weren't a huge negative on the end product based on the results & reviews. And while the lack thereof could potentially be a positive, my gut feeling is it's more likely a negative, given the results of all the other studios doing comic book movies that didn't have a bunch of comic guys giving notes & suggestions. My only conclusion based on results & comparing the other studios to marvel is that the comic guys helped keep the movie guys from deviating too far from the comics & it's been a successful, if not always convenient, partnership. The comic guys kept the movie guys honest & the movie guys had access to a wealth of information & a bit of a braintrust to rely on, even if it might have hindered a little bit of creativity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud cloddie Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I'm not quite sure I like the idea of separating the comic guys from the movie guys completely. Having the comic guys have some say prevents non-comic movie guys from essentially turning comic movies into their multi-million-dollar budget fanfic or having movie guys like that one dude at Sony that wanted the Spidey "Snapchat circle" or EDM playlists or junk like that. You can look at the results so far & be pretty certain that they weren't a huge negative on the end product based on the results & reviews. And while the lack thereof could potentially be a positive, my gut feeling is it's more likely a negative, given the results of all the other studios doing comic book movies that didn't have a bunch of comic guys giving notes & suggestions. My only conclusion based on results & comparing the other studios to marvel is that the comic guys helped keep the movie guys from deviating too far from the comics & it's been a successful, if not always convenient, partnership. The comic guys kept the movie guys honest & the movie guys had access to a wealth of information & a bit of a braintrust to rely on, even if it might have hindered a little bit of creativity. Feige is a comic guy. Just because he wasn't in the publishing side doesn't mean he doesn't know about the characters. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/business/media/marvel-with-a-fan-at-the-helm-steers-its-heroes-to-the-screen.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 And judging by how some of the Fox stuff has turned out, with comic writers guiding, I'd much rather have a fan steering the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...