HBO Max's BATGIRL starring Leslie Grace (2022?) 5 5

[darkstar]

On 8/3/2022 at 2:15 PM, Bosco685 said:

Do you realize how callous a statement (with  as icing on the cake) this comes across?

These are comic book productions. Not war crimes. Why is it funny someone's work gets cancelled like that?

The tag at the end of the post is directed at you (a mimic of your tea leaves post) and others who bought into the statement that the studio scrapped the movie because it simply didn't fit into their plans and was a "strategic decision" and not the result of the quality of the production. You posted this: "Still, their report indicates that the studio is "actively planning" to work with the film's star, Leslie Grace, as well as directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi." because you fell for the press release. 

Callous would be firing someone at their wedding and then telling the public there are plans to work with them in the future. Logically why would a studio task a group of creatives who couldn't get Batgirl off the ground with an even bigger license and production in the future? This is like thinking that Rian Johnson is still going to be working on Star Wars going forward. 

[Bosco685]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:33 PM, darkstar said:

The tag at the end of the post is directed at you (a mimic of your tea leaves post) and others who bought into the statement that the studio scrapped the movie because it simply didn't fit into their plans and was a "strategic decision" and not the result of the quality of the production. You posted this: "Still, their report indicates that the studio is "actively planning" to work with the film's star, Leslie Grace, as well as directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi." because you fell for the press release. 

Callous would be firing someone at their wedding and then telling the public there are plans to work with them in the future. Logically why would a studio task a group of creatives who couldn't get Batgirl off the ground with an even bigger license and production in the future? This is like thinking that Rian Johnson is still going to be working on Star Wars going forward. 

I think you don't realize how much your posts convey your sense of entitlement to hate without knowing all the details. But you be you.

[Bosco685]

Quote

Batgirl was a casualty of new corporate strategy from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who opted to shelve the project in order to take a tax write-down on the $90 million film, multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. The film had been greenlit for around $80 million under former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, who also teed up multiple DC projects for HBO Max that would be budgeted more modestly than a theatrical DC offering. Its budget jumped to $90 million due to COVID-19 protocols.

 

Just a few months ago, Batgirl was seen as one of the more intriguing of the upcoming DC films. It hailed from the duo known as Adil & Bilall, who became hot commodities with Bad Boys for Life (2020) and continued to build excitement with well-received episodes of Disney+’s Ms. Marvel, released this summer. Even Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige expressed interest in learning spoilers from the film. Batgirl was also seen as a win for representation, with Leslie Grace being the first Latina to front a DC Extended Universe film and Adil & Bilall bringing their unique background as Muslim, Belgian Moroccan filmmakers. Plus, Michael Keaton was back as Batman.

 

For a time, according to multiple sources, Warners considered pumping more money into Batgirl to beef it up into a 2023 theatrical release. Another source downplays the notion that a theatrical upgrade was seriously in contention, as from the -script stage it was conceived as a streaming play. Either way, when a very early version of the film test screened, with temp VFX and score, it landed a score in the low 60s and is believed to have only tested once. Film producers and executives have long noted that test screenings are best used to determine whether audiences are engaged or disengaged during certain parts of the film, not as a final judgment call on a movie. For example, horror films that end up doing well have been known to test in the 60s. Batgirl’s test score, which was for a director’s cut, is comparable to scores for the first It (2017), which wound up grossing $700.3 million globally, as well as an early score for the upcoming Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Both of those films tested in the 60s.

 

Batgirl felt more modest than, say, The Batman — which had a production budget nearly $100 million more than Batgirl’s — with Glasgow, Scotland, filling in for Gotham City. Warners leadership under Zaslav feared it would not deliver the spectacle DC audiences are accustomed to. Still, its smaller feel was baked into its DNA, as Batgirl was supposed to be the first in a number of smaller DC films.

Or as some would say "Oh yeah? I know better than THR!"

[darkstar]

On 8/3/2022 at 4:36 PM, Bosco685 said:

I think you don't realize how much your posts convey your sense of entitlement to hate without knowing all the details. But you be you.

You're confusing hatred with criticism.  

[Bosco685]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:45 PM, darkstar said:

You're confusing hatred with criticism.  

Not when so frequently you seem to show up when there is DC or Snyder hate to drop into a thread. All one need do is search your handle and those topics.

That's not criticism. That confused feelings.

[darkstar]

On 8/3/2022 at 4:48 PM, Bosco685 said:

Not when so frequently you seem to show up when there is DC or Snyder hate to drop into a thread. All one need do is search your handle and those topics.

That's not criticism. That confused feelings.

This is the result of DC continuing to make bad decisions and bad movies. I praised The Batman, but that doesn't fit your narrative that I have some hate boner for DC and Snyder, does it?

[Bosco685]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:53 PM, darkstar said:

This is the result of DC continuing to make bad decisions and bad movies. I praised The Batman, but that doesn't fit your narrative that I have some hate boner for DC and Snyder, does it?

Move on and see the therapist you need. It will do us all a world of good.

[littledoom]

this is pretty heartbreaking, I was looking forward to this movie as a Bat fan

[darkstar]

On 8/3/2022 at 4:43 PM, Bosco685 said:

 

Or as some would say "Oh yeah? I know better than THR!"

If the studio projected it to be a moneymaker for them, they would have released it somewhere. There is no other side to that coin. If you have an investment and choose to scuttle that investment instead of seeing it through to the point where there is a return on it, you're taking the tax write off because you believe it to be the better financial decision. And this being a superhero property, this film wouldn't be viewed solely as a one-and-done box office receipts only situation. By giving up on the film you forego the opportunity of releasing a hit that leads to a franchise, and because of the content lends itself to an endless stream of merchandising and toys. So yes, the movie must have been that bad.   

[Buzzetta]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:43 PM, Bosco685 said:

Or as some would say "Oh yeah? I know better than THR!"

There are other movies that have been cut in the same way Batgirl was... 

What is more interesting to me is that a movie like Moonshot was pulled from HBO Max after it was already released and has been available for streaming as an HBO Max movie... 

Maybe there is SOMETHING that is going on and they want to make it a point to rid movies that were made specifically for this type of strategy.

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/warner-bros-discovery-quietly-cutting-other-movies-amid-shock-batgirl-cancellation?

 

 

[Buzzetta]

On 8/3/2022 at 6:10 PM, darkstar said:

If the studio projected it to be a moneymaker for them, they would have released it somewhere. There is no other side to that coin. If you have an investment and choose to scuttle that investment instead of seeing it through to the point where there is a return on it, you're taking the tax write off because you believe it to be the better financial decision. And this being a superhero property, this film wouldn't be viewed solely as a one-and-done box office receipts only situation. By giving up on the film you forego the opportunity of releasing a hit that leads to a franchise, and because of the content lends itself to an endless stream of merchandising and toys. So yes, the movie must have been that bad.   

Not necessarily true...

Who knows what is going through their minds...

Moonshot was a direct to HBO Max movie to support the streaming platform.  That was also just removed. 

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/warner-bros-discovery-quietly-cutting-other-movies-amid-shock-batgirl-cancellation?

Edited August 3, 2022 by Buzzetta

[Bosco685]

On 8/3/2022 at 6:10 PM, darkstar said:

If the studio projected it to be a moneymaker for them, they would have released it somewhere. There is no other side to that coin. If you have an investment and choose to scuttle that investment instead of seeing it through to the point where there is a return on it, you're taking the tax write off because you believe it to be the better financial decision. And this being a superhero property, this film wouldn't be viewed solely as a one-and-done box office receipts only situation. By giving up on the film you forego the opportunity of releasing a hit that leads to a franchise, and because of the content lends itself to an endless stream of merchandising and toys. So yes, the movie must have been that bad.  

First you implied I fell for the studio telling a fictional narrative what really going on. No - wait. You didn't imply anything.

On 8/3/2022 at 5:33 PM, darkstar said:

The tag at the end of the post is directed at you (a mimic of your tea leaves post) and others who bought into the statement that the studio scrapped the movie because it simply didn't fit into their plans and was a "strategic decision" and not the result of the quality of the production.

 

Then you attempted to be the studio whisperer what they were really conveying.

On 8/3/2022 at 5:33 PM, darkstar said:

You posted this: "Still, their report indicates that the studio is "actively planning" to work with the film's star, Leslie Grace, as well as directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi." because you fell for the press release. 

 

Do you think maybe you are wrapping yourself up more emotionally than anyone else here? I'm just noting how far you are going with this to be the assumed voice of reason, but really investing more time on the topic than you need to. Kind of like when you go off about Zack Snyder. It isn't mentally healthy for anyone.

[darkstar]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:13 PM, Buzzetta said:

Not necessarily true...

Who knows what is going through their minds...

Moonshot was a direct to HBO Max movie to support the streaming platform.  That was also just removed. 

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/warner-bros-discovery-quietly-cutting-other-movies-amid-shock-batgirl-cancellation?

But new leadership coming in and rebranding or changing creative direction is done all the time. Canceling a near 100 million dollar superhero film in post-production, while at the same time continuing to make superhero films going forward, is something else entirely.  

[Bosco685]

On 8/3/2022 at 6:27 PM, darkstar said:

But new leadership coming in and rebranding or changing creative direction is done all the time. Canceling a near 100 million dollar superhero film in post-production, while at the same time continuing to make superhero films going forward, is something else entirely.  

Like I assumed - the Studio Whisperer. You truly know what they had going on behind the scenes more than anyone else.

Thank you for sharing reality. We are the better for it.

[Buzzetta]

On 8/3/2022 at 6:27 PM, darkstar said:

But new leadership coming in and rebranding or changing creative direction is done all the time. Canceling a near 100 million dollar superhero film in post-production, while at the same time continuing to make superhero films going forward, is something else entirely.  

I don't know if that is entirely true.

On one side you have $90 million invested in a movie that they receive a tax write off for if they don't release it under the reasoning that it does not fit into their vision for the future of film releases.

You are saying that they should just release it since the movie is basically done... 
Okay... believe it or not I do see your point with that.

 

But here is the problem.  Moonshot is a movie that they have already released exclusively on HBO Max.  At this point it costs them nothing to keep the movie on the platform.  In fact they have everything to gain by keeping it on the platform because even if one person in the world watches it tomorrow it is "content".  In this day and age, content is key.

Yet they are pulling it because it does not fit into their vision for the future of film releases. 

 

The two conflict with one another from a financial sense. 

This tells me that they may enjoy a tax write off from Batgirl as they stated... but that they may seriously be making decisions based on their vision for the future of film releases.

It also tells me that Discovery may have something more in mind...   They might be thinking of getting out of the streaming game all together... 

https://www.thewrap.com/hbo-max-layoffs-warner-bros-discovery-q2-earnings-preview/

[darkstar]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:27 PM, Bosco685 said:

First you implied I fell for the studio telling a fictional narrative what really going on. No - wait. You didn't imply anything.

 

Then you attempted to be the studio whisperer what they were really conveying.

 

Do you think maybe you are wrapping yourself up more emotionally than anyone else here? I'm just noting how far you are going with this to be the assumed voice of reason, but really investing more time on the topic than you need to. Kind of like when you go off about Zack Snyder. It isn't mentally healthy for anyone.

I think I've been pretty clear from the beginning - the movie isn't being released because it was just that bad. If it made financial sense to release it, the studio would release it. Your response to that has been to quote the public statements regarding its termination, which for some reason you think need to be decoded - when literally anyone at all familiar with the corporate world could tell you it is just contrived public relations nonsense.  

On 8/3/2022 at 5:27 PM, Bosco685 said:

but really investing more time on the topic than you need to.

You have over one hundred thousand posts on this forum. 

[Mystafo]

On 8/3/2022 at 1:40 PM, Larryw7 said:

People are crap.

We prefer the term "dookie" if you don't mind, thank you. 

[darkstar]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:30 PM, Bosco685 said:

Like I assumed - the Studio Whisperer. You truly know what they had going on behind the scenes more than anyone else.

Thank you for sharing reality. We are the better for it.

How is it that someone so entrenched in the world of entertainment is unfamiliar with how common it is for new leadership to come in and substantially change the content that a company produces, regardless of how well that content is doing at the time of the takeover? This literally already happened with Discovery when they pivoted to reality television.    

[Bosco685]

On 8/3/2022 at 6:40 PM, darkstar said:

  You have over one hundred thousand posts on this forum. 

You've tried this game before. Remember? Telling me all the time I waste on here.

Meanwhile, what does that have to do with THIS topic?

[Bosco685]

The Hollywood Reporter on what went down.

They are much more plugged in than any of us.