Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men in Black III has had an unorthodox production schedule. The film started shooting in November with an incomplete script, scheduled a hiatus from December to mid-February to fix the rest of the script, and then pick back up and finish the movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures took this bizarre route because they wanted to take advantage of tax breaks in New York City and spring weather.
However, the hiatus has now passed and the script still isn’t finished. As we reported last week, screenwriter David Koepp (Spider-Man) has been brought in to fix the script by Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder) and later Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 2). But THR reports that those re-writes aren’t going smoothly as the project is caught between Sonnenfeld, producer Walter Parkes, and star Will Smith. Hit the jump for more details.
The plot of Men in Black III has Smith’s Agent J traveling back in time to 1969 to save a young Agent K (Josh Brolin) and thus save the world from a villain played by Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords). The film, which is set to be released in 3D on May 25, 2012, also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Alice Eve, Emma Thompson, Alec Baldwin, Rip Torn, and Sharlto Copley.
Sony reportedly started production last year because they were afraid that New York’s tax breaks might expire (instead, they were extended by five years). Plus, Smith, Jones, and Sonnenfeld were all ready to return and the studio didn’t want to miss the opportunity to deliver the third installment of a franchise that has netted the studio over $1 billion worldwide in box office alone. Factor in all the merchandising that the property offers, and it’s not hard to see why Sony moved forward on a $200 million sequel despite an incomplete script.
But that script may end up costing far more than the studio stands to gain from the tax breaks it received. Parkes and Sonnenfeld are reportedly pulling the script in different directions and Smith is under no pressure to approve a script that isn’t to his liking. Furthermore, time travel scripts can be tricky and the problem is compounded by the fact that the first act of the movie is in the can and so there’s only so much freedom a writer has to tweak the remainder of the film.
All of this would be upsetting if I was looking forward to a third Men in Black movie. Thankfully, I could care less about the future of this franchise (although obviously I’m concerned about the potential jobs lost for the crew) and it’s far more fascinating to watch the behind-the-scenes drama rather than any wacky alien hijnks the sequel may offer.
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I’m still curious to see Jemaine Clement and Josh Brolin, but it looks like an unmitigated disasters.
i’m in an even better position, since i could **not** care less about the future of this franchise.
Starting production before you have a finished script is the ultimate kiss of death for a movie. MIB III is officially going to be awful now, no question about it.
i’m even less upset because i could **not** care less about the future of this franchise.
I think its completely ridiculous when a studio jumps into any film without a completed and awesome script, let alone on a production as pricey as MIB III.
Cart before the horse. I have a great idea! We’ll shoot the movie, then we’ll write the script! Then we’ll file for bankruptcy before we get fired!
i guess you DO care, since you say you could care less.
i heard will smith wahts to include some scientology stuff in the script.
fail.
As a journalism major, the misuse of “could NOT care less” really does bother me.
Reasonable people understand that the term “could care less” means “could not” when used in that context. In the words of Agent K, “Shut it, worms!”
You just know it Will Smith causing all the trough. Barry’s man love for Smith keeps him from being a decent director. Just ask Tommy Lee Jones, Smith is a diva.
clearly Willard Smith III should have considered Bad Boys III a priority… and not this shitfest.
and btw, care less, could not care less… folks, these “reporters” are film buffs like us… they aren’t reporting from Libya. Cut them some slack!
Greed is good!
who gives a sH!t about this movie!
yawn!
Screw this shlockfest, do some more MIB animated series. Those were much better anyway.
Can’t believe they managed to get Rip Torn insured to do this movie, he’s like a train wreck.
i was surprised as well to see Rip Torn in this film… i just assumed he was in jail….
200 Million on a film..!! really… when the second one was soo bad! Yes it made money – people went and saw it – but that’s only because they loved this film film…. Just because we all rushed out to see the sequel – doesn’t mean we liked it!! Come on!….
In any case…. very interesting development.. and of course love Jermaine
Why would they spend so much money on a third installment when the sequel was so bad…??
And Rip Torn in the film!! Wow – I thought he was in jail….
This is sounding like a disaster…
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