The Daily: "How Will Smith's Men in Black 3 almost became a Disaster Movie"
Sony's 'Men in Black 3' Nightmare
Will Smith's sci-fi franchise is set to conquer the box office once again. But sources close to the movie tell Chris Lee that filming was a disaster—and the studio considered pulling the plug.
On the surface, at least, it seemed like the formula for a box-office grand slam. Take the biggest star on the planet—Will Smith—stick him in a third installment of a blockbuster sci-fi comedy franchise, and release the movie on Memorial Day weekend. Cha-ching!
Instead,
Men in Black 3 stands as one of the most difficult movie productions inrecent Hollywood history, a massively expensive exercise in inefficiency and infighting that compelled the heads of Sony Pictures, the studio releasing the film, to consider taking a huge loss rather than continuing to throw good money after bad.
The star vehicle with a budget north of $215 million—Smith’s first film in four years—was hustled into production by Sony to nab the actor before he signed on to a competing blockbuster (and to take advantage of a $38 million New York state tax incentive that was expected to expire). So anxious was Sony to get the cameras rolling that
MIB3 began shooting without a completed script—the Hollywood equivalent of erecting a skyscraper without a finished blueprint.
Deadline: "Sony and Cinemas not budging on who pays for 3D Glasses"
Men In Black 3 opens Friday and it’ll be on plenty of 3D screens despite disagreement between exhibitors and Sony Pictures Entertainment over who should pay for 3D glasses. Movie studios have been footing the bill for the glasses but Sony’s announcement last year that it would
end payments with the release of MIB3
rankled major exhibitors. As discussions continue neither side is budging — at least publicly. Sony is keeping quiet but Bloomberg
reports that executives from Regal Cinemas and Cinemark have said they won’t give in, and the National Association of Theatre Owners indicates nothing has changed on either side.
(more on link)