28 October, 2000

Monkeybone

Yesterday at the Virginia Film Festival I attended a screenwriter's panel that featured Sam Hamm, the screenwriter of Batman and Batman Returns. It was a fun panel which I will write up later.

After it was over I went up to talk to Hamm for a few minutes and asked about his latest project, Monkeybone Rumors have been flying around that the movie wasn't being well received, the studio didn't like it and its released had been repeatedly delayed. I asked Hamm to address those rumors.

His first response was "It's a weird movie." He then goes on to say that the movie had originally been championed by now departed Fox studio chief Bill Mechanic. The company's new leadership doesn't know what to make of the film however. It has been screened several times for test audiences. The response has been good. A lot of people say that they really liked the movie. The part that is killing them though is that when asked if they would recommend the movie to a friend, they generally respond no. The usual response is that they think it is too weird for their friends to enjoy.

That isn't exactly the sort of response that makes studio execs thoughts light up with visions of dollar signs. As a result the movie's release has been delayed. Right now the thinking is that the movie scored very well with the age 22 and under crowd so the release date should be one to target that audience. Therefore expect to see the movie released either President's Day weekend or the week of spring break.

- John Shea

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