At MFM, we explore how low-budget filmmakers can make great films and progress their craft. We’ve never romanticized how easy it is to break into the Hollywood stage here—nor do we believe that Hollywood SHOULD be where a lot of filmmakers end up.
Especially a year or two ago, I myself was pretty much over Hollywood films entirely—which is kind of tragic, because I love the magic of the collective moviegoing experience that you can currently only get through the Studio system.
This year, however, I’ve gotten really excited by the moves we’ve been seeing from Disney. (That’s a phrase I never thought I would utter once I’d had the misfortune of seeing Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.)
However, the reality is that enough changes in management at Disney and the technoculture in the world that we’re seeing a bizarre paradigm shift where Disney is doing some amazingly Indie things—like trusting much lesser known filmmakers from the Indie world with major tent pole franchises!
No time was this more evident than with allowing Indie comedy directors, the Russo brothers, to direct Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of the first Captain America—I waited until I could get it at Redbox, but didn’t really appreciate seeing it until I saw Avengers and could comment to my wife that I knew a few more things about Cap’s storyline than she did! However, that all changed when I saw Winter Soldier and realized that the Russo brothers had come darn close to upstaging the Avengers, possibly the greatest comic book movie ever. (Which in turn, was created because Disney took a risk on a cult-level TV showrunner who hasn’t directed very many actual films.)
With their upcoming Star Wars continuation movies, they took a chance on a director who, while recently famous for the Star Trek reboots, is most famous for being a TV showrunner of shows that kind of got confused in there latter seasons (ie Lost and Fringe). Then they started taking chances on more Indie directors that’d done fewer movies for Star Wars spinoff films, like Gareth Edwards (who directed the Indie, Monster, and recently did the reboot of Godzilla) or, even less well documented, Josh Trank (who is in the process of directing the Sony reboot of the Fantastic Four, but has only had one feature film actually released, the Indie-minded thriller, Chronicle).
However, the fact that Disney/LucasArts is in the process of making an offer to an Indie writer/director that I love to continue the main Star Wars saga is almost unprecedented! The news that Rian Johnson would replace JJ Abrams for Star Wars VIII, which we’re just hearing today, is the biggest leap we’ve seen from Disney to date. (The fact that Johnson’s IMDB page has been updated with these facts overshadows the absence of an official statement by Disney or Johnson to the rumors earlier today.)
Why? Because, aside from three episodes of Breaking Bad, Johnson has directed only THREE feature films: the Indie Brick, The Brothers Bloom, and Looper.
Despite this minimal resumé, Johnson is an smart world builder who has impressed me with all the work he’s done. That being said, to trust someone with such a limited body of work for the main storyline of arguably the largest film franchise in modern history is epic.
Not only will he be directing VIII—and possibly IX—but it looks he will also be penning the script. According to Entertainment Weekly :
“Current reports have Johnson as the sole writer of Episode VIII. If that is true…then Johnson will be the first person credited as the director and sole writer on a Star Wars movie whose name is not George Lucas.”
This sort of forward thinking concept is especially startling for a company who used to embody some of the most unimaginative parts of the studio system in regards to live-action films. For them to suddenly be laser targeting on amazing rising talent like this is absolutely incredible. Not only is it incredible to see them doing it, but it’s incredible to see how other studios are rushing to catch up.
In fact, I would argue that some of the early changes in Disney helped inspire the hiring of Zach Snyder to do Man of Steel, which I would argue is the BEST Superman film that has EVER been made. (Some people will always like the Donnor films for the camp they bring and, hey, that’s great. But for my money, make a story where I can give a care about a man who’s invulnerable and you’re doing a bang up job! The script was strong by David S. Goyer, but Snyder’s tone to the film—especially showcasing how untrained super powers would make you resemble an autistic child—were spot on!)
Snyder, of course, is doing Batman Vs. Superman and is rumored to be doing the JLA movie. At the same time, Ben Affleck—also with undeniable Indie pedigree—looks to be brought on to helm the Batman reboot he’ll star in.
For 7 of the last 8 years at MFM, I’ve stated over and over that Hollywood was doomed—they simply could not evolve fast enough to save themselves. This is the first year where I actually am second-guessing that statement. If someone as old school as Disney can figure out the Golden mean of making money by making AMAZING movies and recruiting INDIE talent to do it, then maybe the old girl has a few more tricks in her. (Regardless of how badly botched the marketing campaign was for Doug Liman’s new film, Edge of Tomorrow, that’s an incredible movie by another filmmaker who’s Indie roots are undeniable. If you have been avoiding that one due to the trailers, just go and watch it!)
Only time will tell where all this is going. However, I’m cautiously optimistic.
Even more so because Rian Johnson, when the news leaked, apparently updated his facebook with a clip from the classic movie, The Right Stuff, featuring the line: “Oh Lord, please help me not F— this up!”
Words to live by, Mr. Johnson. Words to live by!
Jeremy T. Hanke
The director of two feature length films and half a dozen short films, Jeremy Hanke founded MicroFilmmaker Magazine to help all no-budget filmmakers make better films. The second edition of his well-received book on low-budget special effects techniques, GreenScreen Made Easy, (which he co-wrote with Michele Yamazaki) is being released by MWP in fall 2016. He's curently working on the sci-fi collaborative community, World of Depleted, and directed the debut action short in this series, Depleted: Day 419 .