Cameron brands ‘Battleship’ movie ridiculous
By IANSMonday, January 10, 2011
LONDON - Acclaimed filmmaker James Cameron has criticised Hollywood’s love affair with franchises, citing the upcoming “Battleship” movie as an example of the “ridiculous” lengths producers will go to score a box office hit.
Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard and Rihanna are set to star in the big screen re-imagining of the popular board game, but “Avatar” director Cameron is horrified by the idea of turning a toy into a film, reports imdb.com.
“The Terminator” creator insists moviemakers should be allowed to pursue more original concepts, rather than relying on old stories and well-worn ideas.
“We have a story crisis. Now they want to make ‘Battleship’ the game into a film! This is pure desperation, because now the ‘Sequel Business’ governs Hollywood, or how we call it: the franchise,” he said.
“Everyone in Hollywood knows how important it is that the film before it hit theatres, is already a brand. If a brand has been around, ‘Harry Potter’ for example, or ‘Spider-Man’, you are light years ahead… And there lies the problem. Because unfortunately (these franchises are becoming more) ridiculous. Battleship. This degrades the cinema,” he added.
