Filmonic » John Stevenson

Columbia to pick up He-Man?

Liam — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:47:45 +0000

A few weeks ago Warner Bros. and Mattell parted ways as they didn’t see eye to eye over the direction of the He-Man movie they were developing. Warner Bros. picked up the property in 2007, hired a few writers and placed Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson at the helm. However, creative differences got in the way and both parties decided not to renew the option when it ran out. Potential franchises don’t last long on the marketplace, and now according to Heat Vision Columbia have stepped in to develop the film.

Just weeks after “Masters of the Universe” parted ways with Warner Bros., the Mattel toy property is in negotiations to be preemptively picked up by Columbia with Escape Artists attached to produce.
Stevenson is no longer attached and the project would be built from the ground up.
Run by partners Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch, Escape Artists’ credits include “The Taking of Pelham 123,” “Knowing” and “The Pursuit of Happyness.”

When the movie was at Warner Bros. it was described as a “gritty fantasy” and “Lord of the Rings meets The Matrix meets Batman Begins”. From these descriptions it sounded as though it was heading in the right direction, so I’m curious to find out what caused the creative differences. Will Columbia continue down the darker route or will they make it kid friendly so that Mattell can sell more toys?

John Stevenson to direct Masters of the Universe!

Liam — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:44:49 +0000

Last October Latino Review got word from a source that Kung-Fu Panda director John Stevenson could end up directing a live action He-Man movie. We heard nothing of it for months, until now. Turns out John Stevenson is directing!

From Variety:

Stevenson said the first film came to mind when he was asked to consider the job, and the impression wasn’t a good one. He changed his mind when he went to Mattel headquarters and was shown into a secret lair that contained the visuals created by the toymaker staff.
“There was this locked bunker that you had to be escorted into,” Stevenson said. “It was filled with art, some generated by the Mattel artists, and I looked around, and said, ‘I get it.’ We started formulating a specific vision for costumes, creatures, architecture, and the creation of a mythology and look for a whole world we’ll create.”
Waldo said that Stevenson’s vision to elevate the material matched with Mattel’s desire to see He-Man become a big studio film. Mattel has also brought its “Hot Wheels” film to WB and Silver.
“John had such passion that we found ourselves trying to running to catch up with his vision,” Waldo said.

We have no release date or dates for filming, however we will probably get that info later.

This film could actually work if done right. I hope they don’t make it too child-friendly. I know Mattell have toys to sell but a cheesy fantasy movie will not be appealing!