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[Lights and Waves]

The Ringer published a big piece today titled “Movies Aren’t Dead, but They’ll Never Be the Same” about the state of the movie industry, and one of the people they spoke to was Bret Easton Ellis. Ellis is best known as the author of the book “American Pyscho” (Christian Bale stared in the movie), and apparently he has some big Hollywood friends.

“I was having dinner with a couple of executives who know other executives who are working on the [forthcoming] Batman movie, The Batman,” Ellis told The Ringer.

“And they were just telling me that there are serious problems with the script. And that the executives I was having dinner with were complaining about people who work on the Batman movie. And they just said they went to the studio and they said, ‘Look, the script is … Here’s 30 things that are wrong with it that we can fix.’ And [the executives] said, ‘We don’t care. We don’t really care. The amount of money we’re going to make globally, I mean 70 percent of our audience is not going to be seeing this in English. And it doesn’t really matter, these things that you’re bringing up about the flaws of the script.’ So I do think global concerns play a big part in how movies, and what movies, are being made, obviously.”

Look, we know there are problems with the script. This past summer, Ben Affleck publicly stated that he’s not happy with it. But if everything Bret Easton Ellis said is true about Warner Bros. executives not caring, that’s very concerning! Could that be why Ben Affleck keeps saying “there is no Batman movie”, yet the movie is scheduled to begin shooting in the spring?

Source: https://theringer.com/movie-industry-shifts-peak-tv-arrival-moonlight-f0a5ddd85384

If this is true...

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Why yes let's ruin the one good thing the cinematic universe most folks liked

 

[jack_package_200]

If there is any truth to that it will make seeing Doctor Strange today even more enjoyable.

 

[brandonh83]

Hope it's BS or that it gets ironed out. Affleck is great, was really pulling for this one.

 

[Kalentan]

Why yes let's ruin the one good thing the cinematic universe most folks liked

Warner Bros just really don't give a fuck. Like holy shit at this point they really do deserve to crash and burn.

 

[georly]

man what the hell

I can't support that kind of business practice. I'm out, if true, despite adoring most super hero movies, good or bad.

 

[SpaceWolf]

20 years in Hollywood Alfred, we've seen what promises are worth. How many good writers are left? How many stayed that way?

 

[old manatee]

Yeah it's pretty obvious that the script is incidental for these films.

 

[Rentahamster]

Who's writing it? Is he writing it?

 

[Fury451]

Well if that's true then it explains an awful lot

It would also solidify that they're not going to do anything to improve because they make those fat stacks anyway

 

[Mammoth Jones]

I thought Affleck was writing it himself?

20 years in Hollywood Alfred, we've seen what promises are worth. How many good writers are left? How many stayed that way?

 

[AuthenticM]

I trust in Ben Affleck.

 

[Glix]

I say it every afternoon
Every evening
Every day

The script is a mess

*mic hit*

 

[Glass Rebel]

Don't worry, the Extended Cut is gonna be alright.

 

[zeemumu]

So he wanted to fix it and the studio told him no? That sounds like it's out of his hands right now.

 

[BronsonLee]

Yeah cause the other movies he wrote and directed were messes too

wait, is he not writing this too? wtf

 

[thecouncil]

If there is any truth to that it will make seeing Doctor Strange today even more enjoyable.

Why?

 

[Mariolee]

If true, fuck you high ranking execs.

The wrong thing was bolded in that opening post.



So it's not even a first hand account or a second hand account but a third hand account.

However this is also important to consider

 

[keltickennedy]

Did these executives think the scripts for the previous movies were good then? If that is the case. The Batman should turn out alright. lol.

 

[Caelus]

Spoiler

:'(

 

[Effect]

The wrong thing was bolded in that opening post.

“I was having dinner with a couple of executives who know other executives who are working on the [forthcoming] Batman movie, The Batman,” Ellis told The Ringer.

So it's not even a first hand account or a second hand account but a third hand account? People are taking that as 100% truth here?

 

[BY2K]

God damn it, Ben, you were the chosen one.

 

[mdubs]

At least we will always have Nolan's Batman

 

[kadotsu]

Why would they spend time on a second pass of a script when idiots will go to see it regardless of quality? That money is better spend on a trailer and payola youtube segments.

 

[Ross61]

Ben is still working on the script so I don't really trust this.

 

[shoelacer]

Who's remotely surprised? Everything in the DC movies has been destined to be trash for a while now.

 

[Flying Toaster]

Best DC universe script in a while is Lego Batman.

At least I hope its decent the trailers are good.

 

[RDreamer]

These the same executives that meddled a ton with Suicide Squad and a bit with BvS? Not sure I believe they've done a complete 180 to not caring about anything now.

 

[wachie]

For what its worth, I also dont care.

Just give me the movie.

 

[TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared]

I heard on an interview with Affleck that he'd only just finished it and he wasn't even confirmed as director.

 

[Reptars Revenge]

These shits don't know what a good script is so I'm optimistic.

 

[Grym]

Good.

middle of the game script changes/edits from the studio has been what has really fucked most of these DC movies. WB made changes to BvS and Suicide Squad to make them good movies. Look how that turned out.

 

[jack_package_200]

Why?

Because at least Marvel and Disney would appear to care about making something thats at least good along with making money

If WB does not give a shit, why should I?

 

[Soroc]

20 years in Hollywood Alfred, we've seen what promises are worth. How many good writers are left? How many stayed that way?

The movie just keeps on giving

 

[Chichikov]

Not that it would surprise me that movie end up with a shitty script, but Bret Easton Ellis wouldn't know a good script if it murdered him with an axe to Huey Lewis and The News.

 

[ryan299]

Affleck and Johns are writing it.

 

[DecoReturns]

If this is true...well damn. i wonder why tho, it should be a self contain story.



I have doubts this is true honestly. I'll wait and see

 

[M.D]

Aren't executives the ones who are usually blamed for ruining scripts because they think they know what's best and want to inject it with their ideas? Maybe the scrips is amazing and these execs want to destroy it with their shitty ideas

 

[The Kree]

LOL

 

[brandonh83]

Aren't executives the ones who are usually blamed for ruining scripts because they think they know what's best and want to inject it with their ideas? Maybe the scrips is amazing and these execs want to destroy it with their shitty ideas

I like the cut of this.

 

[Marvel]

Wait and see.

 

[xxracerxx]

Don't worry, the Extended Cut is gonna be alright.

We will see if this rings true with Suicide Squad. Man that was a disappointing movie.

 

[KingofGourds]

One day they're gonna end up making a movie about the DCEU in the style of 'The Big Short' and it's going to be the best thing about the DCEU put to film.

 

[HStallion]

So Hollywood as usual? You think they give a shit about the horrid scripts Michael Bay uses for his multibillion dollar Transformer's series? Or that James Cameron's Avatar had the same white savior of a tribal people script we've seen a dozen times over but with giant smurfs? This is normal everyday business for Hollywood execs. If they could make a movie that would sell 500 million dollars worth of tickets and had a script written by a 5 year old they would.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

WB is turning out to be the worst big hollywood company by a mile.

 

[Effect]

Aren't executives the ones who are usually blamed for ruining scripts because they think they know what's best and want to inject it with their ideas? Maybe the scrips is amazing and these execs want to destroy it with their shitty ideas

Then there is also this. Isn't that what happen with X-men Origins: Wolverine to the point where an executive kept coming in and literally ordering set changes the night before things were to be filmed because he had that power and could?

 

[RipperGrim]

Far too early to worry about this kind of thing. It's a bloody script, it can be changed.

 

[thecouncil]

They ain't lying though.
You're all gonna see it.
It doesn't matter what the script is like.

 

[zeemumu]

The thread title implies that Ben submitted the messy script as a final draft but the rest of that article suggests that he's still working on it and the execs want to push it through anyway.

 

[Chezzymann]

So the higher ups just view these films as 100% cash generators and dont care about the quality of them at all? I mean even marvel seems to care about their films having a consistent quality to them, even if that quality is usually mediocre. Its disturbing to see these people not even have an ounce of passion for the movies they produce.