Movies 'Gnomeo and Juliet' revived post-Disney

[Tom Morrow]

'Gnomeo and Juliet' revived after Disney rejection

Wherefore art thou 'Gnomeo' James McAvoy, Emily Blunt eye Shakespeare adaptation The Hollywood Reporter James McAvoy and Emily Blunt might soon discover the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence — if you're a garden gnome in love. The pair are in negotiations to play the title roles of "Gnomeo and Juliet," a CGI-animated Shakespeare adaptation from Miramax and Elton John's Rocket Pictures. The film will feature several John classics. Tim Rice also was approached to write original songs with his Lion King partner John at the time, but the soundtrack now will be filled with the performer's well-known hits and possibly a few new tracks. In the loose and edgy adaptation of Shakespeare's play, McAvoy (Atonement) and Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) would play lovers from rival gardens. John, who is producing alongside his offscreen partner David Furnish, Baker Bloodworth and Steve Hamilton Shaw, is said to be pursuing big-name talent to voice supporting roles. Rocket initially brought Gnomeo to Walt Disney Feature Animation, but several years later the project was dropped by incoming Pixar executives John Lasseter and Ed Catmull. Miramax president Daniel Battsek, who followed the project while at Buena Vista International, persuaded Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook to revive it at his specialty division in April 2006. by Gregg Goldstein complete article

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[Wisher]

So, um... does this mean that garden gnomes would kill each other? Oh, I am slain!

Maybe they would just knock each other out.

[Mad About Mickey]

This sounds weird and stupid in an intriguing way.

[TopCat8]

I always thought that Miramax was a part of Disney anyway. I could be wrong of course, but this seems to be no different than releasing The Nightmare Before Christmas under the Touchstone brand.

[spacedest]

It sounds stupid to have gnomes fighting each other. How would they die? Be run over by a car?

[Ezra]

Originally Posted by TopCat8

I always thought that Miramax was a part of Disney anyway.

Miramax is owned by Disney, but it's not "in house" the way Touchstone is. Its a finance-and-distribution house for "independent" films. It was bankrolled by Disney, but founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, and is run independently.

Here's how I read-between-the-lines this story:

Elton John has an idea for a musical movie about garden gnomes, and he pitches it to Disney. Disney likes the idea, so they purchase the rights to it, and assign it to Walt Disney Feature Animation.

Then comes the merger with Pixar. John Lasseter comes into WDFA as its new chief and reviews all the projects. The story goes that when he is shown the materials for this one, he asks Why are we making this? and no one could answer. So he nixes the gnomes.

All's well and good except for one thing: Elton John. He still wants to make this movie about garden gnomes... But Disney's contract is iron clad, they own it now, and their contract never expires. Disney is Hollywood's tar baby, once your project touches it, you're stuck; no matter how much you struggle you'll never get free.

It's a problem for Disney too, because they have a very good relationship with Elton John (Lion King, Aida). If they bury his pet project, well, the potential for bad publicity would be enormous. Luckily, they own this little art-house distributor called Miramax. Problem solved.

It's a good solution because, if Gnomeo turns out to be a real stinker, Disney can say "We didn't make it, we just distributed it". But if it turns out to be a hit, they can always re-brand it afterwords; just like they did with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Nightmare Before Christmas.

[Palm Desert Babe]

this kinda sounds wierd........i don't know if this will work.