TV Movie

[Road Warrior]

I was thinking about this recently. They say when Smallville ends the last image we'll see is of Clark (dressed as Superman) flying out of the frame. A bit of a homage to the 1978 film. And, many want a Superman spin-off. I doubt we'll get that since after 8 or 9 seasons these people wouldn't want to do more.

So, what about a TV movie?

 

[The Squirrel]

I'd be into it.

Or some Direct to DVD movies like Stargate is going to do.

 

[Road Warrior]

I prefer a TV movie over direct to DVD stuff.

 

[Kaboom]

i don think the wb feaure film divisio would take too kindly that

 

[Catman]

i don think the wb feaure film divisio would take too kindly that

Why not? They let the animation department make movies all the time. Talk about a double-standard.

 

[Road Warrior]

Yeah, I don't see what the big deal is, man.

 

[Kaboom]

animated is not live action. they already have a superman live action in brandon routh. its the reason there is no batman on the show. the most tw will ever wear the suit on smallvillem series or otherwise is in the last episode.

 

[Catman]

animated is not live action. they already have a superman live action in brandon routh. its the reason there is no batman on the show. the most tw will ever wear the suit on smallvillem series or otherwise is in the last episode.

A tv movie won't do any harm. Audiences aren't that stupid. They would get confused or anything. It's simply a bad double-standard.

Plus, let's not forget that while Lois & Clark was on the air they began working on Superman Lives.

 

[Eros]

A tv movie won't do any harm. Audiences aren't that stupid. They would get confused or anything. It's simply a bad double-standard.

Plus, let's not forget that while Lois & Clark was on the air they began working on Superman Lives.

Your just not following what he is saying.

 

[Brainiac 2009]

i don think the wb feaure film divisio would take too kindly that

Bingo. WB and the feature department wont try to undercut the 2009 film with a TV \S/ movie or DtDVD movie release, it would just be a stupid move from a marketing standpoint.

Theyll squeeze enough juice out of the Smallville season DVD sales and then call it quits for SV and find some other way to exploit the \S/ saga for $$$$$$$$$$$.

 

[Catman]

wow! I'm shocked. You actually think that people are that stupid? Smallville and the Superman Returns franchise are two different things. People know that! Besides, how would a Smallville TV movie hurt the sequel to SR? If anything hurts the SR sequel it will be Bryan Singer. Did SR do bad at the box office because of Smallville? No, it did bad because Singer f--ked up. End of story.

 

[AgentPat]

This question is like Batman showing up in SV; it Never. Goes. Away.

studios have recently found a whole new market to exploit, direct to video. while before the medium was usually for second rate films that distributors didnt think warranted wide release, companies such as disney have found there to be a huge market for well-made, but on a lower budget, films released solely on dvd. all the sequels to their animated films, also ultimate avengeers, superman vs. braniac. it could be interesting once the series is over to see something like: Smallville: Superman's First Adventure.

http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9471640&postcount=97

Now that's more like it Boomster! I agree.

DTV is probably the best way to go after the show wraps up its run on network TV.

SV is its own franchise folks. And it's a lucrative one at that. No toes are being stepped on now and the same applies to down the road. The characters are already established and the fanbase already built in. If the bean counters at Warners think they can make a substantial enough profit from a SV DTV, they'll produce one. It's as simple as that. As long as Warner Television is still producing episodes of SV for The CW however, there's no reason for them to even go there. Why should they when the show is profitable where it is?

In lieu of reinventing the wheel, here's a few of my comments from previous threads on this topic. I'm getting lazy in my old age and I need to crash LOL.

...[While] I would much prefer a feature film that took the typical route to home video *after* it unspooled in theaters, ...it remains to be seen if Warners is daring enough to consider such a risky endeavor given all the coin they've already sunk into [SR]. DTV seems to be a happy, safe option between the two mediums. And they have the home video sales [for SV's five seasons] as a good argument for why a DTV SV film would likely garner a very nice ROI.

I think a LOT of what happens come 2008 will depend on variables that are impossible to predict at this point. Things to consider (in no particular order) include: ratings for S6 and S7 (if it goes that far), B.O. receipts on SR, home video sales for SV box sets as well as the plethora of other Superman titles being released this year, and finally, public demand, which pretty much influences everything else on the list. Remember, the restaurant will add new items to the menu if enough people request it.

http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8282792&postcount=466

As to suggestions for plot...

No need to redo the origin, but like SV's "new power" episodes, there's more appeal in scenes of discovery (usually associated with origin stories) and showing real world reactions to fantastical events ("money" shots). In fact, it was Scott's first vague descriptions of SR over at BT's that appealed to me the most because I *thought* that's what we were getting: what would happen in the real world if a flying man wearing a colorful costume just showed up one day and started saving lives? How would people react?

This is not something we'll see play out in SV due to the nature of the show, but it's PERFECT [for a DTV film]. Jonathan is already dead, so we can't unring that bell, but the FOS is in place and so are the interpersonal relationships among a previously established full cast (Lex, Lois, Perry, Jimmy, etc.) Action could pick up basically wherever SV ends - presumably with Clark donning the suit in Metropolis and having already assumed a mild-mannered (quirky?) MCK disguise. The plot would NOT require that audiences see the show in order to understand what's going on. For example, Lois' crush on Superman is obvious - what woman wouldn't go all ga ga over that? But Clark's secret attraction to Lois is a much deeper thing. That would have already been explored in the series [currently in S6 progress.]

Another alternative ... would be to show Clark in world-travel mode ala Birthright, and have him end up in Metropolis by the end of the first act. Regardless, a SV [DTV] should be a self-contained [story] ABOUT Superman...

...These are the sorts of things that make origin stories so compelling, and it's why SV fans want to see "their" gang continue into the future. SV is its own origin and continues to adapt the mythos in unique and entertaining ways. Why stop now?

http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9486370&postcount=118

Show me da money!

 

[RakuMon]

This question is like Batman showing up in SV; it Never. Goes. Away.

Now that's more like it Boomster! I agree.

DTV is probably the best way to go after the show wraps up its run on network TV.

SV is its own franchise folks. And it's a lucrative one at that. No toes are being stepped on now and the same applies to down the road. The characters are already established and the fanbase already built in. If the bean counters at Warners think they can make a substantial enough profit from a SV DTV, they'll produce one. It's as simple as that. As long as Warner Television is still producing episodes of SV for The CW however, there's no reason for them to even go there. Why should they when the show is profitable where it is?

In lieu of reinventing the wheel, here's a few of my comments from previous threads on this topic. I'm getting lazy in my old age and I need to crash LOL.

As to suggestions for plot...

Show me da money!

Hey! Where's the love? I thought I was the one who came up w/ the SV DTV idea?! (I'd search for posts that I've made, but I'm too lazy. Pat believes me, right?

Serioulsy, I've been trumpeting this notion for a while now. I think it's the best way to go and the best kind of compromise between the SV gang and the Features department. Esp. since a Smallville theatrical movie is, at best, a pipe dream. Warner's been amping up its DTV distrib arm, so it could be a safe bet.

 

[Brainiac 2009]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I don't see it as likely in the slightest given how the WB handle their promotion and features restrictions.

If they miraculously change how they handle this stuff by then, then by all means... but until then, 'pipe dream' is a good word to describe it.

Plus I don't think Rosey or Kreuk will want to stay with this beyond season seven. My advice is for the SV producers to amp it up for season seven in a multi-part arc that ties everything up; think DS9 "The Final Chapter"

Through I still think they wont be allowed to show him in the suit longer than a brief moment, all things considered.

 

[triplet]

Plus I don't think Rosey or Kreuk will want to stay with this beyond season seven. My advice is for the SV producers to amp it up for season seven in a multi-part arc that ties everything up; think DS9 "The Final Chapter"

Well, Rosie had said he'd be up for a film based on the show (TV or Direct to DVD or whatever) *only* if it's filmed right afterwards.

He will not want to shave his head ever again after Smallville is over, I have a feelling.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

hell there may not even be a Superman feature film in 2009 seeing as how the last one has all but petered out on DVD with little fanfare. As cool as this would be in ANY format for a Smallville film, my gut feeling is that we'll never see anything like this.

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

hell there may not even be a Superman feature film in 2009 seeing as how the last one has all but petered out on DVD with little fanfare. As cool as this would be in ANY format for a Smallville film, my gut feeling is that we'll never see anything like this.

Your joking right Superman Returns was a top selling DVD for a while hell it even did just as good as POTC2 over in the US. But not only that they have already given the go ahead for the sequel which starts production late this year.


Now as far as a Smallville movie goes they can only do something with him before being Superman and thats about it. Because like it or not he is not Superman nor will be. So if they did do a DTV movie they only way he could be Superman is if the did a cartoon movie following SV like they did with Hercules and Xena.

Which had a story line that tied into the TV show. SV can do something like this but I doubt they would.

 

[Brainiac 2009]

Oh Hulk. I wouldnt give up on the 2009 Superman film yet. The stuff we're hearing sounds promising.

If they do cancel plans for the 2009 Superman sequel, the chances of a Smallville TV movie or DVD film getting approved are high.

Though, I wouldnt bet on the plans for SR II getting cancelled.

If the DTDVD film began filming right after the show ends, its release date would come pretty close to the Summer 09 film. I don't see it as likely from their standpoint.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

Your joking right Superman Returns was a top selling DVD for a while hell it even did just as good as POTC2 over in the US. But not only that they have already given the go ahead for the sequel which starts production late this year.

I'm not looking to get into this debate because this isnt the forum but there's been no greenlight to that film, they only signed Singer to produce a script. They dont greenlight a film until the script is given approval and a budget is set. According to the guys who wrote the first film, they havent even started writing the sequel yet. If the film is slated for 2009 it wouldnt start production until early next year anyway.

As for it's DVD figures, I've seen the numbers on some of my shareholder paperwork that I recieve, and it's nothing spectacular, in fact WB as a whole is having a rough year thanks to their summer slate underperforming. I believe what you're quoting above was the RENTAL figures from the first week it was out, which one would expect to be high. Rentals are a whole nother animal from actual sales.

As for SV, you make too many definitive statements about what the show can and cant do, without having any real knowledge of what goes on between the Studio and the TV people.

 

[AgentPat]

Pfft! And people say *I* drag SR over here? Crikey! All I do is crack lame jokes that need to be explained. LOL

Anyhoo... so what was it about this that people didn't understand?

Hey! Where's the love? I thought I was the one who came up w/ the SV DTV idea?! (I'd search for posts that I've made, but I'm too lazy. Pat believes me, right?

LOL! Sorry. It was late. My bad. You're one of the more outspoken individuals and have been at it since before I jumped on the SV film bandwagon.

There's been quite a few threads on this subject, not to mention scores of posts in the various TW/Supes' threads. Apparently, it's a popular subject. Remember...

^ I still laugh that it's a FROG in that image. Ironic.

 

[Superfreak]

wow! I'm shocked. You actually think that people are that stupid? Smallville and the Superman Returns franchise are two different things. People know that! Besides, how would a Smallville TV movie hurt the sequel to SR? If anything hurts the SR sequel it will be Bryan Singer. Did SR do bad at the box office because of Smallville? No, it did bad because Singer f--ked up. End of story.

all that aside, he does make a good point:

that it would be unwise for WB to undercut one of its big budget movies, with a made for TV one. It leads to the question of what if the made for tV movie does better than the big budget movie (the larger, more important investment from an econ point of view)? It's just not a wise business move. One will undercut the other, or visa versa. Yes, their losing money, to themselves, but it's safer to concentrate on one major product, and limit the use of that product in another medium.


as for the audience being stupid, that's nonsense. Only little kids get confused like that, then they realize that the universes are distinct, then they get all depressed as teenagers.

 

[04nbod]

how about they pitch an extended episode- or an extra episode at the the end of the series then show them back to back- thats what a show called torchwood in the UK did for the end of their first series.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

wow! I'm shocked. You actually think that people are that stupid? Smallville and the Superman Returns franchise are two different things. People know that! Besides, how would a Smallville TV movie hurt the sequel to SR? If anything hurts the SR sequel it will be Bryan Singer. Did SR do bad at the box office because of Smallville? No, it did bad because Singer f--ked up. End of story.

Didn't it do like 400 million world wide?

That's bad bo these days? Wow

I always said before we knew about Superman Returns than ANY Superman movie would have a tough time because the world has moved on to other hero's. I thought it did really well considering how times have changed so much. Meh, to each their own.

SR was the 5th highest grossing movie of the year, may not be box office smash but a good performance still

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

we've gone over this 1000 times, you can tout the gross figure all you want, but in the end it's all about profit.

If you make $400 million WW, but your film costs approx $210 million to make (and that doesnt even take into account P&A costs), thats not good, considering the studio only ever sees roughly 55% of the WW box office. If you want to look at a successful film from a profit standpoint, look at Devil Wears Prada which made over $300 million WW and cost $35 million to make.

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

I think his point is the movie wasn't a flop and the WB said it wasn't as well but that is to be debated in other forums.