Thursday, March 28, 2024

Robin Hood Screens in NYC For First Time

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Ridley Scott‘s “Robin Hood” screened in New York last night for the first time. I’m told it was for an audience of junketeers and maybe some “real people” in a focus group.

The verdict? It works. This will be good news for Universal Pictures and Ron Meyer. This movie has cost so much to make that I’m told it might need to make as much as $500 million to earn out. (It cost at least $250 mil.) At that rate, Robin Hood will have to rob the rich (everyone at the box office) to help Universal stay solvent.

Don’t forget: it had many expensive lives before Scott and Crowe went to work on it. All those costs are charged to the film. For example, Brian Helgeland is credited with the screenplay. But Tom Stoppard did a polish on it. And Helgeland was preceded by others.

Another big expense: moving the press junket to Los Angeles and New York from London because of the Iceland volcano.

A decidedly subjective audience member does say that the there was much appropriate laughter during the screening. Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett have good chemistry, they say, Oscar Isaac, as Prince John, got high marks as a breakout actor. Altogether: “Robin Hood” looks poised for a big opening following its premiere in Cannes on May 12th.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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