CBS has been expanding their empire from television to film - so far with disastrous results. The first movie out of the gate for CBS was "Extraordinary Measures," featuring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser, and it was panned. It looked dreadful indeed. Details on the company's salvaging plan, via the NY Post: A source told Page Six the unit was considering
"slashing all marketing and production budgets by 50 percent" after
the $31 million Ford flick -- about a father racing against time to cure a rare
disease killing his kids -- was panned by the critics and took in a measly $6
million its opening weekend.
The picture flopped despite an extensive marketing campaign
across CBS's television shows and billboards. The Post's Lou Lumenick drubbed
it as "basically a tear-jerking TV disease-of-the-week flick on the big
screen," and the LA Times called it "a film that wouldn't make the
Showtime [also owned by CBS] or HBO quality-cut."
The failure of the picture -- the first from CBS Films, which was created a couple of years ago to put the network in the feature business and produce up to six movies a year with budgets of up to $50 million -- has led to doubts among some CBS suits.
One honcho told us, "Unit bosses are saying they are
going to have to slash all marketing and production budgets by 50 percent off
the back of this failure. Some executives at CBS are saying this seems like
more of a vanity project for Les Moonves to turn himself into a movie mogul
than a realistic money-making venture."
But a rep for CBS Films said their next three movies
"would go out as planned and are currently testing very well with
audiences." They are "The Back-Up Plan," a romantic comedy
starring Jennifer Lopez, out April 16; "Beastly," a teen drama with
Vanessa Hudgens out July 13; and "Faster," an action thriller
starring Dwayne Johnson, out Nov. 19.]
OMG - CBS is putting the future of their film company in the hands of Jennifer Lopez, Vanessa Hudgens and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? Seriously? Why not let a bunch of third graders in the door to punch some buttons and see what happens? The freakin' captain of the Titanic had a better plan. Good luck with that...
[Photo Credit: Take a good look at your leading lady, Vanessa Hudgens, CBS. Oh wait, you probably already have.]
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