American Ultra Writer Goes on Twitter Rant After Movie Flops
"Are original ideas over?"
Last weekend's box office chart was notable for the disappointing performance of the three new releases, none of which could unseat Straight Outta Compton or Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation from the top slots. Finishing in sixth place behind The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and the largely panned Hitman: Agent 47 and Sinister 2, was the one original movie on the chart, the action comedy American Ultra. Now, the film's screenwriter, Max Landis, has gone a multi-tweet rant about the state of Hollywood, and how hard it is for a non-sequel, remake, or reboot to find an audience.
As Landis explains, his film received decent reviews and had two notable stars (Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg), but it was beaten by three sequels, an old TV show reboot, and a biopic, finishing the weekend with a gross of just $5.5 million. Over multiple tweets, the writer--son of Blues Brothers and Animal House director John Landis--questioned whether there was still an audience for entirely original subject matter.
"It seems the reviews didn't even matter, the MOVIE didn't matter." Landis said. "Are original ideas over? I wanted to pose this to the public, because I feel, put lightly, confused. I feel like I learned a lesson, here, but have no idea what it is."
Landis subsequently apologised that his tweets had been widely perceived as overly negative, but did stress that he was "all about passion for stories and honesty in my industry."
Read his full comments below:
So here's an interesting question: American Ultra finished dead last at the box office, behind even Mission Impossible and Man From Uncle...
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
...American Ultra was also beaten by the critically reviled Hitman Agent 47 and Sinister, despite being a better reviewed film than either..
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
...which leads me to a bit of a conundrum: Why? American Ultra had good ads, big stars, a fun idea, and honestly, it's a good movie...
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
...Certainly better, in the internet's opinion, than other things released the same day. If you saw it, you probably didn't hate it...
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
...so I'm left with an odd thing here, which is that American Ultra lost to a sequel, a sequel reboot, a biopic, a sequel and a reboot.
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
...it seems the reviews didn't even matter, the MOVIE didn't matter. The argument that can/will be made is: big level original ideas don't $
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
The question is: has that changed? I wish I could say Ultra was a bad movie, but it isn't. Divisive, sure. But better than others this week.
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
Am I wrong? Is trying to make original movies in a big way just not a valid career path anymore for anyone but Tarantino and Nolan?
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
That's the question: Am I wrong? Are original ideas over? I wanted to pose this to the public, because I feel, put lightly, confused.
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
I feel like I learned a lesson, here, but have no idea what it is. I once joked "there's only so many times people will go see Thor 2."
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
Now, I'm not so sure. Got to get back to work on my TV shows. Which are both adaptations. Go see American Ultra, it's really good.
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
Sorry about what was perceived as negativity on here. If you know me you know I'm all about passion for stories and honesty in my industry.
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 25, 2015
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