Unreliable Indian Summer – A Wright Disaster!
Spare a thought for British filmmaker Joe Wright whose last film, The Soloist was ushered into cinema screens with barely a poster or trailer to announce its arrival. As a sign of the increasingly troubled economic times facing Hollywood, Universal has put his next project “on hold”.
A co-production with Working Title starring Cate Blanchett – Indian Summer – was to be set amongst the aristocracy in colonial-era India before its independence from Britain in 1947.
According to Variety, Universal “balked” at the measly (by Hollywood standards) $ 30 – 40 million budget earmarked for the film. In an age of expensive flops and reliance on sequels and effects-heavy pictures, adult-orientated drama appears to be victim to studio cuts. The film once green-lit for production is now in limbo.
It remains to be seen what Joe Wright will do next. With the wonderful one-two punch of Pride and Prejudice and Atonement under his belt, his moving to Hollywood has not been the greatest of experiences. The Soloist, envisioned no doubt as an awards-grabbing drama was met released quietly, despite strong reviews.
Wright is quoted as saying, “The Indian government wanted us to make less of a love story while the studio wanted us to make more of a love story.”
It seems a classic case of politics versus studio indecision versus artistic vision. It is a great shame as Wright is one of Britain’s most promising mainstream filmmakers. It doesn’t look like he’ll be booking a passage to India any time soon. Whether this project will ever come to fruition remains to be seen.
The larger story here is filmmaking continues to suffer in these unstable economic times. The mega budgets given to Cameron and others like him continue to head into the stratosphere while smaller budgeted features with more adult-orientated themes and subjects are treated poorly and with caution.
In the past couple of years the Hollywood studios have closed down many of their “independent” off-shoots. Paramount Vantage: extinct. Fox Searchlight: extinct. The future of mainstream cinema does not inspire confidence.
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