A correction was made to this article on Apr. 4, 2005.
Eleven years after Sumner Redstone bought Paramount with the promise of using the studio to exploit the Viacom brands, the conglom's starting to deliver on the promise -- via MTV.
That notion was underlined last month with the stunning news that Fox Entertainment prexy Gail Berman was heading to Paramount to be the top film exec under studio chief Brad Grey.
Once the smoke cleared, studio vets were left with the conclusion that Grey, Viacom chief Sumner Redstone and co-prexy Tom Freston plan to keep shaking up Par by making it hipper, edgier and aiming it at younger moviegoers -- who watch MTV's cable channels.
"I didn't buy Paramount so it could be No. 6," Redstone tells
Variety. "So I see no reason why there shouldn't be more film activity from MTV and Nick."
Redstone notes both shingles have a track record of delivering mostly profitable titles at moderate prices. "We're hoping to see more of an MTV point of view -- the kind that's empathetic to younger moviegoers, who are the most frequent customers," he says.
Longtime MTV Films toppers Van Toffler and David Gale have tactfully avoided pronouncements about where their shingle fits in the new Par world.
Toffler, the 46-year-old prexy of both MTV Films and MTV Networks, has worked for the company since 1987; he's received the most notice for reviving Ozzy Osbourne's career via the MTV series; and he's contended his own maturation process stopped at the age of 19. Gale, exec VP of MTV Films, has been at the shingle since exec producing 1996's "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America."
The duo is best known for youth-oriented product like "Jackass," "Save the Last Dance," "Napoleon Dynamite" (with Fox Searchlight) and "Coach Carter." But the low-key image cultivated by Toffler and Gale hasn't stopped other producers from adjusting their expectations upward.
"MTV is going to be bigger than any other Par producer, even Scott Rudin or Cruise/Wagner," one producer predicts.
MTV's under a microscope for two reasons: The town's looking for clues as to how the Grey-Freston team will make the film operation skew younger and what that means for the former low-budget niche player.
Expectations are high for several projects:
- Adam Sandler comedy "The Longest Yard," which MTV co-produced with Happy Madison, opening May 27;
- Urban drama "Hustle and Flow," part of a $16 million deal at Sundance by Freston and Grey, opening in July;
- Sci-fi actioner "Aeon Flux," starring Charlize Theron and Sophie Okenedo and based on a 1996 cable TV series, opening in late 2005. Valhalla and Lakeshore are also producing;
- "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," formerly titled "Locked and Loaded," starring 50 Cent as a drug lord-turned- rapper; Jim Sheridan's directing a script from "Sopranos" writer-producer Terrence Winter and production will start this spring.
"Paramount is finally looking like it's realized that it hadn't fully utilized the MTV brand, which is one of the most powerful entertainment brands in the world," one agent notes. "MTV had been consigned to low-budget peripheral projects, but those days are clearly over."
It's a new game for MTV, which occasionally chafed under the buttoned-down Jonathan Dolgen-Sherry Lansing regime. During that decade, many of their most interesting ideas were slow-tracked despite a solid track record of profitable pics: "Crossroads," "Varsity Blues," "Orange County," "The Original Kings of Comedy" and "The Wood."
Even with MTV's cable operations spanning the world and setting cultural trends, Par often regarded MTV Films as a niche operation. Perhaps the lowest point came in the wake of MTV's "Election," which still provokes head-scratching six years later as to how a critical favorite -- with Reese Witherspoon's breakout performance and an Oscar-nominated script -- could gross only $15 million.
"Let's say 'Election' had been made at Fox Searchlight," one agent notes. "I am sure they would have found a way to make it a lot more successful, like they did with 'Sideways.' "
One popular theory posits that Par's cautious ways inhibited MTV over the years. Producers note with amusement that MTV Film execs are surprisingly mild-mannered and their offices at the Par lot are genuinely humble -- particularly in comparison with the flashy MTV Networks offices in Santa Monica.
"Just look at '8 Mile' getting made at Universal, which is exactly the kind of movie MTV should have been making," one producer notes. "Instead, MTV winds up making 'The Fighting Temptations.' Culturally iconic youth films like 'American Pie,' 'Scream,' 'The Fast and the Furious' -- all of those should have been MTV."
MTV hasn't set the world on fire yet. It recently scored a moderate success with basketball drama "Coach Carter" topping $67 million, but hasn't delivered a film that's grossed $100 million.
Still, MTV's emergence predates the arrival of Freston and Grey on the scene and is credited to Dolgen and Lansing.
Because of Freston's two-decade background as the architect of MTV's success, the status of MTV Films and sister shingle Nick Films jumped in June when Freston received the promotion to Viacom co-presidency. Producers who visited the MTV/Nick offices on the Par lot and the MTV Networks complex in Santa Monica last year often found Par execs already there, familiarizing themselves with the development slate.
Par and MTV have also signed first-look deals with Jimmy Iovine and Paul Rosenberg, who produced "8 Mile," along with Alfred Berger and Ron Yerxa, who produced "Election" and "The Wood."
A key moment came in the fall when Freston -- speaking at an investment conference -- questioned the wisdom of spending $90 million on a remake of "The Stepford Wives" and suggested Par would be better served by making three $30 million movies.
That comment shifted even more attention to MTV. The shingle's key projects in development are an oddball mix:
- An updated version of "The Warriors" with Tony Scott directing and Winter writing;
- "Car Show," a comedy taking place in the world of customized cars and taking advantage of MTV's cable hit "Pimp My Ride";
- "The Dirt," based on the bestselling tell-all book by Motley Crue;
- "Genius," with "South Park" writer Pam Brady attached;
- A heist project starring rapper/mogul Puffy Combs.
By contrast, Nick Movies has been less aggressive in ramping up, even though its status has risen with solid back-to-back performances by "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" and "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events."
Still, there are no plans yet for a "Snicket" sequel. Nick looks likely to remain a niche player rather than challenging Disney for dominance in kid pics.
The shingle was brought on last year as a producer for "Charlotte's Web," co-financed by Walden Media; its CGI toon "The Barnyard," is due out at Christmas; its key development projects are "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and "Witch's Broom."
Contact Dave McNary at
dave.mcnary@variety.com