BOO

[Dacey]

Interesting tidbit from the Emoji movie (yeah, that's going to be a thing!) article posted on the front page...

Leondis is director of Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters, and he most recently completed the DreamWorks Animation feature B.O.O.: Bureau Of Otherworldly Operations. That film, which features a voice cast including Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Matt Bomer and Seth Rogen, has been awaiting a release date, pulled from the schedule as DWA went through a restructuring.

So, apparently, this movie is finished. Makes one wonder why it can't get released, as keeping it on the shelf has to be more costly than releasing it and getting at least some of its budget back.

[Ben]

Wow...that's, um, unusual!

I wonder if it is finished finished, though. Unless it's an absolutely awful film they may either be fine tuning the final cut or be waiting for the best release slot. If all else fails, they could go the Netflix route and promote it as an "original", which would be quite a big deal in itself, and follow that up with a home video release, which wouldn't then be an ignominious as it being labeled a DTV or something not worthy of theatrical release.

This would necessitate the restructuring of contracts (when you have those big names on board they will stipulate that the film is intended for theaters...if that changes then so do their deals, and they may not like it, request further payment to cover the loss of revenue earnings or even pull out of the film, leading to re-recording by new voices).

Very interesting, though. My guess is they know they have another Turbo on their hands. They'll either wait for the best slot to give it a shot, re-work the film without the original director on board, or go with an alternate release strategy, but the signs are not good that BOO is an exceptional film or a franchise starter...

[LotsoA113]

Yeah, I'm with Ben on wondering if its 110% finished as a movie, maybe they're just referring to him being finished with the project due to it being shelved. The film did get shelved pretty late in the game though (I think like only seven months until its release) so there probably was a LOT of the film completed.

[EricJ]

"Completed" sounds like they've done the animation equivalent of "Principal photography", and there's just been no push to do the fine tuning--

And can't add anything to Ben's comments that they'll either A) probably exploit their Netflix connection, or B) go the Weinstein route and dump them all in theaters during liquidation.
Even if it was a good movie (I'm understandably guessing not), a troubled project can seem "jinxed", like Disney's nervousness with Emperor's New Groove and Meet the Robinsons, and while DWA isn't exactly self-criticizing, the bad in-house reputation is not going to give it a major release if at all.

[Ben]

Of course, it could also be that Fox saw it and said "we are not releasing this"...

Having taken on DWA with the promise and possibility of another Shrek or Madagascar on their hands, they haven't really been rewarded yet, and BOO is certainly the result of the previous regime. Although they see a better future, maybe this is the film that could fall through some cracks...

[Daniel]

Test footage:



While it never did sound anything special, the look is pretty unique. Think I would've much preferred this over Boss Baby and Home. Shame it was cancelled.

[Ben]

Haven’t had a good ghost comedy in a while...could have been cool. Maybe it will live again under Universal?

[Daniel]

Oh, wouldn't it be loverly? One can always hope.