Multiple Studios Looking to Kick Ass with 'Kick-Ass'

Earlier this week, we shared the Comic Con trailer for Kick-Ass, the movie version of the Matt Millar comic being directed by Matthew Vaughn. It couldn't be much more fun. And now there's news that, perhaps as a result of the positive response generated by the film, three studios are clamoring to pick up the distribution rights. Lionsgate, Universal, and Paramount are currently trying their best pitches on Vaughn, who financed the film independently because studios were initially turned off by the violence and profanity in the movie. That has more to do with it centering around teenage characters, I would think, then the actual body or F-bomb count. For Vaughn, this could be a huge windfall. Mel Gibson was a wealthy son of a bitch when he made Passion of the Christ, but in one of the smartest business decisions in the history of the movies, Gibson released the film himself and cashed in to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Vaughn probably isn't looking at that kind of profit, but a more recent example involves Sacha Baron Cohen prying over $40 million out of Universal for the rights to distribute Bruno. Of course, there would be other considerations in a situation like this, since it's a comic adaptation and so forth, but it could still be the kind of deal that gives Vaughn a certain artistic freedom moving forward. It's not a great model for every movie, especially because financing is a tough business, but if this year has proved anything, it's that the traditional star system is choking to death. The Hangover, Taken, and Paul Blart are three of the most profitable movies of the year, while Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, and Julia Roberts performed well below expectations. That means studios are likely less afraid of this movie and its cast of irregulars (which does manage to feature Nic Cage in a supporting role) than they were when the project first took off. And it's clips like this one, courtesy of Movie Web, that are selling executives on what a crowd pleaser Kick-Ass really could be. That's more Comic Con footage, of course, which explains the low quality. And the girl doing the slaughtering is Chloe Moretz, who can currently be seen in (500) Days of Summer. Even though it's profane and violent, it's so cartoonish that it can't possibly be taken seriously. Still a very aggressive R rating in the future for Kick-Ass, but I don't think you can say it's for troubling content, just laughably graphic.

Comments

[Christian Avila]

When I first heard they were turning "Kick Ass" into a movie, I had my reservations. Now, I can't wait for this to be released.