Fincher Having Trouble Getting 'Heavy Metal' Cash

This, to me, is a damn shame. OK, that's a little much. But it's at least a dang shame. David Fincher, who finally seems to be the coveted director all that promise of music videos past indicated, can't find money men for his Heavy Metal rechristening. It's not really a remake, because the stories will all be new, and it's not a sequel, because, well, it's an anthology. There's no point of connection other than the title. It's still a heady idea, not as far ahead of its time as it was 30 years ago, perhaps, but still something studios should be excited about. More on that in a second. First, Fincher, who has The Social Network in theaters this fall and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo arriving next December, lamented to MTV how hard it is to get Heavy Metal going again. "We're trying to get people to embrace R-rated, anthology, 3-D. You would think [there would be no problems] with all of the examples we can show of how it works." MTV says he's being sarcastic and we believe him. But here's the thing: There's plenty you can show financiers. Just watch Adult Swim. That isn't a joke; while the content is much different than what Heavy Metal will offer, the bottom line is this, from TV By the Numbers:

"Adult Swim kept its lead over the 4th week of August ratings by ranking #1 among all ad-supported cable networks for total day delivery of adults 18-34, adults 18-24, men 18-34, men 18-24 and adults 18-49. Earning solid double-digit gains compared to the same time period in 2009, adults 18-34 delivery (529,000) increased by 15%, adults 18-24 delivery (311,000) increased by 39%, men 18-34 delivery (321,000) increased by 13%; men 18-24 delivery (195,000) increased by 34%; and adults 18-49 delivery (682,000) increased by 10%."

For programming on during late night - and on cable - these are great numbers. The 18 - 49 figure is about 60% of what Letterman does right now, maybe a little more. So adult-themed animation isn't the problem. Maybe Heavy Metal's storylines will concern moneymen, but there has always been this sort of backward mindset that animation is for kids. The longest-running episodic network series is a subversive animated show that is very strong with adults. (That's The Simpsons, by the way). So will audiences buy this movie if it ever gets made? Maybe not in huge numbers, but you don't make an anthology movie of any kind to get huge returns. But there's life in the concept, and it's about time the purse strings were loosened a bit to see just how much.

Comments

[This Way]

I watch Adult Swim programming and noticed how they are really influential. They did get two shows back on the air from cancellation (Family Guy and Futurama), and they are extending their time slots on Cartoon Network. Maybe Fincher should at least make a mini-series for Adult Swim. It couldn't hurt.