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Why Disney Approved Jojo Rabbit (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2019-09-04 20:01:00 +0000 UTC
Hey, Readers. Remember Taika Waititi?
Y’know, the guy who directed Thor: Ragnarok?
The guy who was supposed to direct the live-action Akira movie for Warner Brothers that they’ve been trying to make since the dawn of time?
The guy who then decided to go back to Marvel Studios to direct Thor: Love and Thunder instead of Akira, with the on-record reason why being that that there were “disagreements?”
...You didn’t believe that shit when it came out your mouth either, did you? It’s alright. I know that feel...
Well, a new trailer for his latest movie dropped recently called Jojo Rabbit
/which is a satirical dark comedy set during World War II Germany, about the adventures of a boy named Jojo, and his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler/ Theatrical Trailer footage, followed by end of Teaser Trailer
(pause, and looks both ways) So, I mean... I’M IN
And that’s mostly due to the fact that -- and trust me; I’m ashamed to admit it, myself -- I’ve never seen just a straight-up comedy from Taika to this day. Because my first introduction to his brand of storytelling was Thor: Ragnarok; I...have NEVER seen What We Do In The Shadows
And while I am fully aware that I need to fix that as soon as possible, a lot of things appeal to me about Jojo Rabbit
/More specifically the Wes Anderson vibes that I was feeling watching both the teaser and the theatrical trailer, and the fact that a Polynesian Jew playing Hitler is one of the biggest “Fuck You’s” you can currently throw at the Nazi party/
Y’know, outside of milkshakes and...these hands. Both of which they can easily get.
I’m also DOUBLE-glad that this movie is happening, because there was a real chance that it wasn’t.
You see, with Jojo Rabbit being an independent film, it’s distributor...is Fox Searchlight. You can already see where I’m going with this.
That’s right, Readers. Fox Searchlight picked up Waititi’s “Jojo Rabbit” before Disney’s acquisition of Fox, and was immediately placed on their desk of movies that the company either made, were gonna make, or in the process of making.
/And according to Variety, the first wave of films that Fox released after the absorption weren’t really assuring them that they were gonna get a proper return on their investment./ https://variety.com/2019/film/features/fox-disney-earnings-dark-phoenix-stuber-racing-in-the-rain-1203300260/
So not only did they start prioritizing on things that they knew would help them make up for the likes of Dark Phoenix
Like Stephen Spielberg’s remake of the musical West Side Story, and the Avatar sequels that I think people are still interested in
But they also cancelled a lot of highly anticipated titles, like The Mouse Guard and a live-action adaptation of Lumberjanes
And then of course there’s New Mutants, which...(huffs then shrugs shoulders)
So it’s obvious that regardless of if it was in the planning stage, the production stage, or even the RELEASE stage, Disney isn’t afraid to just put aside 20th Century Fox’s IPs if they’re not fully confident things will work out in their favor
Which is why my initial worry for Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit was valid, because not only is it FINISHED
/but during a screening of the film, it literally made a Disney executive uncomfortable enough to worry about the movie alienating Disney fans./ Jojo Rabbit - Variety
(Looks at camera gobsmacked) ...So let me get this straight:
After buying a film studio that has the capability to do...what Disney can’t because of their overall brand
An executive watched a screening of a satirical dark comedy a branch of said studio made that involved Genocidal Mustache Man
And despite said movie still being attached to the film studio that they bought instead of Disney PROPER
One little executive who’s clearly been drinking the Disney Branding Kool-Aid since they were first able to properly suck on a nip
Is worried that this movie -- made by a division of a studio that does what even Bob Iger himself admitted that he wishes they could do on their own despite creating Touchstone Pictures for that exact purpose
Won’t cater to the INITIAL AUDIENCE of Walt. Disney. Pictures. (angry pause) Bring me your face.
Thankfully in the case of Jojo Rabbit, we don’t have to worry about that, and that’s because of two things that pretty much coincide with each other
The first and most obvious is that it’s Film Festival season, and Jojo Rabbit is scheduled to premiere at The Toronto Film Festival on September 8, 2019 and will be screening at LA’s Beyond Fest which starts September 25th
And the second being that despite the main motivator for buying 20th Century Fox being to get a leg up in the streaming game when they release Disney Plus,
/Bob Iger has gone on record with shareholders that Fox Searchlight as it has been operating is doing just fine without Disney’s tampering considering the accolades the branch has received for their films by the Academy, and thinks the only thing Disney as its newly made parent company needs to in order for it to thrive is offer it’s support/ Bob Iger - Orlando Weekly
Now I’m not saying that these feelings won’t change the moment Searchlight starts losing them money, because EVERYBODY AND THEY MAMA ‘N THEM KNOW THAT’S GONNA BE THE CASE
But considering that not only is Jojo Rabbit going to be making its way around film festivals this September and is also keeping it’s worldwide release date of October 18th
Despite that one itty bitty bitch-made executive, even “Lexcorp but IRL” understands the saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
For now.
