For this edition of Interview, Last Resort Films president Phil Dolan sits down with one of his favorite interview subjects, writer Jacob Jones, to discuss the writer's last dip into the superhero waters and his success with family-friendly films....
PD: Your first crack at an original superhero film, The Saints, didn't exactly work at the box office (although critics were more forgiving). Did you change how you approached things for Heartstone?
JJ: A little, I went with a more conventional approach with Heartstone, with a safe hand in Gerard Butler, a guy who has now repeatedly shown he can carry the box office and an easy to follow story of good and evil, though I tried my best to give the villain a motive for his doings. But regardless, I think I ended up with a solid product with Heartstone and hopefully, this time the box office will agree with me.
PD: In a world of thousands of different superhero IP sources, why have you chosen to eschew adapting one and try out original superhero projects instead?
JJ: If you want me to be honest, I don’t read superhero comics. I know the names of the big superheroes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc, but I can’t tell you what sort of storylines have happened in the comics. Outside of like, Archie, Big Nate, Garfield on the off chance and the Peanuts, comics just aren’t something I read (webcomics are different beast entirely). That’s not to take away from the legacy the Marvel and DC Universes have left on the studio, I think both have done a phenomenal job bringing these characters into this arena and it’s shown over the seasons. So, when you look at what they’ve accomplished and what I know, I don’t think I’d do them justice.
With that said, I think I know how to write a superhero film, or at least, have shown promise in the genre, and I think it’d be pretty cool to see a homegrown superhero universe in LRF. In fact, The Saints was meant to kick off the universe! Now, obviously, that didn’t work out, so Heartstone is the second attempt…which, now that I think about it, completely retcons The Saints. A bit awkward, yes, but with LRF NOW mainly a streaming platform for movies these days and LRF TV likely dead in the water, there just isn’t a feasible way to bring them in the potential CometVerse canon, and yes, that’s what I’m calling this hypothetical superhero universe.
PD: You've said you expected Mimsley and Me to lose money at the box office. How much of a relief was its unexpected box office success for you?
JJ: I’d say it was less of a relief and more of a surprise, mainly because outside of Steve Martin and Joey King, there weren’t any bankable stars and the story itself is, admittedly, a bit 80s, but apparently I’ve underestimated the star power Steve Martin or the stars aligned, cause it turned out far better than I expected. I guess I’ll find out someday cause, hey guess what, I’ll be working with Frank Oz soon! With this now our second film, one that performed well in all metrics, I see us doing further films in the future.
PD: Given the success of your recent family-oriented films, can we expect more of them from you?
JJ: Absolutely! In fact, I’ve been hard at work writing new animated films for the studio, all but one of them being built for family-oriented audiences. I believe family films are some of the best to make when it comes to bringing audiences over and telling gripping stories and it’s been proven time and time again to be a winner for all kinds of studios, including ours. My dream goal is to eventually start up an animation wing for the studio, not dissimilar to what Chad has done with Hill Valley Entertainment, but that’s still a bit away. I have more work to do to ensure family films continue to be profitable and successful for the studio.
PD: You've slowly started to build up a list of talents you've worked with multiple times now. Are there some talents you still want to work with but have yet to?
JJ: The big goal for me is to make a film with M. Night Shyamalan, I feel like working with such a polarizing director would make a fun experience because you can never tell what kind of film you’re going to get out of him. Also, twist endings. That’s something we can both agree on. I’ve had some preliminary ideas but nothing concrete, but hopefully, that can change.
Another director I’d be very interested in working with is Roland Emmerich. Some may scoff at this decision because of his track record in Hollywood, but I think if you give him the right script, he can make magic. I liken him to Michael Bay in which the films they make are not “good” films, but they also make a ton of money, which, regardless of your opinion, is vital to the health of a studio.
Meanwhile, in the actor ranks, I’ve wanted to work with Ramin Karimloo again for some time. This is one of the most talented men working in Broadway right now, someone who has proven to be a more than capable leading man. A person like him has untapped potential in the realm of LRF, primarily in a musical where he can be free to sing to his heart’s content.
Norm Lewis is also a name that pops up from time to time, and frankly, it works perfectly. He has that perfect authoritative voice that can either be used for good or evil, depending on the character (On a personal note, Norm is my pick for best Broadway Phantom). It’d be nice to bring him in some way, shape or form.
Are you noticing a pattern here? Sierra Boggess is my next choice and let me just say, she makes my heart melt every time she takes the stage. Only a few actors in Broadway or in general can do that, and Sierra is one of them. My dream is to one day make an animated film and have her as the lead, maybe as a princess? All I can say regarding that is that, Disney, you better give me credit if you take this idea.
And lastly, Barrett Wilbert Weed. She’s kind of typecast in the tomboy role in Broadway from what I remember, but I feel like that’s a bit unfair. This is a woman who, if you were to ever unleash her full talents, could be something special. Heathers proved this tenfold.
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