Attack the Block 2

[Mister Six]

Inbound from Cornballs and the production company he's formed with Nira Park and Edgar Wright, according to Deadline. John Boyega signed up and producing too. Not clear who else from the original cast will be onboard, but scuttlebutt suggests Jodie Whittaker will be leaving Doctor Who after this next season, so I imagine she'll have the time, if not the inclination.

But what about Dr Buckles?

[Mister Six]

Just looking at Deadline's other stories, and apparently Joe's also set to write and direct an adaptation of a Mark Millar comic called Starlight, although I'm guessing the run-up to that will be longer than Attack the Block 2, given the relative scales of these things, and the fact that he's completely in control of the latter.

[RickyHamster]

Not a surfit of ideas in Joe's closet then if his third film is a sequel to his first.

Not seen it but did ATB do well?

[Mister Six]

Not a surfit of ideas in Joe's closet then if his third film is a sequel to his first.

That doesn't tell you anything - much easier to get a sequel greenlit than sell a completely new pitch sold to a studio, especially these days. And even when you sell them on an idea, it can still get stuck in development hell. Most of the stuff studios snap up doesn't make it past a couple of drafts of a script. Plenty more get into pre-production and stall there. Joe could have been churning out pitches that weren't taken or that didn't get past an initial script.

Not seen it but did ATB do well?

It was a smash at SXSW and became quite a cult hit in the US, and was then rediscovered after John Boyega shot to fame with Star Wars.

[frajer]

Yes, Dr. Buckles cameo this time please.

I'm sure the rest of the film will be okay. But I didn't rate the first one all that much.

Wonder if Mark Kermode will have Commander Cornballs on his podcast for another excruciating interview? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-clDpRH3iA4

[Small Man Big Horse]

That doesn't tell you anything - much easier to get a sequel greenlit than sell a completely new pitch sold to a studio, especially these days. And even when you sell them on an idea, it can still get stuck in development hell. Most of the stuff studios snap up doesn't make it past a couple of drafts of a script. Plenty more get into pre-production and stall there. Joe could have been churning out pitches that weren't taken or that didn't get past an initial script.

It was a smash at SXSW and became quite a cult hit in the US, and was then rediscovered after John Boyega shot to fame with Star Wars.

Yeah, I mean there was the whole Ant Man debacle, but Wikipedia also mentions he was working on an adaptation of Snow Crash back in 2012, and I imagine there were a good few other projects which never came to fruition.

I can't say I'm excited by an Attack The Block sequel, the original was mostly fun but nothing that special, and I wasn't a fan of The Kid Who Would Be King, but I'll keep everything crossed it might turn out well.

[greenman]

That doesn't tell you anything - much easier to get a sequel greenlit than sell a completely new pitch sold to a studio, especially these days. And even when you sell them on an idea, it can still get stuck in development hell. Most of the stuff studios snap up doesn't make it past a couple of drafts of a script. Plenty more get into pre-production and stall there. Joe could have been churning out pitches that weren't taken or that didn't get past an initial script.

I'd guess he might have done ok in terms of income, selling ideas and working to order but having that work result in fuck all must be pretty disheartening. At some stage actually making another film is probably the best career option even if its a sequel you might not be so keen on.

Should do the reverse of the demons films, set the second one in a cinema showing a film based on the events in the original.

[mothman]

Can't help but wonder if this is basically Boyega giving up on a Hollywood career. Something he himself alluded to I believe after his stirring words about BLM last year. Not that success in the US is the be all and end all, but...

[greenman]

Lets be realistic for all the inclusive PR work the Finn character was a fucking embarrassment, a black co lead in star wars and he's a bumbling ex janitor comedy side kick.

[Mister Six]

I thought he was all right in the first film. Hero with a tragic backstory and all that, and pretty much the deuteragonist for most of the film. He didn't strike me as any more of a comedy sidekick than Han Solo, who also had a few comedy bits, like chasing after a stormtrooper only to then be chased by half a dozen (or a million, in the special editions) in turn.

Was there other stuff? I definitely can't be arsed to watch it again.

He was obviously totally wasted in the second film, and I didn't bother with the third

[greenman]

Seemed much more a comedy sidekick than Han Solo who was generally cooler than Luke, after the introduction pretty much every scene he had was played for comedy at his expense rather than Han's witty banter.

After that I'd say it was always going to be an uphill battle to be cast any other way, he was basically playing the same character in that terrible Pacific Rim sequel.

[dissolute ocelot]

Boyega was good in Steve McQueen's Small Axe, but he isn't really an action star: Daisy Ridley looked much more believable jumping in the air and doing cool poses. I'm more concerned in how you take something about naughty kids and make everyone 10 years older without it looking lame. Unless Boyega is now a father and it's about his kids, or something. (Which seems a little bit implausible, but who knows.)

[Dusty Substance]

For a film that ticks so many of my film boxes (alien invasion, set in one night and pretty much one location, less than 90 minute running time), I ought to have liked the original ATB way more than I actually do. I didn't find any of the characters especially engaging and the script could have done with a punch up. Overall, a decent enough directorial debut I guess. I've not seen it since Boyega became a Star Wars star and Whitaker became The Doctor, so I'll probably give it a rewatch some time soon.

One of the biggest problems with modern film making is how everything takes so long get made. Attack The Block was ten years ago and Cornish has only directed one film since. Without wanting to sound like a "it was better in the old days" type, Cornballs ought to be on his fourth or fifth film by now. Look at the career that, say, Joe Dante had in the 80s after Piranha. I know Joe got dicked around by Disney over his Ant-Man script but it's a real shame that films take so long to make these days.

[greenman]

One of the biggest problems with modern film making is how everything takes so long get made. Attack The Block was ten years ago and Cornish has only directed one film since. Without wanting to sound like a "it was better in the old days" type, Cornballs ought to be on his fourth or fifth film by now. Look at the career that, say, Joe Dante had in the 80s after Piranha. I know Joe got dicked around by Disney over his Ant-Man script but it's a real shame that films take so long to make these days.

I think you could argue he might have been better off sticking at a film 4 level of funding for longer, that does actually seem to be the most predictable way of building a career, roping together at small budget from various national funding bodies and small studios.

That kind of funding if anything seems to be more predictable now than it was say 20 years ago whilst mid budget Hollywood is very subject to the wims of execs.

[Small Man Big Horse]

One of the biggest problems with modern film making is how everything takes so long get made. Attack The Block was ten years ago and Cornish has only directed one film since. Without wanting to sound like a "it was better in the old days" type, Cornballs ought to be on his fourth or fifth film by now. Look at the career that, say, Joe Dante had in the 80s after Piranha. I know Joe got dicked around by Disney over his Ant-Man script but it's a real shame that films take so long to make these days.

Well it varies, Ben Wheatley's directed eight movies in the past ten years and a good few tv episodes as well, and Michael Winterbottom's managed 10 films and 4 series of The Trip, a lot of the time it'll come down to the director, the producer's they're aligned with, and whether or not they're happy making very low budget fare.

[greenman]

Well it varies, Ben Wheatley's directed eight movies in the past ten years and a good few tv episodes as well, and Michael Winterbottom's managed 10 films and 4 series of The Trip, a lot of the time it'll come down to the director, the producer's they're aligned with, and whether or not they're happy making very low budget fare.

Again I thhink the big issue is the kind of budgets your looking at and where the money is coming from, Wheatley and Winterbottom are making fairly small arty films with the money coming from outside Hollywood, you get a collection of funders like FIlm4, BFi, etc chip in without any of them having a massive investment.

That kind of funding I's say actually seems to have become more predictable where as Cornish is looking to work with much larger budgets involving Hollywood studios and that kind of funding has become harder to get.

[Dusty Substance]

Well it varies, Ben Wheatley's directed eight movies in the past ten years and a good few tv episodes as well, and Michael Winterbottom's managed 10 films and 4 series of The Trip, a lot of the time it'll come down to the director, the producer's they're aligned with, and whether or not they're happy making very low budget fare.

Fair point, but Wheatley and Winterbottom were always going to have different careers than Cornish. Attack The Block is just the kind of film which ought to have kickstarted a career in Hollywood similar to someone like Gareth Edwards, who went from Monsters (a film I don't especially like but is an admirable first feature), to Godzilla then Star Wars - Mind you, looking at Edwards' IMDB filmography, 2016's Rogue One was the last film he directed and there's currently nothing listed as 'in production', so perhaps I've just disproved my own point!

[greenman]

Fair point, but Wheatley and Winterbottom were always going to have different careers than Cornish. Attack The Block is just the kind of film which ought to have kickstarted a career in Hollywood similar to someone like Gareth Edwards, who went from Monsters (a film I don't especially like but is an admirable first feature), to Godzilla then Star Wars - Mind you, looking at Edwards' IMDB filmography, 2016's Rogue One was the last film he directed and there's currently nothing listed as 'in production', so perhaps I've just disproved my own point!

Last I heard he was looking to go back to smaller productions as well after being fucked around with on Rogue One.

[BritishHobo]

I remember a few articles being written around the time of Colin Trevorrow doing Jurassic World and being offered a Star Wars, which talked about Hollywood's tendency to take directors who've made one small, interesting project, and then basically ruin them by dropping them onto a huge-scale, big-budget set the likes of which they've no experience with. Same with Josh Trank going from Chronicle to Fantastic Four and massively struggling with the pleasure. Maybe Cornish is better off having avoided that.

[mothman]

Yeah but we don't know if he'd have jumped at the chance if offered, but simply wasn't offered anything. The impressiveness of his debut feature is almost exceeded at this point by the sheer lack of any significant follow-up or building on such success.

[MojoJojo]

Cornish writes and directs, so he's a lot more involved in the production from the beginning. Being hired to direct a film that is already written and funded is a lot quicker.

[joaquin closet]

Yeah but we don't know if he'd have jumped at the chance if offered, but simply wasn't offered anything. The impressiveness of his debut feature is almost exceeded at this point by the sheer lack of any significant follow-up or building on such success.

Was offered Star Trek 3:
https://variety.com/2013/film/news/joe-cornish-star-trek-3-1200775433/

Watched The Kid Who Would Be King over the past couple nights. I know it's made for children, but still... Visually uninteresting, formulaic script and dodgy performances from youngsters, oldsters and podcasters alike. Not usually one to Gervais when watching films, but I couldn't help but think how I would've done things differently if it were me wot was at the helm - right down to specific shot lengths etc.

As a liker of Joe, it's a shame. Oh well! Hopefully this one will be better.

[Jack Shaftoe]

My problem with the first one is I could never really get past the kids mugging a nurse at the start. For all that we got to know them and supposedly sympathise with them during the film, I still pretty much wanted the aliens to eat them.

That said, I really liked the way Cornish shot the architecture of the place, made the tower block look simultaneously retro and futuristic, nice John Carpenter vibe with those bits.

[frajer]

My problem with the first one is I could never really get past the kids mugging a nurse at the start. For all that we got to know them and supposedly sympathise with them during the film, I still pretty much wanted the aliens to eat them.

That was my take away too, and why the film didn't work for me on a core level. I know Cornish was mugged himself by a group of lads in South London, and wanted to explore the human side of what those kids might be like, but for me the film never convinces that they're decent lads at heart. Deliberately mugging a nurse walking home alone at night isn't exactly an error in judgement, is it?

It could be put down to the inexperience of the actors but I think it's more the script that's lacking. The scene where Boyega tells Whitaker they wouldn't have mugged her if they'd known she lived in their block felt like it had a lot of heavy lifting to do, but made the issue even muddier. If she hadn't been poor like them, it would have been alright? I'm not 100% sure what the point is, and I don't think the script really is either.

[Old Nehamkin]

There's lots of great action/crime films where the protagonists are established as violent criminals or even cold-blooded killers but still end up becoming compelling and likeable when put up against a bigger/external threat. I didn't find the arc of the characters in Attack the Block particularly egregiously in that respect. If I can root for George Clooney's psycho murderer character against a bunch of vampires in From Dusk Till Dawn (to name a broadly similar film) then I can root for some teen muggers against a bunch of aliens.

[mothman]

Yeah, I seem to remember at the time reading - probably here - what a completely unsympathetic bunch of nasty little cunts the gang were, and it prevented many from really enjoying the film or rooting for them. Never expected to hear if any of the cast again, so it was quite a surprise to see Boyega was going to be in a Star War.

But then I didn't realise it was that Jodie Whittaker in the film either. And I'd always thought she looked quite hot on the poster...

[A Hat Like That]

Just rewatched now, as it happens. The only kid who is really nasty (and who stays nasty when they get to know the nurse) is the first one to be offed. I think the film does just enough in explaining Moses' background and situation. Pest, the other surviving kid who doesn't end up in a bin, ends up sympathetic, I think.

Anyway.

It's right next to Dog Soldiers on my More 4 app.

That seems about right.