Find Out What Price Warner Bros Paid For Half The INTERSTELLAR Rights

As you’ll know I am hugely looking forward to Christopher Nolan’s upcoming sci-fi pic Interstellar, so much that I’m the only writer here actually writing about it. Since we’ve been pretty devoid of major casting/story news recently my patience is getting worse, which is why I was glad and intrigued to read a report today on what price Warner Bros paid for half the rights to the movie.

As you know, Nolan has been at the studio way back since Batman Begins eight years ago and has a length contract with them. He’s a guaranteed money maker, with his last three movies making nearly $3B all together. Now, when Chris boarded Interstellar the project was at Paramount, as that’s where it first started to develop with his brother Jonah and Steven Spielberg in 2006. So he would be directing the movie for them, not WB, and that was a pretty horrendous prospect for them since they haven’t really had much luck with big hits recently (except Man of Steel of course). The price they’ve paid is certainly a very strange one, involving offensive animated characters and a certain hockey-mask-wearing murderer…

Warner Bros have given up the rights to the South Park and Friday the 13th properties in exchange for c0-financing 50% of the movie and getting that same amount from the gross, although my business knowledge is a little rusty. Part of the reason new movies from these both very lucrative franchises hadn’t materialised the past few years was because of rights issues between the two studios, but with this new deal it seems that’s been put behind them. However, it doesn’t stop there. Paramount also get the chance to co-produce an unnamed upcoming WB tentpole of their choice, which could be anything from Justice League to Nolan’s next movie.

Naturally, there is a catch. The ability to make new films with these franchises only lasts for the next five years – so until 2018. I think it’s highly likely we’ll see more than one Friday the 13th film in that time, but I’m not sure whether audiences will really want to see a feature-length South Park movie, given it’s incredibly likely the movie would probably alienate half the general audience and piss off at least five activist groups.

So not quite the news I nor anyone else was expecting on Interstellar, but it’s still a really interesting piece. What do you think of all this? Share your thoughts below.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter