It was just the biggest of a string of underperformers as GK Films also didn't have much luck with The Rum Diary which made less than half its $45M cost in theaters. But while Blood & Honey only made a fraction of its $13M during its limited run, with such a small budget it may be in the black once proceeds from ancillaries kick in.
But Angelina may have to find another producer for her Afghan script as it is unlikely GK Films can afford to support it on its own even if Graham King likes it just as much as he liked B&H. A maverick risk-taker willing to take on edgy arthouse films, he said he wanted to show Blood & Honey in schools and that it wasn't always about dollars and cents. But in the aftermath of Hugo he has been forced to alter his business plan and now needs to focus on projects with more commercial appeal. Clearly, another grim war film with no-name actors in a foreign language would no longer make the cut
It was a tough sell to get the public to watch B&H having been warned about the brutal content and heavy tone intended to drive home feelings of guilt and anger over a war they never cared about -- and starring actors they never heard of. The unprecedented promotional push Angelina gave the film displayed her star power as she boosted TV ratings and magazine sales but to paraphrase the old saying, she drew a lot of horses to the well but couldn't get them to drink.
Angelina made B&H with uncompromising idealism and some degree of naivete. She tried to convince the public to swallow a bitter pill that she steadfastly believed was for its own good. That they resisted despite all her efforts may have opened her eyes to the reality that they won't buy a film they don't find sufficiently accessible, enticing and palatable no matter how good or well promoted it is. She can learn from the success of Kony 2012 which caught on because it had a simple message that was easy to understand and didn't bludgeon the viewer with images of brutality in order to drive home that horrors were committed.
Since she was excited about combining her humanitarian interests and her film background and seems determined to pursue it in some capacity, investors will likely require her to star in any future film she writes and directs. I imagine that the next time around, she will be more open to listening to suggestions to broaden her film's appeal and help her producers recoup their investments.
Shake-Up At GK Films: SVP Grey Rembert & COO Bahman Naraghi Out
EXCLUSIVE… UPDATE: I’ve learned that Graham King’s GK Films is laying off SVP Grey Rembert. In addition, the company and COO Bahman Naraghi “mutually decided” to part ways. Meanwhile, PR’s Mick Kramer just snagged a new job at Paramount. Rembert had been with Graham a long time: the former DreamWorks production executive joined King’s Initial Entertainment Group as VP of Development back in 2006. And since then she was put in charge after GK Films acquired the feature film rights to the Lara Croft adventure Tomb Raider aiming for a 2013 release.
Naraghi in 2008 joined Graham King’s GK Films in the newly created role of COO and was tasked with leading the Santa Monica-based company’s financial and operational development and plan, as well as implementing the distribution structure. Naraghi reported directly to King and arrived from Netflix, where he spearheaded that company’s push into acquiring and developing original content and played an integral role in establishing the now-defunct Red Envelope.
In addition GK Films is laying off 3 assistants: one is owner Graham King’s (“He has two assistants and decided he only needs one”), one was Rembert’s, and another was Kramer’s. Difference of opinions among my sources on whether there are more layoffs to come. There have been announcements of new acquisitions and projects so it doesn’t appear as if GK Films is about to go dormant. But the company did lose a lot when Martin Scorsese’s Hugo recently disappointed at the worldwide box office.
