Wednesday, October 30, 2019



 

Random

Rønning had previously cited the "privilege to be working with the legendary Michelle Pfeiffer" and "the great @ellefanning" and now cites the "Amazing cast," but still no specific mention of Maleficent herself.  In the only other set photo he posted of the two of them to celebrate "How it feels to have the #1 movie in the world" he did not mention her.  In fact, he has never mentioned her by name.  It isn't clear if relations between them were already strained during filming.  He had said he thought her lipstick in the first Maleficent was too red and they had "hours and hours" of discussions on what shade to use, the angle of her horns, etc  It was a total and unnecessary waste of time given that the audience already knows and likes Maleficent's appearance from the first.  Instead of focusing on how best to tell the new story, he was arguing over details that were long settled and best left to others.  This was reflected in his direction which missed the forest for the trees.  

A Disney employee tweeted: "Regardless of how it does, I’m still v thrilled to watch this film that #AngelinaJolie worked & pushed so hard to mold into its best shape possible in spite of all the hardships & over bearing men."  It might be one man in particular since she obviously loves working with Disney and Disney loves her.  From the lengthy debate over the shade of Maleficent's lipstick, Angelina had to battle for every inch past Rønning's focus on minutiae instead of the storytelling.  When Rønning gave an anatomy of the pivotal dinner scene to VF, he talked more about how they rigged and positioned the cameras instead of providing further insight into the critical interactions around the table and what they signified.  This was symptomatic of his fatal flaw as a director -- he is not a good storyteller and shows little interest in the story.   His singular focus was on the visuals but instead of enhancing and providing greater clarity to the story, he muddled it.  Angelina had to work and push so the story she and Linda Woolverton worked on could shine through.  It is the story that audiences connected with.  The unrelentingly dark trailers did not hint enough at the feel-good story at the heart of the film that would have attracted more families to see it. 
 
Disney's choice to direct the first Maleficent was Robert Stromberg who won 2 Oscars as an art director but had never directed before.  The thinking apparently was they had a strong script and only needed someone who could conjure up a magical world.  Disney found what he submitted to them problematic and CCO and co-Chair Alan Horn reportedly personally recut Maleficent. But if Angelina had any creative differences with Stromberg, it didn't show as she posed with hm and his family at the premiere.  In the London press con for MMoE, she said he "had made a beautiful film."

Rønning was also Disney's choice and MMoE is similarly the first film he directed on his own without his directing partner, Espen Sandberg   His previous films including Pirates OTC Dead Men Tell No Tales and Kon Tiki were all done alongside Sandberg.  In a battle of unproven directors, Stromberg's M had better reviews than Rønning's MMoE -- 53% to 40%.  There was not enough time to rework MMoE the way they did with M since its release was advanced from May 2020 to October 2019.  Based on his propensity for needless debate, Rønning was also more intransigent than Stromberg.  A manifestation of the rocky relationship between Rønning and Angelina is they never stood next to or even near each other at any premiere or press con -- highly unusual for a director and his principal star.  As noted previously, she was cold and evasive when asked about him during the London press con, avoiding any comment about him or his work.
 
It was Disney's decision to go with two inexperienced directors to helm the two Maleficents so they don't have to look far to assign responsibility for the problems both films had.  If they had chosen better, proven directors,  they would have had better films, better critical reception, better box office receipts.


-- Fussy











HOLLYWOOD, CA - MAY 28: Actress Angelina Jolie (L) and director Robert Stromberg attend the World Premiere of Disney's "Maleficent", starring Angelina Jolie, at the El Capitan Theatre on May 28, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
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