Universal Pictures involvement in P&P3 limited
A profile of Working Title Films principals Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan in the Guardian compares the involvement of Universal Studios (which owns Working Title) in the production of P&P3 and the new film THE INTERPRETER:
Universal’s involvement will vary widely from project to project. Bevan gives two contrasting examples - Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley and with a budget of just over $20m, and The Interpreter (out this weekend), a thriller directed by Sidney Pollack and starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. “With Pride and Prejudice they said OK - they hadn’t met the director, they didn’t question any part of the casting, when they saw the movie they were delighted with it. The Interpreter is patently a huge movie, one of their cornerstone films of the year. By the time you’ve taken into account marketing and so forth, it’s a gigantic investment. Collective heads are on the line for a film like that, rather than just our heads.”
They say they are not abandoning the British romantic comedy:
They are keen to staunch rumours that the era of British romantic comedies from Working Title is dead, and firmly place Pride and Prejudice as part of that brand.
We’re confused…didn’t they say P&P was NOT a romantic comedy?
(And a Bridget Jones musical? Perish the thought.)
