The Bourne Legacy

[Pubrick]

Love the news. Love the bad blood and history, too.

haha you just love it when nobody gets along, don't you?

[Gold Trumpet]

Oh yea, there should be a no blow job rule in handing off a series to a new director. They all should want to top each other in the worst way.

[Pubrick]

[pete]

tony gilroy's written and directed two fine films, and it'll be cool to see a bourne movie like that. 

[Gold Trumpet]

The next entry will be a Bourne film with no Bourne character at all. Titled "The Bourne Legacy", it takes unlikely advantage of the title by focusing on other characters in the Bourne conspiracy. It's an interesting development, but who knows what to think of it now?



Damon Out But "Bourne" Lives On


By Garth Franklin
Source: Dark Horizons
Damon Out But "Bourne" Lives On

With the "Bourne" film series scribe Tony Gilroy taking over the directing reigns on the upcoming fourth film, it looked like Matt Damon was unlikely to return.

Now in an interview with Hollywood Elsewhere, Gilroy succinctly clears up some of the rumors and talks about what his plans are for the franchise.

First up the film's title will be "The Bourne Legacy", but "will not use the story" from the book ghostwritten under Robert Ludlum's name by Eric van Lustbader. Gilroy adds "it's a completely original screenplay".

This is not unexpected at all as only the first half of the first film in the series, "The Bourne Identity", bared any resemblance to the original book. The subsequent films similarly used the titles only and some of Bourne's personal backstory elements.

More interestingly while Damon is out, Gilroy specifically says this is NOT a "reboot or a recast or a prequel". He adds "There will be a whole new hero, a whole new chapter...this is a stand-alone project."

A brave move. In the books and films, 'Jason Bourne' is an alias that David Webb (Damon) had adopted. It was thought that with Webb now off the grid and suspected to be dead by authorities, the Bourne name could be transferred to a new character.

Instead, Gilroy says "The easiest way to think of it is an expansion or a reveal. Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he's very much alive...We're going to show you the bigger picture, the bigger canvas. When you see what we're going and see what we're doing it'll be pretty obvious....but Jason Bourne's actvities in the first three films is the immediate trigger."

Established fans of the series will like it as "everyone who got into [the previous films] will be rewarded for paying attention". This means there'll no doubt be plenty of references to events in the previous films, it also allows for other characters like Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) and Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) to return.

Gilroy hints that Damon could eventually return if he wants - "I'm building a legend and an environment and a wider conspiracy...the world we're making enhances and advances and invites Jason Bourne's return [down the road]."

[MacGuffin]

Universal Chooses Jeremy Renner For 'The Bourne Legacy'
BY MIKE FLEMING | Deadline

BREAKING: The search is over. Universal Pictures has formally offered Jeremy Renner the lead role in the Tony Gilroy-directed The Bourne Legacy. Renner, who has been nominated for Oscars the past two years for his work in The Hurt Locker and The Town, is expected to sign on quickly to play a new character in the spinoff film that begins production in September. Like the Jason Bourne character played by Matt Damon in the first three The Bourne Identity thrillers, Renner will play an operative from a covert government program that is even more dangerous than the Treadstone brainwashing program that hatched Bourne. Renner was one of the names rumored as the studio went through two cycles of tests over eight weeks to find the right guy. That decision was made today. Even though Renner plays an operative in the upcoming Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol, the studio felt clearly that he was in a position similar to where Damon was when his career took off with Bourne. Renner is not a kid, but he is really hitting his stride and poised to become a big star after numerous strong performances. The studio looked closely at a number of up and coming stars, and tested the likes of Joel Edgerton (The Thing), Dominic Cooper (The Devil's Double), Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) and Luke Evans (The Amateur American). Other names in the mix included Taylor Kitsch and Anthony Mackie.

[Reel]

Haha! Damon's gettin' too old. Good, I hate Bourne. Renner's movies are getting more unwatchable by the minute..

[diggler]

Universal Chooses Jeremy Renner For 'The Bourne Legacy'
BY MIKE FLEMING | Deadline

...Even though Renner plays an operative in the upcoming Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol, the studio felt clearly that he was in a position similar to where Damon was when his career took off with Bourne.

wait, what?

[Alexandro]

Universal Chooses Jeremy Renner For 'The Bourne Legacy'
BY MIKE FLEMING | Deadline

...Even though Renner plays an operative in the upcoming Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol, the studio felt clearly that he was in a position similar to where Damon was when his career took off with Bourne.

wait, what?

yeah that's a weird statement.
matt damon was already a box office draw by the time bourne came out.

[modage]

He wasn't really.

"The Bourne Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum" (2002/2004/2007)
It's hard to imagine now but Matt Damon's career was not in good shape when the first 'Bourne' film came along. Coming off a series of flops, underperformers and oddities ("Gerry," "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," "All The Pretty Horses," "The Legend of Bagger Vance," etc.), the only real hits Damon had scored since his breakthrough in "Good Will Hunting" were in supporting roles ("Saving Private Ryan" and "Oceans 11"). But cast as Jason Bourne, a special ops amnesiac, Damon was remade as an unlikely action hero. The series, loosely on the novels by Robert Ludlum, began as "Swingers" director Doug Liman's passion project, but it was Paul Greengrass who came to define the series. By amping up the pace and bringing his own frenetic visual style, Greengrass crafted two arguably superior sequels that received both critical and commercial kudos. The franchise was so influential it even made James Bond feel uncool, until that series was rebooted in the 'Bourne' mold, with less emphasis on gadgets and more on a badass Bond. Though the plots are a little thin, these sleek thrillers are the antithesis of most bloated CGI-driven action films. With three films (and counting) and over $500 million dollars in domestic grosses, the series also allowed Damon to continue working with interesting directors like Steven Soderbergh and Terry Gilliam in projects that might not have found financing were it not for 'Bourne'.

[Alexandro]

yes, I know what you mean, but people knew who matt damon was, audiences were already going to see a film  based on his presence.

no one knows who jeremy renner is, really. he's been in two movies people have seen in one way or another but that's it.

[Gold Trumpet]

The Bourne Identity hit theaters to little fanfare. Even the initial reviews were modestly nice and nothing more. It didn't gain traction with the public until it hit DVD so I don't think Jeremy Renner being a part of the film is important either way. If people buy into an alternate universe for the Bourne franchise (much like Fast and Furious has branched out with new characters in different films), they will easily accept Renner. The series can make him a bigger star. He can also fail for many other reasons.

[Mr. Merrill Lehrl]

The Bourne Identity hit theaters to little fanfare. Even the initial reviews were modestly nice and nothing more. It didn't gain traction with the public until it hit DVD

May I ask what you mean?  If the first sentence is meant to preface the second sentence this may be true, but the third sentence seems incongruous.  Why:  $120m, the biggest action film grossing of its summer, seems like plenty of public 'traction,' and the type of fanfare the studio most appreciates.  The Bourne Supremacy made only $50m more, to compare, and it opened in 600 additional theaters and had twice the opening weekend.  

[Gold Trumpet]

The Bourne Identity hit theaters to little fanfare. Even the initial reviews were modestly nice and nothing more. It didn't gain traction with the public until it hit DVD

May I ask what you mean?  If the first sentence is meant to preface the second sentence this may be true, but the third sentence seems incongruous.  Why:  $120m, the biggest action film grossing of its summer, seems like plenty of public 'traction,' and the type of fanfare the studio most appreciates.  The Bourne Supremacy made only $50m more, to compare, and it opened in 600 additional theaters and had twice the opening weekend.  

You're being kind. In its opening weekend, Bourne scored $27 million and lost badly to Scooby Doo with 54 million. By year's end, the film ranked at #21 in box office totals. You're right that the film was successful because it was able to accrue money in theaters (after a 60 million dollar budget) but it never had huge fanfare, great reviews or the typical momentum of a big summer box office success. It mostly benefited from being able to stay in theaters a little bit longer than other films and consistently get good returns. It's what you would call a sleeper hit. When the film hit DVD, then Bourne mania started to take off. The buzz was slow out of the gate with the movie.

[Mr. Merrill Lehrl]

The broken link is your emphasis on the dvd release without numbers to support.