Yesterday, word broke that Warner Bros. had secured a bonkers all-star cast to headline its upcoming all-female Ocean’s Eleven spinoff, Ocean’s Ocho, and the news was widely praised. (Rihanna and Mindy Kaling in their first major leading roles? Yes, please.) But there were some who wondered if the film was falling into the same trap as Sony’s recent box office stumble, Ghostbusters, which also reimagined a familiar franchise, and was also immediately inundated with skepticism/vile outrage over its new female leads. So is Ocho the new ‘busters? Hardly.
That’s according to The Hollywood Reporter, which says that Ocho is different in practically every other way from Ghostbusters, which is reportedly set to lose about $70 million for Sony. But while the latter project’s special effects necessitated a budget in the rumored $150 million range, THR says that Warner Bros. has no such issues with Ocho, and hopes to complete the project for about $70 million. And according to the trade, the films’ plots are so different — and appeal to such different markets — that Ocho should have no trouble securing a wide audience.
… [A] project insider insists that the Ocean’s franchise is better poised for the gender swap than Ghostbusters given that it is a frothy heist film aimed at adults rather than fanboy-skewing action property with supernatural elements based on a movie that some now consider sacrosanct. After all, the 2001 Ocean’s Eleven, with George Clooney at the center of the caper, was itself a remake of the similarly titled 1960 movie, starring Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack pals.
Furthermore, Warner Bros. also reportedly put a lot of thought into how the film would perform overseas, with Greg Silverman, the studio’s president of creative development and worldwide production, “focused on assembling an ethnically diverse group of women that reflects the global audience,” according to THR.
That goal certainly seems to have been achieved, with Rihanna, Kaling, Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, and Asian-American rapper-actress Awkwafina (Neighbors 2) joining the fold. And with one spot left to fill in the titular Ocho (or Eight; there’s still a bit of confusion over the film’s official title, since director Gary Ross himself previously said Ocho was only a nickname for the project), there’s still opportunity to make that group even more diverse. We’ll be dream-casting that final slot (perhaps Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez?) until we get official confirmation from the studio.
(Via: The Hollywood Reporter)
