Sony Commisions Men In Black III Script

[Boomstick]

Columbia Pictures (owned by Sony), has hired Etan Cohen (Idiocracy, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Tropic Thunder) to write a script for Men in Black III. It's also been reported that they've got Barry Sonnenfeld, who directed the first two films, lined up to be involved in some form.

Variety speculates that it's unlikely that Sony will greenlight the project if they're unable to again secure the services of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. While that seems obvious enough, it might be a tad presumptuous, unless the studio is planning to throw several hundred million dollars at the project. While that's the going rate for any summer sfx film these days, I'd think it a risky move after the mediocre, if still financially successful, second film.

The first film's budget was around $90 million, with a worldwide box office take of $589,390,539. The second was budgeted/estimated around $140 million, although I can recall reading that the final figure was closer to the $200 million mark. It ended up taking in $441,818,803 worldwide. I also seem to recall that Smith and Jones had worked a cut of the box office take into their salary; if that's the case that would have taken some out of the studio's final profit.

The first film ranks as one of my all time favorites, one of those movies I enjoy each and every time I see it. In comparison the second was a disappointment. I want to love it, but it's just not very good.

The film franchise is based on the comic book series of the same name by Lowell Cunningham. The series was published by various independent publishers until the rights eventually landed at Marvel when they acquired the various properties and holdings of Malibu Comics. I'm not sure where that stands today, as far as I know Marvel hasn't produced a Men in Black comic book since the first film came out.

[Michael]

I guess every studio is trying to milk its franchises for whatever they are worth in this economy.