Hi dear! I just wanted to know if you were the CEO of Warner Bros would you greenlight Ocean's 9 or a romcom with Cate and Sandy as the leads?
So let me answer this question without really answering this question because I am forever rambling and unhelpful.
As a fan, it’s so easy to say, yes, I would green light it because we see in this fandom how big a push there is for it and how lasting an impact there was from the original. So many people would rush to see it, even multiple times, and would be creating all these derivative arts from it just like the first. But fandom aside, I would still say, yes, yes of course I would green light it.
First, the movie did EXTREMELY WELL. If you’re looking at it from a purely American capitalist/box office revenue/Hollywood blah whatever perspective, the movie was a success. Did it do as well as they expected? No. Did it still do super well for a movie of that genre especially when measured against all-male casts of similar genres/movies with an all-female led cast? YES. Even if you’re just in the money-making game, which, it’s Hollywood, so....there isn’t really a downfall of not green lighting it. Unless an original was god-awful and you couldn’t even make enough box office profit to pay off what it cost to make the movie (breakeven), you can get away with a sequel. Because you don’t care if the sequel is bad/can’t live up to the hype, fans will still flock to it, and people who missed the first round will want to see what the buzz is all about.
Comparing it to the O11 trilogy also, people who are fans of the original and fans of O8 alone (or worked their way backwards, myself included), those fans are all expecting more. That’s how O11 worked, that’s what they teased in interviews. We were hooked before we even saw the movie.
My only qualms would be: Can I get the whole original cast? And that’s definitely a challenge because of their celebrity status. I mean Sandra and Cate alone have like five simultaneous projects each right now and who knows how expensive it is to get Helena to walk onto your set for five minutes? So, I’d want to make sure they were all definitely on board (which I think they would be...my one flakey concern would be Rihanna, more because I think her team would be very, you’ve already been there done that/not worth it).
For Sandy/Cate, y’all, don’t throw tomatoes at me. I’m honestly very torn when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation in media and who should play those roles because, of course, I want that actual LGBTQ+ representation by people of that community to get priority/the limelight, so that those characters are accurately portrayed and we’re prioritizing/seeking out those communities for their own stories/portrayals, as we should be. But when it comes to ‘can straight actors play gay’ etc., I also like the idea of actors to challenge themselves to become a person they aren’t/never could be. (So long story short, in a perfect world, I’d like to see: We have Character A here who’s pan and ace, so we’re going after this pan/ace actor here; Oh, they don't want it? They personally recommend so and so? Great. They’ve offered to lend their opinion/personal experience to help so and so actor shape the experience? Awesome). Because jokes about Cate’s sexuality aside, because it doesn't matter at the end of the day, she did her research. We know she read The Price of Salt, and had long talks with the director, and studied the original script, etc. and felt that Carol Aird was such an important character and story that she gave it blood, sweat, tears. So it can be done 100%.
So rambling aside again, if we’re going to get a blockbuster comedy with a lesbian couple or something of that nature, my heart would really want it to be two members of the community. But, if we pretend that’s happened time and time again, and the world has become this awesome acceptable place, and Cate and Sandy make this awesome rom com duo with labels aside, ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY. They had such great chemistry together. They play off each other well. They both have experience with the genre but also thousands of others that there’d be levels to it and I think they would play those characters with love and care, not just to be in it for the box office success/profit. I know Cate has said it before, but I get the vibe from them both, that sometimes it’s about getting those characters and that plot out to the world, so it resonates even with just one person, more than the money that matters. And just UGHHH can we even IMAGINE that movie? oof. Sign me up.
