Raging Mechanical Bull
MOVIE REVIEW
Real Steel (2011)
HOW TO MAKE A MOVIE THE DREAMWORKS WAY
A fictionalized retelling of the pitch meeting for “Real Steel”
by
Sarah Manvel
INT. DREAMWORKS STUDIO OFFICES – DAY
The OFFICES in this fictional, imaginary story are large, expensive, sunny and full of tie-in merchandise from blockbusters past. FIVE EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS are sitting in elegant, expensive chairs around a polished boardroom table. STEVE is a bald man with a beard and an Oscar who is the professional partner of JACK, a close-shaven man in his mid-50s who got his start as an agent. They have long experience with producing movies aimed at children. MARY, in her mid-50s, has bright blond hair and grew up in the movie business before becoming a producer. Her brother JOSH, in his early 50s, has significant assistant-director experience and is also building his career as a producer. At the head of the table is STEVEN, a bearded, bespectacled man in his 60s who is an Oscar-winning geek turned studio mogul.
A SECRETARY is also at the side, taking notes.
STEVEN
What we need is a hit — a
blockbuster! One the whole
family will love!
JOSH
Times are tough. People want
to see movies about the
heartland of America.
JACK
About a hero.
MARY
Remember the international
markets.
STEVE
And the merchandising.
MARY
But times are tough. How are
we going to bring all these
things together?
The EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS think for a minute. The SECRETARY waits.
STEVEN
Anyone? Anything?
EVERYONE shakes his or her head.
STEVEN
O.K. That’s O.K. We’re only a
Hollywood movie studio with
tons of money and access to
the most creative imaginations
on the planet. We can do this.
We can have an original idea.
There is an awkward pause.
STEVEN
(annoyed)
Seriously, people? Fine. I’ll
start. We want a movie like —
JACK
“Eight Mile”? Remember that? A
working-class white underdog,
with lots of hip-hop music, in
a pseudo-industrial setting —
gritty, but not threatening.
JOSH
I’m thinking robots. Everyone
loves robots, remember? Like
the “Transformers” series. Not
like “Iron Giant.” That wasn’t
a franchise. But with robots,
it’s easy to bring in Japanese
influences and tap those
international markets.
MARY
O.K., but we need a kid in
there — a loveable orphan who
outsmarts the adults. Like
“Paper Moon.” Remember that?
They made that into a TV show,
didn’t they?
STEVE
What about boxing? Everyone
loves boxing. Like the “Rocky”
series. Not like “Cinderella
Man.” That wasn’t a franchise,
either.
JOSH
We gotta keep it simple. Kids
like video games better than
movies nowadays, remember?
MARY
Hmm. I’m feeling a road movie,
with classic American settings:
You know, county fairs, old
factories, honky-tonks. But we
should skip the driving parts.
Borrring!
The EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS hold their heads again. A minute passes.
SECRETARY
(nervously)
Excuse me? Um. What if you put
all those things together?
(with a movie-trailer
announcer voice)
“In a world where robots do the
boxing ...”
The EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS are astonished.
JACK
Boxing robots! Think of the
merchandising!
STEVE
Our hero can be a down-on-his-
luck boxer, looking for one
last shot ...
MARY
He can be thrown together with
his kid, traveling from fight
to fight ...
JOSH
The kid can be better at robot
boxing than his old man ...
MARY
This will be nothing like that
TV show “Robot Wars.” The
robots will have all the
personality, except for our
heroes.
JACK
We can rip off the set designs
from “Street Fighter” ...
STEVE
They can rescue a robot from a
scrap heap. They will all be
underdogs.
MARY
Don’t forget a girl — a girl
who loves boxing.
JOSH
And the hero. But only in a
PG-13 fashion.
JACK
She’ll love robots too. She’ll
be the perfect movie girlfriend.
All of them gaze hopefully at STEVEN, who stands.
STEVEN
I love it. Shawn Levy should
direct. You know, the guy who
did “Date Night” and the
“Night at the Museum”
franchise. He’s desperate to
prove he’s the next, well, the
next me. He’ll film it like
it’s “A.I. Artificial
Intelligence,” only with the
product placement of
“Talladega Nights: The Ballad
of Ricky Bobby.” He won’t make
a fuss over all the C.G.I.,
and the movie will be well-
shot and look great ...
The EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS begin to smile.
STEVEN
(continuing)
Hugh Jackman should star. He
can sell green-screen; he’s
handsome; and he needs a hit.
Whatever weird accent he comes
out with won’t matter.
Evangeline Lilly can be the
girl. She won’t matter much,
either. But the kid’s
important. There’s a new one,
Dakota Goyo. He’s a scrappier
Haley Joel Osment. I can see
it now ...
The EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS begin to cheer.
STEVEN
(continuing)
We’ll make it so the audience
loves them, no matter how bad
a dad Mr. Jackman is. Did you
see “Trucker”?
THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS stop cheering suddenly, and stare at the table.
STEVEN
It’s O.K. We shouldn’t mention
the movies we’re planning to
rip off wholesale, anyway.
We’ll be original and say the
movie’s based in part on an
old short story that was used
for a “Twilight Zone” episode
once.
JACK
I think once we’ve set up the
premise, Mr. Jackman should
sell the kid for $50,000 to
buy a new robot. Making heroes
really nasty pieces of work is
what we in Hollywood specialize
these days. The audience will
totally understand.
MARY
Of course they’ll understand.
That is a completely
appropriate subplot for a
blockbuster aimed at children.
I know I’ll be too busy waiting
for the next robot boxing
match/merchandising set-up to
wonder why we’re supposed to
like a man who would sell a
child.
JOSH
For a robot.
STEVE
A robot that can box.
MARY
Well, we do all know men are
unreliable, dangerous creatures
who need to learn the value of
family. What better than boxing
robots to bring a family
together?
JOSH
Let’s throw in some minor
characters to help them learn
lessons. We’ll make one black,
who’ll be Mr. Jackman’s friend
to show he’s really a good
person, and one a racist, so
it’ll be okay when Mr. Jackman
steals his money.
STEVE
Ooh, for the big finale? Let’s
have a robot programmed by a
Japanese baddie and owned by a
Russian hottie.
MARY
Embarrassing stereotypes for
all the minor characters? Nice!
Just like the new “Star Wars”
franchise.
SECRETARY
Um, will this distract the
audience from Mr. Jackman
taking an envelope of cash for
his kid?
JACK
Oh, he can buy him a burrito
one time. What more does a kid
need?
STEVEN
Don’t over think this. The
final product will be big
stupid fun if you roll with the
punches.
(turns to the
SECRETARY)
I’m sorry, I forgot your name.
Did you write all of this down?
The SECRETARY frowns at her notes. THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS break out the champagne.
THE END
Postscript:
The above screenplay is fictional — 100 percent made up. The facts about how DreamWorks really came up with "Real Steel" have not yet been made public. But its sequel has already been scheduled for a 2014 release.
REAL STEEL
Opens on Oct. 7 in the United States and on Oct. 14 in Britain.
Directed by Shawn Levy; written by John Gatins, based on a story by Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven and the short story “Steel,” by Richard Matheson; director of photography, Mauro Fiore; edited by Dean Zimmerman; music by Danny Elfman; production design by Tom Meyer; costumes by Marlene Stewart; produced by Mr. Levy, Don Murphy and Susan Montford; released by DreamWorks Pictures. Running time: 2 hours 8 minutes. This film is rated PG-13 by M.P.A.A. and 12A by B.B.F.C.
WITH: Hugh Jackman (Charlie Kenton), Dakota Goyo (Max Kenton), Evangeline Lilly (Bailey), Anthony Mackie (Finn), Kevin Durand (Ricky), Hope Davis (Deborah Barnes), James Rebhorn (Marvin Barnes), Karl Yune (Tak Mashido) and Olga Fonda (Russian Robot Owner).
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