The cast and filmmakers behind the “Spaceballs” sequel including Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis brought a little levity to CinemaCon Wednesday night in Las Vegas, with an irreverent presentation and first look at the satire.
“With Hollywood studios merging willy nilly like middle aged couples at a swingers party, Amazon acquired MGM and opened the vault,” a voiceover said in the “Spaceballs” sizzle reel, with the image on the screen showing Warner Bros. and Paramount, making Amazon MGM the only studio to publicly reference the pending acqusition at the conference so far.
Mel Brooks, in a video message, announced the title, “Spaceballs: The New One.”
“It’s just like the old one, but it’s newer,” Brooks said.
He explained that it was not called “Spaceballs: The Search for More Money” because, he said, he found the money. It was in his basement. Also, he said, he couldn’t be at Caesar’s Palace with everyone because he was seeing Phish at the Sphere.
Moranis’s appearance on stage evoked a big reaction from the crowd, but he only got a few words out — part of the bit was that everyone would keep interrupting him, and they stuck to it. The film is expected in theaters next year.
“Spaceballs” was just one part of the big Amazon MGM Studios presentation to theater owners, which also included first looks at Peter Farrelly’s Sylvester Stallone biopic “I Play Rocky” and Michael B. Jordan’s “The Thomas Crown Affair.”
The newly minted best actor Oscar winner for his dual performance in “Sinners,” Jordan directs and stars in the romantic art heist, alongside Adria Arjona. Jon Batiste also played a bit of the score he’s composing for the film.
“I’ve been daydreaming about making this movie for years,” said Jordan.
He watched the 1999 version when he was 12 and said “It left a very big impression on me.”
For his version, he said, he wanted to bring the style, sophistication and rebellion he loved in both of the previous versions, but also to make his character “someone you can root for.”
Amazon MGM Studios was received warmly by the exhibitors in the audience on the heels of their biggest theatrical release so far, and their promise to release 15 movies a year by 2027. “Project Hail Mary” continues to do big business, with over $515 million in global box office earnings. It was so popular that it will be returning to IMAX theaters for one week starting Friday.
Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller even made a surprise appearance, with Ryan Gosling, to thank the exhibitors for playing the film in their theaters.
“This movie is now the biggest original movie of the year because you believed in it,” Miller said.
The studio previewed their summer He-Man movie “Masters of the Universe,” starring Nicholas Galitzine, and the family film “The Sheep Detectives,” also with Galitzine, Hugh Jackman and Nicholas Braun. Pete Davidson also showed up with David Leitch for their gonzo action pic “How to Rob a Bank.”
“This movie is totally (expective) insane,” Davidson said.
Later, they showed first looks at Henry Cavill in “Highlander” and Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson in the adaptation of the Colleen Hoover psychological thriller “Verity.”
One franchise that did not have any news to share was James Bond. Amazon paid $8.45 billion for MGM in 2021, at least in part because of the allure of 007. Just last year the joint studio announced it had taken the creative reins of the franchise after decades of family control with longtime Bond custodians Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli agreeing to step back. They also hired Denis Villeneuve to direct the first film of the new era, with Amy Pascal and David Heyman producing.
But precious little is known about their plans for the next Bond movie beyond that, including who might play the dapper agent.
Courtenay Valenti, Amazon MGM’s head of film, said “we’re taking time to do this with care and deep respect.”
