Film properties aren’t like baseball cards or Pokemon, but I guess word didn’t get to Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures. Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film, Interstellar (which I talked about a bit awhile back), is set to be a huge blockbusting, money-making machine when it hits theaters in 2014. Interestingly, the film is being co-produced by Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, two rival studios that don’t normally work together. In fact, it’s practically unheard of for two different studios to co-produce films, especially films with the level of magnitude that Interstellar has.
Today, The Hollywood Reporter found out exactly what happened that allowed such a move to be made. When Paramount distributed Friday the 13th domestically, Warner Bros. handled international distribution, which complicated who exactly held the rights for the franchise. Freddy vs. Jason, however, was purchased by Warner Bros, but Paramount still had a 50% stake due to the initial Friday the 13th film rights. Something similar took place with South Park, as Comedy Central used to be co-owned by Time Warner and Viacom, Paramount’s parent company. When Viacom split its TV networks from Time Warner, WB still possessed rights to the South Park film, handling international distribution.
Because of these joint ventures, each studio had a claim in the franchises, complicating future projects. Paramount, trusting in both Nolan’s talents and Interstellar‘s box office potential, offered to let Warner Bros. get a percentage of the return if they relinquished their hold on future Friday the 13th and South Park films. However, if Paramount doesn’t produce a sequel for the films within the next five years, co-ownership will return to WB.
It’s all complicated Hollywood business deals, but money talks, and in the case of Interstellar, it’s doing more than just talking. This news also brings the prospect of big screen returns for Stan, Kenny, Kyle, Cartman, and Jason Voorhees, which should be great news for both horror and South Park fans.
[via The Hollywood Reporter]