Ah Hollywood, land of movie stars and movie franchises. Tent poles. Cash cows. Franchises are the sequels and characters who guarantee studios money in the bank. And because Hollywood is about making movies that make money (for movie lovers, check out the indie films that can’t get a distribution deal), we’ll always have franchises like Superman, Batman, Spiderman and Star Trek. These are immediately recognizable names that tell the movie ticket buyer that they are guaranteed at least 90 minutes of fun and distraction.
Recently, the movie studios have spent big on super hero franchises. Marvel’s Iron Man, Thor, Avengers and DC Comic’s Superman and Batman require heavy spending on special effects and costumes. But what about a good old fashion franchise that’s rooted less in sci-fi and more about real life action? In the 80s, we had the Rambo’s and even Bruce Willis’ Die Hard movies are still alive and kicking. Across the pond, the British may be all about Doctor Who, but you can’t forget that Britain’s number one spy, James Bond, has been on the movie screens for 50 years!
So what’s America’s answer to James Bond?
Tom Clancy, who recently passed away, was the author of spy novels with over 100 million in print. Four of his novels have been turned into very successful movies. HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (which starred Alec Baldwin as Tom Clancy’s main character, CIA analyst, Jack Ryan), PATRIOT GAMES (with Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan), CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER (again with Harrison Ford), and THE SUM OF ALL FEARS (with Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan).
These were all successful movies, but have they made a franchise of the name, Jack Ryan? The name doesn’t roll off the tongue like James Bond, does it? But Paramount Pictures is hoping so because their next project, JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT, has the main character’s name right in the title.
Smart move, Paramount! Make sure Tom Clancy fans know that another Jack Ryan movie is coming out. But wait! SHADOW RECRUIT? There is no Tom Clancy novel with that title! In fact, dig a little deeper in the credits, and some Tom Clancy fans may be horrified to know that JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT is based on “characters created by Tom Clancy.” That’s right – even though Tom Clancy wrote 19 novels, for some odd reason, this is the first “Jack Ryan” movie not to be based on a Tom Clancy book. Even the James Bond movies first used all the Ian Fleming Bond novels before trying their own adaptations.
Paramount’s reboot and remarketing of Jack Ryan as a franchise will no doubt be sneered at by Tom Clancy purists, but not all is lost. The movie currently has a Christmas 2013 release date – typically reserved by the studios for big buck prestige films. They’ve also assembled some fresh blood – Chris Pine of STAR TREK fame is the new Jack Ryan. The movie also stars Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner and Colm Feore. This time, directing duties go to Kenneth Branagh, fresh off his success directing THOR. He may bring some gravitas to what might be a fluffy story. It’s hard trying to understand why the producers didn’t pay Tom Clancy the money to actually adapt one of his books rather than just license the Jack Ryan name like a video game!
If the movie is a hit, Paramount will have breathed life back into the “Jack Ryan,” and Chris Pine will have another franchise to his name, along with STAR TREK. If the movie bombs, Paramount will have some angry Tom Clancy fans, wagging their fingers about the clear and present danger of not using an actual Tom Clancy novel.