Just One Year to Film the Sequel

     Fox is replacing Rupert Wyatt for the upcoming sequel of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Top Emerging Directors On Fox’s Short List To Helm ‘Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes’. Mike Fleming  discusses this and says that Cloverfield's Matt Reeves and others such as J. Blakeson and Juan Carlos Fresnaldillo, Jeff Nichols, and Juan Antonio Bayona are some of the few Fox wants to take on this project. Fox even stated they would give creative leeway. However, why is Wyatt being replaced? Well... he actually exited this project. He did not agree with the deadline revealed on Sept. 17. This exit it similar to why Gary Ross stepped out of Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Wyatt being uncomfortable about making the May 23, 2012 release date that the studio announced in May.  

     I found this article quite interesting because, well, Planet of the Apes is a big franchise and it is interesting to see that a director would actually opt out of it. Who wouldn't want to direct a film that had grossed $483 million worldwide after all? Plus, it's not only the Planet of the Apes franchise, it's also  the Hunger Games director, Ross. I wonder, in the industry, what thinking process the directors go through before accepting a film? Do they think they can't raise to the challenge, or will other opportunities come along or do they think about other external factors?  Either way, as a consumer and student, I would be able to watch my films quicker if companies such as Fox tighten up the deadline of a movie shorter. But as a filmmaker, it does create some worries. With such a short deadline, will there be some disadvantages? Not everyone can withstand the pressure and may end up creating some mistake of some sort in the final product, be it in post or pre production. The film may not be satisfactory. If I were Wyatt, I may have also passed up the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Even if I get creative leeway, what point is it really if I would not have the time to carefully transfer my ideas on to the big screen to create the film I see in my mind. A short deadline makes it so that what you imagine in your head does not really transfer well tot he screen sometimes, and as a director, it makes you wonder when you should accept or decline a film.