‘The Crow’ Original Director Roasts Reboot After It Flopped at the Box Office: ‘I Thought It Was a Cynical Cash Grab. Not Much Cash to Grab It Seems’
Lionsgate’s “The Crow” reboot is a box office bomb after opening to $4.6 million on a reported production budget of $50 million. One person who isn’t exactly upset about the matter is filmmaker Alex Proyas, who directed the original “The Crow” adaptation in 1994. Proyas has long spoken out against the reboot, as his star Brandon Lee was killed on the set of the original movie. He’s been rejoicing on his Facebook page over the reboot flopping at the box office.
“I thought the remake was a cynical cash-grab. Not much cash to grab it seems,” Proyas wrote about the new film’s box office performance.
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The director has also been sharing negative reviews of the reboot. One review called “The Crow” reboot “the worst movie of the year,” to which Proyas wrote: “The review we’ve all been waiting for. It’s a bit like flogging a dead horse now so I think I’ll stop after this…until another funny one comes along.”
Proyas has been critical of “The Crow” reboot since its trailer dropped in March, arguing “The Crow’s” legacy should remain solely with Brandon Lee and not get tainted with an update. The reboot stars “It” and “John Wick: Chapter 4” star Bill Skarsgard in the lead role.
“I really don’t get any joy from seeing negativity about any fellow filmmakers work,” Proyas wrote on social media in March while pointing out the negative likes on the reboot’s trailer. “And I’m certain the cast and crew really had all good intentions, as we all do on any film. So it pains me to say any more on this topic, but I think the fan’s response speaks volumes. ‘The Crow’ is not just a movie. Brandon Lee died making it, and it was finished as a testament to his lost brilliance and tragic loss. It is his legacy. That’s how it should remain.”
The reboot’s co-screenwriter William Schneider defended the new film in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying the team behind the reboot intentionally did not “go the same route” as Proyas did in his story “because we felt like that did a disservice to the film.”
“Instead, we wanted to chart our own course almost as a way to sort of celebrate it and say, ‘Hey, we found a new way into the story, and we want them both to exist with their own voices, with their own set of fans,’” he added. “I hope everyone walks away from this film just reinvested in the people they love and care about. Because yes, it’s about grief, it’s about loss, but it’s also about sacrifice and what you’re willing to do for the person you love.”
“The Crow” is playing in theaters nationwide.
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