Does Hollywood do "test balloon" movies to see how we react to actors before giving them a larger role?

Submitted by rdtthoughtpolice t3_11dq977 in movies

I wondered about this when Scar Jo did Lucy when the idea of a Black Widow movie was being discussed. It made me wonder if they did that movie to see how we reacted to her as a female action lead.

This recent "Emily the Criminal" made me wonder the same thing. Aubrey Plaza but not in a quirky role, instead in a more traditional female lead role.

0

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

Dove_of_Doom t1_jaa6je8 wrote

  1. Lucy was produced by French studios and distributed by Universal. They had no vested interest in the viability of a Black Widow solo movie.
  2. Lucy was a huge hit, yet it was seven years before Black Widow finally came out, so Disney clearly wasn't influenced by Johansson's success as a solo action star.
20

Veszerin t1_jaa620z wrote

I think Lucy was after Scarlett Johannsson was already fairly well-established as an actress.

But in general, I do think it's rare for someone to get a lead part with little history unless it's a young character with plans for multiple movies. (E.g. Harry Potter). Because starting w/ someone who's already a star is expensive.

19

Gibscreen t1_jab2txc wrote

Yeah you could say the $14M she made for Lucy made her fairly well established.

2

rdtthoughtpolice OP t1_jaaa2e4 wrote

Yeah she was well established but in secondary roles, it was when Black Widow (THE MOVIE) was still an idea only.

−17

MarcMercury t1_jaaj91v wrote

Hadn't she already played her several times by then

10

rdtthoughtpolice OP t1_jaaji8p wrote

Not in her own movie.

−7

Try_Another_Please t1_jaaninq wrote

Scar jo was already a well known star by then lol

8

rdtthoughtpolice OP t1_jaao353 wrote

Oh, what action movie was she the lead in?

−9

jmarchese01 t1_jabhoy6 wrote

Just because you haven't had a leading role doesn't mean you aren't well established

2

rdtthoughtpolice OP t1_jabhs31 wrote

But if you have read and understood the post then you will see I'm talking about her being a lead in the Black Widow movie. So I'm not sure what you don't understand.

1

jmarchese01 t1_jabhyho wrote

What i don't understand is you. She played a significant character is one of the largest cinematic universes ever. If that doesn't make her well established I dont know what does. Your post is stupid

1

rdtthoughtpolice OP t1_jabi3my wrote

Who said anything about well established? Just you. "well established" is WILDLY DIFFERENT than the LEAD in a full on female led action movie. You are stupid.

−1

jmarchese01 t1_jabilvd wrote

I dont have time to argue with you. All ill say is every one of your comments has been mass downvoted. Thats all I need to say

2

rdtthoughtpolice OP t1_jabj8lj wrote

This sub is just like that. It's packed with mildly aggressive patronising nit pickers like yourself. It's by far one of the worst subs to post in.

0

jmarchese01 t1_jabjij1 wrote

Yet you decided to post anyways

1

rdtthoughtpolice OP t1_jabjmuc wrote

More fool me, I thought I might get an interesting discussion but I get garbage like your comments.

0

Brunch_Hopkins t1_jaa76qd wrote

I don’t think Hollywood does this in the sense of studios - but I do think that actors and their agents probably look at projects in this way. Like ‘let’s see how you do in Lucy and show the town you can do this type of role and you’re not just the pretty lil thing and then we can try and work with Marvel on being a superhero’ - Not that this is what ScarJo did, but taking your example

14

TeamStark31 t1_jaa5csm wrote

Not really, no. If an actor does have a surprise hit though, that will definitely land them other/better roles.

11

Astro-Pal t1_jaa5gqd wrote

Buzz around an actor can often be spontaneous. It fluctuates with a cycle similar to the news. Once the buzz begins, then they start becoming elevated.

6

WraithSeda t1_jaaa1cv wrote

Warner Bros. let the Wachowski's make The Matrix after they proved they can make/direct a movie by giving them Bound. They even had preliminary bullet-time tech in Bound. They did the movie band it led to getting The Matrix

6

Ccaves0127 t1_jaahsdk wrote

Hollywood isn't a singular entity. This isn't how it works at all. Actors audition for roles, sometimes they get chosen, and their profile has an impact on how likely the filmmakers discover them, that's it.

4

AnyNamesLeftAnymore t1_jaad7tt wrote

Probably not as much as it used to happen in the industry, but I still say that has to be what happened with Alden Erenreich having a bit part in Hail Caesar! to playing young Han Solo.

3

FunWelcome t1_jaaidro wrote

I don't think Hollywood tests actors for roles by giving them roles. I think actors take roles in order to change their brand or to show they can play diverse roles.

3

phatpussygyal t1_jab61r9 wrote

Aubrey Plaza has been taking on some more mainstream, normal roles in movies and in interviews. I think she might be trying to change her persona, or our perception of it. Thought I was (not literally, obvi) the only person to notice this change in character for her.

3

rdtthoughtpolice OP t1_jab6gir wrote

Yeah maybe she was getting typecast too much as the weird quirky one.

1

DrRexMorman t1_jaa7mty wrote

Lionsgate licensed Black widow from Marvel in 2004. It hired David Hayter to write a script and Avi Arad to direct it that year before passing on the project in 2006.

Scarlett Johansson was hired to appear as Black widow in Iron Man 2 in 2009.

In 2010, Kevin Feige told interviewers that he had "discussed" a solo Black widow film with Johansson.

Feige reiterated that he wanted to make a solo film featuring the character in a 2014 interview. He also said that he'd comissioned a treatment from Nicole Perlman (who wrote the first draft of Guardians of the galaxy 1 and Captain Marvel).

Lots of creatives pitched ideas for the project. Worth a read:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Widow_(2021_film)#Production

Ok?

We probably would have gotten a solo film about the character if Disney hadn't left Ike Perlmutter in charge of Marvel. Perlmutter - a comitted racist - didn't believe audiences would show up for a female super hero movie:

https://time.com/3847432/marvel-ceo-leaked-email/

He was wrong, in principle: people fucking love super hero movies.

>Lucy

Lucy was produced by a consortium of European production companies who believed in Johansson's ability to lead a film.

Johansson's agents probably used Lucy's performance as part of their negotiation for her salary for Black widow.

2

mnombo t1_jabk9mp wrote

Closest that comes to mind is Michael keaton as Beetlejuice before batman

2

cerberaspeedtwelve t1_jaahnu6 wrote

I know this happened with Will Smith. Before about 2010, it was very rare for a TV actor to successfully cross over into movies. Smith had just come off five years of doing The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and it was a real surprise when Michael Bay cast him in Bad Boys (1995), which was a big hit.

Roland Emmerich then took a gamble casting him in pivotal role in Independence Day (1996), where Smith pretty much stole the show. After it became the top grossing movie of that year, Hollywood finally recognized Smith as a leading man, and he got top billing for Men in Black (1997) where he was acting opposite industry legend Tommy Lee Jones.

1

AdmirableTurnip2245 t1_jaap20h wrote

No, I don't think so. Movies are so expensive and difficult to make the idea that a studio would risk money with such a process is highly unlikely. What you're seeing though I believe is the result of type casting.

1