Who has seen RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys”? I’d be curious to read your thoughts on the film in the comments section below.
The Amazon/MGM film didn’t do much money at the box office, but was acclaimed by critics and managed to somehow snatch up Oscar-nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Despite the Oscar noms, it’s very hard to find many big studios willing to bankroll such a risk-taking and experimental filmmaker as Ross. He knows that, and telling THR that financing on his next film would have to be “philanthropic” and not guaranteed a financial return.
I think I’ve made enough films for people to say that I can make things relatively well. So I’m asking someone to give me $10 million for two projects. Both of them, I think, have long cultural lives, but it has to be philanthropic because it’s not really a return. But I think they’re deep in meaning and can change a lot of people’s view on the world.
He added that the potential projects have been “written out,” and he’s been “thinking about them for [five, six] years.” The goal is to “wait for someone to trust” in financing them, philanthropically, of course.
He’s not kidding. “Nickel Boys” had a $23M budget and only grossed $3M worldwide, and that’s despite the acclaim and Oscar nods. In other words, it bombed hard. It’s already a damn-near miracle that Amazon/MGM decided to finance such a project, and they should be commended for that.
Amazon/MGM did the best they could with a film that was never going to be an easy sell. The majority of “Nickel Boys” was shot in first-person POV, with perspective alternating between the two leads throughout. There were also some sequences of fixed-camera third-person POV shots. The film was in a 4:3 aspect ratio, and there were several sequences of stock footage, recordings of historical events, and even snippets of other films interspersed throughout.
Still no distributor for "Bucking Fastard," "Alpha Gang," "The Last Photograph," "Closing Night," and "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd." The issue seems to be quality more than a lack of willingness to buy.