Kevin Feige disbands Marvel's CREATIVE COMMITTEE

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I had no idea Feige and Avi Arad didn't like each other since it was Arad who liked Feige enough to make him producer on all of the films. Wonder what caused their feud?

The 5/7 rating system.

I had no idea Feige and Avi Arad didn't like each other since it was Arad who liked Feige enough to make him producer on all of the films. Wonder what caused their feud?

But on a more serious note, I wonder if it was Spider-Man 3. Avi Arad seemed to meddle in the storytelling to the point it hurt the film. Kevin Feige was executive producer on that film - which doesn't mean he was contributing directly to the tactical details. But he probably heard and saw the calamity that came out of that - including Raimi leaving afterwards while developing Spider-Man 4.

At least Feige tried to get back the FF. Reaquiring the rights to the FF should be top priority especially given the x-men are a lost cause for the immediate future as their movies are still profitable.

 

I still want to know why Feige didn't trade the X-Men television rights for the FF movie rights. That sounds like a win-win for Fox given that they've proven repeatedly they can't do anything with FF.

 

So what DID Marvel get for those X-Men television rights? I haven't heard of anything at all yet.

To the best of my knowledge, nothing as of yet in return for the X-Men tv approval. But to the best of my knowledge, Marvel didn't give the rights, just the approval for Fox's 2 planned tv shows, which is all they needed to do. Neither Fox nor Marvel can make an X-Men tv show without the approval from the other. I don't believe that Marvel gave up its veto power to Fox with this deal, but I don't think they got any thing in return either.

I had no idea Feige and Avi Arad didn't like each other since it was Arad who liked Feige enough to make him producer on all of the films. Wonder what caused their feud?

 

But on a more serious note, I wonder if it was Spider-Man 3. Avi Arad seemed to meddle in the storytelling to the point it hurt the film. Kevin Feige was executive producer on that film - which doesn't mean he was contributing directly to the tactical details. But he probably heard and saw the calamity that came out of that - including Raimi leaving afterwards while developing Spider-Man 4.

I was never clear whether or not that was Arad interfering or if it was Sony execs. I know Raimi hated being forced to use three villains in one film, and that he really hated Venom. And that both Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst also expressed disappointment in how the studio was mucking around with Raimi's creative control to the point where they said if Raimi goes, they go. And so they all went. But I never knew whether or not the injected creative ideas came from Arad or not. If so, I'm very glad he's gone.

I can definitely see how Arad's meddling would irritate Feige given how little Arad knew about superheroes and how bad his past performance on guiding the creativity on movies like Elektra, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, and Ghost Rider had gone.

At least Feige tried to get back the FF. Reaquiring the rights to the FF should be top priority especially given the x-men are a lost cause for the immediate future as their movies are still profitable.

 

I still want to know why Feige didn't trade the X-Men television rights for the FF movie rights. That sounds like a win-win for Fox given that they've proven repeatedly they can't do anything with FF.

 

So what DID Marvel get for those X-Men television rights? I haven't heard of anything at all yet.

Pretty sure Feige was negotiating to get the rights for Galactus and the Silver Surfer only, not the entire FF.

The initial sentence could have been more clearly written, but that's what I got out of it.

They would allow the studio the extra time they needed to get the 1970s set reboot (Daredevil) into production in exchange for the rights to Fantastic Four characters Galactus and Silver Surfer. Sensing that they were probably being played, Fox refused to make the deal.

It is however hard to not wonder just how different both Guardians And The Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War would have been with those two icons in Marvel and Feige's hands.

At least Feige tried to get back the FF. Reaquiring the rights to the FF should be top priority especially given the x-men are a lost cause for the immediate future as their movies are still profitable.

 

I still want to know why Feige didn't trade the X-Men television rights for the FF movie rights. That sounds like a win-win for Fox given that they've proven repeatedly they can't do anything with FF.

 

So what DID Marvel get for those X-Men television rights? I haven't heard of anything at all yet.

 

Pretty sure Feige was negotiating to get the rights for Galactus and the Silver Surfer only, not the entire FF.

I was speaking hypothetically about the X-Men TV negotiations in 2015, not the negotiations in 2014 for Fox to keep Daredevil. Marvel should've gotten something for giving up those X-Men television rights; getting the FF rights back was just an example of something they could've asked for. Those two sets of rights have similar value from what I can see.

The Russo Brothers Give Their Thoughts On The "Civil War" Between Kevin Feige & Ike Perlmutter

It was reported by THR late last year that it was "several years of frustration" between the two, before Kevin Feige finally decided to break free from Ike's control. A close source stated the following about the situation. "Everybody knows Ike is difficult. This has been a long time coming. Kevin has grown his entire career under Ike and now it just makes sense."

 

Since the tension came to head during the filming of the third Captain America film, you'd only expect Feige and Ike's "Civil War" to affect the Russo Brothers in some way. During a new interview with THR, Joe Russo elaborated on the dispute, and revealed how Feige was absorbing the pain. "We've been on that [Marvel] journey from Winter Soldier, and it may have been some story points from Civil War that caused the civil war within Marvel. I think that there were years when Kevin was absorbing the pain inflicted on the company." Since the split, Joe says that the company is "much healthier, happier," and it allowed them to make "really compelling choices."

Another confirmation how Perlmutter was focused on merchandising sales as a decision for movie content. Which has been mentioned as a rumor previously.

IRON MAN 3 Scrapped Its Original Female Villain Because Marvel Didn't Think The Character Would Sell Enough Toys

During an interview with Uproxx, director Shane Black admits that although he and Robert Downey Jr. had fun shooting the movie, there were some issues with the studio stepping in and forcing a few changes - particularly where the female characters were concerned. Black says originally both Stéphanie Szostak and Rebecca Hall had bigger roles, and the baddie was also going to be a woman.

 

"All I’ll say is this, on the record: There was an early draft of Iron Man 3 where we had an inkling of a problem. Which is that we had a female character who was the villain in the draft. We had finished the -script and we were given a no-holds-barred memo saying that cannot stand and we’ve changed our minds because, after consulting, we’ve decided that toy won’t sell as well if it’s a female."

 

Apparently the original idea was to have a female villain pulling the strings much like the Killian character, but Marvel Corporate - Black stresses this was nothing to do with Kevin Feige, but the since deposed Ike Perlmutter - felt that would be taking "money out of our bank."

The full Shane Black interview

I was under the impression people do like it.

 

I’m a people pleaser. Marvel saw so many negative things they made a whole other movie just to apologize called Hail to the King. In which they said, “No, no, the Mandarin is still alive. That wasn’t him. There’s a real Mandarin.” The only reason they made that was an apology to fans who were so angry.

 

But if Marvel didn’t want you to present Mandarin the way you did, they would have stopped you.

 

Of course, they didn’t care. But when the blowback hit, they cared.

 

You had to know there’d be some blowback.

 

No, we didn’t. We didn’t know. We all thought they’d eat it up because it never occurred to us the Mandarin is as iconic to people as, say, the Joker in Batman.

More Big Changes At Marvel Studios As The "Creative Committee" Is Brought To An End

 

According to Birth.Movies.Death, Marvel Studios' Creative Committe has been disbanded this week following the severing of ties between the studio and Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter. For those of you unfamiliar with the group, it was apparently made up of names like Alan Fine, Brian Michael Bendis, Dan Buckley, and Joe Quesada. Their job was to give notes and weigh in on Marvel productions while they were being adapted. Their input was clearly not appreciated by Kevin Feige (because, let's face it, he hardly needs the help of someone like Bendis) as now it will just be him, Louis D'Esposito, and Victoria Alonso making key creative decisions.

 

So, why scrap what sounds like a relatively useful group of people to have around? According to the site, this committee was something of a burden, offering up "notes that are pedestrian, motivated by 'save the cat' story logic and sometimes a drag on creativity."

 

So, why scrap what sounds like a relatively useful group of people to have around? According to the site, this committee was something of a burden, offering up "notes that are pedestrian, motivated by 'save the cat' story logic and sometimes a drag on creativity." Perhaps their greatest crime were being responsible for the -script notes which led to Edgar Wright deciding to depart Ant-Man, while their lateness with such revisions would often play havoc with a movie's development. In other words, good riddance! Another interesting titbit revealed by the site is that "Ike, with a background in toys, believes girl toys do not sell and thus vetoed them again and again," and that explains the lack of Black Widow merchandise.

 

Another confirmation how Perlmutter was focused on merchandising sales as a decision for movie content. Which has been mentioned as a rumor previously.

 

IRON MAN 3 Scrapped Its Original Female Villain Because Marvel Didn't Think The Character Would Sell Enough Toys

 

During an interview with Uproxx, director Shane Black admits that although he and Robert Downey Jr. had fun shooting the movie, there were some issues with the studio stepping in and forcing a few changes - particularly where the female characters were concerned. Black says originally both Stéphanie Szostak and Rebecca Hall had bigger roles, and the baddie was also going to be a woman.

 

"All I’ll say is this, on the record: There was an early draft of Iron Man 3 where we had an inkling of a problem. Which is that we had a female character who was the villain in the draft. We had finished the -script and we were given a no-holds-barred memo saying that cannot stand and we’ve changed our minds because, after consulting, we’ve decided that toy won’t sell as well if it’s a female."

 

Apparently the original idea was to have a female villain pulling the strings much like the Killian character, but Marvel Corporate - Black stresses this was nothing to do with Kevin Feige, but the since deposed Ike Perlmutter - felt that would be taking "money out of our bank."

 

The full Shane Black interview

 

I was under the impression people do like it.

 

I’m a people pleaser. Marvel saw so many negative things they made a whole other movie just to apologize called Hail to the King. In which they said, “No, no, the Mandarin is still alive. That wasn’t him. There’s a real Mandarin.” The only reason they made that was an apology to fans who were so angry.

 

But if Marvel didn’t want you to present Mandarin the way you did, they would have stopped you.

 

Of course, they didn’t care. But when the blowback hit, they cared.

 

You had to know there’d be some blowback.

 

No, we didn’t. We didn’t know. We all thought they’d eat it up because it never occurred to us the Mandarin is as iconic to people as, say, the Joker in Batman.

Dear Shane Black, you're a dummy. Maybe you should do research on characters before you just assume they don't matter to people. Might make your movies better.

Dummy? Probably not.

Clueless that you don't just take a long-standing series of characters and do whatever with them? Definitely. And since the MCC was in place at this time, you would have hoped they put a stop to such decisions.

anytime Joe Quesada is no longer involved in something, that's good.

But what an artist!

Iron Man 3 was flawed, but it was _far_ better than Iron Man 2 and some other Marvel films (including both Hulk and both Thor films).

I thought it fell apart only in the final act, when Pepper is turned by Extremis into an immortal She-Iron Man.

But what Shane Black did with the Mandarin was awesome, original and a really good plot twist -- plus the nerd rage of comic book fanboys everywhere made it worth it.

Can't wait to see The Nice Guys tomorrow, to say nothing of what Black has in store for Doc Savage and Predator 4.

But what Shane Black did with the Mandarin was awesome, original and a really good plot twist -- plus the nerd rage of comic book fanboys everywhere made it worth it.

I enjoyed that as well.

Iron Man 3 was flawed, but it was _far_ better than Iron Man 2 and some other Marvel films (including both Hulk and both Thor films).

 

I thought it fell apart only in the final act, when Pepper is turned by Extremis into an immortal She-Iron Man.

 

But what Shane Black did with the Mandarin was awesome, original and a really good plot twist -- plus the nerd rage of comic book fanboys everywhere made it worth it.

 

Can't wait to see The Nice Guys tomorrow, to say nothing of what Black has in store for Doc Savage and Predator 4.

I agree with all of this. Iron Man 2 and Thor 2 (which I liked more on re-watch) are the only recent superhero movies I fell asleep in the first time. I thought Iron Man 3 was very entertaining and loved the Mandarin twist, though I totally understand if some fans were upset. The 'house party' scene is still one of my favorite battle scenes from the MCU so far. I could have watched a whole movie of specific suits doing specific things to fight bad guys.

Oh boy.

No Marvel Marvel Movie & TV Crossover Because Of Marvel Creative Committee

Long story short, last year saw Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige part ways with both Perlmutter and the Marvel Creative Committee over interference in the movies and creative differences. Captain America and Avengers: Infinity War director Joe Russo stated the following back in May:

 

"We've been on that [Marvel] journey from Winter Soldier, and it may have been some story points from Civil War that caused the civil war within Marvel. I think that there were years when Kevin was absorbing the pain inflicted on the company. [Marvel Studios is] much healthier, happier" [and is paving the way for] "really compelling choices."

 

Regarding the crossover between Marvel Studios and TV not happening, head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb recently appeared on Nerdist's Comic Book Club podcast where he was asked about The Defenders appearing in the movies with mention there's friction because of the Marvel Creative Committee. Via reddit:

 

"When asked if The Defenders would be in the movies, he scoffed and went on and on about how Marvel Television is a 3 year old company and how they want to do their own thing, but specifically mentioned that they'll see where the company is in 2019.

 

He then mentioned that Marvel Television projects are still all under the thumb of the Marvel Creative Committee, so that could also cause some friction between the possibility of television and movie crossovers."

 

Adding in my own two cents, if you have been a fan of this website or any of the Marvel COSMIC comic books, you know the Marvel Creative Committee aren't fans of COSMIC-type stories. With the upcoming Marvel Studios movies looking like they're heavy cosmic flicks (Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Captain Marvel, Avengers Infinity War, Avengers 4, Inhumans, rumored Richard Rider Nova movie), it's no wonder Feige booted them from being involved (in addition to whatever trouble they caused).

Kinda called this. Loeb still reports to Ike. Feige reports to the Disney board. There's no reason for Ike to share his toys with Feige for no appreciable gain to his "piece" of the Marvel/Disney pie. Not only that, but I'm not sure Loeb is really a big fan of the way his former semi-equal (Feige) managed to get freedom & essentially a promotion & leaving him in the dust in the process.

Kinda called this. Loeb still reports to Ike. Feige reports to the Disney board. There's no reason for Ike to share his toys with Feige for no appreciable gain to his "piece" of the Marvel/Disney pie. Not only that, but I'm not sure Loeb is really a big fan of the way his former semi-equal (Feige) managed to get freedom & essentially a promotion & leaving him in the dust in the process.

It definitely sounds like it.

Feige will continue to prove the decision made the movies better. The Marvel Committee and its TV lead will work to prove their approach is just as good. In the end, we'll see what we get (if there really is an end).

Kinda called this. Loeb still reports to Ike. Feige reports to the Disney board. There's no reason for Ike to share his toys with Feige for no appreciable gain to his "piece" of the Marvel/Disney pie. Not only that, but I'm not sure Loeb is really a big fan of the way his former semi-equal (Feige) managed to get freedom & essentially a promotion & leaving him in the dust in the process.

 

It definitely sounds like it.

 

Feige will continue to prove the decision made the movies better. The Marvel Committee and its TV lead will work to prove their approach is just as good. In the end, we'll see what we get (if there really is an end).

The ABC shows were a by-product of Joss Whedon and his friends (brother, former co-workers on previous projects). Whedon was great in Avengers 1, but really lost his way tone wise in Ultron. Ultron is very good, and much better then the haters it attracts, but the weaknesses it did have stemmed for the MCU moving past where Whdeon could take it.

Winter Soldier really defined the tone, feel, and direction of the future of the MCU which is clearly why the tentpole films were turned over to it's directors. The Netflix shows clearly convey that Marvel TV can do just fine at matching the quality of tone and feel that the MCU has found. The Whedon anachronisms remain at ABC which is the only weak spot left in the TV or Movie stables.

I love the ABC shows, and they are fun TV, but its the Whedon Team/People that are ultimately responsible for them failing to capture the same zeitgeist Netflix and MCU have found. As long as they remain, it will not change. If the ABC shows were ever to be turned over to a new team (instead of just ending once syndication numbers are reached), I bet they could get to the same place experientially (if not violence wise) as Netflix.

Was really just a removal of the career comic people from the successful film franchises. They essentially just removed the films from under the Marvel Entertainment imprint, and made it its own thing, ala Lucasfilm and Pixar. Most of the people comic book fans are familiar with Joe Q, Loeb, Axel and the creators who were on the creative board work for or are executives or VP's of Marvel Entertainment and now have nothing really to do with Marvel Studios. Seem like a natural progression, it was kind of ridiculous that such a huge moneymaker was being overseen by the guy who oversaw television and the comics.

Feige doesn't report to the Disney board, nobody really does that, he reports to Alan Horn, who is the the head of Walt Disney Studios, and thus oversees the other bosses of their own fiefdoms (like Kathleen Kennedy and Lasseter)

I suspect beyond Permutter's oddities, they were also eyeing Feige contract status. This is a guy that can probably demand any job in town, and there were rumblings he was going to leave during the making of Civil War. This is my speculation, but I suspect they'd like to retain Feige, whether at Marvel Studio or maybe even at Lucasfilm, as Kennedy is a bit old and Feige has expressed he's a fan of the franchise.

It's hard to say right now and we don't really know the overall Disney plan of succession with Iger's contract coming up and no clear successor for one of the biggest jobs in the world in place.