Babylon A.D. Spotlights Creative Differences

When Babylon A.D. director, Mathieu Kassovitz expressed his displeasure with the final cut of the film he effectively deflected blame for a possible failure. “Babylon will probably have a good first weekend,” says Kassovitz. “But the second weekend we’re going to lose 30%.”

I anticipated the opening of this movie because it looks interesting, stars Vin Diesel, has action and stars Vin Diesel. uh hum. Kassovitz’s remarks last week made me hesitate and after reading a few reviews, it might be best to wait for a director’s cut of the film to be released on DVD before investing any money in watching it.

A search on Google produced such headlines as these:

• “Babylon AD” a futuristic mess
• “Babylon AD” Brings Us Hell, Not Messiah
• Babylon is a mess of biblical proportions
• Charismatic cast wasted on ‘Babylon AD’
• Babylon as violent as it is stupid

That’s just a small dose of what is offered.

So, it’s safe to say Babylon A.D. won’t be a mega-hit (I could be fooled) but would it have been any better if Twentieth Century Fox hadn’t interfered? “I never had a chance to do one scene the way it was written or the way I wanted it to be,” Kassovitz said. “The script wasn’t respected. Bad producers, bad partners, it was a terrible experience.” Was a movie with a message garbled into a violent action ride?

It makes me wonder, how involved should studios be in the actual film making. I know they are the ones investing money and should give input and feedback. If they want to control every aspect, why don’t they film the movies themselves and leave out the director as a middle man. It should be a collaboration. If you’ve hired a director to helm a project, you should have enough faith in them to deliver a marketable product without overly influencing or interfering.

On the other hand, a director should trust a studio to know what will and will not be effectively marketed. It’s next to impossible for creative minds and business oriented folks to see eye to eye. That’s where trust comes in.

Who knows, Babylon A.D. may be a disastrous film regardless. A different director, a different studio could produce a radically different end product.

Reference:
AMC

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