Attention, earthlings! IGN Movies has taken it upon itself to rank the Top 25 Movie Franchises of All Time. We will count down from No.
25 to No. 1 each day for the next 25 days. We considered a number of factors in order to rank the best of the best.
First, the franchise had to have at least three films released at the time we created our list (sorry, Spider-Man and Jason Bourne). Also factored in were the franchises commercial and artistic successes, as well as their impact on pop culture and how many ancillary items they spawned (videogames, comics, fast food tie-ins, etc.).
It was not easy to narrow down our list to only 25 entries, and we know many of yours (and even some of ours) didn t make the cut. Be sure to check back each day and send us your feedback! So without further ado 21.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET Stax, Senior Editor: There have been many slasher characters, namely Jason Voorhees and Michael Meyers, but only this Wes Craven creation still stands out as a unique personality. Mixing dark wit with a freaky high concept (he can kill you in your dreams), 1984 s A Nightmare on Elm Stree spawned eight sequels, a couple of TV series and a videogame. It also made a cult star out of Robert Englund.
Even people who may not have ever seen a Nightmare film know who Freddy Krueger is. After 22 years, that s staying power any franchise would kill for. Brian Linder, Senior Editor: Freddy Kruger is scary!
Maybe not so much now as he was when the Nightmare on Elm Street films began in the mid-1980s the latter films kind of cheesed out but the lasting pop cultural significance of the Elm Street horror franchise cannot be denied. The original Wes Craven film birthed a long-running string of films as well as a TV series and a comic not to mention Halloween masks, t-shirts, trading cards, etc. Freddy now a household name has been ranked among the greatest movie villains of all time.
Eric Moro, Editor in Chief: A Nightmare on Elm Street marks the second horror movie franchise to make our list of the Top 25 Movie Franchises of All Time. But really it s the character of Freddy Krueger that has become the pop culture phenomenon. Sure, Hollywood studio New Line Cinema was nothing before it took a gamble on producing and distributing the teen slasher films, but there s a reason why the studio has been dubbed The House that Freddy Built.
His burnt face, red and green striped sweater, brown hat, and metallic glove with knife blades are engrained in the minds of every Baby Boomer, Gen-Xer and Echo-Boomer out there (that s three generations, mind you), and his wise-cracks before each kill have made him more of a black-humored character rather than a creepy killer. So popular has the character become that he s inspired seven Elm Street sequels (most recently 2003 s Freddy vs. Jason), a television series (Freddy s Nightmares), a number of different comic books (from publishers like Marvel, Wildstorm and Avatar Press), novels and videogames.
Heck, how many Freddy masks did you count this past Halloween? Chris Carle, Entertainment Editorial Manager: The opening sequence of A Nightmare on Elm Street is still one of the creepiest set-ups in horror movie history. How can you not fear a creepy child-killer who cuts up and roasts his prey in a dingy furnace?
Although the subsequent films made Freddy into more of a campy cartoon, they also made him into an icon and a huge money-maker for New Line. People still come dressed as Freddy for Halloween, and he is one of the truly iconic horror characters. The only bigger name in horror is Jason, and Freddy even got to share a bill with him in Ronnie Yu s excellent Freddy Vs.
Jason
From his first feature film, She s Gotta Have It, to his latest, the Katrina Hurricane documentary When the Levees Broke, director Spike Lee has only increased his love for free expression via the art of filmmaking. I ll always love that filmmaking allows me to say what I have to say, Spike tells IGN. And I m always learning from every one of my projects.
I was learning every day when I was on [When the Levees Broke], and I won t stop because I love to learn. What else does Spike love? During our recent interview, he was game enough to give our 10 Questions a shot.
2. What is your favorite film? On the Waterfront.
3. What is your favorite TV program, past or current? The Wire.
If you haven t seen it, do. 4. What do you feel has been your most important professional accomplishment to date?
I think the body of work I ve built over the past 20 years. 20 years and 20 films. I would say my body of work.
5. Which project do you feel didn t live up to what you envisioned? Hmmm, that s a hard one.
Looking back I d have to say they re all good. [He laughs] No, I m not making perfection, but I m trying. I think School Daze could have been better.
That was my evolution at the time, so I thought I could do a better job, I couldn t have done any more with it. I put everything into it. It made me a better filmmaker, but I think the movie could have been better.
6. What is your favorite book? Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.
7. If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be? That studios would try to finance films where everyone doesn t have to be a home run.
That they could sometimes go for some singles, doubles and triples. Everything doesn t have to be a big home run. I don t know of anybody in Hollywood executives who think that way.
8. Who or what would you say has had the biggest influence on your career? My film instructor in college.
His name was Dr. Herb Eichleberger. He recognized I had some talent, and he just really took a deep interest in me nurturing that talent.
9. What is your next project? Selling Time.
[About a man who shaves time from his life to change the worst day of his life.] 10. What is the one project that you ve always wanted to do, but have yet to be able to?
I have a Joe Lewis/Max Schmeling boxing epic that I co-wrote with Budd Schulberg that s not happened yet
Fans have been anticipating a live-action adaptation of The Hobbit since even before director Peter Jackson released his Lord of the Rings trilogy in 2001, 2002, and 2003. And while Jackson would seem to be the perfect pick to helm J.R.
R. Tolkien s pre-Rings tale, the feud between the director and New Line became very public recently. Jackson claims New Line owes him money from the Rings films, a court battle is brewing, and the studio says they will make The Hobbit (and a second, heretofore unnamed prequel film) without him.
So the question becomes: Who should New Line and co-producer MGM hire to steer what will undoubtedly be a very high profile project? Do they go the wunderkind route, the unknown route, the old warhorse route, or what? Not even Sauron knows how this particular battle will play out, but IGN has amassed the following rundown of possible Ring-bearer directors who might yet fill the role Snyder is relatively new to the world of feature films, splashing (with tons of blood) onto the fanboy radar in 2004 with his surprisingly effective Dawn of the Dead remake.
Still, he has years of experience as a director of award-winning commercials and music videos, and his upcoming adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel 300 fits perfectly into the genre of sword and sandals that Tolkien s Middle-earth of course embraces too. Interestingly, 300 was shot entirely on green screen backgrounds, with the settings for the film added in later via digital means ala Sin City. Might not New Line and MGM consider such a cost-saving yet artistically rewarding method for making their Hobbit?
Still, the main obstacle to Snyder s participation on the project will probably be his commitment to Watchmen, which is said to be going into production soon. While Sam Raimi no doubt needs a break from all things spidery after making three Spider-Man films in a row, would his first choice for his next project be to jump into another big-budget, high-pressure franchise? Not to mention a franchise that he wouldn t be able to create from the ground up for the screen, since Jackson has already branded the Tolkien visuals himself?
Sure, Raimi s imaginative and fun take on his subject matter would be an interesting mix with The Hobbit, but it seems an unlikely match at the moment, recent rumors notwithstanding. A filmmaker who has managed to dip into the realm of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror time and again, and yet maintain his artistic credibility throughout, Ridley Scott would make geeks shriek in delight if he took on the task of adapting The Hobbit. Not only does he already have the experience of working in the realm of fantasy with 1985 s Legend, but Scott also has the distinction of having reenergized the entire genre of dudes-in-togas with the modern classic Gladiator.
Add to that the fact that he s already worked with the titular character of The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins himself - actor Ian Holm played Bilbo in the Lord of the Rings films, and also appeared in Alien for Scott - and you have a master of Middle-earth if ever there was one
What happens when three unpopular guys in a British pub get unwittingly tangled up in a time travel adventure with a beautiful woman from the future? That s the question Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel sets out to answer when the farcical sci-fi comedy begins production next week. Anna Faris, who has starred in all four Scary Movies, has the lead role in the film as a time traveler from the future who embroils the other characters in some kind of time paradox, says The Hollywood Reporter.
The present-day threesome, described as two geeks and a cynic, are to be played by British comedy actors Chris O Dowd (Roy from The IT Crowd , Marc Wootan and Dean Lennox Kelly ( Dux ). BBC Films and HBO will be involved in distributing Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel. There s no word yet on when it will be completed and released to theaters.
Faris next stars in Mama s Boy, opposite Jon Heder, the comedy, Smiley Face, and she s rumored to be reprising her role as Cindy Campbell in a fifth installment in the Scary Movie franchise which may hit theaters in 2008
Attention, earthlings! IGN Movies has taken it upon itself to rank the Top 25 Movie Franchises of All Time. We will count down from No.
25 to No. 1 each day for the next 25 days. We considered a number of factors in order to rank the best of the best.
First, the franchise had to have at least three films released at the time we created our list (sorry, Spider-Man and Jason Bourne). Also factored in were the franchises commercial and artistic successes, as well as their impact on pop culture and how many ancillary items they spawned (videogames, comics, fast food tie-ins, etc.).
It was not easy to narrow down our list to only 25 entries, and we know many of yours (and even some of ours) didn t make the cut. Be sure to check back each day and send us your feedback! So without further ado 22.
LETHAL WEAPON Stax, Senior Editor: Remember when it was OK to like Mel Gibson? It was 1987 and Mel was the coolest movie star around. He had already made the Mad Max franchise into a cult sensation by the time he starred alongside Danny Glover in this Shane Black-created cop series (directed by Richard Donner).
Although mixed race buddy cop movies were certainly not unique when the first Lethal Weapon was produced, it was the series edgy main characters and its zany wit that differentiated it from other entries in the genre. It is not hard to see how Lethal Weapon, with its elaborate action sequences and goofy humor, begat other successful buddy cop series like Rush Hour and Bad Boys. But like so many other franchises, Lethal Weapon became a parody of itself and produced at least one entry too many during its run.
Brian Linder, Senior Editor: The ultimate buddy cop flicks, the Lethal Weapon series stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a couple of mismatched L.A. police detectives, Riggs and Murtaugh, who are forced to work together.
The first film set the stage for four sequels that put increasing emphasis on the action and comedic elements of the story. It also spawned a slew of imitation flicks and set the stage for similar franchises to come, most notably Rush Hour. The series helped make Glover and Gibson the high-profile stars they are today and each of the follow-up flicks featured an additional lead actor: Joe Pesci, Rene Russo and Chris Rock.
Eric Moro, Editor in Chief: The Lethal Weapon franchise is worthy of the No. 22 spot on our list of the Top 25 Movie Franchises of All Time because of the way it managed to breath new life into a classic cinematic subgenre: the buddy cop film. While films like Coogan s Bluff, The French Connection and 48 Hrs.
certainly laid the groundwork for movies involving two men of different and conflicting personalities forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, eventually becoming close friends in the end, Lethal Weapon or perhaps more notably it s two stars, Mel Gibson (who played Detective Martin Riggs) and Danny Glover (who played Detective Roger Murtaugh) made it the example by which all others would be judged. To hammer home the buddy element even further, each successive film in the franchise introduced a new character to play the odd man of the group: Joe Pesci (who played Leo Getz) in Lethal Weapon 2, Rene Russo (who played Lorna Cole) in Lethal Weapon 3 and Chris Rock (who played Detective Lee Butters) in Lethal Weapon 4. The movies have inspired spoofs (Loaded Weapon 1), videogames and even an amusement park attraction (at Warner Bros.
Movie World on the Gold Coast in Australia).
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