There are two things you may not know about Stardust, opening this weekend. 1) Good thing Brad Grey is vacationing in Europe with his family. Because he'll miss the pic's disastrous domestic opening this weekend. Even budgeted without marketing costs at $70 million (which sounds way low to me because of all the special effects excess), director Matthew Vaughn's adventure romance fantasy is tracking horribly for its Friday opening in 2,300 theaters. "The over/under this weekend is at $15 million," one of my box office gurus tells me. Yikes! Plus, the trailers starring Claire Danes, Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Sienna Miller have to be among the worst I've ever seen. (They remind me of the promos for that huge Terry Gilliam bomb, The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen, though Stardust's producers prefer to compare their pic to Princess Bride on steroids.) Anyway, though it'll do nil biz domestically, Paramount is still "very bullish" on the pic's chances overseas because of the international cast. But, seriously, look at all the Paramount-branded bombs this year: last weekend's Hot Rod, plus Next, Shooter and Zodiac (a leftover from the Sherry Lansing era). Yet the studio is now first place in market share only because of DreamWorks, which is about to cross the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office this year.
2) So here's the silver lining: I'm told Paramount is only into the pic for $35 million because it's distributing worldwide through PPI for the studio's full fee. The other 50% was financed mostly by Peter Morton with Vaughn's UK-based MARV Films and Ingenious Film Partners, one of the biggest UK players in movie financing. Yes, that Peter Morton, of Hard Rock Cafe and Las Vegas hotel fame. You see, Vaughn is a longtime Morton family friend who bussed tables at the Hard Rock Cafe before Peter started him in showbiz. The Layer Cake helmer also is married to supermodel Claudia Schiffer who read Neil Gaiman's famed novel when she was pregnant and thought her husband should make it into a film.
Here's some info guaranteed to make Hollywood moguls feel bad. At least the ones who aren't as rich as Jerry Bruckheimer. Mr. Pirates of the Caribbean and CSI franchises whose ice hockey obsession is well-known within the Industry is reportedly in talks with the NHL about owning an expansion team in Las Vegas. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has confirmed to SportsBusiness Journal that the league for months has been in discussions with a Jerry-led group, which also includes MGM's Harry Sloan, about the glitzville franchise. Supposedly, Phil Anschutz's AEG has a "standing offer" to Bruckheimer that it would build and/or operate an NHL arena in Las Vegas. It's been said that the MGM Grand Garden Arena, which has played host to L.A. Kings preseason games, could be available as an interim home if a new arena has not been completed in time. The NHL is increasingly moving to expand the league from 30 to 32 teams and include Vegas and Kansas City. But the league has been unlucky with showbiz types: movie producer and former L.A. Kings owner Bruce McNall went to prison for his admitted role in swindling the NHL team, banks and a securities form out of more than $236 million.
The league also has had product placements on the TV shows Bones, Boston Legal, Scrubs, and Monk. Last year, with the help of flackery Rogers & Cowan, the NHL created a celebrity recruiting program by distributing an ICE Card with an 800 number to call to score free tickets. Using it are Nick Lachey, Christina Aguilera, Rachel McAdams and Cuba Gooding Jr., who plays in a regular game with Bruckheimer. (Duo at a recent Anaheim Ducks game.)
