Welcome back to another episode of director Josh Trank vs. 20th Century Fox. Previously on this drama, Fantastic Four is pummeled down by critics and moviegoers alike, and Josh Trank fires a tweet defending himself against the film studio.
Now, we start learning more and more about the situation, with insider quotes that lead us to believe that the final and terrible result of this anticipated movie ultimately might have been the studio’s fault. Alleged sources close to the situation tell Collider that, amongst other things, what was agreed between Josh Trank and Fox – mainly three major action scenes – were cut from the movie only days before production.
I was also told [that] the ending of the film was not even Josh Trank’s. At some point they hijacked the editing bay from him. To the point that the editing of the film was done without him.
To this, add Chronicle‘s writer Max Landis’ statements from his twitter account:
A movie like Fantastic Four, an assignment with a lot riding on it, was always going to have a tremendous amount of cooks in the kitchen.
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 7, 2015
As a writer, I’ve been lucky to work on many, many projects, and seen how different and how hard each road can be, for five and a half years
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 7, 2015
Josh didn’t get that chance, and his second major project, after one with total freedom, was one with intense oversight.
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 7, 2015
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This is what might explain best this fight. In my article about female directors, back in June, I mentioned how little power directors have where big film studios are concerned, and I believe this is what Josh Trank has encountered. He maybe signed on to do Fantastic Four thinking that he’d be in control of the movie and Fox overstepped in his creative process. In addition to that, there’s Trank’s reaction to Fox, not only on social media, but even on set during production. Rumors about him being difficult to work with cost him the job of directing the first Star Wars spin-off, with Disney… or it might have been also true that he stepped out when he thought he couldn’t handle yet another big studio production which he’d have little control over.
The only fact is that Fantastic Four is a failure and Trank as much as Fox have to deal with the repercussions. Should have the studio trusted Josh Trank’s vision more? Yes. Should he have fought harder for what he thought was better for the movie? Yes. Instead, he became “erratic and at times very isolated” and Fox took over.
I find that the positive side of this is the experience the director has gained about how the industry works. Good luck in the future, Josh.
