Caffeinated Clint
After most would know, the conduit to a “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” sequel has been clogged with soot for years. And it didn’t matter who you proposed the ‘Will there ever be a sequel?’ question to, they’d always say the same thing – “it can’t happen”.
Ya see, executive producer Steven Spielberg and then Disney CEO Michael Eisner didn’t exactly get on like a house-on-fire while making the original – and the experience ultimately killed all hopes of a sequel.
Things took an acidic turn when the “E.T” helmer wanted equal shares of Roger Rabbit’s copyright – fair enough, but Eisner wasn’t exactly happy with that.
Eisner could’ve refused to have Spielberg involved, but he knew the big-time director was crucial to the film’s appeal. Spielberg backed up a truck, Eisner reluctantly shovelled in the cash.
But that wasn’t the end of their clash… Spielberg and Eisner fought over many things, like, for instance, which films the follow-up ‘Roger Rabbit’ cartoons would screen before (Eisner wanted “Dick Tracy”, Spielberg wanted his “Arachnophobia”; the former won that battle).
At the end of the day, the experience ultimately soured both men’s enjoyment of making the movie – and it’s partly the reason we’ve never seen a sequel (in fact, several scripts for sequels – one which involved Nazi’s (!) – were presented to Spielberg and he flat turned them down).
In the late 90s, Spielberg came upon an idea for a “Roger Rabbit 2” that he actually liked – it’d essentially be a spoof of Judy Garland’s “A Star is Born”. But, if even just to prove his vote meant as much as Spielberg’s did when the shoe was on the other foot, Eisner said no. And that was that.
So, what’s happened since then? ….
Well, “Roger Rabbit” director Robert Zemeckis has started doing motion-capture flicks for Disney; Current Disney Chief Robert Iger is friendly with Spielberg and producing partner Jeffrey Katzenberg; and Michael Eisner’s got about as much say in the project as he does the way the candy-bar cashiers scoop popcorn.
So can it happen now?! In a word: Yes. Will it? Well, listen to what Robert Zemeckis has to say today:
Director Zemeckis (“A Christmas Carol”) tells MTV that he’s indeed toying (though I suspect he’s further along with it than he’s letting on) with the idea of bringing the ill-behaved bunny back to the big screen.
Zemeckis, who also directed “Back to the Future” and “Death Becomes Her”, tells the site that with motion-capture and the advance in technology since the release of the original 1988 film so much is possible now that wasn’t possible then. (Last year Producer Frank Marshall told MTV something similar – that technology has really pathed the way for a potential “Roger Rabbit 2”).
So with everyone on the same page, I think it’s safe to say the wheels might finally be turning on a sequel to “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”.
