69-564: Alexander Proyas ( / ˈ p r ɔɪ ə s / PROY -əs ; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films The Crow (1994), Dark City (1998), I, Robot (2004), and Knowing (2009). Alexander Proyas was born in Alexandria (then in the United Arab Republic and now in Egypt ) on 23 September 1963, the son of a Greek Cypriot mother and
138-554: A "bomb" had the opposite meaning, referring instead to a successful film that "exploded" at the box office. The term continued to be used this way in the United Kingdom into the 1970s. With the advent of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in the 2000s, word of mouth regarding new films is easily spread and has had a marked effect on box office performance. A film's ability or failure to attract positive or negative commentary can strongly impact its performance at
207-538: A "substantial proportion" of the script, but was denied credit due to a rule in the WGA which prohibited producers from receiving credit. The addition of producer Edward Pressman gave The Crow further momentum, but Shirley would be fired during development after clashing with a development head at Pressman's studio. Splatterpunk writer David J. Schow was brought in for rewrites. From a suggestion by Most, Pressman primarily pursued music video and commercial directors to helm
276-400: A $ 23 million budget and has gained a cult following . The success led to a media franchise that includes the sequels The Crow: City of Angels (1996), The Crow: Salvation (2000), and The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005). The sequels, which mostly featured different characters and none of the original cast members, were unable to match the success of the first film. A reboot of The Crow
345-535: A 4K edition of the film was released on May 7, 2024. Box-office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has technically "bombed", the term is more frequently used for major studio releases that were highly anticipated, extensively marketed, and expensive to produce, but nevertheless failed commercially. Originally,
414-405: A Special Prize at the 1990 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival . Next, Proyas directed the 1994 superhero fantasy thriller The Crow starring Brandon Lee . Lee was killed in an accident during filming, only eight days before the completion of the film on 31 March 1993. After Lee's death, Proyas and his producers decided to complete the film, partially rewriting the script and using
483-430: A break for script rewrites of the flashback scenes that had yet to be completed. The script was rewritten by Walon Green , Terry Hayes , René Balcer , and Michael S. Chernuchin , adding narration and new scenes. Lee's stunt double Chad Stahelski was used as a stand-in and digital face replacement was used to superimpose Lee's face onto the head of the double. The beginning of the movie, which had not been finished,
552-408: A considerable $ 234 million worldwide, but this was short of its $ 250 million budget plus worldwide advertising. The 2007 film The Golden Compass had a production budget of $ 200 million. To be able to fund the film, New Line Cinema had to sell all of the film's international distribution rights to various film distributors around the world. The film underperformed domestically, but
621-474: A father from Egypt whose Greek ancestors had moved to Egypt many generations ago. When he was three years old, the family moved to Australia, where he grew up in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo . He grew up on a housing estate where the main tenants were fellow immigrants and Indigenous Australians , with whom he felt a kinship because they were all often subjected to racism by white Australians . At age 17, he joined
690-562: A generic inner city so hellish it makes Gotham City look like the Emerald City". While the plot and characterization were found to be lacking, these faults were considered to be overcome by the action and visual style. The cinematography by Dariusz Wolski and the production design by Alex McDowell were also praised. The cityscape designed by McDowell and the production team was described by McCarthy as rendered imaginatively. The film's comic book origins were noted, and Ebert called it
759-429: A genre film, said that it had become more mainstream because of the changes. The film was widely compared to other films, particularly Tim Burton 's Batman movies and Ridley Scott 's Blade Runner . Critics described The Crow as a darker film than the others; Ebert called it a grungier and more forbidding story than those of Batman and Blade Runner , and Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote that "it’s set in
SECTION 10
#1732892033422828-526: A high order, stylish and smooth"; and Roger Ebert called it "a stunning work of visual style". The Los Angeles Times praised the film also. Lee's death was alleged to have a melancholic effect on viewers; Desson Howe of The Washington Post wrote that Lee "haunts every frame" and James Berardinelli called the film "a case of 'art imitating death', and that specter will always hang over The Crow ". Both Berardinelli and Howe called it an appropriate epitaph to Lee, and Ebert stated that not only
897-410: A major studio was quickly dismissed after the studio's vision for the film was a musical with Michael Jackson as the lead. Around the time of The Crow ' s publication, writer John Shirley pitched Angry Angel to Caliber Press , who turned it down due to similarities with The Crow . Shirley sought the comic out and decided to adapt it into a film. O'Barr was receptive and agreed to workshop
966-497: A meeting with his associates to discuss his plans to burn the city to the ground on Devil's Night. Eric arrives for Skank but a gunfight erupts, ending with Eric throwing Skank from a window to his death. Top Dollar, his lover and half-sister Myca, and his right-hand man Grange escape. Myca correctly hypothesizes that the crow is the source of Eric's immortality. Satisfied with his vengeance, Eric gifts Shelly's engagement ring to Sarah and returns to his grave. Grange abducts Sarah as she
1035-403: A prop assistant who was unaware of the rule for inspecting all firearms before and after any handling. Therefore, the barrel was not checked for obstructions when the time came to load it with the blank rounds. Since the bullet from the dummy round was already trapped in the barrel (a condition known as a squib load ), this caused the .44 Magnum bullet to be fired out of the barrel with virtually
1104-477: A stunt double and special effects to film the remaining scenes. The Crow was released in May 1994 and was a box office and critical success. Proyas then wrote, directed and produced the 1998 science fiction thriller Dark City , which received positive critical reception and won several awards but was a commercial disappointment. In 2004, he directed I, Robot starring Will Smith , a science fiction film suggested by
1173-453: Is a 1994 American superhero film directed by Alex Proyas and written by David J. Schow and John Shirley , based on the 1989 comic book series by James O'Barr . It stars Brandon Lee in his final film role, as Eric Draven , a rock musician who is resurrected from the dead to seek vengeance against the gang who murdered him and his fiancée. Lee was fatally wounded by a prop gun during filming. As he had finished most of his scenes,
1242-416: Is an action-packed visual feast that also has a soul in the performance of the late Brandon Lee." The film also has a score of 71 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Reviewers praised the action and visual style. Rolling Stone called it a "dazzling fever dream of a movie"; Caryn James, writing for The New York Times , called it "a genre film of
1311-415: Is killed by criminals. Ashe is resurrected as a new Crow. The character of Sarah Mohr (now played by Mia Kirshner ) reappears in this film and assists Ashe. The film also features Iggy Pop , who, according to the booklet insert for the film's soundtrack, was the producer's first choice for Funboy in the first Crow movie, but he was unable to commit due to his recording schedule. In addition, it also featured
1380-402: Is walking home and takes her to an abandoned church with Myca and Top Dollar, who takes Shelly's ring. Eric is alerted to her plight by the crow and rushes to rescue her, but he is ambushed by Grange who wounds the crow, rendering Eric vulnerable. Albrecht arrives and kills Grange, while Myca attempts to take the crow for its immortality; it claws her eyes out, causing her to fall to her death from
1449-612: The Australian Film, Television and Radio School and began directing music videos shortly after. He later moved to Los Angeles to further his career, working on MTV music videos and TV commercials. Proyas' first feature film was the independent science fiction thriller Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds , which was nominated for two Australian Film Institute awards in 1988, for costume design and production design and which won
SECTION 20
#17328920334221518-720: The Isaac Asimov short story compilation I, Robot and was a box office success despite mixed reviews. Proyas' next film, the thriller Knowing starring Nicolas Cage , began production in Melbourne in March 2008 and opened in North America in March 2009. His next project was meant to be an action-oriented adaptation of John Milton 's 17th-century Christian epic poem Paradise Lost , starring Bradley Cooper . Both Proyas and Cooper were on hand to debut concept art at ComicCon 2011 , but
1587-495: The widespread antiwar sentiment it reflected had started to shift in favor of American entry into World War I . Another example is the 2015 docudrama about FIFA entitled United Passions . A glowing portrayal of FIFA, which had mostly funded the film, United Passions was released in theaters in the United States at the same time FIFA's leaders were under investigation for fraud and corruption . The film grossed only $ 918 at
1656-469: The Thrill Kill Kult make cameo appearances in the film on stage in the nightclub below Top Dollar's headquarters. The score consists of original, mostly orchestral music, with some electronic and guitar elements, written for the film by Graeme Revell . In 1996, a sequel was released, called The Crow: City of Angels . In this film, Vincent Pérez plays Ashe Corven, who, along with his son Danny,
1725-553: The US box office in its opening weekend. Sometimes, a film's performance may be adversely affected by national crisis or a disaster, such as the September 11 attacks in 2001, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021. In evaluating box-office gross numbers, it is important to keep in mind that not all money is returned to the film studio. Some of the gross is kept by
1794-764: The United States and Canada, and $ 43 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $ 93.7 million against its budget of $ 23 million. It ranked at number 24 for all films released in the US in 1994, the 24th highest-grossing film worldwide for 1994 and number 10 for R-rated films released that year. In Europe, the film grossed £1,245,403 in the United Kingdom (where it was 18-rated ), and sold 4,604,115 tickets in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In Seoul, South Korea , it sold 83,126 tickets. The Crow has an approval rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 75 reviews and an average rating of 7.2/10. The critical consensus states: "Filled with style and dark, lurid energy, The Crow
1863-506: The World , each of which initially lost money at the box office but has since become popular. It is common for a single film's lackluster performance to push its studio into the red, in the sense of recording a net loss on its income statement . In extreme cases, a bomb may push its studio into bankruptcy or closure . Examples of this include United Artists ( Heaven's Gate ) and Carolco Pictures ( Cutthroat Island ). The Golden Compass
1932-473: The art department for his first feature film Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds . She has also worked in various capacities on short films and animations produced or written by Proyas. She was thanked in the credits of his film Knowing . The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music . They commenced in 1987. The Crow (1994 film) The Crow
2001-435: The bell tower. Top Dollar retreats to the church roof with Sarah, where he fights and badly wounds Eric. Eric transfers Shelly's pain into Top Dollar, causing him to stumble off the roof and be impaled on a gargoyle , killing him. Sarah and a wounded Albrecht are recovered from the church, while a pained Eric goes to Shelly's grave where her spirit arrives to comfort him and return his body to rest. Sometime later, Sarah visits
2070-406: The best version of a comic book universe he had seen. McCarthy agreed, calling it "one of the most effective live-actioners ever derived from a comic strip". Critics felt that the soundtrack complemented this visual style, calling it blistering, edgy and boisterous. Graeme Revell was praised for his "moody" score; Howe said that it "drapes the story in a postmodern pall." Negative reviews of
2139-417: The box office, especially on the opening weekend. Occasionally, films may underperform because of issues largely unrelated to the content of the film, such as the timing of the film's release. This was one of the reasons given for the commercial failure of Intolerance , D. W. Griffith's follow-up to The Birth of a Nation . Owing to production delays, the film was not released until late 1916, when
Alex Proyas - Misplaced Pages Continue
2208-407: The box office. For the 2005 film Sahara , its budget ballooned to $ 281.2 million for production, distribution, and other expenses. The film earned $ 119 million in theaters and $ 202.9 million overall with television and other subsidies included, resulting in a net loss of $ 78.3 million. In 2012, Disney reported losses of $ 200 million on John Carter . The film had made
2277-408: The bullets from live rounds, dumping the powder charge but not the primer, then reinserting the bullets. Witnesses reported that two weeks before Lee's death they saw an unsupervised actor pulling the trigger on the gun while it was loaded with the powderless but primed round. Having not removed the primer, the primer could detonate with enough energy to launch a bullet and lodge it in the barrel. In
2346-642: The decision to close the production company had been made a year prior to the film's release. The 2006 independent movie Zyzzyx Road made just $ 30 at the US box office. With a budget of $ 1.2 million and starring Tom Sizemore and Katherine Heigl , its tiny revenue is due to its limited box-office release – just six days in a single theater in Dallas for the purpose of meeting Screen Actors Guild requirements – rather than its ability to attract viewers. According to co-star Leo Grillo , it sold six tickets, two of which were to cast members. Previously,
2415-411: The fatal scene, which called for the revolver to be actually fired at Lee from a distance of 12–15 feet, the dummy cartridges were exchanged for blank rounds , which feature a live powder charge and primer, but no bullet, thus allowing the gun to be fired without the risk of an actual projectile. As the production company had sent the firearms specialist home early, responsibility for the guns was given to
2484-483: The film due to Lee's death. O'Barr later remarked that losing Lee was like losing his fiancée all over again, and he regretted ever writing the comic in the first place. The film opened at number one in the United States in 1,573 theaters with $ 11,774,332 and averaging $ 7,485 per theater, making it Miramax's biggest ever opening. Some industry sources believed that Miramax overstated the weekend gross by as much as $ 1 million. The film ultimately grossed $ 50,693,129 in
2553-493: The film exhibitors and the film distributor. The scratch formula for making a rough estimate of a studio's portion of the gross is that the studio usually gets half. A large budget can cause a film to fail financially, even when it performs reasonably well at the box office; 1980's Heaven's Gate , for example, exceeded its planned production schedule by three months, causing its budget to inflate from $ 12 million to $ 44 million. The film only earned $ 3.5 million at
2622-547: The film was completed through script rewrites, a stunt double and digital effects. After Lee's death, Paramount Pictures opted out of distribution and the rights were acquired by Miramax Films . The film is dedicated to Lee and his fiancée, Eliza Hutton. The Crow premiered in Santa Monica on May 10, 1994, and was released in the United States on May 13, 1994, by Dimension Films . The film received positive reviews for its style and Lee's performance. It grossed $ 94 million on
2691-498: The film were generally similar in theme to the positive ones but said that the interesting and "OK" special effects did not make up for the "superficial" plot, "badly-written" screenplay and "one-dimensional" characters. The Crow is mentioned in Empire ' s 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time; it ranked at number 468. It has since become a cult film . The original soundtrack album for The Crow features songs from
2760-471: The film with Shirley and producer Jeff Most , turning down a significant offer from New Line Cinema in the process. O'Barr oversaw three different script treatments by Shirley and Most before directly collaborating on the first two drafts of the screenplay. Shirley penned the third and fourth draft by himself which awarded him screenplay credit by the Writers Guild of America . Most claimed to have written
2829-410: The film's struggles, Square Pictures did not make any more films and is now a consolidated subsidiary of Square Enix as Visual Works . In 2011, Mars Needs Moms was the last film released by ImageMovers Digital before Disney 's stake got absorbed by ImageMovers to a loss of nearly $ 140 million – the largest box-office bomb of all time in nominal dollar terms. Regardless of this loss,
Alex Proyas - Misplaced Pages Continue
2898-556: The film, and was a chart-topping album. It included work by The Cure (their song, "Burn", became the film's main theme ), The Jesus and Mary Chain , Rage Against the Machine and Helmet , among many others. In Peter Hook 's memoir Substance: Inside New Order , Hook relates that New Order were approached to provide the soundtrack for the film, with a cover of " Love Will Tear Us Apart ", their hit as Joy Division , citing parallels between Eric's resurrection and New Order's formation after
2967-400: The film; Julien Temple being Most's top choice. Australian filmmaker Alex Proyas was hired to direct the film. Paramount Pictures picked up the distribution rights and slotted an August 1993 release date. River Phoenix and Christian Slater were early considerations for the role of Eric Draven . Shirley and Most pushed for Slater while Pressman wanted River Phoenix. Brandon Lee
3036-410: The final appearance of Thuy Trang . The band Deftones can be seen playing live in a festival scene and they contributed the song "Teething" to the soundtrack. The film received mostly negative reviews. The Crow: Stairway to Heaven was a 1998 Canadian television series created by Bryce Zabel and starring Mark Dacascos in the lead role as Eric Draven. The third film, The Crow: Salvation ,
3105-484: The graves and the crow returns Shelly's ring to her. Michael Berryman filmed scenes as the Skull Cowboy, Eric's spirit guide, but his scenes were cut from the finished film. Chad Stahelski was Brandon Lee's stunt double in several scenes. James O'Barr wrote what would become The Crow as a means to cope with the unexpected death of his fiancée, who was killed by a drunk driver. The first meeting O'Barr had with
3174-468: The legend of a crow that carries souls to the land of the dead; if the person died in tragic circumstances, the crow can resurrect their restless spirit to set things right. One year later, Shelly's and Eric's graves are visited by Sarah, a young girl the pair cared for due to her absent mother. A crow lands on Eric's gravestone and taps on it, resurrecting him. Disoriented and distressed, Eric returns to his ravaged loft apartment and experiences flashbacks of
3243-518: The murders: A gang of men—Tin Tin, Funboy, T-Bird, and Skank—targeted the pair, because they were protesting forced evictions in their apartment building which the gang's leader, ruthless crime boss Top Dollar, intended to seize. Realizing that any injuries he suffers are immediately healed, Eric dons black-and-white face paint and sets out to avenge himself and Shelly, guided by the crow. The crow leads Eric to Tin Tin, whom Eric stabs to death. He next travels to
3312-420: The other sequels, it had a poor critical reception. The Crow: 2037 was a planned sequel written and scheduled to be directed by Rob Zombie in the late 1990s; however, it was never made. On April 1, 2022, a new attempt at a remake was announced by The Hollywood Reporter , with Bill Skarsgård starring as Eric, Rupert Sanders directing, and Edward R. Pressman and Malcolm Gray co-producing. Days later,
3381-522: The pawn shop where Tin Tin had pawned Shelly's engagement ring. Eric recovers the ring and blows up the shop, but spares the owner Gideon so he can alert Top Dollar's men that Eric is coming for them. Albrecht begins investigating the apparent vigilante disturbances while Eric finds Funboy taking drugs with Sarah's estranged drug addict mother, Darla. He gives Funboy a fatal overdose and purges the drugs from Darla's body, telling her that Sarah needs her. Eric visits Albrecht and confirms his suspicions regarding
3450-516: The project was ultimately cancelled over budgetary concerns related to the effects. Proyas also worked with John Foxx on the creation of Parallel Lives , a joint project. In late 2012, it was revealed that Proyas was slated as director of the science fiction thriller film adaptation of the Daniel H. Wilson novel Amped . Proyas directed Gods of Egypt , starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau , and co-written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The film
3519-419: The room. A scene filmed two weeks before Lee's had called for the same gun to be shown in close-up. Revolvers often use dummy cartridges fitted with bullets, but no powder or primer , during close-ups as they look more realistic than blank rounds which have no bullet. Instead of purchasing commercial dummy cartridges, the film's prop crew, hampered by time and money constraints, created their own by pulling
SECTION 50
#17328920334223588-530: The same force as if the gun had been loaded with a live round, and it struck Lee in the abdomen, mortally wounding him. After Lee's death, the producers were faced with the decision of whether or not to continue with the film. Lee had completed most of his scenes for the film and was scheduled to shoot for only three more days. The rest of the cast and crew, except for Ernie Hudson, whose brother-in-law had just died, stayed in Wilmington. Paramount Pictures , which
3657-533: The site also reported that FKA Twigs had been cast as Shelly. In July 2022, production on the reboot was reportedly underway in Prague , Czech Republic . By August 26, 2022, Danny Huston was cast as Vincent Roeg. On September 16, 2022, the film wrapped production. The film was theatrically released on August 23, 2024, by Lionsgate Films , in the United States. The Crow was first released on VHS and LaserDisc multiple times between 1994 and 1998 in addition to
3726-729: The suicide of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis . However, New Order frontman Bernard Sumner declined, stating that they were too busy with their album Republic to commit to another project. James O'Barr , creator of the original comic book series, was a big fan of Joy Division and had named the characters Sergeant Albrecht and Captain Hook after bandmates Sumner (who was also known as Bernard Albrecht early in his career) and Hook. Several groups contributed covers. Nine Inch Nails rendered Joy Division's "Dead Souls", Rollins Band covered Suicide 's "Ghost Rider" and Pantera performed Poison Idea 's "The Badge". The bands Medicine and My Life with
3795-563: The supporting cast. Production began on The Crow in February 1993 in Wilmington, North Carolina and was scheduled to last 54 days. On March 31, 1993, at EUE Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina , Lee was filming a scene where his character, Eric, is shot after witnessing the beating and rape of his fiancée. Actor Michael Massee's character Funboy fires a .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson Model 629 revolver at Lee as he walks into
3864-506: The vigilante's identity. Albrecht tells Eric that he stayed with Shelly until she died, witnessing the thirty hours of suffering she experienced. Eric touches Albrecht, absorbing the pain Shelly felt. Later, Eric saves Sarah from being hit by a car, revealing to her that he has returned. Eric next targets T-Bird, killing him in an explosion. The following morning, Sarah and Darla reconcile and Sarah reunites with Eric at his apartment. Top Dollar holds
3933-534: The widescreen DVD on February 3, 1998. The two-disc DVD was released on March 20, 2001, as part of the Miramax/Dimension Collector's Series. On October 18, 2011, The Crow was released on Blu-ray through Lionsgate Pictures who also re-released the DVD format on August 17, 2012. In Japan, the movie was remastered in 4K for a special edition in 2016, although the film's final resolution was capped at 1080p;
4002-501: Was a success at the international box office and grossed $ 372 million worldwide; nonetheless, its underperformance at the box office in North America was seen as a significant factor in influencing the decision by Warner Bros. Pictures to take direct control of New Line Cinema. In 2001, Square Pictures , a division of Square , released its only film, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within . It received mixed reviews from critics and failed to recover its $ 145 million cost. Following
4071-712: Was an international success; New Line Cinema did not have a cut of the international box office. These events were major factors in New Line Cinema becoming a division of Warner Bros. Pictures . Films initially thought of as "flops" may recover income elsewhere. Several films have underperformed in their countries of origin, but have been sufficiently successful internationally to recoup losses or even become financial successes. Films may also recover money through international distribution, sales to television syndication , distribution outside of cinemas, and releases on home media . The 1995 post-apocalyptic action film Waterworld
4140-506: Was critically panned upon its release in 2016 and bombed at the box office . In 2019, Proyas founded a production company in Sydney called The Heretic Foundation. In 2021, Proyas announced that he was developing a new video platform named VidiVerse for independent filmmakers as an alternative to YouTube . In 2024, Proyas began filming R.U.R. a musical adaptation of the play of the same name by Karel Čapek . Proyas has long been married to artist Catherine "Cathy" Linsley, who worked in
4209-456: Was given a COVID-19 insurance payout, which amounted to £57 million ($ 71 million). Other films have succeeded long after cinema release by becoming cult films or being re-evaluated over time. High-profile films fitting this description include Vertigo , Blade Runner , The Wizard of Oz , It's a Wonderful Life , Citizen Kane , The Shawshank Redemption , Showgirls , Fight Club , The Thing , and Scott Pilgrim vs.
SECTION 60
#17328920334224278-457: Was initially interested in distributing The Crow theatrically (originally a direct-to-video feature), opted out of involvement due to delays in filming and some controversy over the violent content being inappropriate given Lee's death. However, Miramax picked it up with the intention of releasing it in theatres and injected a further $ 8 million to complete the production, taking its budget to approximately $ 23 million. The cast and crew then took
4347-475: Was released in 2000. Directed by Bharat Nalluri , it stars Eric Mabius , Kirsten Dunst , Fred Ward , Jodi Lyn O'Keefe and William Atherton . It is loosely based on Poppy Z. Brite 's novel The Lazarus Heart . After its distributor cancelled the intended theatrical release due to The Crow: City of Angels ' negative critical reception, The Crow: Salvation was released directly to video with mixed reviews. The fourth film, The Crow: Wicked Prayer ,
4416-456: Was released in 2005. Directed by Lance Mungia , it stars Edward Furlong , David Boreanaz , Tara Reid , Tito Ortiz , Dennis Hopper , Emmanuelle Chriqui and Danny Trejo . It was inspired by Norman Partridge 's novel of the same title. It had a one-week theatrical première on June 3, 2005, at AMC Pacific Place Theatre in Seattle , Washington, before being released to video on July 19, 2005. Like
4485-438: Was released in 2024, which was a critical and commercial failure. On Devil's Night , in a crime-ravaged and decrepit Detroit , a young woman, Shelly Webster, is raped and seriously wounded while her rock musician fiancé Eric Draven is shot and thrown to his death from the window of their loft apartment. Police Sergeant Daryl Albrecht accompanies Shelly to the hospital, but she eventually dies from her injuries. A narration states
4554-399: Was rewritten, and the apartment scene remade using computer graphics from an earlier scene of Lee. A character from the original comic book called Skull Cowboy was originally planned to be part of the adaptation and even had scenes filmed. He acted as a guide for Eric Draven between the worlds of the dead and the living. He was set to be played by Michael Berryman , but the role was cut from
4623-579: Was suggested to play Draven, but O'Barr was unconvinced fearing he wouldn't be suited for the material. However, Lee won O'Barr over and was given the role shortly thereafter. Lee dropped 20 pounds to portray Draven and worked closely with the crew to shape the film, co- choreographing his action sequences with Jeff Imada , performing most of his stunts, and removing a subplot due to its Asian stereotyping. Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson , Michael Wincott , Bai Ling , Sofia Shinas , Michael Massee , David Patrick Kelly , Tony Todd , and Jon Polito rounded out
4692-409: Was the most expensive film ever made at the time after undergoing significant production difficulties. While it performed relatively well in the US box office, it did not initially turn a profit and became known as a box-office flop. International box-office takings and video sales led it to turn a profit. In 2023, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One , which underperformed at the box office,
4761-405: Was this Lee's best film, but it was better than any of his father's . Critics generally thought that this would have been a breakthrough film for Lee, although Berardinelli disagreed. The changes made to the film after Lee's death were noted by reviewers, most of whom saw them as an improvement. Howe said that it had been transformed into something compelling. Berardinelli, although terming it
#421578