MGM delays 'The Cabin in the Woods' - The Cabin in the Woods

Can you imagine if there was no Avengers on the horizon? This would be beyond painful.

Devoooooooooooooooooo

what has changed? I thought this has been on delay for over a year?

Wasn't it's original release date February 2009? It looks like it's gonna be a long wait. And then that was pushed back to Summer 2010. And that was pushed back to indefinite. I've never heard of the January 14, 2011 date before (and I can't imagine that they'd pick a specific date so far in the future), but anyway it's going to be a long wait. Even longer, I mean.

Invisible Green | September 16, 16:41 CET

I suspect that this won't come out until after The Avengers hits. That would provide them with some built-in marketing. With both Joss and Chris Hemsworth, they could ride the Avengers wave pretty easily. Heck -- The Avengers will be a great summer movie, and Cabin could come out around Halloween time the same year.

Maybe?

JMaloney | September 16, 16:49 CET

Wankers.
Not the the most insightful of posts, I know, but ...

strangeaction | September 16, 16:54 CET

Wasn't it's original release date February 2009?

No, it was actually February 12, 2010 before MGM pushed it back a year (January 14, 2011) for the 3D conversion.

Since Spyglass Entertainment will force MGM into a prepackaged bankruptcy and turn it into a production company, I'm surprised they haven't shopped the remaining MGM films ("Cabin" and "Red Dawn") to other distributors. I'm sure Sony, Fox or Universal would like to get their hands on those two.

Mcjw_serenity | September 16, 16:55 CET

Dear MGM,

I hate you.

Sincerely,

Matt7325 | September 16, 17:00 CET

What?!!

Well, that sucks.

filops | September 16, 17:05 CET

Will there be an MGM after the bankruptcy? I would miss the lion.

janef | September 16, 17:07 CET

Now I'm feeling bad because there's an MGM hotel in Las Vegas that I've never been to and now probably never will.

I'm most concerned over this because of The Hobbit, of course. Soon there won't be a Gandalf because Ian will get sick of waiting.

VeryVeryCrowded | September 16, 17:33 CET

I wouldn't be surprised if there would be an MGM in name-only, but I have no idea what the legal complications in doing that are.

...And I'm totally not surprised and I can't really call on what they (other companies) may or may not do, especially considering 2012 is a long way off for a film that's been in the can for so long already. I hope there's no year/references that lock it down.

Jaymii | September 16, 17:34 CET

Not particularly shocking. I mean, now they can add "From the Director of the Avengers comes..."

I guarantee after a successful Avengers release, we'll get the release date.

azzers | September 16, 17:35 CET

There's going to be a pretty dynamic tension between "trying to cash in on The Avengers" and "will anyone care about this movie anymore by then".

b!X | September 16, 17:51 CET

I can't imagine how disappointing this must be for everyone involved in making TCITW, especially when by all accounts it's a humdinger of a film. Tragic for us as well, this wait.

Tonya J | September 16, 17:57 CET

That interest level I said was almost gone for me (and I feel some [SOME] fans, it's about 99% dead now. Way to go, MGM.

tharpdevenport | September 16, 18:00 CET

Tragic is overstating the case. The murder of the director of Waitress, that was tragic. We will never know what art she would have made.

janef | September 16, 18:02 CET

dammit.
we continue to wait,and wait,and then more waiting.

I hope Avengers buys joss some breathing room to work on his movies,you know?

okelay | September 16, 18:17 CET

Now I'm feeling bad because there's an MGM hotel in Las Vegas that I've never been to and now probably never will.

MGM Resorts that owns the casino broke off from MGM Studio years ago.

There's going to be a pretty dynamic tension between "trying to cash in on The Avengers" and "will anyone care about this movie anymore by then".

It's not like many of the general public know about this movie. As long as nothing in the movie really dates it, I don't see why it couldn't be successful say even 5 years from now. (Not that I hope it to happen, I was just making an extreme case to make a point).

Hopefully, it's just a matter of time before Red Dawn and Cabin in the Woods are sold to another studio and released.

Matt_Fabb | September 16, 18:32 CET

Fffffff.

As much as I was interested in 'Cabin in the Woods', I'm scared way more for the future of the Hobbit films.

*mutters under breath and kicks some rocks around*

Ceribri | September 16, 18:42 CET

Dear MGM,

I hate you.

They did make the movie, before they imploded. Studios don't exactly seem to be lining up to bankroll this kind of thing.

Sunfire | September 16, 18:43 CET

Since Cabin is headlined by the guy who plays Thor in the Avengers, I'm willing to bet a tenner somebody else picks this up for release (but not in January). If I were that company, I would announce this when Thor is released to piggy back on publicity.

gossi | September 16, 18:50 CET

Eventually, somebody will buy MGM and its productions and get things rolling again. The next James Bond picture isn't even shooting yet because of this business, so Cabin is hardly alone in the woods.

LeafOnTheWind | September 16, 19:36 CET

Spyglass Entertainment has a tentative deal to acquire MGM. Two projects that will be going ahead are the Hobit movies and the next James Bond movie. Sir Ian says that he believes the first Hobit movie will start filming in January. James Bond should start in late summer or early fall of 2011.

With Spyglass acquiring MGM, the most profitable projects are going forward and the others like Cabin in the Woods and the Red Dawn remake, well, are not. They call it show business for a reason. Also, Mary Parent would likely be shown the door.

tinktanker | September 16, 19:47 CET

How many years is the longest a film has gone from being made to being released? Like, is it really dumb for us to keep hoping it'll be released someday or has this happened before in Hollywood?

Nicole | September 16, 19:56 CET

If I had to guess with MGM's situation being what it is, I see it going straight to video before getting a theatrical release.

tinktanker | September 16, 20:02 CET

Invisible Green: I've never heard of the January 14, 2011 date before (and I can't imagine that they'd pick a specific date so far in the future), but anyway it's going to be a long wait.

Prior to this, MGM's The Cabin in the Woods site said only "Coming in 2011" about its release date, but the film's entry on the more general MGM site noted it very specifically as "January 14, 2011". If that was based on anything more than wishful thinking, I sure wouldn't know.

No huge surprise, this delay, considering all the tsouris about MGM, but HUGELY frustrating for all concerned, including we of the patient fanbase. *sigh* Major suckage all around.

QuoterGal | September 16, 20:22 CET

At this rate, I will just act out the screenplay in my apartment.

b!X | September 16, 20:34 CET

Maybe if we all chip in, we could have it remade as an internet project.

barboo | September 16, 20:40 CET

Or Joss could reenact it via the creative form of shadow puppetry. It's ideally suited to a horror film cos shadows are already scary.

Re: release dates, pretty sure Cabin was originally mooted for Halloween '09 but then one of the 'Saw' movies was scheduled at the same time and it got pushed back to February 2010. And the rest, as they say, is really quite frustrating (and if it's like this for us it must be quite frustrating^2 for Joss and Drew).

(and I really hope the logo and lion survive, they're a big part of film history)

Saje | September 16, 21:12 CET

It was October '09, then February '10, then January '11.

b!X | September 16, 21:18 CET

Yuppity, that's how I remember the scheduling.

There is so much wrong with this next idea - rights, logistics, quality control, you-name-it - but pushing off from b!X's One Man Living Room Theatre idea, we should all get together and put it on in our barn. ; >

Or, more specifically, re-write it as a radio play, cast it, and perform it at ComicCon 2011. Somehow.

Failing that, and pushing off from Saje's shadow puppet notion, I vote for sock puppets as being an easier-to-handle medium. Sock puppets on youtube.

(Again, I reiterate, with no rights to the material whatsoever.)

QuoterGal | September 16, 21:28 CET

Don't make me cosplay Steve Hadley at Comic-Con 2011.

b!X | September 16, 22:07 CET

Google's not helping this time (assuming it's not the politician ? And if it is ??), who hell Steve Hadley ?

And sock-puppets are certainly easier to wrangle and cheaper too (aside from the laundry overheads) but are socks as inherently scary as shadows ? Just think we might be making a rod for our own backs. That said, there's an opportunity there to subvert how socks have traditionally been treated in horror movies so i'll bow to the consensus.

Saje | September 16, 22:40 CET

Maybe if MGM was exorcised/cleansed with a nice sage burning they would behave. Hey, I'm grasping at straws here.

Tonya J | September 16, 23:03 CET

While it's true that sock puppets may be generally viewed as more comical than horrifying, consider the sheer terror that this and this and this and especially this could invoke. Real scarifying "game changers", I think. ; >

(This is Steve Hadley.)

QuoterGal | September 16, 23:16 CET

Aha, he's a character in the film. That makes a lot of sense (probably because it's not out yet - and because you've a couple of pesky politicians with the same name - it doesn't ring any google bells).

And OK, you've convinced me QG. Sock puppets are of the devil.

Saje | September 16, 23:38 CET

I can't stop thinking about this now. I also need to make plans to watch "Smile Time" at some point tomorrow. :p

Jaymii | September 17, 00:14 CET

They tryin' to turn this into Cabin in the Woods Forever?

PaperSpock | September 17, 00:29 CET

Steve Hadley would be one of these fine gentlemen.

b!X | September 17, 00:43 CET

By the time we get to see it, we'll all be laughing at these yahoos with their old-fashioned iPhones and netbooks as we subvocalize to our friends on our bone implants while watching the movie on our Visorama contact lenses.

cabri | September 17, 01:31 CET

*raises hand* I have an authentic shadow puppet and would be pleased to lend it to the production. While I agree that sock puppets will do a fine job, I have to agree with Saje that the very shadowyness of a shadow puppet gives it a certain je ne sais quoi useful in this kind of radio play.

Lioness | September 17, 02:42 CET

Or, if in fact it is a Shadowy Radio Play, we could just tell everyone we're using scary Shadow Puppets, and no one would ever know. We could even use Barbies and Kens in a Malibu Beach Cabin and no one would ever know.

And that, my friends, would be show business indeed.

QuoterGal | September 17, 04:00 CET

I've been unclear on this point, so I know that once they decided they wanted the movie in 3D that they had to bump the release back a little to get the work actually done, and then since all the 3D theaters were booked up a year out (or more) in advance.

...But did they already finish all the 3D conversion stuff yet or were they just hoping to do so once the funds made their way? Like did they even managed to start/finish before the money troubles really made them go belly up?

And aside from how it's taking forever to come out, I guess on the upside this maybe means that if it fails in the mainstream we have a great scapegoat incident to blame it on? (Like how Universal willing to take a chance on Serenity at all but failed to advertise it, or when they went ahead and did Scott Pilgrim which was also great and they went hogwild with that advertising and it still didn't turn that into a smash hit.) I sort of wonder what fate lies for Cabin.

orangewaxlion | September 17, 05:51 CET

This disappoints me, but does not surprise me. I hope I get to see Cabin at SOME point within the next ten years.

Mayhaps we could get Alan Tudyk to do the shadow puppets. And he could have a mustache.

Giles_314 | September 17, 06:28 CET

orange, I don't think they had the money to convert it. Heck, they don't have the money to release it.

I don't care if The Cabin In The Woods only comes out on DVD, as long as I can see it.

Effulgent | September 17, 08:39 CET

Yeah, I'm almost positive that it came out somewhere fairly recently - ComicCon? Oz? Before that? I don't remember - that it had not yet been converted.

Seems unlikely that they would've sprung even the several millions? it would take to do the conversion since we last heard... given everything we know about MGM's financial health.

I am now reminded of one special TCITW teaser poster that b!X, um, found.

QuoterGal | September 17, 10:21 CET

B!x- I know of Bernie Jansen! You know what I mean?

Dana5140 | September 17, 10:27 CET

Steve Hadley would be one of these fine gentlemen.

Yet more light shines upon the gaping crevasse of my ignorance. Ta B!x.

We could even use Barbies and Kens in a Malibu Beach Cabin and no one would ever know.

That's the magic of the not-movies !

Saje | September 17, 11:34 CET

.... we should all get together and put it on in our barn. ; >
QuoterGal | September 16, 21:28 CET

We have a barn?? I really haven't been paying attention. ;)

Shey | September 17, 12:58 CET

Dissapointing news.

Sock puppets are way scary, see.

Aviva | September 17, 13:32 CET

I would find Barbies and Kens even more terrifying than QG's sock puppets of horror.

And for the ultimate in horror - Barbie and Ken shadows!

barboo | September 17, 15:51 CET

The other poster on that site is sort of more relevant, QG.

b!X | September 17, 16:27 CET

Yeah, socks are way versatile. The Lady from Sockholm (Mystery! Intrigue! Footwear!) was a pretty good film noir. The cinematography maybe could have been better, but the script and the acting were quite good. I can see the socks doing horror.

The problem I see with the Ken and Barbie shadows is that they've had so much plastic work done, that their silhouettes would all look really similar. Maybe something could be done with hats? But I see two problems with this. Firstly, depending on how gentlemanly the characters are, when the guys enter the cabin, they could take off their hats and then it's back to cookie cutter shadow land. And secondly, when you are possibly running for your life in the woods the hats are the first to go due to all those grabby branches.

I vote for socks. I hear there's a lot of out of work socks these days hanging out at the laundromat. I bet it could be cast really cheaply.

BreathesStory | September 17, 16:40 CET

I have several socks - and even some pairs of socks - that would be pleased to volunteer - or audition? - for roles in whatever we decide to produce. Some of them have cats on them, some have cows or monkeys or frogs (or laughing hippos), some have stars or shells or flowers. There is something for every role!

samatwitch | September 17, 19:36 CET

We do have a barn, right? Out back? Near that funny little building with the half moon carved on the door?

I wish I had enough Barbies and Kens to do this, barboo, as they are two of the most terrifying things in all the land. Happily, samatwitch's socks also sound very scary.

But of course no sock-based monster is more horrifying than that soul-sucking ELE wanna-be Sockubus. She's really pushing me hard to get cast in this.

The Lady From Sockholm looks hilarious, BreathesStory - have you seen it? One review says, "Shadowy mood lighting and shallow focus help re-create the film noir look and feeling of 1940's detective films." I think we could use that dark shadowy mood lighting idea - and no one is more capable than I of shallow focus. (Aviva, that drawing is wonderful... is it by you or someone you know?)

theonetruebix: The other poster on that site is sort of more relevant, QG.

Much as I like that other one, b!X, and though it applies to this delay overall, I was referring in my comment specifically to the 3D-conversion.

But clearly, much sex should be had by all at this point, anyway...

QuoterGal | September 17, 20:26 CET

Near that funny little building with the half moon carved on the door?

Wait a minute, I thought that was the barn ? This could explain the low audience turnout for my soap carvings based production of 'Henry V'.

I have several socks - and even some pairs of socks - that would be pleased to volunteer - or audition?

I even have socks that come pre-wounded with horrific gashes in the toe area (in case we need to save on the special effects budget).

I hear there's a lot of out of work socks these days hanging out at the laundromat. I bet it could be cast really cheaply.

Yeah but we still have to be careful to pay a fair rate - we don't want this to turn into a socksploitation movie.

Saje | September 18, 08:29 CET

Sorry for the late report QuoterGal--RL hospital crap.

Yep I did indeed see it and I had a great time. It was a couple of years ago and I only got to see it once, so my memory isn't all that clear, but I remember laughing a lot. I thought it was a great script. It was an actual "serious" mystery plot with every footwear/hosiery pun you can think of worked in one way or another. The characters and voices were really well done IIRC. As I said above, I thought the actual shooting of the film could have been better. I can't quite remember why though. I'm not sure if it was the framing or lighting or what. It's also possible that some of my visual problems with the film could have been because I saw it at this little art theater. It had great ambiance but... somewhat dated technology. Put it this way: I'd watch it again.

So we have a barn in the woods(?) and samatwitch has the main socks covered with saje providing the scary monster socks. All that is needed now is: wardrobe, a script, makeup, a script, a camera with film, a script, and oh yeah, someone to channel Drew and Joss...

Is it possible to channel still living people? Hmm. Maybe in this case because all we really require is a modern practicing socksualist who can connect with them via the universal connection that all sock wearers share. I think the two of them are practicing sock users. OMNG (non-god). Unless they have gone Hollywood and jettisoned their whole sock practice? That would not bode well for our socktors.

BreathesStory | September 18, 23:54 CET

September 16 2010