Something unusual has happened in Hollywood recently. Being that the Studios are buying up anything that has franchise capabilities, it is not a surprise that another Men In Black movie is on the cards, it is however a surprise that production of the third instalment of the MIB franchise has gone ahead without a script.
Sufficed to say that insiders are baffled by the decision by Sony Pictures to start work on MIB 3 without a finished screenplay, but Sony Executives assure us that reason will save them millions of dollars. A break in production was scheduled to last from December to February where the screenplay was to be finished, David Koepp, who did work on the first MIB film, was brought in to flesh out a complicated time paradox plot thread and thus delaying the film further. Another reason for the delay is the need to shoot outdoor scenes in New York’s spring, and although the delay is costing them millions they are confident that they will not be ruined, due in large part to the New York State Tax Breaks Scheme.
Sony Pictures feared that it would miss out on the New York Incentive scheme as it was due to expire in December, but it has now been extended for another five years. Some top executives in Hollywood remain sceptical stating that “The Tax break is covering Chaos cost” and “there isn’t any tax break that would convince me to do [what Sony did]—Ever!”
Scheduled to be released in May 2012 in 3D, with plot threads involving time travel and meeting a younger Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), I am sure that any budgetary concerns will not matter if the movie is a box-office hit as the previous films were. It does however seem fairly reckless to make it up as you go along, we shall see what David Koepp can come up with. Hopefully this doesn’t start a new trend of films being sanctioned to save money for studios, all that creative stuff can come later.
