What a difference four months makes…
Back in June, DC Studios had the summer’s biggest loser on its hands (until the live-action “Moana” came around). But on Tuesday night, it became evident that the label has a fall hit in the making with its psychological-horror pic “Clayface” — which should go a long way to help everyone forget DC’s pricey June “Supergirl” misfire.
Last night, Warner Bros. unleashed its $40 million R-rated villain, who lives in the Batverse, to a stoked crowd at Hollywood Legion Theater. As the first movie to premiere after the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger closed, the Gotham City-set thriller is being followed with keen interest. (Technically, Paramount’s “Street Fighter” will mark the first post-merger release.)
Skydance CEO David Ellison did not make it to the bow, or its after-party in the theater’s basement, (aptly dubbed Club Vesuvius in a nod to the film’s hotspot where much of the third-act carnage takes place). We’re not sure how exactly he would have fit in with the fans sporting faux facial disfigurements. But sources tell Page Six Hollywood that Ellison screened the James Watkins-directed pic yesterday and “really liked it,” according to one person involved with the movie. (Like “Lonesome Dove” really liked it?)
Still, there were plenty of top execs from the old Paramount guard on hand including co-chiefs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg as well as marketing head Josh Goldstine, who celebrated alongside the DC brass including Peter Safran and Chantal Nong. (James Gunn, who just wrapped production on the “Superman” sequel, made an appearance but left the party early due to a headache. There’s a fair amount of eyes gouged in the film, so who can really blame him?)
Goldstine, for one, looked particularly giddy at the event. The marketing whiz, who was fired by former Warner Bros. studio co-heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, now has domain over the entire Paramount and Warners slates — while De Luca and Abdy are updating their LinkedIn pages.
Tracking won’t be available until Thursday, but DC is poised to do for the second time what Marvel has yet to attempt: a wide release feature with a production budget under $100 million. (Warners previously did it with Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” which went on to earn more than a billion dollars at the box office.)
“Clayface” executive producer Michael Uslan, who was wearing a pin that said “Thank you Bill Finger” in a shoutout to the late Batman co-creator, was quick to point out how, “There’s a way to do villains that Marvel hasn’t figured out,” Uslan told Page Six Hollywood. “Their villain movies have not been good. But I think ours have in many cases, not every case, broken the mold and pushed the boundaries because they weren’t restricted by all the continuity of years of a particular character.”
In the case of “Clayface,” some theatergoers might not even realize the film is based on a DC property, and instead show up for all of the gruesome murders carried out by the titular star (played by Tom Rhys Harries).
And in a rare occurrence at a premiere, women in the theater audibly cheered every time Rhys Harries showed some abs or got close to kissing distance of Naomi Ackie, who plays the scientist who created the monster.