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Rovio's Desperate Push For 'Angry Birds' Movie (venturebeat.com) 145

Posted by EditorDavid from the pigs-vs-birds dept.
An anonymous reader writes:Last year Rovio "cut 213 jobs, affecting all departments except those working on the film and its related projects," remembers VentureBeat, describing their effort to make a movie about three outcast birds on an island of happier birds who all meet in an anger management class. But "Since Rovio funded the entire film, the directors didn't have to answer to an executive committee or a board of trustees..." reports VentureBeat, quoting director Clay Kaytis as saying "We had to make ourselves happy... We were making the films for [ourselves] instead of for a larger entity that expects something in return."

After working for four years from a script by Jon Vitti (a writer for both The Simpsons and The Office), and funding a marketing onslaught that lasted nine months, Rovio finally saw their Angry Birds movie open in this weekend's #1 spot, according to the New York Times. "Most of the 'Angry Birds' financial risk fell to Rovio, the Finnish video game company, which paid $173 million to make and market the movie. As such, Rovio will receive the bulk of any profit."
In China, McDonald's released special Angry Birds burgers with red or green buns...which at least one patron complained made the buns look moldy.
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Rovio's Desperate Push For 'Angry Birds' Movie More

Rovio's Desperate Push For 'Angry Birds' Movie

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  • I guess... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by war4peace ( 1628283 ) on Sunday May 22, 2016 @05:32PM (#52161499)

    They risked and won, now would they hire those employees back?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Why would they? They were in departments unrelated to the movie ("affecting all departments except those working on the film and its related projects") , so the movie's (financial) success is no reason to rehire people to make games, that will continue to lose money for the company.

      What this does mean is that 2Angry2Birds will be given the go ahead and Rovio will transform itself into a third rate animation company rather than a third rate mobile game company.

      • Why would they? They were in departments unrelated to the movie ("affecting all departments except those working on the film and its related projects") , so the movie's (financial) success is no reason to rehire people to make games, that will continue to lose money for the company.

        What this does mean is that 2Angry2Birds will be given the go ahead and Rovio will transform itself into a third rate animation company rather than a third rate mobile game company.

        Regardless of whether the games are any good or whether the games are making them money, the only reason anyone went to see the angry bird movie (and the only reason it was financially successful) is because of the games. I seriously doubt anyone who hasn't played the game went to watch the movie (unless it was to accompany their child addicted to the games)

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by beuges ( 613130 )

          We watched it with our 7yo daughter, who has played the game once or twice when I showed it to her, but is nowhere near an addict. She's been waiting for this moving for months, purely based on the trailers and implied entertainment value, and not at all because of the game itself.

          I suspect the 9 month marketing onslaught was to ensure that the movie would be watched by people who haven't played the game, and it clearly worked, having opened at #1. While Angry Birds has been a very popular game across all m

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by PCM2 ( 4486 )

            In fact, after watching the movie, I introduced the game to my daughter again, and she still hasn't really taken to it. While I'm sure they got a huge number of new installs after people watched the movie, I'd be surprised if their long-term player base increases in line with the movies success. Just because the movie is based on a game doesn't mean it's aimed only at the gamers.

            It's mentioned in TFA that for future generations of the games, the characters will look like they do in the movie, just like the TV cartoon revamped the style of the characters. The idea is to keep the brand alive by keeping it fresh, giving it a little love from time to time. The long-term goal is that your 9yo will play an Angry Birds game SOMEDAY ... for the brand to be as enduring as Mario, essentially.

      • What this does mean is that 2Angry2Birds will be given the go ahead and Rovio will transform itself into a third rate animation company rather than a third rate mobile game company.

        What's the difference?

        Character design is the main point of both. Artwork, voices, animation is needed for both, models can be reused.... the main difference between a movie and a game is the length of the cutscenes and a few lines of Unity programming (or flash or whatever game engine is used)

      • Rovio will transform itself into a third rate animation company rather than a third rate mobile game company

        Is it a third rate company? I've not played Angry Birds in a while (I quite when I managed to nuke it and lose my progress), but I though it was a very well done game. Why do you think it's third rate?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by GNious ( 953874 )

          Rovio will transform itself into a third rate animation company rather than a third rate mobile game company

          Is it a third rate company? I've not played Angry Birds in a while (I quite when I managed to nuke it and lose my progress), but I though it was a very well done game. Why do you think it's third rate?

          I'd suspect he/she is the kind who doesn't accept something being a game, unless its minimum hardware requirements include a 400 USD mouse.

        • Is it a third rate company? I've not played Angry Birds in a while (I quite when I managed to nuke it and lose my progress), but I though it was a very well done game.

          I would guess the poster complained because
          while Angry Birds was a very well done game
          actually nothing much has happened since (except for a few glorified additional level packs).
          Rovio really looks like a single-trick pony.

          On the other hand, given the tendency of all the major AAA studios to only exclusively release titles like "Cash Cow Franchise, episode VIII" and not take the slightest risk trying something new or different, Rovio doesn't seem that much abnormal to me.

    • I guess if those job functions are needed again, they might. But if they're not, then probably no.

  • ...stuff that matters.

    • Re:News for nerds... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AK Marc ( 707885 ) on Sunday May 22, 2016 @06:08PM (#52161625)
      Nerds don't care about video games or movies? Or records like "largest independent movie ever made"? From what I can tell, it's the biggest budget independent movie ever made, and if it does as well as they hope, will be the largest in the box office as well.

      Though they'll never make a sequel. Based on history, either Microsoft or Disney will buy them for $10B if the movie doesn't flop, and doesn't look to be flopping so far.

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward

        I dunno, current Slashdot doesn't seem to care about nerd culture anymore. There's almost nothing on video games (although to be fair, Dice Slashdot basically kicked all the gamers off Slashdot with their amazingly biased anti-gamer stories), and there's rarely coverage on things like the Avengers movie or the new Star Trek TV series.

        Of course, part of that is that to a large degree this stuff is more mainstream - I don't need to come to Slashdot to see stories about the upcoming Start Trek series or the ne

        • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

          by PopeRatzo ( 965947 )

          Dice Slashdot basically kicked all the gamers off Slashdot with their amazingly biased anti-gamer stories

          You poor, pitiful fuck.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Trogre ( 513942 )

        Is pre-2012 Star Wars not counted as independent any more?

      • Yeah, being able to break out of the standard distribution network for content (aka extortionists) is huge.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by allo ( 1728082 )

        Nerds do not care about casual smart phone games with in-app purchases, which are undead for a long time.

  • They waited too long (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Kids are into minecraft now and Angry Birds interest seems to have waned significantly

  • In China, McDonald's released special Angry Birds burgers with red or green buns...which at least one patron complained made the buns look moldy.

    No, Mr. Crabs, it's not tainted meat - it's PAINTED meat!

  • Jusr saw it... (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward

    It was surprisingly good. They actually had pretty reasonable explanations for why the characters have the abilities in the game (or as much as a movie about a bunch of sentient flightless birds and green pigs could have.)

  • Why? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 22, 2016 @06:10PM (#52161635)

    Why does a mobile software shop even have 213 jobs to cut? What are those people doing?

    • Re:Why? (Score:4, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 22, 2016 @06:20PM (#52161689)
      Middle management. There are only 3 developers. :)

    • Why does a mobile software shop even have 213 jobs to cut? What are those people doing?

      They have released over a dozen mobile games on multiple platforms, as well as stuffed animals, board games, card games, a tv series, and a ton of other stuff. In some toy stores, the amount of Angry Bird stuff could fill an entire aisle (in some stores it actually does). They might have started out with a single popular game but they have expanded into pop culture. That's the main reason that the movie was widely released and widely watched.

    • Why does a mobile software shop even have 213 jobs to cut?

      Because they want it to run on normal AND Samsung Android phones.

      PS It's not that I hate Samsung phones, but they do like hacking android so it's "different". On the other hand about half of the differences are bugfixes or workarounds for stuff that's broken.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      They need a team of in-app purchase designers, plus a group handling in-app purchases processing, and a legal division to fight claims over in-app purchases, supported by a marketing department to de-emphasise the in-app purchases, plus a few education specialists to teach kids how to get their parents to authorize in-app purchases. They probably have an engineering team on call 24/7 to ensure five nines availability of in-app purchases too, and of course an economist or ten to control their in-app currency

  • not their target audience (Score:3)

    by Archfeld ( 6757 ) <treboreel@live.com> on Sunday May 22, 2016 @06:14PM (#52161659) Journal

    I am probably not their target audience since I have no kids, no smart phone and have never played the game but I wasn't planning on seeing it anyways. It is good to see an independently produced movie make good money though. How long till Di$ney buy them up for a brazillion $'s ?

  • How about (Score:3)

    by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Sunday May 22, 2016 @06:19PM (#52161683) Journal

    How about an Etch-A-Sketch movie? That sounds just about as exciting.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday May 22, 2016 @06:21PM (#52161693)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • However, you canned most of your game staff so now what?

      Speaking as somebody who played the first 'Angry Birds' for a bit and shrugged, at least they will not be making more renditions of that stupid game.

    • what does not make sense is to go it alone, fire 200 people, and push to deliver a film solely by yourself. Unless,you're taking a page from some of the more cutthroat entities of US Capitalism. Yes, in the short term, doing this can net you a few million in revenue taxed at a very favourable US rate. However, you canned most of your game staff so now what? This was just one film.

      They don't need a big game staff to be a one-hit wonder, which they clearly are, just like most studios. *cough*Mojang*cough* How many programmers and artists do you think they need to keep shoveling out new editions of the same game with different graphics and sounds?

      Blockbuster teams like Weinstein and Warner crank out 4 sequels a year and thats sometimes with recurring losses baked in. those sequels exist only to sell toys and shirts and food. Unless you plan to focus on franchising which takes way more money sunk into branding and advertising, im afraid you just sold the company down shits creek.

      Angry Birds is aggressively merchandised [theguardian.com], and the movie should provide a very strong boost in that area. They don't need to let the franchise out to other players. They control the IP completely because they made the movie themselves, so if t

      • Or when a Selasphorus rufus won't let any of the other hummingbirds drink even though we have two feeders out.

        You have one of those too! When I was in NM, we had rufus which would jealously guard the feeder from allcomers. Naturally it would hide in a tree about 30m away, so nothing knew the feeder was being guarded until they landed and the rufus launched itself at them. It seems like they have a normal-sized amount of rage, but packed into a tiny hummingbird sized body.

        • You have one of those too! When I was in NM, we had rufus which would jealously guard the feeder from allcomers.

          Actually, they usually just stop for a week or so on their way to parts more Northern, and cause a shake-up in the hierarchy when they do. Before the last one stopped in, we had about five or six Anna's Hummingbirds around, now we're down to three or four again. Still, the season is still developing. One year we had literally more than two dozen birds around for months straight, and it was absolutely hilarious to go out and sit on the front porch next to the feeders. The fighting little fluffwads made it li

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Angry Birds is a fad from 2010. It's already at least 4 years past its "exploit-by" date. The toys and shirts and food have been and gone already.

      I would guess that by last year, it was clear that this horse was dead, but maybe the owners wanted to see the film completed anyway. That would make it a vanity project on their part. Not the start of a new big franchise, but their attempt to go out with a bang.

    • Re:a loveletter to hearing yourself talk (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Sorry, but there's a ton of bullshit above, and you- you just need to be called out on it.

      The films marketing consists of a billboard on la brea with a cryptic phrase and a billboard on la cienega with three birds and a charred facade but no mention of the film, its opening date, or even that its a film...

      Oh jesus, seriously? There's a giant billboard on Highland and Hollywood and it's pretty damn clear it's a movie and that the 20th was the opening date. In fact most of the dozens of billboards [dailybillboardblog.com] make that

    • So yeah, whoever you worked with, it largely wasnt Hollywood. The films marketing consists of a billboard on la brea with a cryptic phrase and a billboard on la cienega with three birds and a charred facade but no mention of the film, its opening date, or even that its a film...

      It's clear that it wasn't Hollywood. That doesn't appear to be a bad thing. First, I was quite aware of the impending release of the movie, and saw a lot of ads. I'm a customer (although, not in this particular case). The billboa

    • "its surprising to see something like this make #1 though? It certainly speaks to a very talented writers group."

      Well, not TOO talented...
      http://www.rottentomatoes.com/... [rottentomatoes.com]

  • Dropping off the cliff. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by westlake ( 615356 ) on Sunday May 22, 2016 @06:59PM (#52161841)

    The real test of a movie is how well it performs in the first and second weeks after launch. Word of mouth and all that. Some films like How To Train Your Dragon can recover from a weak opening and show extraordinary strength down the road, but that doesn't happen very often.

    The Tomatometer [rottentomatoes.com] rates Angry Birds at a Rotten 43%. Zootopia, Fresh, at 98%, The Jungle Book, Fresh, at 95% ---- and. if you have taken your kids out to see Zooptopia and The Jungle Book, there isn't much of anything else out there for them right now.

    Disney doesn't need Angry Birds.

    Not when it is adding originals like Zootopia, Frozen, and Wreak-It Ralph to its animated cannon and vivid live-action remakes of films like Cinderella and The Jungle Book. Not after it after added Pixar, The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars and Indiana Jones to its roster.

  • Congratulations to The Angry Birds Movie becoming the new most seen Finnish movie after the previous record holder 2005's Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning.

  • Number 1 opening weekend, $39 million. It not like they are one of males who is inevitable going to be the loser for president.

  • In China, McDonald's released special Angry Birds burgers with red or green buns...which at least one patron complained made the buns look moldy.

    Um, they ran out of the special Angry Birds buns an hour before you arrived and ordered your burger, so the green color... yeah. You probably shouldn't have eaten that.

  • Rovio should have gotten someone like David Lynch to direct.

    No, better than that: they should have hired Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the guy who directed Birdman. That would have been a nice tie-in and a more interesting movie.

  • I took the family to see the movie and it was entertaining. Every time I saw the commercial, I kept thinking they needed to have this movie come out 3-4 years ago when the Angry Birds craze was at its zenith. If the movie would have come out then, they would have made a ton (more) money. I guess since it's been in the works for 4 years it was way too far done to cancel it.

    • I went yesterday.

      Any movie that opens with Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" has got my attention.

      Not sure the people around me appreciated the air guitar and sing along, however...

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Are you mixing up Black Sabbath songs, or did they really choose "Paranoid" over the obvious choice "War Pigs"???

        • It was definitely not War Pigs.

          The pigs had not been introduced yet.

          And it was more fitting for the opening montage as the protagonist wanders around the town "frowning all the time".

          Paint it Black could have been used as well, but the faster tempo of Paranoid worked better with the frantic birds around him.

  • What kind of world are we living in where some shitty game you play on your phone gets made into a movie you have to go to a theatre to pay to see?

    Some people give me dirty looks when I say that humans are getting dumber, not smarter, but then something like this comes along and proves just how right I actually am.

    • Yeah, Angry Birds was a pretty fun and relaxing puzzle game which I enjoyed from time-to-time.

      However, as time has gone on, the experience of the game has gone downhill progressively with the ads becoming more intrusive and annoying and the in-app purchases becoming more necessary for play.

      They finally lost me when they decided to effectively disable free-to-play altogether by forcing you to make in-app purchases to play (or wait a day for your token bank to fill up again).

      It's not THAT fun and there are pl

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