This week in Hollywood, most of the
ticket sales-related talk has to do with how well "Gravity" has been
holding up (This Alfonso Cuarón film was No. 1 at the domestic box office from
the third weekend in a row) and how quickly "The Fifth Estate"
folded. But there is another intriguing ticket sales-related story out there.
And it has to do with how long "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2"
has been hanging in there.
Copyright Sony Pictures Animation. All rights reserved
For four weeks now, this Sony Pictures Animation production
has been the Number 1 family comedy in the country. And to hear the folks who
actually worked on this animated feature talk, the secret to this sequel's
longevity at the box office has a lot to do with the way that most people
discovered the original "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" in the
first place.
"Back in the Fall of 2009, the original movie did okay at the box office.
It wasn't this huge enormous box office smash. But it did well enough for Sony
to say 'Okay. We can maybe explore the idea of possibly doing another one of
these.' But in the meantime, the
original 'Cloudy' had become available on Blu-ray & DVD and then began
running on cable. For a while there, it seemed to be running on Starz three
times a day," said Cody Cameron, the co-director of "Cloudy
2." "And then all of a sudden,
there was all this good will out there for that movie. People were going out of
their way to say how much they'd enjoyed the original 'Cloudy' and how they
were now really looking forward to its sequel. Which — in turn — helped the
people in management at Sony really get behind the idea of making 'Cloudy 2.'
"
And since Sony had now officially greenlit production of "Cloudy 2,"
the question then became where exactly to take this sequel's story. I mean, it
was obvious that the characters had to go back to Swallow
Falls, that tiny town out in the
middle of the Atlantic Ocean which had been pummeled by
the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator (AKA the
FLDSMDFR). But would Flint and his
friends find once they actually got back to the island?
Copyright Sony Pictures Animation. All rights reserved
"Do you remember that part from the first film where those living Gummi
Bears were attacking Flint's flying
car. Well, in the original 'Cloudy,' we had all sorts of sentient food running
around Swallow Falls
in that movie's third act attacking the island's residents. But we eventually
wound up cutting all of that stuff out because when you're in the third act of
your movie, you really should be concentrating on your lead character. Wrapping
up his or her story," explained Chris Pearn, the other co-director of
"Cloudy 2" as well as being the Head of Story on the original "Cloudy."
"But those sentient animal characters were so much fun that — when Cody
and I got the chance to make this sequel — we just then had to pick these
characters up off of the cutting room floor and then fold them into our new
film."
Which isn't to say that making this "Cloudy with a Chance of
Meatballs" sequel was a breeze. Cody and Kris (who were handpicked for
this project by Phil Lord & Chris Miller, the writers / directors of the
original "Cloudy") put in three solid years of work on this production.
"During 2012, I don't think that Chris or I took any
vacation in 2012. And for the first few months in 2013, we and the rest of the 'Cloudy 2' team were
working weekends and pulling all nighters," Cameron continued. "I
mean, it's not we're laying bricks here. We're drawing cartoons. And speaking
of drawing, though Chris & I were directing 'Cloudy 2,' we were also still
doing what we were doing on the first 'Cloudy,' which was boarding this film.
Which meant that — at 8 o'clock at
night — we would leave Editorial and then go back to our desks and draw into
the wee hours. Chris and I were like those little shoe-making elves in 'The
Elves and the Shoemaker,' cobbling away after midnight.
Trying to come up with new stuff that the 'Cloudy 2' team could work with when
they got in in the morning."
Anna Faris recording dialogue for the first "Cloudy
with a Chance of Meatballs." Copyright Sony
Pictures Animation. All rights reserved
Mind you, Cameron and Pearn weren't the only ones who put in long hours on this
project. Anna Faris (i.e., the star of "Mom," that new Chuck Lorre
sitcom which CBS just picked up for a full season. Not to mention the voice of
Samantha Sparks from the original "Cloudy") recalled one 4 or 5 hour-long
session in the recording booth just as she, Cody and Kris were getting started
on the sequel.
"And a few days later, the guys called me and said that we needed to
re-record everything because you didn't sound as energetic as Sam did in the
first movie. So back into the booth I went, because we really wanted the
characters in this 'Cloudy' sequel to be consistent, to sound just like they
did for the first film," Faris stated.
"That's the thing that I think so many actors don't
understand about animation voice work. They look at this job and think 'What a
great gig. You just walk in, say a few lines, and pick up your check on the way
out.' But it's not like that at all," Anna continued. "When you're
doing voice work for an animated film, you always have to be asking questions.
Before you step up to the mic, you have to know things like how close is my
character to the character they're interacting? Am I whispering? Am I shouting?
What's the energy level of this scene because you want your performance to be
in sync with all of the other voice actors who are in that same scene."
Cody Cameron, Terry Crews, Ana Faris and Kris Pearn at the world premiere of "Cloudy
with a Chance of Meatballs 2." Copyright Sony Pictures Animation. All rights reserved
"That's why I loved working with Kris and Cody. They were so patient with
me. They never got tired of explaining to me what each scene was actually
about," Faris enthused. "And all that extra effort did really pay off. Have you seen the finished
film? Visually, it's so beautiful. Very textured and fascinating and loaded
with lots of clever food puns and fun food animals."
"Look, I've done sequels before. I was in four of the 'Scary Movie' movies
after all. But I'm so proud of the work that I've done in 'Cloudy' &
'Cloudy 2.' If only because my parents take finally take their friends to see
some of my movies," Ana laughed.
So what was Cameron, Faris and Pearn's favorite part of
working on "Cloudy 2" ? To be honest, it was Sony Pictures
Animation's decision to license some of the food animals that appear in this
'Cloudy' sequel.
Copyright Sony Pictures Animation. All rights reserved
"Look, let's be honest here. Nobody wants a Cindy Campbell doll. But during one of the
recording sessions for 'Cloudy 2,' Cody & Kris came in and presented me
with a prototype of the Barry
plush. And I have to admit that — I know it sounds kind of corny –but I
actually got emotional. To think that these movies that we're making are now
spawning dolls & toys which will be going into kids bedrooms all around the
planet, that's a huge honor and responsibility," Ana concluded. "And
if they promise to eventually make a Sam Sparks plush, I'm ready now to sign up
for 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3 – 18."
And speaking of "Cloudy 3," will there be yet another installment in
this animated film franchise? The folks at Sony Pictures Animation aren't
saying anything yet. But given that "Cloudy 2" 's current box office
track is very similar to what the original "Cloudy" earned during its
initial domestic run, the signs are admittedly good. But when I quizzed
"Cloudy 2" 's co-directors about the prospect for a sequel, Cody suddenly
got philosophical.
"Look, I remember when Phil & Chris first offered Kris and I the
director's chair. And Chris began talking about all of the decisions that we
were now going to have to make in order to get this picture made. And all I
could think of is that these animated movies take three years to make. And that
I was now going to be eating, sleeping and breathing 'Cloudy with a Chance of
Meatballs 2' for the next three years," Cameron said. "But as it
turns out, when you direct a movie, you actually have to live with that film
even longer than that. When you work in Story, you're usually off the film six
or eight months before it actually comes out. Well, I've been in this industry
for 16 years now and — in the end — it's the relationships, the friends that you
make as you're making these movies that you remember. So being able to work
with all of these great animators & riggers & lighters right down to
the very end of production on this movie was really awesome. And if I could
work again with the team that helped Kris & I pull off 'Cloudy 2,' I would definitely do 'Cloudy 3.' "