Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman talked about their upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie with Nintendo, and how he sees the project fitting in with the company’s slate as a whole.
Tom Rothman may not be a household name, but he is one of the most successful producers in Hollywood, in movies and TV. Prior to his current job, he had tenures at Columbia Pictures, the Samuel Goldwyn Company, and Fox.
Tom championed projects big and small, commercial movies and Oscar bait alike. His big movies include Cast Away, Black Swan, the X-Men and Spider-Man film franchises, and both Titanic and Avatar. For Fox TV, he produced Modern Family, Glee, and Homeland. Tom also produced movies for David Lynch and Jim Jarmusch, and discovered talents like Ang Lee and Kenneth Branagh.
In his Deadline interview, they also note that Tom’s bet not to make a Sony Pictures streaming channel has paid off, because the companies who jumped at the opportunity are now struggling to keep the money going and make it sustainable. But in this interview, Tom tries to sell the contradictory idea that Sony will see a lot of success in big name IP, while he personally believes movie goers are looking for something original.
In Tom’s words:
“My instinct about the audience is that last year, I’m talking about 2023 now, 24 of the 25 top movies were all IP based movies. I think three or four years from now, that is not going to be true. It will be maybe half. I think we’re exiting the era of the tyranny of IP, if I may coin a phrase.
Having said that, our biggest movies this year will be IP and the biggest movies in the business will be IP. Still in all, I think that the audience is hungry. Hungry for new, hungry for originality, and you’re going to see more and more of fresh experiences that break through. At Sony, we’re certainly making that bet.”
Now, you may be surprised to hear this, but as an old Hollywood veteran, Tom sees The Legend of Zelda movie as an IP movie, and not an original movie. Again, quoting Tom directly:
“…please don’t misunderstand me, big IP movies are going to stay big. The Legend of Zelda is going to be huge for us. Massive.”
When Tom was asked to explain how The Legend of Zelda movie is going to feel like a fresh experience, here’s what he said:
“Because the movie is being developed and made in the closest possible collaboration with [Nintendo video game designer] Shigeru Miyamoto. He’s a true genius in that world, and it’s really his strong vision that is motivating it.
He created it and understands it thoroughly. You only to look at the results of Super Mario Brothers to see. The larger point I’m making is that I think a healthy slate going forward is not going to be one side of the divide or the other. It’s going to have a balance of big IP solid sequels.”
If it isn’t evident from these quotes, Tom doesn’t seem to even know that PlayStation, or the IPs under it, exist. They did produce and distribute the 2022 Uncharted film, and almost made a The Last of Us movie before it became a show co-production with HBO.
Given Tom’s take on the trend of IP movies in Hollywood, reflective of his own study of Hollywood’s history, and his own experience as a producer, he seems to care more about looking for projects that will succeed, than in pushing PlayStation’s own IP alongside his Sony Pictures.
But of course, we already knew that when his company took the contract for The Legend of Zelda movie, literally the big franchise from PlayStation’s competition. Could there be bigger potential in a less child friendly, but certainly more blockbuster type God of War film? I know some people would say yes, but we won’t be finding out how that would work out anytime soon.
It absolutely must be an awkward situation for a few people inside Sony, but above all else, it’s an acknowledgement from Sony that their frenemy Nintendo is the big brand that inspires and fascinates them.
