There was already enough pressure on Steve Asbell as he began the first day of his new job as president of 20th Century Studios in March 2020. The preceding few years were tumultuous for the company, as Disney initiated, and finalized, its acquisition of the venerable studio, leaving the future of many employees, divisions and films uncertain. The nadir was the resignation of president of production Emma Watts in January 2020, leaving the now-Disney-owned division leaderless.
But that was all prelude to Asbell’s baptism by fire, the pandemic and the shutdown that hit the industry. “My first official day on the job happened to be the last day of shooting in France for The Last Duel,” Asbell recalls. He called director Ridley Scott and they had a tough conversation about options and risks. They decided to shut down the movie. “It was a strange first day, for sure.”
Two years later, the movie world is in a different place. And Asbell, leading an executive team of veterans and newcomers, has the last of the old Fox movies behind him while debuting his first completed film, No Exit, on Hulu Feb. 25. The thriller is the first on a slate that will skew heavy on Disney’s streaming strategy while also making a few key theatrical titles. As 20th Century begins a return to the office, Asbell, marking his own 20th anniversary with the company, sees himself as the keeper of the flame, straddling the traditions of the old studio and those of its new owners, but also as part of a storied team of studio leaders.
“In terms of the creative leadership, it’s like they let me sub into the all-star team,” Asbell enthuses, noting other heads ranging from Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy to Disney’s Sean Bailey, Pixar’s Pete Docter, and Disney Animation’s Jennifer Lee, all overseen by Disney Studios Content chairman Alan Bergman. “They are not only best-in-class producers and studio leaders, they are the most generous colleagues you could ask for. It sounds like a line, but it’s true. And Alan Bergman is like an Olympic coach, and he knows what each division needs.”
In the offices on Disney’s Burbank lot, Asbell has tried to re-create the feel of Building 88, the venerable edifice on the old 20th Century Fox lot that housed moguls, while keeping an eye on the demands of the 21st century.
“It’s a very encouraging company culture, frankly speaking,” he says. “We remain the custodians of this incredible almost 90-year-old filmmaking legacy but get to act with the energy and ambition of a startup.”
ViacomCBS rebranded as Paramount, in a nod to its historic studio. 20th Century is also a venerable name. What does that brand mean in 2022?
Despite all the challenges of COVID, the shutdowns, the impairment of exhibition, we’ve ended up having this incredibly productive first couple of years. Becoming part of the Disney family has created an opportunity to expand our film output, particularly in streaming, which was not expected when I started. Films were shutting down and we were looking at a potentially smaller number of films. We’re actually making more than ever.
How distinct a brand is 20th within Disney? How does a 20th movie distinguish itself versus a Disney movie or a Searchlight movie?
In relation to the other brands — Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney Animation — we are closer to what you call “general entertainment” on the TV side. Some films will be more Disney-adjacent — Avatar, Free Guy, Planet of the Apes — and some films will be edgier.
We remain making commercial films for a global audience; we remain what we’ve always tried to be, which is a supportive working environment for talent; but thanks to this increase in streaming output, with the exception of a few titles, all of our movies will launch on Hulu domestically, Star+ internationally, which allows us to make the genres that we love, genres that Disney doesn’t make in the other divisions, and that we haven’t been able to play with as much in recent years. Comedy, thriller, young adult, horror. We get more of these at-bats, and we can make more bets on new talent.
So is it originals, remakes, a mix?
It’s a mix. In order to meet the volume that we are looking at — which is, by 2023, 10-plus movies just for streaming — it’s going to be a combination of originals in those genres. And coolest of all for fans, we get to find bold takes on beloved Fox properties. You can take big creative swings — which you’ll see with Prey, which we’ll launch this summer. A Predator movie set in the Great Plains in 1719 by Dan Trachtenberg. That’s what this allows us to do.
How many theatrical features are you planning for ’23, ’24?
It goes like the other divisions, two or three theatrical movies a year. We’re navigating the marketplace like everyone else. There are movies like Avatar, Planet of the Apes and now Free Guy that have well-established theatrical precedence for a wide audience.
It sounds like the theatrical stuff will be the more established titles.
For now. We will evaluate these decisions film by film, and looking at the marketplace as it is and making the predictions that we can. We do have original films of scale in development that we haven’t announced yet, and it will be whatever feels right for that number of films per year. What’s great about all of this is that we have both. We have this explosive new streaming mandate to pursue, yet we also have titles that we can make [for theatrical]. We have more Avatar movies coming, we have more Free Guy movies coming. We’re going to be pretty busy.
Fox was known for some of the relationships with its key filmmakers, such as Ridley Scott, James Cameron, James Mangold. Has the Disney era changed that?
Ridley is a relationship that I’ve had personally for 20 years, and we’ve made six films together. And we just renewed his overall deal. James Mangold, whom I’m also close to, having made Wolverine, Logan, Ford v Ferrari, renewed his overall deal too. We’re in very current business with all them. And we have a number of films we’re developing for Ridley to direct after he’s done with Napoleon. So [the relationships] have not been affected at all.
Will Avatar stick to its 2022 release date?
(No pause at all) Yes. It will.
For real?
For real. It’s going to blow people away. You’re not ready for what Jim is doing.
Given how long it’s been since the first Avatar film, how will the studio ignite enough audience interest to justify their budgets once the sequels finally hit?
I can tell you that there is no better marketing apparatus in the business than the one at Disney. They will do an incredible job reigniting that passion for the original film. This is not just a sequel, it’s a saga. And it’s a family saga. It will be compelling on its own, but it will also be extremely compelling to return to those characters and to see how they’ve evolved. It’s less about Avatar being a really big movie and more about how Avatar was a really important cultural moment for audiences. I don’t think it will be hard to convince people to come back.
Studios are starting to make interconnections between films and streaming TV shows. Paramount just announced one with Sonic. Is this something that you are looking into?
It’s part of how Lucasfilm and Marvel do it, and we may explore it at some point, but not yet.
What is the status of the Free Guy sequel?
We’re awaiting a script that is days away. It’s a fantastic story.
Will there be more Agatha Christie adaptations?
We have the Poirot franchise, we have other Christie stories. I love these films, I love Ken [Branagh, who plays detective Hercule Poirot and directed Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile]. We have a third script written, by Michael Green, that is a pretty daring shift in genre and in tone. It’s post-war Venice and an adaptation of one of the lesser-known novels. So I think you’ll see the mustache again.
Would the mustache direct as well?
Yes. Ken is Poirot, but Ken is also the series.
What’s new with Planet of the Apes?
We are expecting a draft very shortly, and it’s Wes Ball attached to direct. We hope to go by the late summer, early fall.
20th was one thing before 2020, and it’s something else now in 2022. Your situation is not one of a normal company or agency coming back to the workplace. Looking back from the start of your job to your view now, how do you think this tumultuous two-year period affected you and the company itself?
I think it’s made us more aware of our lives. And as we Zoom into each other’s kitchens every day, more empathetic. And also, we learned we don’t have to mourn the loss of something. We’re just building something new. It seems counterintuitive, but it’s helped counter some of those feelings, for those of us that have been here a long time, of loss.
And Disney has been so embracing of us. And they invited us into a culture, and it actually has been a period of significant growth. And, quite frankly, I credit Disney and I credit the team that is being built. We’re coming out of this with a bond that I don’t think we would have if we were just a company or an agency that was just coming back to the office.
There’s collective pride of building something in the midst of this other chaos. And that’s important. And not having had a management job before this, other than managing movies, that’s what it’s about. Taking joy in the success and growth of others. And I’m not sure it would have been the same way without those crazy two years.
A version of this story first appeared in the March 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
Source: Hollywood
