Bridesmaids was produced for $32 million and grossed over $288 million world wide. It’s locked down a couple Golden Globe nominations and maybe looking at Oscar as well. Yes, Bridesmaids was hugely successful comedy. And what does Hollywood do when it has such a big hit? It makes a sequel. But what if said hit’s star isn’t interested?
Wiig said in an interview that she and her writing partner Annie Mumolo “aren’t planning a sequel. We are writing something else.”
Hollywood Reporter is suggesting that one of the reasons behind this is that Universal didn’t give the cast a big enough bonus check when the film blew up. Said checks were $100,000 each.
But the fact is some people just don’t care about sequels. Despite it’s success, Bridesmaids wasn’t set up to have a sequel. My guess is that Wiig has plans for her career and she doesn’t want to waste time with a Hollywood forced sequel.
Wiig is a busy lady without sequels: In addition to a new project she’s working on with Mumolo, she will next appear in Friends With Kids, Imogene with Annette Bening and this summer begins shooting on the Sean Penn directed drama The Comedian with Robert De Niro. As if all that wasn’t enough, she is also adapting the dramatic novel Clown Girl, which she is hoping to direct.
So yeah, perhaps she has bigger aspirations than Bridesmaids 2.
However that isn’t going to stop Universal. Sources say the studio is willing to move forward with a sequel without Wiig. “We are over the moon with the success of Bridesmaids, and if we do a sequel we want to get it right,” said a Universal rep. “We are talking to filmmakers now about concepts, and if the right one emerges, we’ll move forward.”
There has been no word on whether or not the studio would want Paul Feig back in the director’s chair. However it seems one key element would be Melissa McCarthy, maybe in a lead roll. This was certainly a breakout role for her and she hasn’t cemented her career the way Wiig has so it makes sense that she would agree to a sequel.
It seems Producer Judd Apatow is leaning towards the Universal camp in this debate with some hesitation. “The key is we have to come up with an idea that is as good or better than the first one. We don’t want to do it unless it can be great. I don’t think anyone has had the brain space to think about it yet. Hopefully that can begin this year.”
However, a source commented, “I don’t think [Judd] would proceed without Kristen and Annie’s full participation.”
This wouldn’t be the first comedy franchise to struggle with keeping it’s cast. Bill Murray had to basically be begged to do Ghostbusters 2 and the third film has yet to be made because of him.
Sequels are rarely better than the original, feeling forced and lacking the spontaneity of the original. Hopefully Wiig will hold out and only agree to a sequel if a really good idea comes across. And that “good idea” isn’t just a couple extra zeroes at the end of that paycheck.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
