Blockbusters: Never a Sure Thing

The Big Hits sometimes have bumpy rides to their bigness.

The first screening, in summer 2012, was an unmitigated disaster.

Alfonso Cuaron had just shown his movie, a space-set survival tale titled Gravity, to its first test audience and was reading the comment cards. "Why aren't there any aliens in this?" read one, while another said, "I wish there was a monster in this."

Card after card it went, with Cuaron shaking his head. The audience didn't get it. ...

The first free fall: Universal chairman Marc Shmuger and co-chairman David Linde were ousted in 2009. Cuaron recalls Universal co-chair Donna Langley saying she didn't know where Gravity would fit into the new slate. ...

Then Jolie dropped out. ... Downey departed to shoot the Sherlock Holmes sequel and The Avengers. ... When the test screenings started, the movie wasn't done. ... Most of the scenes that would stun moviegoers in the finished, fully rendered film were crude, blocky animatics. ...

It was as late as July's San Diego Comic-Con International that things began to turn around. When the film's bravura opening debris-strike sequence was shown during the movie's panel, the 6,500 people in attendance were silent in rapt attention. And then they went wild. ...

Often big fat blockbusters are thought to be disasters for months ... YEARS before they're finally released. Snow White was going to sink Disney.

Star Wars got put into turn-around. (Ditto for Lord of the Rings.) Toy Story had a near-death experience before characters and storyline were straightened out. And the new blockbusters Frozen was developed, then shelved, then dusted off multiple times before finding its way to the screen.

Box office verdicts are in, so now the awards season.

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) announced the winners of their third AACTA Intl. Awards Jan. 10 at a ceremony in Los Angeles. ...

“Gravity” won best picture, with director Alfonos Cuaron taking the director trophy, while “American Hustle” won for Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell’s screenplay, and Jennifer Lawrence’ssupporting actress role. ...

You just never know. With a different twist of fate, the picture wouldn't have been made.