Will there be any new Futurama after the movies? Now with added rumormongering!

[Reply #280 on:]

Isn't Southpark dirt cheap?

(Waits for Speedracer to disprove him)

South Park is made in Flash, so I'd go for ... yes.

I thought they used Maya.

[Reply #281 on:]

Isn't Southpark dirt cheap?

(Waits for Speedracer to disprove him)

South Park is made in Flash, so I'd go for ... yes.

I thought they used Maya.

Maya is for 3D animation.  Working with 2D in a 3D environment is actually harder than you'd think, so I suppose they use Maya for the 3D shots, but generally uses Flash.  Very few episodes on South Park contains that much 3D.  ... so

[Reply #282 on:]

Whoops! I meant that it is dirt-cheap to make so CC/Paramount could only see profit even with a small audience. Futurama takes quite a of money to make which, along with a relatively small fanbase, gets in the way of FOX going for a theatrical release.

(Continues to wait for speedracer to disprove him)

Keep in mind that the number of people who'll watch a movie is way more than the number of people who'll buy a DVD box set.  (Take the revenue from the South Park movie and divide by an average ticket price.)  Watching a movie is a social activity.  Buying a DVD on Amazon and watching it at home, not so much.  Marketing and peer pressure are powerful forces.

The link (now fixed) from my previous post lists the production budget ($28 MM in today's dollars) and the revenue for the South Park movie, and I gave an estimate for the budget for a Futurama movie two posts prior.  Feel free to quibble about it, but I doubt it'd be a nine-figure Pixar-type job where they have to spend years developing computational models for animating human beings and mapping out the surface of the Earth.

Theaters and studios typically split revenue 50-50, so if a Futurama movie costs $40-70 MM, it'd have to pull in $80-140 MM (including future DVD sales) to be profitable.  As with a proposed new TV season, we're not talking cash cow here, but it could certainly be profitable.

Finally, the main reason a theatrical release should be considered is simply because it only requires the approval of 20th Century Fox (the studio) and the Futurama staff.  The studio folks are the ones who came up with the idea for the DTV movies, and I'm guessing that whatever discussions there have been about future works have been with the studio rather than the TV network.  They might be convinced that the four movies were an abomination and want to wash their hands of the idea,  but I seriously doubt it -- the movies have certainly been profitable, and the general opinion of the movies (among critics and fans alike) seems to have been more charitable than the opinion of the die-hards on this forum.

[Reply #283 on:]

I never knew the Southpark movie cost that much to make. If it cost that little and made that much profit I guess Futurama could do it too. Although, Southpark was at the tip of it's popularity with kids in the late 90's. Ignorant parents still see animation as for kids only and would have payed for tickets to keep the "little brats" quite for 2 hours.

I still think that Futurama is tough to market (how do you sell an Animated Sci-Fi Comedy with Dramatic elements?) but hopefully some executive has more imagination than me. Still, it would make more sense to bring it back as a TV series first to further build up an audience and then a few seasons from now make a theatrical movie once the fanbase numbers are at they're peak but maybe it already it as big as can get and they should go for it.

*The following barely has anything to do with speedracer's post. I mainly pick on a few things from his post for the purpose of ranting*

Theaters and studios typically split revenue 50-50

 I read somewhere that theaters only get 10% the first week and another 10% every week after. It's a pretty bad deal for the theater's since first week is the majority of the ticket sales. That explains rising ticket prices. I just thought I'd correct that little bit for you.

The general opinion of the movies (among critics and fans alike) seems to have been more charitable than the opinion of the die-hards on this forum.

Most critics and casual fans don't care about story or complexity of jokes like a die-hard would. That's why BWABB is rated highest by the critics and casual fans (generally). I think the jokes are stupid and the characterization and plots shoddy but a casual fan barely remembers 304 or 412 and thinks it's funny that Leela would point three guns at her closest friend's head while a die-hard like myself laughs every time that the professor says "You changed the outcome by measuring it!".

I can see that maybe some would argue that it's good that this brings previous non-fans/non die-hard fans into the show but I just see them abandoning it once they see that the show is very-little like the mid-two movies. I don't think you should ever abandon the premise of your show or at least it's identity to capture a new audience because this audience didn't like your show before and if you return to the way it was they won't like it again.

It's sort-of like how the newest Star Trek movie is going after new fans. So far it has succeeded but I see it as a short-lived revival. These new fans are used to an action-packed ST so if a new TV series is made that goes back to the deep-thinking of the previous series's(maybe they weren't that good or particularly well-written. I just like that they were trying) they'll abandon it. If they keep it action-packed I could see old fans abandoning that (I know many old fans have embraced it. But I see it as mostly nostalgia. If the new movies/ a new TV series continue to be as dumb as ST11 is then I could see old fans seeing that ST truly isn't for them anymore and leaving).

I guess what I'm saying here is that the writers could of had their cake and eaten it too. They didn't have to abandon the style of the series to accommodate new fans (the series had a great mix of low-brow ("No sir. Not us F.A.R.Ters!") and high-brow ("4-million lines of Basic.") humor) since if the film successfully brought them in they would have gotten shocked at how unlike those movies the series actually is.

Plus, I really don't think that many non-fans were buying the DVD's. I mean why would somebody pay 20 bucks for a DVD movie of a show they barely heard about when they could try it on AS or CC for free (basically). I don't know who the writers thought would be buying this movie because in their place I would assume fans and I would write the movies for them confident in the fact that future fans would naturally come in through the T.V. series reruns and buy these DVD's after becoming fans through that.

I guess BBS was primarily written for fans but the writers had a funny way of doing it considering that a very vocal group of fans did not want the reset button hit on F & L. I wasn't asking for them to be together (after all, who would have wanted to miss the big moment) but I at least wanted them to be even closer than they were in S4 instead of that unrequited love they gave us. And another thing (more important to the fanbase as a whole), if BBS was for fans why did they retcon 304 and 407? While I know several fans defend the retcons as not that bad (alright, pretty much just Gorky) I don't think there is a single fan who is happy with those retcons. I still think it is the best one next to ITWGY (though still not very good) but it felt more to me like the writers didn't want to write that story so much as they thought they had to.

The Rant. It is over.

[Reply #284 on:]

I still think that Futurama is tough to market (how do you sell an Animated Sci-Fi Comedy with Dramatic elements?) but hopefully some executive has more imagination than me.

I think there'd be plenty of people who aren't familiar with the original series who would see Matt Groening's name attached to the movie and give a Futurama flick a shot.  Beyond that, I think a few strategically placed Hypnotoad billboards in major cities and a staged Omicronian invasion of Boston would help.

Still, it would make more sense to bring it back as a TV series first to further build up an audience and then a few seasons from now make a theatrical movie once the fanbase numbers are at they're peak but maybe it already it as big as can get and they should go for it.

I agree that TV -> possible movie is preferable, but the Fox network remains intragnisent (or at the very least incomunicado).

I read somewhere that theaters only get 10% the first week and another 10% every week after. It's a pretty bad deal for the theater's since first week is the majority of the ticket sales. That explains rising ticket prices. I just thought I'd correct that little bit for you.

Here are two sources from 2006 which claim that theaters and studios split revenues 50-50 on average.  Maybe the deals are different nowadays, I dunno.  If the studios really are keeping 80%+ of the box office receipts, that makes a movie an even better proposition for 20th Century Fox.  (EDIT:  Here's a link asserting that theaters front-load their cut.  I'd guess that the 80-90% cut of opening weekend receipts only applies to the blockbusters though.)

Really, really long rant

I don't have real data on the composition of diehards/regular fans/noobs who bought the DTVs, so I'll regale you with an anecdote.

Several of my friends are big Futurama fans, but I'd never seen an episode until late 2008.   I saw 3 or 4 episodes before I saw BBS and BWABB, both of which I thought were excellent at the time.  Shortly after that, I d/led and eventually bought all of the season and movie DVDs.  After watching the seasons, I saw the continuity issues.  It lowered my opinion of BWABB, but I've managed to live with it.  I still think BBS is excellent, and I've rewatched all four movies multiple times.  (BTW, I'm male, between the ages of 18-49 and hold several degrees in math/science -- by all rights I should have become a fan years ago, which just goes to show you how incompetent the Fox network is.)

I think the crew wanted to bring in some new fans, but I'd attribute the continuity/reset/other issues to honest misjudgment, not to laziness, self-indulgence or hubris.  The four DTVs were uncharted territory for the crew, and they have some useful feedback if they ever do create another movie.

[Reply #285 on:]

I think there'd be plenty of people who aren't familiar with the original series who would see Matt Groening's name attached to the movie and give a Futurama flick a shot.

Well, maybe not so much Matt Groening as much as "From the Creator of The Simpsons".

speedracer's anecdote

I feel like you're the type of person who could become a fan of something. Some people don't demand anything more from their entertainment than to be entertained for the duration of the running time while some ask for a little more. I think you are in the second category.

As I've said, I don't think anything about a series needs to be abandoned in order to attain new fans. Futurama is great as it is (was) and there was no need sacrifice anything to get a new audience. You yourself said the only reason you weren't a fan before is because of FOX's lack of support for the show.

Did you see your 3/or 4 episodes on CC? I can imagine the show is getting a lot of new fans on CC due to the earlier timeslot (than AS) and older intended audience (some may not have known about AS (and Futurama) because daytime Cartoon Network sells the channel as for kids).

On another note, there are 2 other reasons I have a problem with the DTV movies.

1- DXC has stated that he doesn't feel like they are done with Fry's past. Considering I already stated I have a problem with the retcon's I'm wondering if new Fry's past episodes will have to deal with the changed timeline. They could just use the before 1-1-2000 portion since that would have been unaffected by the UMLT (Universal Machine Language Time-Code) but I feel this limits story since some pretty interesting stuff could have happened to his family after he left.

Of course they can't use any after 1-1-2000 stuff since that all happened to Fry2. Well, maybe a whole new set of problems could of happened to his family since in this changed timeline Fry still disappeared, just at a later time than the previous timeline but I'm not sure how they'll go about it. After all, all that stuff happened to Fry2. I wish they would just state the second timeline as non-canon but I guess I'll just have to deal with it (on the plus side, if the second timeline ends up creating the possibility of a fantastic story that wouldn't have been possible in the original timeline maybe my opinion of BBS will change).

2- I feel like I lost something. It's true that the other movies (not ITWGY (Archonix made a point that ITWGY is probably the one movie the writers would have made had the deal only been for 1 and it has truthiness to me) are extra (20th Century FOX originally propositioned for 1 movie and Matt/DXC talked them into 4) and that I really shouldn't have a problem with them. But somehow I do. Something about knowing that I could have had 4 great movies and instead only got 1 great, 2 meh, and 1 Ahhhhh! movie makes me sad (not sure if that makes me sound pathetic but I can't come up with another word).

I know you just can't go up to a team of writers and say "You will create 4 great stories" and have it happen. But I still feel like the writers didn't try their very best to stick to what made the series great (the well-developed characters, layered humor, and funny and/or epic storylines) and it was only when they did (ITWGY) that they finally succeeded in doing what they meant to do: Reviving Futurama.

Parentheses Man away!

[Reply #286 on:]

I like to still stand to my earlier view on here that Bender's Game wasn't as awful as many on here make it (ok the last half hour was crap, Roberto's appearances were completely wasted and the Dixie Chicks joke was far too low brow) but the first hour felt like earlier Futurama more than most of the first 2 movies. The trouble with all of them (ITWGY included) is they feel more like feature length episodes than movies. This is then still diluted further by making the movies have to be split in 4 to make then into 22 minute episodes for CC. This made the chances of them being good much much lower. The most remarkjable thing about ITWGY is how good it came out even with all the problems I've just mentioned.

Other problems with the 4 movies was the smaller number of wrting staff due to budget restraints. The problem of Greoning and DXC making Fox sign to 4 movies is the money Fox was probably offering to them was spread far too thin.

If only BBS and ITWGY had been made only (obviously the ending of BBS would have to different or the beginning of ITWGY but... whatever) but on the same budget of the 4 that were made the quality MAY POSSIBLY been higher as more resources could of been used to make them. BWABBS was just complete garbage apart of the League of Robots bits which would of made an entertaining 22 minutes episode to make from but the rest was just utterly awful (I mean worse or as bad as A Leela of Her Own, The Cryonic Woman and That's Lobstertainment!).

Don't get me wrong I love Futurama dearly and will protect it to the hilt. I just feel Futurama needs a long look at by writers, both the regulars like Keeler, DXC, Verone et al and also by some new blood as well. Some new ideas are needed but the heart of show must not be lost.

I'm not surprised that Fox annouced nothing at their upfronts. I mean for a start Futurama takes quite a while to animate anyway. We may hear something by the end of the year but basically don't get your hopes up.

Anyway in of order of preference here is what I would like to see in the near future:

1) A new series for TV (between 13 and 20 episodes) with the hope of another to follow.
2) A theactrical release.
3) A new set of direct to DVD movies.
4) Nothing (I HOPE NOT!!!).

[Reply #287 on:]

I like to still stand to my earlier view on here that Bender's Game wasn't as awful as many on here make it (ok the last half hour was crap, Roberto's appearances were completely wasted and the Dixie Chicks joke was far too low brow) but the first hour felt like earlier Futurama more than most of the first 2 movies.

I actually kind-of agree with you on Game. The 2nd Chapter actually is a pretty good Futurama story and the first chapter isn't horrible outside of Leela being made into a 1-D ball of fury.

The trouble with all of them (ITWGY included) is they feel more like feature length episodes than movies. This is then still diluted further by making the movies have to be split in 4 to make then into 22 minute episodes for CC. This made the chances of them being good much much lower. The most remarkjable thing about ITWGY is how good it came out even with all the problems I've just mentioned.

The whole CC situation certainly didn't help. I've said it before but the most annoying thing about CC's demands for the movies to work as episodes (aside from that they don't) is that CC doesn't even air them as episodes. Not once have I tuned it an 9 or 1 (checking with my cable box out of interest) and seen BBS 2 or BWABB 3. If they were only going to air them as movies then why didn't they tell the writers that so they could have written them as movies.

Actually, one of the reasons I love ITWGY so much is that the 2nd-4th chapters don't feel disconnected at all. I can't even dislike the 1st chapter since it is used to set up for the rest of the movie and it's very funny. BBS came close to feeling like a movie but it was still too disconnected to work (I really could see the TV cuts).

Don't get me wrong I love Futurama dearly and will protect it to the hilt. I just feel Futurama needs a long look at by writers, both the regulars like Keeler, DXC, Verone et al and also by some new blood as well. Some new ideas are needed but the heart of show must not be lost.

I agree on the heart of the show. That's is what I feel was lost in the mid-two (minus the 2nd chapter of Game) movies and diluted in BBS. Some new blood would be nice as long as it's someone who doesn't see the show as something to try out their failed short-story on.

[Reply #288 on:]

Renewal or mistake? Maybe it's just referring to the four remaining episodes left to air on Comedy Central...

Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution is shopping The Wanda Sykes Show (Fox), and also saw the following shows renewed this week: 24 (Fox), Bones (Fox), Burn Notice (USA), Dollhouse (Fox), Lie to Me (Fox), Saving Grace (TNT), Sons of Anarchy (FX), American Dad (Fox), Better Off Ted (ABC), Family Guy (Fox), Futurama, How I Met Your Mother (CBS), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX), The Simpsons (Fox), American's Most Wanted (Fox) and Cops (Fox).

[Reply #289 on:]

Sadly enough, I'm going to have to say mistake. Notice Futurama doesn't have a network next to its name like the other shows. By shopping around I think they mean that they are in negotiations with CC about ITWGY.

[Reply #290 on:]

Maybe we won't hear about a renewal until "Into the Wild Green Yonder" has aired and they can base a decision upon the ratings of that.

[Reply #291 on:]

I just had a thought...

(apologies if this has been talked about, but I couldn't be assed reading through the whole board...)

 - There's rumblings about a second Simpsons movie
 - The PE crew have vanished into a wormhole, knowing not where they will emerge

Anyone else see where I'm going here?

[Reply #292 on:]

Renewal or mistake? Maybe it's just referring to the four remaining episodes left to air on Comedy Central...

According to the Futurama Madhouse, author Ed Waller stands by his assertion.

Not for the Fox network but Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution will have some new episodes to distribute to the international market next week. The studio is making more eps for DVD sales.

But does "make more episodes" mean "cropping up Into the Wild Green Yonder"?

[Reply #293 on:]

1.  In response to FOA's query, I stumbled across Futurama on Sky TV (I'm in Ireland for the academic year) because I accidentally tuned in half an hour early for Family Guy.  I don't think I've watched more than 60 minutes of Comedy Central and Cartoon Network combined since 2000.

2.  Retcon issues and all, BBS is still the one movie I'd choose if I had to use only one of the movies to sell someone on Futurama (though ITWGY wouldn't be a bad choice).  If that makes me a fan and proponent of a bastardized version of the show, so be it.

3.  It really amazes me how all these websites/papers/media outlets can take the same basic information (that CC is still planning on airing ITWGY next season) and miscast it in so many different ways.

4.  In case anyone is really curious, I think Nielsen ratings are published in the Wednesday or Thursday print edition of USA Today, so one could check the Futurama ratings there.  For whatever reason, Nielsen doesn't allow its customers to publish the full ratings tables on the web.

5.  As I've mentioned before, CC's TV advertising revenues aren't going to be sufficient to fund Futurama.  They'd need the DVD profits to finish in the black, and I'm not sure how that would work out, since Futurama is produced at Fox's studios.  Either they'd have to move all the operations over to Paramount studios, or Fox and CC would have to split the production costs and DVD revenues, or they'd have to find some other arrangement.  It's not an insurmountable obstacle to getting Futurama renewed on CC, but it does seem significant to me.

[Reply #294 on:]

C21 Media.net appears to be an established and respected site with enough experience in the entertainment business not to make trivial mistakes such as confusing airing existing programing with a series renewal. The article in question appears to be from industry sources and covers a lot of programs so it is unlikely it was made up just to spoof Futurama fans.

[Reply #295 on:]

Well, it could just mean the production block 5 episode box set that was listed on Amazon a while back.

[Reply #296 on:]

Not for the Fox network but Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution will have some new episodes to distribute to the international market next week.

Is the site Canadian? "Bender's Game" is premiering in Canada next week, so maybe he's referring to that.

The studio is making more eps for DVD sales.

... this part stumps me.

[Reply #297 on:]

Not for the Fox network but Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution will have some new episodes to distribute to the international market next week.

New eps to be distributed "to the international market next week"?  Well, Bender's Game is airing in Canada on Sunday.  If he's talking about new new episodes, why would they be appearing internationally but not in the US?

The studio is making more eps for DVD sales.

Is this additional news -- that more DTVs are on the way?  This statement doesn't appear to have anything to do with the assertion that Futurama is being "renewed" for TV.  Still seems to me that it's most likely a mistake or misunderstanding.

EDIT:  My pony too slow.

EDIT:  C21Media is based in London.

[Reply #298 on:]

Well here in the UK Sky has split the movies into 2 mini-seasons by the looks of it- BBS and BWABBs followed later (when we don't know) by BG and ITWGY. So it could just mean the final two movies.... sadly.

[Reply #299 on:]

Just got back from the C21 Media site.  From what I've seen, it looks like it might be a slight possiblity that Futurama might come back!  There's always hope!  Even if we have to wait a while. 

[Reply #300 on:]

That's right KurtPikachu2001 you can't give up hope! You got to hope even more and cover your ears and go BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!

[Reply #301 on:]

Hehe, lets just not get tooo nervous about these damned FOX people NOT telling us anything! HOW DARE THEY! !! ARRRRGH!!

[Reply #302 on:]

The Fox Broadcasting Company has uttered barely a peep about Futurama since 2003.

20th Century Fox studios included a code for a free iTunes download of "Space Pilot 3000" with their recent release of Seth Macfarlane's Cavalcade of Cutting Room Floor Scraps, so at least the studio hasn't forgotten about Futurama.

[Reply #303 on:]

Just wondering, who is actually confident about Futurama coming back? There are those who think it's finished and those who believe in it.

[Reply #304 on:]

Man, there still is no news, I'm growing impatient. Ha ha, I know I have not been waiting long, but man what is so hard to decide. They said fox was pleased with dvd sales, what else is there.

[Reply #305 on:]

As much as I want this show back on the air (NOW, DAMMIT; NOW!), I'm afraid Fox is looking at reality shows, as opposed to higher cost scripted cartoons.  It sucks, but what you gonna do?

[Reply #306 on:]

Maybe if Futurama doesn't come back as episodes, there should be a couple more movies made! 

[Reply #307 on:]

*ahem*
SUPER MEGA RUMOR EXTRAORDINAIRE!!!

[Reply #308 on:]

*ahem*
SUPER MEGA RUMOR EXTRAORDINAIRE!!!

Uh uh.

I seem to recall another unsubstantiated Internet rumor about Futurama's return, and I will be treating this one with the same kind of hopeful skepticism - at least until such time as MG, DXC, or F*x officially confirm or deny it.
Why hopeful skepticisim instead of plain-old regular skepticisim?

Well... it just so happens the previous unsubstantiated Internet rumor to which I refer,
CAME TRUE!

I'll, ah... just ooze back out under the door now...

[Reply #309 on:]

Did anyone see the Collider website?  It said an inside source says that Comedy Central ordered 13 new episodes of Futurama!  It seems hopeful! Maybe that's why Futurama wasn't on the Digital Spy list, because it's probably on the verge of making a comeback!

[Reply #310 on:]

Even IGN is acknowledging this rumor. I think we may have a better chance than we think.

[Reply #311 on:]

OH YOUR GOD!!!!!!!!

[Reply #312 on:]

Maybe I won't be plunging into the depression pool, hooray!

[Reply #313 on:]

I have a feeling that Futurama will be heard about at Comic Con!!!!! WOOL!!

[Reply #314 on:]

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

[Reply #315 on:]

Posters, please post in the other "will Futurama be back" thread.

Mods, please close this thread.

[Reply #316 on:]

26 episodes! Oh my!

[Reply #317 on:]

Posters, please post in the other "will Futurama be back" thread.

Mods, please close this thread.

Why? Who put you in charge? This thread was here first.

Awesome news. Amusing that, like with the DVD movies, they've doubled the initially-expected number of episodes.

[Reply #318 on:]

Since the other thread was closed, I'm carrying this over...

Or the ship will just appear at Eternium and Nibbler will get them in, get them fuel, and send them home. Would be a simplistic way to get done the Green arc and get the show straight to regular episodes again. Expect an episode near the beginning of the new order to address the lack of dark matter.

I'm kind of wondering if the season premiere will be extended. I guess it depends on how the writers decide to deal with the loose ends of ItWGY. I wouldn't be opposed to an hour-long premiere serving as a transition between the 90-minute movies and the 22 minute episodes. Although just addressing everything in the first few minutes could work, too.