Spielberg’s Terra Nova: That’s An Expensive Bet Right There

How much does Fox really, really want their new Steven Spielberg-produced time-travel drama Terra Nova to be a hit? Let’s just say enough to have spent $10 million on it before filming has even started. The Wrap is reporting that there are concerns amongst those involved with the series that the pilot could cost as much as $20 million, making the show a very high profile gamble for the network – and one that may be doomed to failure, considering the recent departure of showrunner David Fury, leading to rumors of a troubled production that’s getting closer and closer to being out of control (One of the Wrap’s (anonymous, of course) sources is quoted as calling the production “a debacle”).

The show, already given a 13 episode order by Fox, is set to start shooting in Australia this month, for a May preview and a fall 2011 official start. If things are as bad as have been hinted, expect to hear news very soon about a change in those details…

More On Techland:

Fury Leaves Spielberg’s Terra Nova; Should We Worry About Extinction?

Terra Nova Moves Back In Time

richardsrussell

Remember back in 2000-2002, the last time a big-name Hollywood movie producer had a skiffy series on Fox? Fella by the name of James Cameron. Show was “Dark Angel”, starring the then-unknown Jessica Alba. Fox axed it unceremoniously after the cliff-hanger ending of the 2nd season, citing (as you’d expect) high production costs and low ratings.

Let’s not even get started on how they jerked Joss Whedon around.

OTOH, big props to CBS for doing the right thing with “Jericho”. They gave it a 2nd shot, and when it was apparent that it still wasn’t working, they gave the writers a chance to wrap up the story line and go out with a satisfying ending.

Frankly, given Fox’s track record, I don’t know why producers even want to do business with them at all, and as a viewer I sure as heck don’t plan to get hooked on any of their SF shows, because it only leads to heartache and bitterness. (They do great work on NFL games, tho.)
http://crichton007.wordpress.com crichton007

@richardsrussell I couldn’t agree more. I think that most of what Fox produces is sub-par, especially considering the quality of what is being produced on cable (basic and premium). Remember Harsh Realm? I still wish that show had never been cancelled. Who knows? Maybe this show will end up being as popular as The X-Files was and Fox will refuse to allow Spielberg to end it the way he wants to.