We all know Riddick was a bit of a passion project for star Vin Diesel and that it wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without a lot of help from him, but I didn’t think he put this much into the movie. The movie is as indy as wide release science-fiction can get with no studio backing, but it turns out that Diesel basically put up everything he owns to get it made, including leveraging his house. He’d basically be homeless if the movie didn’t come out.
First, I’m glad he didn’t just run to Kickstarter. Second, passion doesn’t always equal quality so the returns on the investment are still up in the air. From the trailers this looks a strong return to form for the franchise (if we’re not count the strong return to form that was the videogames). Let’s just hope that Diesel actually invested in something good, and that the next Riddick film, the screenplay for which is already in the works, actually has a reason to exist.
(via THR)
