How's this for a great Hollywood success story? Two middle-aged screenwriters who haven't had a film produced in nearly 15 years sell a script that became Miramax's big teen entry in the crowded holiday movie marketplace.
That's the story behind "The Faculty," Miramax's new $23-million sci-fi thriller with a scary premise any teenager could identify with: "Oh my God, all my teachers are aliens!"
However, that's not the only story Miramax wants to sell. The film debuted at No. 5 with a weekend box-office total of $11.6 million, a modest showing considering that Miramax spent a company record $30 million marketing the film, which is being released by its Dimension Films subsidiary.
Populated with a cast of little-known young actors, the movie's biggest marketing draw, along with its concept, is its screenwriter, Kevin Williamson. He's already a brand name of Spielbergian proportions among high schoolers for creating the "Scream" horror film series and the hit TV show "Dawson's Creek."
The film's ads don't even mention its young stars. Instead, they bill "The Faculty" as being a thriller "From the director of 'Desperado' " with a "Screenplay by the writer of 'Scream' & 'Scream 2.' "
A studio known for its savvy marketing machinery, Miramax couldn't bill Williamson as prominently--or succinctly--if he was sharing billing with two other writers. So after buying the writers' original script for $225,000, Miramax paid an additional sum--roughly $100,000--in return for the writers' agreement to take a story credit and waive their right to arbitration for a shared screenplay credit.
"I like to gamble in Vegas, but if we'd gone to arbitration and lost, we would've regretted not taking the money," says David Wechter, 42, who wrote the original script with Bruce Kimmel, 51. "This way, Miramax bought the right to say on their posters that the screenplay is by Kevin Williamson, who's their most promotable name. And I get to put my kids through college, so it's a great deal for everybody."
Wechter, who directs reality-based TV shows, and Kimmel, who produces Broadway revival cast albums, only have one beef: Miramax co-chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein, no slouches when it comes to hyperbole, have repeatedly credited Williamson in public statements with creating the movie's teen sci-fi thriller concept. "Since it was our idea," Wechter says, "you'd have to call it a little bit of rewriting of history."
