Who Wants To See A 'One Crazy Summer' Sequel?
Between One Crazy Summer and Better Off Dead, it's almost impossible not to pick the latter as the more satisfying of the two Savage Steve Holland and John Cusack collaborations. The '80s comedies have both aged well, though. Neither film was a hit at the box-office, but time has been kind to them. Now, Holland wants to revisit some of the characters from One Crazy Summer in a sequel.
Holland has had his ups and downs as a filmmaker. In an excellent interview with Fast Company, the director reflected on his two cult classics, and where his career went after they initially failed to connect with audiences. Both pictures were made by Warner Bros.. The studio was so enthusiastic with the testing screenings of Better Off Dead they quickly picked up Holland's next project, One Crazy Summer.
After Better Off Dead didn't do gangbusters at the box-office, the studio cut the marketing budget for Holland's followup. Still, the summer comedy performed better than Holland's previous effort, and its life on HBO and video stores has helped keep Holland going.
In the interview with Fast Company, the director mentioned he's considering a "semi-sequel" to One Crazy Summer:
I'm doodling with Bobcat Goldthwait on a semi-sequel to One Crazy Summer. Our lives are just really different but I still love him and we say we gotta do this thing. So we are working on One Epic Fall. Of course, Joel [Murray] is gonna be in it. The question is, how do we make it a sequel when Cusack's not gonna be in it? But we have so many bad, dumb, great jokes we're piecing together to see if we can pull it off. I don't think Demi [Moore] would be on board, but with Joel [Murray], Bobcat [Goldthwait] and Curtis [Armstrong], you've already got a trifecta of genius there."
Like he says, there's no chance John Cusack would star in this sequel. It's well known that the actor wasn't pleased with Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer. Neither film had the drama he saw on the page, and apparently the actor "checked out" halfway during principal photography on One Crazy Summer. As for Goldthwait and Murray, both have worked together since the 1986 comedy. Goldthwait directed Murray in God Bless America, a fun and very dark comedy. Both men have good careers going, but would they be open to starring in a One Crazy Summer sequel? According to Holland, they are.