The Bounty on Arte: The Movie With Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins Almost Sinks… Because of Superman

Arte Channel tonight airs Le Bounty with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins, an adventure film inspired by the novel. Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian: Men and Mutiny By Richard Howe. Or how the captain’s tyranny will cause the crew to mutiny. The story is clearly inspired by Rebels on the Bounty, which has been adapted for the screen many times.

Superman almost sank the project

Originally, David Lean and his screenwriter Robert Bolt planned two epic feature films to be shot simultaneously and released a year apart. The two films were to be called The Law Breakers (about travel and rebellion) and The Long Arm (following mutineers hunted by the Admiralty), each expected to cost $25 million at the time, or about $129.5 million adjusted for inflation.

Except that at the time Warner Bros., the studio that was planning to finance and release the film, was losing a lot of money due to Richard Donner’s Superman feature. As a result, it’s time for budget constraints and David Lynn is being asked to look elsewhere.

He is also doing an Italian producer – although known for his fraud – with Dino De Laurentiis. The film boat is built, but difficulties multiply: two films are too expensive, De Laurentiis tries to convince Lin to make only one film, but the discussions reach an impasse. Lin leaves the project, and the producer is looking for a new director.

He found it with Australian Roger Donaldson, who had never made a film of this scale. Seeing a unique opportunity, Donaldson accepted, and The Bounty remained a single film.

Superman also helped a lot with the low-budget film

The Superman movie was also postponed. It was supposed to be released in the summer of 1978, but it fell too late and it was decided to release it at Christmas. It helped a small sci-fi film at the box office that pushed back its blockbuster date (and summer marketing budget), allowing it to enjoy success it might not have otherwise.

Or how the difficult life of a blockbuster from other films and a small anecdote can become part of the big story of the studio.