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Ocean’s 13 producer admits that they don’t plan to try very hard this time.

By Burbanked on Mar 28, 2006 in Development Heck, Movies, Screenwriting | 960 views |

13 is the new 12. which was the new 11. or something. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Warner Bros. has announced the development of Ocean’s 13, the third installment of the popular and unique Heist Film Without Any Tension Whatsoever genre that has been conjured with such success by Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and, well, some other people.

But as the studio develops the new movie, are we as audience members hungry for a quality, exciting movie assured that we’ll be served another all-you-can-eat helping of top-notch drama delivered by a Mega-Super-A-List cast?

According to producer Jerry Weintraub, the answer is “No, not so much.” Here E! Online reports why the sequel won’t include previous cast members Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones:

“It was a script issue,” producer Jerry Weintraub told the Associated Press. “We didn’t have a place to really use talent like theirs, two big stars like that…neither Soderbergh nor I would prevail on them to come back and do nothing just to do it.”

Now how great must newly-added, now-token female castmember Ellen Barkin feel, knowing that - while the movie’s quality standards will not allow “big stars” to “come back and do nothing” - she’ll be graciously invited to walk around the set and say a few lines?

And why should the idea of “quality” concern us when a movie franchise utilizes a titling premise wherein the story seems to be growing larger and more complicated, yet the filmmakers can’t be bothered to make it that way?

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From Al Pacino in Ocean's 13? There's a reason the studio isn't called "Warner Sisters". | Apr 26, 2006

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