Benji Bites Back
In 1974, Joe Camp went to Hollywood to make a movie inspired by his dog. When his idea was rejected, Camp made the movie on his own. The picture, Benji, became one of the top grossers of the year, packing theaters with kids and adult audiences alike and spawning four more Benji movies.
Not much has changed in thirty years. When Camp, 65, approached Hollywood studios again with the goal to bring Benji back to the screen, he was turned down.
Whatever the fate of the independent Benji Off the Leash, which opens at 872 theaters on Aug. 20, Camp is not complaining—but he's not compromising. As he wrote in a production journal following meetings with studio executives last year: "[T]hey want to own and control everything."
Camp tells Box Office Mojo: "We negotiated for a year with three separate Hollywood studios, but they wanted to put in four-letter words, poop jokes and sexual innuendo. One guy said, 'This is what you have to do with family pictures today because this is what families expect—bite the bullet.'"
"They think if they throw the money at you, you'll throw your integrity in the trash," Camp says. He refused and he left Hollywood resolved to make an independent picture. Within two weeks, Camp—who wrote, directed and produced Benji Off the Leash—had the cash.
"You really don't have to produce a video game with dirty jokes in it," the Mississippi native contends. Citing Disney's family-oriented pictures, such as Song of the South, Camp became interested in making movies while running a small television commercial production company. The Benji idea came out of a conversation Camp had with his wife, Carolyn, in 1968. The couple had seen Lady and the Tramp and wondered whether something like it would work with real dogs.
One night, Camp observed how his dog, Benji (short for Sir Benjamin of Courtney), responded to the sound of sirens. Realizing that dogs could be depicted as having a particular expression—and aware of the cinematic possibility—he woke the next morning and wrote a script treatment.
Later, when he finished reading it to his wife, he saw that a tear was rolling down her cheek. He knew the tale of Benji's attempt to rescue a couple of kidnapped children—and find a loving home—was a good story. After every major studio rejected Benji—a Universal Pictures executive advised Camp to make the movie on his own—Camp transformed Benji into a self-made success.
"We opened in Los Angeles in November 1974, because we wanted to qualify the song for an Academy Award [Benji was nominated for Best Song]," Camp remembers. "We did single market openings. We changed ads, we changed the [marketing] thrust, and then we set up full, national distribution in the summer of 1975. We were so successful, we went back into markets and played them again. We just went to the exhibitors and convinced them. We were in every market in 1975 that we had played in 1974."
Camp credits Benji's breakthrough with a sense of purpose. When the General Cinema theater chain told Camp's company that Benji would be released in its lower profile theaters in Boston, Camp threatened to pull the picture—demanding that Benji be screened for the right audience. Camp says: "It was one movie for them. For us, it was our life."
General Cinema ceded the point; Benji opened in Boston's best theaters and became one of the year's biggest blockbusters. For the Love of Benji was released in 1977, followed by Oh, Heavenly Dog! with Chevy Chase and Omar Sharif in 1980 and Benji the Hunted in 1987. The combined revenue for Benji movies and merchandise is over $ 200 million.
A Christian whose favorite movies include Mr. Holland's Opus, the television miniseries Roots and Chocolat, which he watches four times a year, Camp is confident that there is an audience for what he calls good, family entertainment. Whether Benji Off the Leash qualifies, Benji's creator has mastered one of Hollywood's most daunting challenges: putting his movie—created his way—in front of that audience.
RELATED LINKS
• Benji Off The Leash Official Web Site
• Benji's Box Office History
• Review: Benji Off The Leash
• Discuss Benji Off The Leash in the Forums
• Benji: Off the Leash on DVD (from Amazon.com)
• Benji (1974) on DVD (from Amazon.com)
Not much has changed in thirty years. When Camp, 65, approached Hollywood studios again with the goal to bring Benji back to the screen, he was turned down.
Whatever the fate of the independent Benji Off the Leash, which opens at 872 theaters on Aug. 20, Camp is not complaining—but he's not compromising. As he wrote in a production journal following meetings with studio executives last year: "[T]hey want to own and control everything."
Camp tells Box Office Mojo: "We negotiated for a year with three separate Hollywood studios, but they wanted to put in four-letter words, poop jokes and sexual innuendo. One guy said, 'This is what you have to do with family pictures today because this is what families expect—bite the bullet.'"
"They think if they throw the money at you, you'll throw your integrity in the trash," Camp says. He refused and he left Hollywood resolved to make an independent picture. Within two weeks, Camp—who wrote, directed and produced Benji Off the Leash—had the cash.
"You really don't have to produce a video game with dirty jokes in it," the Mississippi native contends. Citing Disney's family-oriented pictures, such as Song of the South, Camp became interested in making movies while running a small television commercial production company. The Benji idea came out of a conversation Camp had with his wife, Carolyn, in 1968. The couple had seen Lady and the Tramp and wondered whether something like it would work with real dogs.
One night, Camp observed how his dog, Benji (short for Sir Benjamin of Courtney), responded to the sound of sirens. Realizing that dogs could be depicted as having a particular expression—and aware of the cinematic possibility—he woke the next morning and wrote a script treatment.
Later, when he finished reading it to his wife, he saw that a tear was rolling down her cheek. He knew the tale of Benji's attempt to rescue a couple of kidnapped children—and find a loving home—was a good story. After every major studio rejected Benji—a Universal Pictures executive advised Camp to make the movie on his own—Camp transformed Benji into a self-made success.
"We opened in Los Angeles in November 1974, because we wanted to qualify the song for an Academy Award [Benji was nominated for Best Song]," Camp remembers. "We did single market openings. We changed ads, we changed the [marketing] thrust, and then we set up full, national distribution in the summer of 1975. We were so successful, we went back into markets and played them again. We just went to the exhibitors and convinced them. We were in every market in 1975 that we had played in 1974."
Camp credits Benji's breakthrough with a sense of purpose. When the General Cinema theater chain told Camp's company that Benji would be released in its lower profile theaters in Boston, Camp threatened to pull the picture—demanding that Benji be screened for the right audience. Camp says: "It was one movie for them. For us, it was our life."
General Cinema ceded the point; Benji opened in Boston's best theaters and became one of the year's biggest blockbusters. For the Love of Benji was released in 1977, followed by Oh, Heavenly Dog! with Chevy Chase and Omar Sharif in 1980 and Benji the Hunted in 1987. The combined revenue for Benji movies and merchandise is over $ 200 million.
A Christian whose favorite movies include Mr. Holland's Opus, the television miniseries Roots and Chocolat, which he watches four times a year, Camp is confident that there is an audience for what he calls good, family entertainment. Whether Benji Off the Leash qualifies, Benji's creator has mastered one of Hollywood's most daunting challenges: putting his movie—created his way—in front of that audience.
RELATED LINKS
• Benji Off The Leash Official Web Site
• Benji's Box Office History
• Review: Benji Off The Leash
• Discuss Benji Off The Leash in the Forums
• Benji: Off the Leash on DVD (from Amazon.com)
• Benji (1974) on DVD (from Amazon.com)
