MOVIE NEWS – Steven Spielberg made a live-action version of 1994’s The Flintstones, but John Goodman clarified that he didn’t want to make a sequel…

The Flintstones became a huge box office hit in 1994, thanks to a combination of star cast and substantial production values. However, not everything about the film’s plot was so commendable. Star John Goodman was apparently aware of this when he begged producer Steven Spielberg not to drag him back for more films.

The Flintstones managed to bring Bedrock’s cartoon world to life with a combination of grandiose sets, impeccable costumes, and puppets from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

In addition, the live performance of the four main characters – and Goodman is the perfect embodiment of Fred Flintstone – helped to cover the cracks of the threadbare plot. All of this helped the film become a $358 million box office hit from a mere $45 million budget! According to the story, Fred has become a puppet of his boss’s (Kyle MacLachlan) corrupt schemes as he climbs the corporate ladder, becoming estranged from his friends and family.

Although The Flintstones eventually got a sequel, none of the stars who played the main members of the family returned. Goodman, Rosie O’Donnell, Rick Morranis and Elizabeth Perkins all exited the franchise after the first instalment.

It seems that Universal Pictures really wanted to expand the franchise into a trilogy – and possibly even more – based on the success of the film, but according to director Levant, Goodman was not there for the idea.

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Flintstones, Levant spoke to Total Film Magazine about plans for more films and Goodman’s plea to be left out of them. He said:

“They wanted to do the same thing with The Flintstones that they did with Back to the Future and shoot [two sequels] back-to-back. [Goodman] made an appointment with Spielberg and said, ‘Please don’t make me do any more of these.'”

John Goodman and The Flintstones production problems

Levant spoke candidly about the problems with The Flintstones, which included having to pick up a story left over from a previous failed film attempt. Other directors, such as Ron Howard and Ivan Reitman, also turned down the assignment. The script went through several writers before Levant – a self-confessed Flintstones fan – finally accepted. By then, they were running out of time to make the film. He said:

“We were kind of hamstrung because we had to use a lot of the storyline of the failed script. If I was starting from scratch, I wouldn’t have done a story about what is, in essence, corporate malfeasance, but we could hang the characters on that story and it would’ve taken us longer if we’d started from scratch.”

However, Levant was able to help create a real-life version of the animated sitcom’s many Stone Age versions of modern-day objects, and he didn’t hold back on putting his “stamp” on each and every prop.

“To take virtually everything you’ve ever learned about everything and translate that into Flinstones terms was a tremendous creative undertaking and what I’m most proud of. I put my stamp on every one of those 6,000 props and wardrobe [items]. We got really good at figuring out how to translate things into bone, stone, and skin.”

When the sequel was made six years later, Levant returned to direct The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, with Mark Addy leading the cast as Fred.

While there were still some impressive set designs, the film was clearly delayed and only just managed to recoup its $58 million budget.

The Flintstone family is expected to return to screens in Elizabeth Banks’ “grown-up” sequel series, Bedrock, which confirmed the cast last year. If true, it would debut on Fox sometime in 2024.

Source: Total Film Magazine