FINAL-FRAME-OF-OLD-DOGS(This is the actual final frame of Old Dogs. This scene should have chalk around it.)

Seeing the promos for Old Dogs was like watching Hollywood rape a child on film and then try to sell tickets for it, but they say the Lord works in mysterious ways.  You see, last week, the failure/embarrassment of Old Dogs led new Disney chief Rich Ross to pull the plug on Robin Williams’ equally horrendous sounding Wedding Banned.  Less than a week later, Variety reports that Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride has also been Rich Ross’d.   I’m starting to like this guy.

The Touchstone pictures sequel to the 2007 hit was revving up to begin production by next summer, with Walt Becker back as director, and John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy reprising their roles.
…new writers were in the process of being hired.  That ended this week, when word came down that the picture wasn’t going to get made.
The timing of the move follows Disney’s release of the Becker-directed Old Dogs.  The comedy was trounced by critics and did not score at the box office.

Though Old Dogs was a disappointment, it wasn’t exactly a bomb ($40 mil on a $35 mil production budget, so far).  Killing a movie from the same director with the same star is a smart, though fairly easy business decision.  What’d be even cooler is if he did it not only because it was a money loser, but because he was actually ashamed of his company making money off a sub-par product, instead of just shrugging his shoulders and saying “I dunno, I guess people like sh-t sandwiches.”  What a concept.