Since taking the leap into directing in the mid-1990s, former film editor Raja Gosnell has earned himself a solid reputation behind the camera in recent years. As one of Hollywood’s busiest film editors throughout the 80’s and 90’s, Gosnell cut his teeth on such blockbusters as “Pretty Woman”, “Good Morning, Vietnam”, and “Mrs. Doubtfire” before making his directorial debut in 1997 with “Home Alone 3”. Once a cash cow franchise for 20th Century Fox, the highly popular “Home Alone” series started off promisingly in 1990, raking in a whopping $286 million in its initial release. The first sequel, “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York”, (released in 1992) was also a hit, grossing over $175 million domestically. Nevertheless, ”Home Alone 2” proved to be somewhat of a disappointment – particularly for Fox, which had invested heavily in the project’s star, Macauley Culkin. In 1993, faced with diminishing returns and rising star salaries (not to mention Culkin’s looming puberty), the studio decided to pull the plug on any further sequels and shelved the franchise for the next five years. However, in 1997, 20th Century Fox – by then, starved for a hit – changed its mind and announced plans to resurrect the series with a new cast. To fill Macauley Culkin’s big shoes, child actor Alex D. Linz was tapped to play Alex Pruitt, the new protagonist of the movie. The studio reportedly approached director Chris Columbus (who had helmed the first two “Home Alone” films) to take the reins again, but Columbus passed. Instead, he recommended that the studio to take a chance on Gosnell, who had served as his editor on the previous two “Home Alone”s. Fox agreed. While Gosnell took care to adhere closely to the formula established in the previous two “Home Alone”s, audiences failed to respond. The film died a quick death at the box office after earning just $30 million – a mere fraction of the original’s take – and effectively killed off any plans for a “Home Alone 4”.
Luckily, Gosnell survived the fiasco. His next film was the Drew Barrymore romantic comedy “Never Been Kissed”. (1999). The movie told the story of Josie Geller (played by Barrymore), a young, ambitious reporter for a major Chicago newspaper. When Josie is assigned to write a feature on what the modern, hip high schooler is up to these days, she naturally goes undercover as a student to find out first-hand. As Josie goes back to school, she finds herself drawn into the daily intricacies of the high school caste system. Still scarred from her days as a high school geek back in her first go-around, Josie struggles with her inner teen, all the while trying to maintain her identity as an adult. Earning over $50 million during its release, the film did far better than expected. In addition to being successful at the box office, “Never Been Kissed” proved Gosnell’s growing flair for comedy.
Gosnell’s next project, 2000’s “Big Momma’s House,” proved to be his broadest comedy yet. The gender-bending, cross-dressing, mistaken identity comedy starring Martin Lawrence grossed over $117 million at the box office alone. Not surprisingly, the unexpected success of “Big Momma’s House” dramatically elevated Gosnell’s stock in Hollywood. In 2002, Gosnell was tapped to helm a live-action version of the Hanna-Barbara animated classic “Scooby Doo”. With a budget of $84 million, “Scooby Doo” was Gosnell’s most expensive project to date as a director. In addition to being a big boost for Gosnell’s career, the film was also an especially valuable commodity for Warner Bros., the studio that produced it, as it represented another potential franchise. Despite lukewarm reviews, “Scooby Doo” went on to gross a highly respectable $153 million – all but guaranteeing a sequel. Sure enough, in 2004, Gosnell followed up with “Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed”. The film, which reunited stars Freddie Prinze, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardelini, and Matthew Lillard with the titular CGI canine, Scooby Doo, was another hit – though a far more modest one than the first.
Thanks to his consistent string of hits, Gosnell’s star continued to rise in 2005. In August 2005, Gosnell wrapped production on his sixth film – the family comedy “Yours, Mine, and Ours” starring Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo. No doubt inspired by the success of the similarly themed Steve Martin pic “Cheaper By The Dozen”, “Yours, Mine, and Ours” is the tale of a large combined family brought together under “Brady Bunch” style circumstances remade from the original Bob Hope-Lucille Ball film.
