Mike Medavoy has played a part in some of the most iconic movies in Hollywood. Having been involved in a whopping 17 Academy Award Best Picture nominees (seven winning films among them!), you’d be hard-pressed to find someone with more wisdom, passion, and influence in the business. From Silence of the Lambs and Black Swan to Terminator and Zodiac — the list goes on.

I got a chance to catch up with this producing powerhouse to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Holes. Based on the 1998 novel by Louis Sachar (who also adapted the story for the screen), the film centers around Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBeouf), a kid with terrible luck who gets sent to Camp Green Lake to dig holes. Though the corrupt people running the camp say it’s to build character, we quickly find there’s more to the story, including a touching yet tragic historical romance, a curse, and even hidden treasure.
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Throughout the interview, Medavoy reflects on the impact of Holes, reveals why Disney was initially hesitant about tackling the project, and discusses a plethora of new films and series he has in the works.

TAYLOR GATES: Holes was my childhood, so I’m so excited to pick your brain about it for the 20th anniversary. I know that Sigourney Weaver got involved in it because it was her daughter’s favorite book. I’m curious at what stage you got involved and what drew you to the project.

MIKE MEDAVOY: I think — and you know, this goes back a while, and there’s been a lot of movies that I’ve been involved with since — but I think [director] Andy Davis brought it to me. I’m not sure exactly how we got this other company to join us and then wind up at Disney. It was a very interesting kind of thing because I don’t think they knew what to do with the film at the time. If I remember correctly, we had a screening, and [Michael] Eisner — the person running Disney at the time — saw it, and I think that made a big difference. Because I don’t know that they knew what they were doing at that point.

I even read that there was a very dark adaptation of this before Louis Sachar was brought on to adapt his own book. Do you remember anything about that? I found that really interesting when I was doing research.

I don’t remember the dark version of it. I remember the version that we put out, and that was good enough.

Image via Disney

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I think probably better for it, honestly. One thing I really like about the movie and liked about it growing up is that I feel like it doesn’t talk down to its audience. It’s very smartly written, and there are a lot of parallels and Easter eggs. Do you think that contributed to its success? The trust it had for kids to put the pieces together?

Well, it’s interesting because the book had already done really well. People read the book — especially younger people. For this kind of film, you need to get a broader audience than just young kids. And that’s basically what it did. Disney was so nervous about the foreign markets — they were afraid of sending it to the foreign markets. Had not done as well as it did in the domestic market, I have a feeling a lot of the foreign markets wouldn’t have been played. The film probably could have done better if they’d had more confidence in it at the time. It did pretty well, obviously, but, you know.

Do you remember what the biggest fear of the studio was? Why there was so much hesitation around it?

Having run three studios, they only play to what happened before as opposed to setting the pace. And that’s especially true now when they’re trying to remake every movie. A movie works if you make a really good movie about a subject that people want to see.

Speaking of reboots and revivals, I would be surprised if there haven’t been conversations about remaking this movie. Is that something that’s ever been brought up?

I think they’re talking about rebooting it as a television series.

Interesting. How do you feel about that?

I think it’s a tribute to the material and a tribute to the people who made it. It’s interesting because every movie — everything has to work. If I think about my career, there have been 17 movies that were nominated for an Academy Award and seven that won. And the ones that won, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, for example, or Silence of the Lambs or Dances With Wolves — they weren’t ahead of its time: They were right on its time.

Image via Disney

This movie, in particular, is still so relevant today. It’s remained so iconic for two decades, and there’s so much staying power. I think social media has really helped it to discover this new audience — there are memes and audio clips on TikTok and things like that. Are you aware of the new cultural impact that it has?

Well, we’re talking about it, so it’s obvious it’s having a cultural moment again, and that’s always really interesting. I’m kind of interested in the fact that I look back at some of the films that I’ve been involved with, and somehow or another, they never die. And that’s good. It means that we did the right thing, and I say “we” as opposed to “I.”

Yeah, it’s a very collaborative process, and I know that you’ve spoken about that in the past, too. You’ve worked with so many iconic people and, like you said, on so many movies that have had this lasting impact. Is there a type of project you’re dying to get to work on that you haven’t really gotten the chance to yet? You’ve worked across all genres with so many people, but is there one thing you still would love to do?

I don’t know that there’s one thing. There are some things that I’m still looking at. I mean, I pulled out a list of things that I’m working on now that are coming up. We did finish a movie with Spielberg’s company called The Voyage of the Demeter, which is one chapter out of the Dracula book. And that’s done. There are a bunch of other things I’m working on. I think that most of the stuff I work on is sui generis because I haven’t done it before. As I said, I never want to be bored. If I do the same thing over and over again, I will get bored.

GCI Film / Mikros Animation

You’ve said that curiosity is the big thing that attracts you to different projects. Is there a subject you feel you’re particularly curious about right now that’s sort of driving you at the moment?

There are a few things. The first thing is this film we just finished, which is an animated movie called Ozi. It’s Leonardo DiCaprio’s company, and it’s called Voice of the Forest. It’s an environmental adventure movie using the art of animation to reach a large family audience. It tells the story of an orphaned orangutan who uses his skills to save the world from deforestation. It addresses the most pressing issue of our time, which is climate change, and we have charities embedded in the film, plus multi-award-winning creative talents including Amandla Stenberg, Laura Dern, Donald Sutherland, Djimon Hounsou, then the title song from Diane Warren and Tiwa Savage. It’s a fun, loving family feature, and it’s not one I’ve already done. The next part of the franchise will address oceans — they’re creating a kind of cinematic universe.

What stage are you in for the next one?

We’ve started the script for the second one about oceans.

Is it going to focus on a different animal every time?

Yes. In this film, we have a couple of humans, too. They’re obviously drawn, but they’re there.

Obviously, you’ve not only done children and family films, but you have been involved in quite a few. Is there something special to you about getting to reach younger audiences? Something that draws you to them?

No, I’m drawn to all audiences. I’m not particular about just younger people or older people. I like doing documentaries, too. I’m planning a documentary on the making of 2001. And I’m gonna do that with Leo’s company, too. I’m working on something on AI from a book called 2041. We talked about Demeter and Dracula. We’re working on a movie about T La Rock. Do you know T La Rock?

Image via Disney

I’m not super familiar, no.

T La Rock was the first guy to do New York talk music. Reggie Hudlin is gonna direct it. And then working with Robert Zemeckis on doing a multi-part Hemingway, and that’s for all audiences. I don’t see it as young or old. I can’t think of another writer, certainly in the 20th century, that fits into that. That’s Zemeckis and Jack Rapke. We’re doing another take on the last month of David Merrick’s life. Been working with Ron Shelton — we’re working on a movie about Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti based book by James Reston and a book called I Kick and I Fly. Just like Holes, it’s a Scholastic release. That’s just some of the stuff I’m working on.

That’s so exciting. You sound like you definitely still have your plate full, which is so amazing. How does it feel to have such an iconic resume? I’m sure it’s obviously rewarding, but do you feel the pressure to sort of keep one-upping yourself? Or do you just still follow your gut after all this time?

No, I just follow my gut. I want to do what interests me. I’ve been working on a film called A Thorn In the Crown, which is set against the background of Oliver Cromwell, the lawyer that got Charles I dethroned. And then, of course, he got killed by Charles II. That’s obviously different from other stuff I’ve done.

There’s such a range and so many different things to be involved in. That’s such an exciting legacy to have because you’re right — you don’t want to be bored doing the same thing over and over. Having a hand in so many different things and juggling so many things at a time is so exciting and such an inspiration, honestly.

Well, life should be interesting!

Holes is available to stream on Disney+.