Mass Hysteria...

It's dead, I tell ya...



Dead, dead, dead...
Drama is dead...

That's a phrase you would have heard over and over by many producers and studio suits if you had been in Cannes this year. With today's audience and the current state of technology there is little desire to do an old fashioned, slow paced romance. Big, loud and bombastic are the new coins of trade. As I've said in earlier post, right now if you plan on pitching something it had better be 3D or involve someone with powers a normal human being wouldn't have.

Such is the case with all the Marvel/DC films that are being made. All the films from Disney and other studios that are being released in the third dimension, not counting all the films that are being converted into that format. Let's face it, no one wants to deal with a normal story anymore. Not that it's permanent, but the current times, like the Thirties, have people looking for escapism. No one wants to pay money to see a realistic war film that shows a realistic enemy. The world wants a vacation from the reality of our fears and films are supplying that. Why watch a drama like "Ghandi" when you can have a "Clash of the Titans" instead? Or who needs a serious tale of love of cars and women, growing up and innocence lost like "American Grafitti" when you can have "Alvin and the Chipmunks" as an alternative?

What Hollywood is looking for, for better or worse, is a sure thing. A marketable idea that can apply to mass appeal across many demographics. And even though they have yet to make one that is a smash hit, video games tend to fit into this niche just like guys wearing underwear and capes. If you remember, last year I had a post called "Game On/Over" about what video games would/could make great or at least interesting adaptations. Well, some of those games are already now in heavy development. But now comes news about a game that I've never played (hard to believe, I know) that is wildly popular which may be the next project studios try and turn into a franchise...

Mass Effect.

Legendary Pictures ("The Dark Knight," "Superman Returns," "Clash of the Titans") has secured the rights to the BioWare title. Now, normally I'd brush this off as another attempt to get an incredibly difficult/expensive production of something like Halo. We all know how that movie turned out, don't we? But then I read who they are negotiating with to write the script and my interest immediately went from zero to sixty.

Mark Protosevich.

If you've read my post, "Unfinished Business" then you know he's written a couple things that I absolutely love. Sadly, both of these projects will never reach the light of day. The first he did was one of my two favorite scripts, "I Am Legend," which is not the mediocre film you went and saw with Will Smith. That was a pedestrian version of script that would have been amazing. The second is "Thor" which you won't see because it has already been rewritten to figure into the modern world so that the God of Thunder can interact with Earth's Mightiest Mortals. Sometimes the best work stays on the page, not the stage, I'm afraid. Let's hope this doesn't happen with the adaptation of this game. If Protosevich is working on it there could be a huge, awesome piece of cinema waiting to be filmed. Now, unfortunately, if it turns out great or not will depend on the whims of some, faceless development suit.

Because drama is dead and action killed him...

This Generations' Star Wars...

So that's the feeling of Stuart Beattie...

He's the guy that wrote the "Halo" script that supposedly Spielberg fell in love with. Now, from all I'm hearing this is the same script that Peter Jackson was going to make. Which was the same one I read. And it was... good, but not mind-shattering or brilliant. At least in my opinion. And like I said, I can't spend an entire movie never seeing my main character as he walks around in a motorcycle helmet. I have to feel empathy, I have to relate to them and I have to know they're human. That's what a face is for, that's what eyes communicate, that's what a mouth is there to convey. Along with a million other facial ticks that we associate with humans.

And don't get me wrong, there are many other things that need to be better in this script for a Suit to justify shelling out somewhere between $150-$200 million dollars. I have a feeling there's a great story here, but maybe it needs a rewrite. Justin Marks, anyone? Just kidding. His "Supermax" script wasn't the best or worst I've ever seen, but somewhere in the better middle. If I was to have someone do a polish or rewrite on this, it'd be Mark Protosevich, one of my all time favorite screenwriters. He keeps having great scripts rewritten and turned into good scripts... perhaps it's time he took a good script and turned it into a great one? Now, if only the Suits would agree.

If you'd like to read what Beattie said about his love for all things Halo, then go HERE and check out what he had to say to Sci Fi Wire while he was on a press junket for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of ADD" recently.

Time will tell...

Thundering Forward...

Those of you that remember my post a while back about the "The 5 Best Scripts Hollywood Never Made" will be glad to know that one of those projects is moving forward...

The Mighty Thor, or just Thor is progressing further in pre-production and has gotten a fantastically perfect person to direct it. Kenneth Branagh, who I think is near perfect to adapt this material, but the only downside is...

It won't be the script I was talking about. As good as it was, it apparently wasn't good enough for Marvel and they, along with Branagh are moving forward with another script. Hopefully it'll be as good as the Mark Protosevich draft, but I doubt it. Although they do have a great screenwriter working on it, I'm biased.

Here's hoping...

Unfinished Business: The 5 Best Scripts Hollywood Never Made...

Question: "How many Development Executives does it take to screw in a light bulb?"

Answer: "Does it have to be a light bulb?"

- An old Film Industry joke about Development Executives.


Not all of the movies we see that suck started out that way. A film can take literally decades to gestate before going before cameras with the right team... or wrong team leading it. Hollywood is filled with giant egos, all wanting to take credit for something to validate a reason for having the title above their office door...

I've had quite a few people e-mail me over that past year or so whenever I talk about scripts or films. Many have asked me about other scripts I've read that I love. I thought I'd make a short list of several of the scripts I've read and put together what I believe are the best five scripts that Hollywood hasn't filmed. Granted, this is based on my own personal taste and if you don't like my taste you may not like these scripts. I originally thought I'd do a top ten list, but felt that it might be too many in one post. I'll instead focus on these five. If there's enough interest I'll add to the list with another five.

So without further ado...


Captain Blood - Screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh

PITCH: Think "Gladiator" set in the age of pirating. A swashbuckling epic that took the great 1935 film by director Michael Curtiz starring Errol Flynn into a much more gritty realization. Unlike "Pirates," there are no cursed, ghost pirates or giant, mythic sea creatures... only cursed men and high seas action. A doctor named Peter Blood is sold into slavery and put to work in Port Royal. Spanish pirates attack the unprepared Port Royal, Blood and other prisoners escape while the pirates attack is happening and take their galleon with them. The Pirates are quickly captured by the British. They set a path for a prisoner island filled with many more like themselves and then begin a pirating career on the open ocean that leads Blood back toward justice and redemption against the man responsible for his fate.

STATUS: Dead and buried. This was in development before Disney or anyone else thought about turning "Pirates of the Caribbean" into a film. The movie was to star a very career hot, at the time, Alec Baldwin. It went through various revisions and Frank Darabond did the later versions. Not a bad person to do a rewrite of your work, if you ask me. With the box office bomb "Cutthroat Island" in the mid 90's, pirate movies became "persona non grata" and the film languished for a while before Suits had it walk the plank...


Nevaland - Screenplay by Kevin Lewis & Troy Scott

PITCH: Think of "Peter Pan" meets "Romeo & Juliet"(the Leonardo Decaprio film version) with the action from "The Fast and the Furious" thrown in. This modern day retelling of the classic story by J. M. Barrie is set in contemporary New York during Christmas time. It's an enchanting love story about a young girl named Wendy from the New York burrows that meets a young, edgy party bad-boy named Peter who is on the run from some gang members working for a night club owner with one hand, one hook and a vendetta against him. He takes Wendy into his world which involves nightclubs, wild chases and a romantic night filled with romance and adventure on the island of Manhattan. Get it? As Long Island is a motiff for Neverland? A truly great read. A clever reinvention that's fast, fresh and perfect for todays market.

STATUS: Development Hell. I particularly loved the cast that was attached or rumored to be with this script. Samuel L. Jackson was connected with the Hook/Nightclub Owner character and if you've read the script he would've been dead-on. There was talk of Hayden Christensen as the Peter character, Rosario Dawson as the daughter of a rival nightclub owner named Lily, and Rachel Lee Cook for a punker pal of Pete's nicknamed Tink. Oh well...


Sherlock Holmes and the Vengeance of Dracula - Screenplay by Michael B. Valle

PITCH: Think literally Sherlock Holmes meets Dracula. Everything that "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" got wrong, this script got right. It takes two classic characters from the turn of the century, that occupied a similar place and has them meet. Taking place in 1891, it involves a great deal of characters from both books and has Holmes investigating a series of murders as Dracula has made it back to London. Holmes, a man of absolute logic has to come to grip with the fact that the criminal he's hunting doesn't correspond to his "elementary" view of the facts. Many of the characters that populate the novels of each book are here... including that "Napoleon of Crime, Professor Moriarty" as well. I love, love, love this script. There is not a day goes by when I go to a theater that I don't wish I was setting down to watch this on the silver screen.

STATUS: Dead. But like Dracula, I pray it rises from the dead. I just don't hope some fool does a unneeded rewrite like happened on "I Am Legend" that winds up taking a great script and turning it into a good one. Chris Columbus was at one time attached to direct this. It languished for the last four or five years before dropping off the buzz meter. Sigh...


Smoke and Mirrors - Screenplay by Lee Batchler & Janet Scott Batchler

PITCH: Think "Raiders of the Lost Ark" meets "Lawrence of Arabia" meets "Casablanca." Nice huh? It's a deeply rich, action/romance that involves a famous French magician Jean Robert Houdin(a real person, btw) who is enlisted by his government to go the French colony of Algeria to expose a local shaman that is terrifying people with his magic. He takes his young, lovely wife with him and encounters a handsome French Legionnaire that has a fancy for his wife. If you'd like to read more about the film/script check out this article I wrote last year called: Development Hell: Disney Style.

STATUS: Dead. Worse that dead, really. Dead and gone... It was a script designed to star Sean Connery. If you've read it, you'll understand that only a few people could do this roll. With Connery retired it's harder to find someone with his charisma that could fill this roll. It was on the verge of being made in the mid to late 90's and then fell back into oblivion and hasn't been seen or heard from since...


Thor - Screenplay by Mark Protosevich

PITCH: Think "Conan" meets "The 13th Warrior" set in the world of "Lord of the Rings." Wow... pretty cool, huh? The adaption of the Marvel Comics character throws away the version where he's a mild, normal man who's a disabled doctor that becomes the Mighty Thor after finding a stick and follows closer to Walt Simonson's take on the hot-headed Norse god(comic book geeks will know what I'm talking about here). In this story which takes place in an unnamed world populated by Norsemen, Thor and his brethren do battle with the Ice Giants. His brother Loki discovers a long lost secret and plots the downfall of his brother, clearing the way for his plot to seize Asgard. Primal, Macho action here. Young boys will be eating this up...

STATUS: Languishing. Marvel Comics still hasn't decided to greenlite the film. Matthew Vaughn is attached to direct it and is waiting to hear from the Marvel Suits. It is truly an epic film and will take an epic budget. I pray that they don't decide to go for a rewrite like they did with a fabulous "Fantastic Four" script by Michael France and Chris Columbus in favor of the sitcom style mediocrity that the final film turned out to be. Will it get made as is? Or will the tinkering of development executives destroy what would be a huge blockbuster for Marvel? Only the gods know...