Biopic 'Professor Marston & The Wonder Women' Acquired By Sony

[Gee]

http://deadline.com/2016/10/professor-marston-the-wonder-women-acquired-sony-1201832504/

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has acquired worldwide rights to Topple Productions and Boxspring Entertainment’s Professor Marston & The Wonder Women, the unconventional true story of behind the creation of the most famous female comic book superhero of all time. Written and directed by Angela Robinson, the indie feature began production this week and stars Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall and Bella Heathcote.

Professor Marston details the life of Dr. William Moulton Marston (Evans), Harvard psychologist and inventor who created Wonder Woman in 1941; his wife, fellow psychologist and inventor Elizabeth (Hall); and their polyamorous relationship with Olive Byrne (Heathcote), a former student of Marston’s and an academic in her own right.

Their relationship proved enduring. Marston created DC’s iconic Amazonian princess with significant input from Elizabeth having been inspired to do so by Olive – Marston, like Wonder Woman, was profoundly influenced by the feminist ideals espoused by Elizabeth and Olive. After his death from skin cancer in 1947, Elizabeth and Olive raised their children by Marston together and remained a couple until Olive’s death in 1988. The film will explore how Marston dealt with the controversy surrounding his creation — which homophobic moral guardians charged would turn young girls into lesbians — while he and his partners navigated and concealed a romantic and family life that, if exposed, could have destroyed them all.

 

[Pink Ranger]

The movie needs to end with a scene like this featuring Gal Gadot. t:t:t:

 

[Kyle]

This sounds great. I'd imagine there's a lot of material here for an intriguing story.

 

[Pink Ranger]

I wonder (hh) what the legalities are in terms of how much mention of a WB-owned character a Sony film can use. I know they're not making a "Wonder Woman" movie per se, and it is more about the history behind a fictional creation, but this movie isn't about the creators of "Amazon Girl" or something.

 

[Kyle]

I don't see much of an issue. The Stan Lee one will have a monster of a time, but that's because in terms of MARVEL Disney and Fox are at each other's throats right now.

 

[Dark Raven]

How did Sony acquire this? WB should've been the one making it. Then they could've actually had Gal Gadot featuring at the end in a cameo, even as herself on Wonder Woman day to honour Marston.

 

[BlueLanternKal]

I hope WB will be amicable about this. Sony is making a biopic honoring the creator of a character that's going to be making them a ****-ton of money next year. At the very least they could hash something out with Sony letting them use Wonder Woman this one time.

 

[Dark Raven]

They could just use footage from the real WW day with Gal and Lynda.

 

[Kyle]

I doubt it's going to go into the modern day. It's most likely not even going to include Lynda. I don't see any reason to. The most interesting thing here is challenging of gender views when it first came out. That's why I highly doubt there will be an issue here. I don't think it was "let's make a Wonder Woman movie to captialize on Wonder Woman movie coming out!" rather "the evolution of women politics is a huge and important topic right now, we can tell a lot by focusing on how people responded to this one character in time." Basically more, for lack of a better term, feminism evolution as focus than Wonder Woman as a character.

 

[Gee]

I wonder (hh) what the legalities are in terms of how much mention of a WB-owned character a Sony film can use. I know they're not making a "Wonder Woman" movie per se, and it is more about the history behind a fictional creation, but this movie isn't about the creators of "Amazon Girl" or something.

How did Sony acquire this? WB should've been the one making it. Then they could've actually had Gal Gadot featuring at the end in a cameo, even as herself on Wonder Woman day to honour Marston.

I hope WB will be amicable about this. Sony is making a biopic honoring the creator of a character that's going to be making them a ****-ton of money next year. At the very least they could hash something out with Sony letting them use Wonder Woman this one time.

Damn it Sony... Give the rights back to Marvel WB!

 

[Dark Raven]

I doubt it's going to go into the modern day. It's most likely not even going to include Lynda. I don't see any reason to. The most interesting thing here is challenging of gender views when it first came out. That's why I highly doubt there will be an issue here. I don't think it was "let's make a Wonder Woman movie to captialize on Wonder Woman movie coming out!" rather "the evolution of women politics is a huge and important topic right now, we can tell a lot by focusing on how people responded to this one character in time." Basically more, for lack of a better term, feminism evolution as focus than Wonder Woman as a character.

Well, they could've used it as a framing device. The movie could start off on WW day, and someone could ask about Marston, and then that's how someone like Gal could start telling the story, leading into a long flashback into the past (essentially the rest of the movie).

 

[Evil Twin]

I wonder (hh) what the legalities are in terms of how much mention of a WB-owned character a Sony film can use. I know they're not making a "Wonder Woman" movie per se, and it is more about the history behind a fictional creation, but this movie isn't about the creators of "Amazon Girl" or something.

HOLLYWOODLAND should be the template for this. They won't be able to use trademarks in the advertising and may have to skirt some images, but they won't have to hide that it's a film about the creator of Wonder Woman.

 

[Zant]

I don't see much of an issue. The Stan Lee one will have a monster of a time, but that's because in terms of MARVEL Disney and Fox are at each other's throats right now.

At each others throats yet joining forces to make xmen shows right now. They have a complex relationship.

 

[Kyle]

At each others throats yet joining forces to make xmen shows right now. They have a complex relationship.

Disney, to my knowledge, has nothing to do with their X Men shows. Marvel does I'm sure. Disney I'd highly doubt.

 

[Kyle]

Well, they could've used it as a framing device. The movie could start off on WW day, and someone could ask about Marston, and then that's how someone like Gal could start telling the story, leading into a long flashback into the past (essentially the rest of the movie).

Don't like that. Feels more like a plug for what is very rich material to tap into.

I agree that Hollywoodland would be a great idea of how to handle the property. The majority of it should be less SHOWING Wonder Woman and more on the politics about the character and the evolution of feminism and women rights. Basically Wonder Woman isn't the focus as in the character, but the means of which to explore civil rights.

 

[ouroboros]

Yeah, also agreed on Hollywoodland; the idea would be to talk about the significance of the fictional character to the audience, not the character herself.

I've read Jill LePore's SECRET HISTORY, and while it could provide the filmmakers with a lot of good background, it fails in the long analysis to get to the core of who Marston was, and why he was the one to create this female icon.

That's a task even harder IMO than managing to skirt trademark issues!

 

[Dark Raven]

Maybe they could start the movie with Gal connected up to a polygraph test being interrogated. Then she could start asking her interrogator if he or she knows that Marston invented the lie detector and it could begin from there.

 

[Kyle]

Personally any link to Gal has me asking "Why?... Plug..." Just doesn't make sense to me to include her other than a blurb over white saying Wonder Woman went on to be the focus in television and film.

 

[marvelrobbins]

This has poential to be intresting story.chance to learn more about this intresting story.
creator of wonder woman lived with 2 women and had children by both.they both played a role in creation of wonder woman.and after he dies 2 women lived together till one of them died.

when he was writing wonder woman he had a lot of bondage in woman woman.

if creator and his true family life would have been public knowledge it would have created more fuel to the moral police claiming wonder woman was turning girls into lesbians.

 

[dude stannis]

The only modern day stuff should be a framing device where Grant Morrison discovers Marston's journals.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/10/07/wonder-woman-creator-biopic-luke-evans-rebecca-hall-bella-heathcote

Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, and Bella Heathcote are set to star in the upcoming indie feature film Professor Marston & The Wonder Women, which tells the story of the man behind Wonder Woman’s creation and the women who inspired him, it was announced Friday.

 

[Gee]

Trailer out tomorrow:
https://***********/marstonmovie/status/886957033903333382

 

[Dark Raven]

Just watched the trailer. How well do people think this will do, riding on the wave of Patty Jenkins' WW? Will there be more interest for it?

 

[Willi Berg]

[YT]enO1WLxY0Go[/YT]

Just watched the trailer. How well do people think this will do, riding on the wave of Patty Jenkins' WW? Will there be more interest for it?

Absolutely. The amount of increased interest in all things WW is staggering.

It is great timing, marketing-wise. And very fortunate for this biopic that Patty and co. made such a great and well-received movie.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

I'm interested while I know "based on a true story" is going to amount to very little since none of the three involved spoke about it.