Columbia picks up the rights to make PREACHER!!

[Webhead2006]

well didnt they want it to be a series on hbo but hbo rejected the idea for some silly reason.

 

[The Guard]

So I went back and reread the first three TPBs...

Hmm...

I don't think this story will be impossible to adapt, as a lot of it is "interchangeable", but they will have to be choosy, and this is likely going to have to be a franchise. The stuff in Heaven will have to be handled...very carefully.

While there's probably an inspired choice out there, had he had not made INTERVIEW, I would almost have liked to have seen Brad Pitt's take on Cassidy. Him or Guy Pearce.

James Cromwell for Sheriff Root!

 

[CrimsonMist]

So I went back and reread the first three TPBs...

Hmm...

I don't think this story will be impossible to adapt, as a lot of it is "interchangeable", but they will have to be choosy, and this is likely going to have to be a franchise. The stuff in Heaven will have to be handled...very carefully.

While there's probably an inspired choice out there, had he had not made INTERVIEW, I would almost have liked to have seen Brad Pitt's take on Cassidy. Him or Guy Pearce.

James Cromwell for Sheriff Root!

It isn't impossible, but what gets me is this: As you said, the Heaven stuff will have to be handled carefully, as will alot of the rest of the story. I don't want them to think "FRANCHISE!!!" because i don't want to see the first film tank, because of the subject matter, and see the incomplete story on screen. On the other hand, if they decided to tell the whole story in one movie, it'll feel condensed to hell, as it's alot of the supporting characters that really make Preacher more interesting and exciting than it already is. And i don't want to see them cut out most of them.

So i don't know. I really want to see the film made, but i don't want to be left hanging if the first film bombs, and i don't want just one film made based on all 9 volumes.

I was kinda thinking R. Lee Ermey as Sheriff Root because, well, it's perfect. I can't really see James Cromwell saying the stuff Root says, but it would be interesting.

I was also thinking that Gary Oldman, about 10/15 years ago would have been a perfect Cassidy. Hell, he still might be able to pull it off. And i want Udo Kier as Herr Starr.

 

[Webhead2006]

yea thats the thing what to add and what to take out so it doesnt fill crammed or to short and all that.

 

[The Guard]

There will definitely have to be an element of PREACHER BEGINS to it. Basing an entire movie on the entire series just wouldn't work so well. I suspect they'll take the Saint of Killers stuff and make that the main story, along with his emerging "mission". I very much doubt he'll hunt God down in the first film.

 

[Webhead2006]

what is the character all about i never read the series.

 

[CrimsonMist]

what is the character all about i never read the series.

An alchoholic preacher, Jesse Custer, gets possessed by the offspring of an Angel/Demon union, which gives him a power called "The Voice of God" which, when he speaks in that voice, forces the person who hears it to do whatever they're told.(Example: Jesse to you: "Go **** yourself". You literally have to **** yourself. This happens in the first volume, too). As a result of this, God quits his position in Heaven because he's scared, and his minions unleash the Angel of Death, or Heaven's Assassin, The Saint of Killers to kill Jesse. Jesse wants to get his hands on God for abandoning the people of the world, and he travels the world with his girlfriend Tulip and a hard-drinking Irish vampire named Cassidy. In looking for God, a crazy religious organization called The Grail(dedicated to preserving the bloodline of Christ) has a member, Herr Starr, who is looking for Custer to make him the new messiah. Chaos ensues.

Throughout the series, the encounter people like Arseface, Lord Jesus(not Jesus Christ....you have to see it to believe it), Sheriff Root, Jesse's Grandmother, a nazi fetishist secretary, a weirdo businessman in the meat packing business, and all sorts of weird people.

It's one of the best comics i've ever read, and certainly the most screwed up(but there's always something deeper to it, a lesson to be learned, or something equally powerful). It's Garth Ennis at his finest and worth checking out.

 

[CrimsonMist]

There will definitely have to be an element of PREACHER BEGINS to it. Basing an entire movie on the entire series just wouldn't work so well. I suspect they'll take the Saint of Killers stuff and make that the main story, along with his emerging "mission". I very much doubt he'll hunt God down in the first film.

I'd imagine they'd use The Saint of Killers suff as the main sub-plot, and use the Grail stuff as the main plot. I think the Grail stuff has enough material to last through 3 films, or even introduce it in 2 and 3(if the first is successful enough to get a sequel) and use the first film to just introduce people. I'd even use the Gran'ma stuff in the first film and introduce the Grail that way.

But we'll find out eventually.

 

[Webhead2006]

thanks for the summary on the character.

 

[Raiden]

An alchoholic preacher, Jesse Custer, gets possessed by the offspring of an Angel/Demon union, which gives him a power called "The Voice of God" which, when he speaks in that voice, forces the person who hears it to do whatever they're told.(Example: Jesse to you: "Go **** yourself". You literally have to **** yourself. This happens in the first volume, too). As a result of this, God quits his position in Heaven because he's scared, and his minions unleash the Angel of Death, or Heaven's Assassin, The Saint of Killers to kill Jesse. Jesse wants to get his hands on God for abandoning the people of the world, and he travels the world with his girlfriend Tulip and a hard-drinking Irish vampire named Cassidy. In looking for God, a crazy religious organization called The Grail(dedicated to preserving the bloodline of Christ) has a member, Herr Starr, who is looking for Custer to make him the new messiah. Chaos ensues.

Throughout the series, the encounter people like Arseface, Lord Jesus(not Jesus Christ....you have to see it to believe it), Sheriff Root, Jesse's Grandmother, a nazi fetishist secretary, a weirdo businessman in the meat packing business, and all sorts of weird people.

It's one of the best comics i've ever read, and certainly the most screwed up(but there's always something deeper to it, a lesson to be learned, or something equally powerful). It's Garth Ennis at his finest and worth checking out.

Sounds like an interesting story. I think I'll see if I can pick up a TPB or two and read through it.

 

[Wesley Dodds]

Lee Oakes as Cassidy!

 

[Congo Jack]

Figured I'd have some fun trying to cast PREACHER.

Jesse - Matthew Bomer. ****ing hard to cast, not entirely satisfied with this choice.

Tulip - Marley Shelton.

Cassidy - Dylan Moran.

Her Starr - Christoph Waltz. I was apprehensive about this one, because he's already played an eccentric German bad guy in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS and is playing another baddy in the upcoming GREEN HORNET. However, Waltz would absolutely nail Herr Starr and is just about as perfect for the role as anyone could be. The distinctive physical differences like the bald ([blackout]eventually penis-like [/blackout]) head and scars around his eye would hopefully allow Waltz to chameleon his way into the role without comparisons to Hans Landa.

Saint of Killers - Jeff Fahey. One of the hardest roles to cast, probably because the character owes so much to both Clint Eastwood (personality and scowl) and Lee Marvin (appearance). I can see Fahey playing a solid mix of the two.

Arseface - Chris Marquette.

 

[Project862006]

i wonder now that Mendes is off preacher who will direct??

Timothy Olyphant would'nt make a bad Jesse Custer

 

[Webhead2006]

who knows, the project could just get put into developmental hell again.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Despite his age Im still pushing for Walton Goggins. He was completely snubbed at the Emmys especially for the last season of The Shield. Scary, intense, and somehow still emotionally investing the audience

 

[Project862006]

http://www.**************.com/images/users/gallerypictures/16505L.jpg

Newsarama reports:

"A source speaking on the condition of anonymity tells Newsarama that Aronofsky is also being targeted to direct Columbia Pictures' big screen production of Preacher, based on the comic book series published by Vertigo, DC Comics’ Mature Readers imprint. DC of course is also the publishing home to the Man of Steel and a subsidiary of Warner Bros."

 

[Octoberist]

Good choice. But I have a feeling he might lean towards Superman because..it's Superman and it's a chance to work with Nolan.

Does DC Entertainment have any say, since WB stupidly sold the rights off to Columbia?

 

[Project862006]

i agree but preacher more suits his style an sensibilities imo

 

[Rac]

Preacher would be more suitable for Aronofsky (out of Superman and Wolverine 2).

 

[DCUmoviepage]

Preacher would be more suitable for Aronofsky (out of Superman and Wolverine 2).

Agreed.

 

[littlerivers]

I think Aronofsky would be great for Preacher. Better than Mendes, even. I think it really fits his style.

As for actors, I'd love to see:

James Franco as Jesse Custer

Michael Fassbender as Cassidy

Emilie de Ravin as Tulip

Michael Shannon as Saint of Killers

Terry O'Quinn as Herr Starr

Thoughts? I've no idea for the rest of the cast.

 

[Congo Jack]

JESSE CUSTER - twist - JAMES MARSDEN. I've seen a few of his other roles since I made the last cast, and judging from interviews from a while back he seemed to be really into this.

TULIP O'HARE - stick - MARLEY SHELTON.

CASSIDY - twist - PADDY CONSIDINE. I seen this selection in a recent fan cast by someone else. Great choice that for some reason I didn't make despite him being one of my favourite actors!

HERR STARR - stick - CHRISTOPH WALTZ.

SAINT OF KILLERS - twist - NICK NOLTE. Don't know why I didn't think of Nolte last time. Also, have you seen Nolte these days? One scary looking mother****er.

ARSEFACE - stick - CHRIS MARQUETTE.

JODY - WOODY HARRELSON. Great actor that is the spitting image of Jody. Doesn't get much easier than that. Harrelson would be amazing in this role.

TC - DOUG HUTCHINSON. This is a selection from the same fan cast that I nicked Considine from. He played a similar character in PUNISHER: WAR ZONE and did well, good choice.

 

[Congo Jack]

TC - DOUG HUTCHINSON. This is a selection from the same fan cast that I nicked Considine from. He played a similar character in PUNISHER: WAR ZONE and did well, good choice.

Just watched BRAD DOURIF's fantastic guest turn in an early episode of X-FILES and it reminded me of his talent. Though a bit older, he would also be great as TC.

 

[Congo Jack]

It has been a while since we’ve gotten a solid update on the big screen adaptation of the beloved Vertigo comic book series Preacher. A couple years back, Columbia Pictures picked up the rights and hired American Beauty/Road to Perdition director Sam Mendes to helm the project, but the filmmaker dropped out to pursue Bond. John August (Go, Big Fish) penned the script which producer Neil Moretz has said will be the first of a series of films.

In September producer Moretz told Total Film Magazine that “Another unnamed director has apparently signed on.” We haven’t had any leads on this until today. One of my well placed Hollywood spys informs me that Disturbia/Eagle Eye helmer DJ Caruso is in talks to direct a big screen adaptation of Preacher. This is said to be all dependent on the box office of his latest film, I Am Number Four. I have not been able to double source this rumor, but I thought I’d throw it out there to get your thoughts?

They are aiming for an R-rating to make the film adaptation. Moretz has said that John August‘s script is “a really faithful adaptation but made it probably more accessible to a broader audience.”

Joe Carnahan was interested in the job and there were unconfirmed rumors that Darren Aronofsky was linked to the project.

/Film - Rumor: Will DJ Caruso Direct ‘Preacher’?

 

[Congo Jack]

...I actually had Caruso on the phone yesterday before the Preacher rumor broke for a chat about his new release I Am Number Four. You can look for a full report from that interview later this week, but the Ennis series came up rather randomly in the course of our conversation, so I thought it would be worthwhile to break out this snippet today.

Caruso was once connected to a film adaptation of the comic book series Y: The Last Man. Although the project failed to go anywhere, it’s clear from hearing him talk about it that he appreciates the story. I Am Number Four, with its superpowered aliens, got me wondering whether he’d ever go after a comic-book adaptation again, so I put the question to him directly.

“I love the Wild West, man. I really love Preacher,” he replied. “It’s fantastic. I think that’s what would sell me [on taking on a comic book project again]. I don’t know if this is still what’s going on with it, but Sam was going to direct it, Sam Mendes, and John August was writing the screenplay.”

It’s hard to say how to read that comment. Caruso could be playing ignorant while these rumored talks are under way. The fact that he volunteers Preacher as an example could even speak to that possibility. Alternatively, the rumor could be simply that, and Caruso just genuinely loves the series. As anyone who’s read the Ennis series knows, it’s hard not to.

The appeal for Caruso in both Preacher and Y is the big-picture stuff. “I like those because I think there’s something, as cool and as ****ing gnarly as they are, there’s a great sort of core good vs. evil. The genesis [in Preacher] being the mating of the angel and the Devil in a way,” he explained. “I love that kind of stuff. I love big themes, things like that. For me, it’s something that I love and I read, but Y: The Last Man and Preacher are the two that I like a lot [for film potential treatments].”

As a follow-up, I asked if comic books are a direction he’d like to move in again with his filmmaking, despite Y never getting off the ground. “I’m always wide open,” he said. “But I think what’s happening is, Hollywood is just jumping on the bandwagon and trying to capitalize. It’s got to be a picture that you as a filmmaker can relate to and tell a good story for. So yeah, I’m always wide-open for [opportunities like that].”

DJ Caruso: ‘I Really Love Preacher’