Jimmy Hayward will Direct Jonah Hex

[mclay18]

I wonder what Babs will think of her son playing Jonah Hex. She absolutely freaked when she heard about him snagging the role of Dan White in Milk.

 

[Webhead2006]

nice to hear brolin thinks the new director is a good choice. Hopefully this actually happens and gets rolling soon and we get to see this next yr.

 

[Leto]

Josh Brolin has played cowboy before and he does resemble Jonah.

He's well cast at least.

 

[Heretic]

Any truth to the rumor of WB calling this The Dark Hex, to further display their obsession with turning every comic character into Batman?

 

[Webhead2006]

well hex can be a pretty dark character look at his background.

 

[Philly Phanboy]

He's also worked as story consultant for Robots and additional story material for Toy Story 2.

Hayward is an odd choice to direct Jonah Hex, I thought for sure it'd be on McG's radar.

I wish WB would stop going with directors like Berlanti or Hayward just because they are cheap.

They could have even gone with George Miller with Justice League not making any progress. Tell me that a Mad Max-ed version of Jonah Hex wouldn't be a success.

 

[Webhead2006]

well we dont know if that is the reason they were picked for the job, for all we know they could do some great work.

 

[cerealkiller182]

I wish WB would stop going with directors like Berlanti or Hayward just because they are cheap.

They could have even gone with George Miller with Justice League not making any progress. Tell me that a Mad Max-ed version of Jonah Hex wouldn't be a success.

or John Hillcoat. I think hes got to movies to his name right now, one had cinephile success (The Proposition) and the other was getting oscar buzz before it got pushed back (The Road).

 

[Heretic]

well hex can be a pretty dark character look at his background.

True, but mu point is...it would not surprise me one bit if we get a villian who completely rehashes The Joker, a black, more superhero style outfit for Jonah, and...dare I say it....Hex-nipples.

 

[cerealkiller182]

PLease, we are far from rubber nipples on superhero suits.

 

[terry78]

 

[mclay18]

I wish WB would stop going with directors like Berlanti or Hayward just because they are cheap.

They could have even gone with George Miller with Justice League not making any progress. Tell me that a Mad Max-ed version of Jonah Hex wouldn't be a success.

In comparison, Berlanti is a big GL fan (as well as his co-writers/producers) and he has directed a feature-length film -- albeit a small, independent film. In that respect, he's more experienced than Hayward when it comes to directing actors.

 

[cerealkiller182]

In comparison, Berlanti is a big GL fan (as well as his co-writers/producers) and he has directed a feature-length film -- albeit a small, independent film. In that respect, he's more experienced than Hayward when it comes to directing actors.

Its not like they let the actors loose in the recording studio. They still have to direct them. And these werent just plain old voice actors either in Horton.

Im more concerned with either of the 2 working with special effects and a big budget. IN that respect Hayward has the upper hand because HEx will certainly be relying on practical effects (more than GL anyway), so as long as Hayward can efficiently convey what he wants the scene to look and feel the cinematographer and stunt coordinator should be able to pick up the leg work. While the Green Lantern cast will most likely be reacting to things that arnt really there.

 

[Evil Twin]

Visual film language doesn't change going from animation to live action. Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton are two prominent examples of how the transition can be done. Jonah Hex certainly won't be shot like it's a Kevin Smith movie.

OTOH, managing a set on location will be one of the biggest challenges. Something animation does not prepare someone for.

I do think it's worth remembering that Jonah Hex probably won't be a hugely expensive movie. With a star that has a good chance at an Oscar nomination WB probably isn't taking much of a gamble.

 

[Chewy]

Brolin confirms that he pretty much hand-picked Hayward

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Josh Brolin was at the (appropriately named) W Hotel in Westwood this morning to talk about the launch of the "FIND your Voice Film Competition", a contest that offers the chance for indie filmmakers to have the support and financial backing of Netflix and Film Independent (aka FIND). Nicole has a great write-up of the official rules right here.

I was able to catch up with Josh immediately afterwards and ask the question that has been on everyone's mind. Why director Jimmy Hayward for "Jonah Hex" and does this mean that we'll see a more family-friendly version of DC's western antihero:

"I can't even answer that. I just think that Jimmy is truly brilliant. I was going to talk about that earlier. He got an e-mail to me somehow, someway. He wasn't somebody we were even beginning to look at and I read the e-mail and was completely blown away by it. I had to meet the guy. I ended up meeting the guy and I think he's so far beyond most of us in his expertise and his filmic abilities. It was one of those things where I brought him to the studio and I said, 'I think this is the guy. I don't know why.' But I think he's a brilliant, brilliant filmmaker. I can't wait to see what he does. So I don't know how to answer your question, but I can't wait to see what he does."

So while the rating issue is still a bit up-in-the-air, this is pretty cool confirmation that Brolin is not only wholly supportive of Hawyard; he's virtually responsible. What's more, it sounds like, as to be expected, Hayward will reexamine the existing screenplay and what's in store may be very, very different from the draft that's currently on the table.[/FONT]

SOURCE

 

[The Guard]

Saw HORTON. Still kinda confused as to this choice. It does appear as if it's something he said about the project itself, and not a past project, that interested Brolin and the studio. Not sure how I feel about a drastically different script.

 

[Octoberist]

I think Jimmy Hayward is probably wowed Brolin with his concept artwork, charisma, or passion for the project. Other than that, Hayward is kinda random.

I know that Jimmy worked at Pixar, but does that mean all of the animators should work on their own film. They're all creative, right? I don't know. Maybe, Jimmy just contacted Brolin at the right place, at the right time.

 

[Webhead2006]

yea hopefully jimmy does well with the film and treats the character faithfully to its source materials.

 

[Evil Twin]

From http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999580.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 a little buried nugget with emphasis added.

Instead, the hot DC titles are "Green Lantern" and "Jonah Hex," the latter of which has Josh Brolin set to play a disfigured gunslinger in a film that begins production in April, directed by Jimmy Heyward ("Horton Hears a Who").

Seems like we have a start date.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Good news on the start date. At least that seems to indicate they won't have time to do any drastic overhauling of the script. Good thing, too, as the script was GREAT.

 

[I Am The Knight]

I never read the script but I'm glad this is going forward. I'm always happy to have more DC characters made into movies.

 

[Maze]

I never read the script but I'm glad this is going forward. I'm always happy to have more DC characters made into movies.

Ditto .

i guess asking about the script is forbidden?

 

[I Am The Knight]

I second that heretic plea

 

[Webhead2006]

yea wasnt it known not to long again they were targeting this period for the start up anyway. Though i will be very happen to have official reports come out saying hex is actually filming. Will be nice to finally have another dc character on his way to the big screen who isnt bats, now hopefully gl is starting up soon by mayish cause they still leaves plently of time between then an a may-july release period for that film.

 

[mclay18]

John Malkovich will co-star alongside Brolin in Jonah Hex, from Variety:

John Malkovich will square off against Josh Brolin in "Jonah Hex," the Warner Bros. adaptation of the DC Comics property that begins production in April.

Legendary Pictures has joined the project as co-financier and co-producer.

Malkovich will play Turnbull, a wealthy Southern plantation owner whose son is killed by Union soldiers during the Civil War. He blames Hex, a former confederate soldier-turned-hardened bounty hunter and gunslinger. Jimmy Hayward ("Horton Hears a Who") is directing the script by "Crank" scribes Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Mad Chance's Andrew Lazar is producing with Weed Road's Akiva Goldsman.