Sequels The Official Mike Dougherty & Dan Harris Thread

[mego joe]

OK, so Harris and Daugherty are gone and WB is soliciting pitches for the next Superman film.

Since SInger got the Superman gig with a pitch that included three movies, what's the liklihood that an open solicitation for pitches is going to have anyting to do with Singer's original ideas?

I understand that director's work with more than 1 writer/ set of writers, but would it makes sense for someone other than SInger or 'his choice' of writers to be pitching a direct sequel to SR?

If MOS is going to be a direct sequel to SR, wouldn't it makes sense that Singer would be involved with developing the story?

If SInger had story and just not a script that WB liked would WB have an open solicit for pitches?

This is what makes me think most stronly that SInger is off of SUperman.

 

[Nixon]

They might be looking for people to work with Singer in a similar capacity to what Harris and Dougherty did.

 

[mego joe]

They might be looking for people to work with Singer in a similar capacity to what Harris and Dougherty did.

Then why openly solicit a new pitch instead of contacting writers to work on Singer's existing story.

 

[Showtime]

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=5377

Call this "sci-fi." Call this "action." Call it unworthy of Shock coverage. But we're...

a.) Big fans of Mike Dougherty (Trick 'r Treat, Superman Returns).
b.) Fans of the creators involved in this project.
c.) Anyone who cites their movie is inspired by "Godzilla" flicks wins instant kudos in our bloody book.

Dougherty is going to direct the animated feature Calling All Robots for Walt Disney Pictures and Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers. He's co-scripting with Breehn Burns and Simeon Wilkins. Furthermore, because of the scope of the project, he's using the same performance capture Zemeckis used on Beowulf.

"I grew up watching Godzilla movies. This film is very much rooted in those movies," Dougherty tells Variety. The plot is being kept secret at this time.

We hoped that, with this news, will come a break in release date info for Warner Bros.' Trick 'r Treat. Alas, Variety offered nothing new other than it was pushed from last October's slot to avoid competing with the slasher fare opening that month.

http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=20354

Disney is giving another shot at the whole "performance capture" style of computer animation with a new flick called CALLING ALL ROBOTS.

The project comes from X2 and SUPERMAN RETURNS co-writer Mike Dougherty, who's teaming with Robert Zemeckis' company ImageMovers for the flick. Details on the story are scarce, but it's a sci-fi adventure that Dougherty (who hails from an animation background) cryptically describes as a "throwback to old Godzilla movies." Don't be too surprised if it's available in three dimensions as well.

Zemeckis' company was also responsible for BEOWULF and POLAR EXPRESS, and is currently working on A CHRISTMAS CAROL with digitized Jim Carrey. Meanwhile, Dougherty's directing debut TRICK r TREAT was curiously not released last Halloween.

Extra Tidbit: One of the reasons the human characters in BEOWULF look so spooky and lifeless: nobody really blinks.

 

[X-Maniac]

Oh God. More performance crapture stuff.

We already had 300 and Beowulf. Style over substance. Visual feast but emotional famine.

The golden age of cinema has gone. Welcome to the MTV/Playstation generation and to a selfish world that spawns selfish 'heroes' like Beowulf and Singer's Superman.... and overhyped tripe like Harry Potter.... Just rewatch the old movies of yesteryear, there's the quality. We might have better FX but we certainly don't have better writing.

Meltdown over.

 

[stargazer]

Oh God. More performance crapture stuff.

We already had 300 and Beowulf. Style over substance. Visual feast but emotional famine.

The golden age of cinema has gone. Welcome to the MTV/Playstation generation and to a selfish world that spawns selfish 'heroes' like Beowulf and Singer's Superman.... and overhyped tripe like Harry Potter.... Just rewatch the old movies of yesteryear, there's the quality. We might have better FX but we certainly don't have better writing.

Meltdown over.

You forgot to mention X3..

 

[X Knight]

or ghost rider.....

 

[X-Maniac]

You forgot to mention X3..

Well, X3 isn't part of the golden era of film-making, nor is it performance capture! Nor is it some Oscar-worthy greatest movie of all time. None of the X-Men movies are.

It's part of today's pop-culture action-adventure entertainment. And, in that category, it's fine. Of course I wish it had reached higher and deeper.

I've only ever seen one superhero movie - Superman The Movie - on a 'best sci-fi movies' of all time list.

In order to get more superhero movies to be that iconic, you need master directing and solid storytelling. There's a reason why Titanic, Gone with The Wind, Star Wars, are on best movie lists.

 

[M.O.Steel]

Well, X3 isn't part of the golden era of film-making, nor is it performance capture! Nor is it some Oscar-worthy greatest movie of all time. None of the X-Men movies are.

It's part of today's pop-culture action-adventure entertainment. And, in that category, it's fine. Of course I wish it had reached higher and deeper.

I've only ever seen one superhero movie - Superman The Movie - on a 'best sci-fi movies' of all time list.

In order to get more superhero movies to be that iconic, you need master directing and solid storytelling. There's a reason why Titanic, Gone with The Wind, Star Wars, are on best movie lists.

gone with the wind is a sci-fi? wtf?

 

[stargazer]

Well, X3 isn't part of the golden era of film-making, nor is it performance capture! Nor is it some Oscar-worthy greatest movie of all time. None of the X-Men movies are.

It's part of today's pop-culture action-adventure entertainment. And, in that category, it's fine. Of course I wish it had reached higher and deeper.

I've only ever seen one superhero movie - Superman The Movie - on a 'best sci-fi movies' of all time list.

In order to get more superhero movies to be that iconic, you need master directing and solid storytelling. There's a reason why Titanic, Gone with The Wind, Star Wars, are on best movie lists.

No, dear, you were talking about lots of different things, read your post again. You mentioned "style over substance," and that's why I mentioned X3, which is a fine example of that, IMO.

 

[X-Maniac]

gone with the wind is a sci-fi? wtf?

Please learn to read properly.

I'm not clarifying, my post was clear enough if you didn't just scurry through it like some ADD crackhead.

 

[X-Maniac]

No, dear, you were talking about lots of different things, read your post again. You mentioned "style over substance," and that's why I mentioned X3, which is a fine example of that, IMO.

I think X3 had some substance, and certainly more substance than either 300 or Beowulf, and more emotional drama than SR (which had people doing the opposite of what they felt in order for us to try to work out their neurotic states of mind). But, of course, X3 could certainly have done with more substance although that's difficult in a multi-character ensemble movie that by virtue of the number of characters is going to be story-driven or theme-driven rather than character-driven.

And please don't call me 'dear'. It smacks of being patronising and supercilious, and we wouldn't want that, would we?

 

[Showtime]

Well, X3 isn't part of the golden era of film-making, nor is it performance capture! Nor is it some Oscar-worthy greatest movie of all time. None of the X-Men movies are.

It's part of today's pop-culture action-adventure entertainment. And, in that category, it's fine. Of course I wish it had reached higher and deeper.

I've only ever seen one superhero movie - Superman The Movie - on a 'best sci-fi movies' of all time list.

In order to get more superhero movies to be that iconic, you need master directing and solid storytelling. There's a reason why Titanic, Gone with The Wind, Star Wars, are on best movie lists.

A superhero movie is never going to be Titantic or Gone With the Wind, they are all there for pop culture entertainment only.

 

[stargazer]

I think X3 had some substance, and certainly more substance than either 300 or Beowulf, and more emotional drama than SR (which had people doing the opposite of what they felt in order for us to try to work out their neurotic states of mind). But, of course, X3 could certainly have done with more substance although that's difficult in a multi-character ensemble movie that by virtue of the number of characters is going to be story-driven or theme-driven rather than character-driven.

And please don't call me 'dear'. It smacks of being patronising and supercilious, and we wouldn't want that, would we?

Ok, I won't call you 'dear' again.

And most people disagree with you regarding X3. Just check rotten tomatoes, which says that X3 is clearly inferior to the first two Xmen movies. SR, on the other hand is certified fresh by both critics and the mainstream with a score of 77%. And the consensus is that it's a exciting and emotional COMPLEX Man of Steel adaptation. And I agree.

 

[X-Maniac]

A superhero movie is never going to be Titantic or Gone With the Wind, they are all there for pop culture entertainment only.

Well, the entertainment market has changed, for sure. We're in a fast-moving hi-tech world. We no longer have event movies that everyone must see many times. It's all about a big opening weekend, then a nosedive ready for the next movie to claim top spot. We're saturated with information prior to a movie, ticket prices are higher, home entertainment technology is amazing - none of which existed at the time of those big iconic movies. There are no real icons anymore - the days of big movies and big pop icons are probably gone. Look at the hysteria over the Beatles etc, you don't get that kind of reaction today to the latest bimbette created by 'talent' shows like American Idle (in which they really want an idle way to get famous without learning stagecraft or who they really are, it's about getting fame not having talent).

Sci-fi/fantasy movies do seem to struggle to get wider recognition, although LoTR and Harry Potter have become iconic, though i believe Potter to be overhyped and derivative.

I don't suppose an X-Men movie is ever going to be on a 'best sci-fi of all time' or 'best movie of all time' list. I think Superman The Movie probably deserves a place on those lists.

 

[X-Maniac]

Ok, I won't call you 'dear' again.

And most people disagree with you regarding X3. Just check rotten tomatoes, which says that X3 is clearly inferior to the first two Xmen movies. SR, on the other hand is certified fresh by both critics and the mainstream with a score of 77%. And the consensus is that it's a exciting and emotional COMPLEX Man of Steel adaptation. And I agree.

I actually agree that X3 is, in moviemaking terms, probably inferior to the first two movies. That's for a number of reasons. But I don't think the first two are perfect X-Men movies. I know people whose favourite is X1 for its moody atmospherics, some whose favourite is X2 for its balance of drama and action, and some who prefer X3 for its comicbook feel and visual flair.

I think a perfect X-Men movie would be something epic and 'wow' with Xavier gathering together a team from across the world (giving us the reasoning for the X-Men to exist, which was not really covered in the first movie, where they were just 'there') - and fighting a threat like Magneto. But that would take an entirely different approach.

I have no problem with your love of SR; I just don't share it. But I don't think SR is rubbish either. It's just a very odd attempt at Superman in many places. In my view, the storytelling wasn't sewn up properly and the editing was atrocious. I think the movie would have a lot more heart, focus and depth if Superman had said goodbye and if we'd seen the scenes of him viewing the wreckage of his home world.

It's interesting that you are a girl/woman. I heard a woman at the cinema say she loved SR when i went to see it. I think perhaps it appeals to females who can relate to Lois's pain and inner strength in getting on with her life, surviving, moving on, forgiving.

 

[stargazer]

Oh, there is NO doubt in my mind that X3 is inferior to the previous movies, which are very good to great, IMO. And I won't get into any more detail about them, I'm not an expert at them, I just enjoy them a lot.

SR, on the other hand is totally fascinating to me, I'm a huge fan. And FYI, my favorite character in SR is actually well Superman. I feel so much for his struggles, desires, needs, wants, etc. It's logical to me, based on the previous franchise, that he would feel this way. I think SR is brilliant, even if there are a few flaws in the execution, the concept, however, is oustanding. But let's agree to dis.. well you know.

 

[BMM]

Please learn to read properly.

I'm not clarifying, my post was clear enough if you didn't just scurry through it like some ADD crackhead.

And please don't call me 'dear'. It smacks of being patronising and supercilious, and we wouldn't want that, would we?

Please, tell me you're joking.

 

[FilmNerdJamie]

I've always wondered just what the Hell Singer, Dougherty and Harris had in mind for X-Men 3...

 

[stargazer]

I've always wondered just what the Hell Singer, Dougherty and Harris had in mind for X-Men 3...

Something awesome, I'm pretty sure, and very different to what we got with Ratner..

 

[M.O.Steel]

A superhero movie is never going to be Titantic or Gone With the Wind, they are all there for pop culture entertainment only.

I never would have have star wars, star trek, superhero films, harry potter films ever winning anything, until LOTR.

to be honest, i never ever thought LOTR would ever win an oscar. them winning is actaully a huge opening for fantasy movies to win. With that, i do see someday a superhero movie winning best pic/director and/or actor.

 

[FilmNerdJamie]

Something awesome, I'm pretty sure, and very different to what we got with Ratner..

To be fair, Ratner was brought in very late (i.e. only a few weeks before filming started). He really didn't bring much to the table...other than tell the D.P. where to point the camera and ******** with the actors between takes. In fact, his big contribution was casting Ellen Page and moving the Golden Gate bridge sequence to the 3rd Act (i.e. it was originally in the first half-hour).

If you hate The Last Stand, blame Fox (along with the writers and original helmer Matthew Vaughn); not Ratner imo.

I've heard conflicting reports about just how deep into writing Singer & his boys were on X-Men 3. I remember reading that they had a fully-completed treatment ready for Fox; one that was subsequently 100% thrown out after their fall out with Singer.

I've also heard that only about 1/3 of a treatment was completed by them. So...*Shrugs*

 

[stargazer]

To be fair, Ratner was brought in very late (i.e. only a few weeks before filming started). He really didn't bring much to the table...other than tell the D.P. where to point the camera and ******** with the actors between takes. In fact, his big contribution was casting Ellen Page and moving the Golden Gate bridge sequence to the 3rd Act (i.e. it was originally in the first half-hour).

If you hate The Last Stand, blame Fox (along with the writers and original helmer Matthew Vaughn); not Ratner imo.

I've heard conflicting reports about just how deep into writing Singer & his boys were on X-Men 3. I remember reading that they had a fully-completed treatment ready for Fox; one that was subsequently 100% thrown out after their fall out with Singer.

I've also heard that only about 1/3 of a treatment was completed by them. So...*Shrugs*

I don't hate The Last Stand. I just think it should have been sooo much better with Singer at the helm. I feel sad for the hardcore Xmen fans, though. Still, Ratner is no Singer.

 

[X-Maniac]

Please, tell me you're joking.

Of course, don't let the absence of emoticons deceive you. Although I'm not sure why you're seizing upon those two comments and offering no other contribution!

 

[X-Maniac]

I don't hate The Last Stand. I just think it should have been sooo much better with Singer at the helm. I feel sad for the hardcore Xmen fans, though. Still, Ratner is no Singer.

But, still, if you watch Red Dragon you see a very different Ratner to the one directing Last Stand.

Clearly, Ratner was under the authority of the producers of X3 and what they wanted in the script and in the movie. He was able to make some structural changes, probably to ensure he got the movie done on time. He should have had eight months prep time, not eight weeks.

Also, we don't know exactly what Singer and co had suggested for X3 or what Fox really thought of what he suggested. All we know is that an X3 was, for some reason, not immediately approved (something I've never understood). There's been talk that Singer wanted an X3/X4 to be filmed back to back, charting Jean's return as Phoenix and her gradual descent to Dark Phoenix, with Emma Frost and Gambit as new characters and Storm written out or relegated to a cameo because Halle and Singer fell out on the set of X2. Alan Cumming also had difficulty with Singer so Nightcrawler would not have returned in Singer's version. That's about all we know, unless someone else close to the Singer camp has any more details.