Dreamwork's ARGONAUTS project
Published at: Jan. 6, 1999, 1:30 a.m. CST by staff
Hey folks, Harry here with a report on the
Dreamworks project known as ARGONAUTS, a high
tech, high concept spin on Greek Mythology and...
well it’s cool.
Real damn cool.
Ya know... having read MINORITY REPORT and
ARGONAUTS, I’m sort of struck right off how
Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise chose the wrong
project to move on together.
ARGONAUTS was made for them. Spielberg would
do wonders with this material, and Tom Cruise...
well... he’s note perfect for the role of Jason, as he’s
written in this script.
First off, let me give ya a bit of what this project is.
Technically, there never is a mention of ‘Argonauts’
in this script. Instead it starts off in the hear and now
with a 4 person strong team of high tech ‘mission
impossible’ styled thiefs that steal... Impossible
objects. To give you an idea, they would be the crew
you’d hire to steal the Lost Ark of the Covenant from
the Government Building it’s stored in.
Through a whole bunch of plot machinations we end
up smack dab in the lands surrounding the mythic Mt
Olympus. Once there, we have battles with every
single cool mythological creature from Harryhausen’s
Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans and
more.
Why would Spielberg be perfectly suited for this
material? Well, quite honestly he’s the fella I’d trust
taking me to Mt Olympus. He’d get the look of the
place right, he’d know how to shoot the creatures,
how to hit the right emotional pangs this script needs
to hit.
MINORITY REPORT still needs some work, but this
ARGONAUTS script is ready to go. It’s material that
Spielberg hasn’t touched before, this is mythic,
spectacularly gorgeous possibilities. Tom would be...
so perfect for Jason it’s not even funny.
I have heard of no director being attached to this over
at DREAMWORKS, but it just screams for Steven to
take. From Sea Serpents to Minotaurs to Harpies to
Cyclops and on and on and on.
I’ve always felt that Spielberg could, if he put his
mind to it, create the best Ray Harryhausen/George
Pal styled movies around, and this one is right in that
mode. It doesn’t involve evil Nazis or any of those
stereotypes. It doesn’t take place in some sort of
fascist trite future. Instead it takes place in a world of
marvels.
Come on Steve, give us something to dream about...