Hey folks, Harry here... Word has it that Mr Beaks will be reporting in on this Expo as well, and I know he actually got a chance to talk with Darabont and Condon one on one, so we'll get the skinny on what his magnifcently sculpted buttocks carved out for themselves. Till then however... Well we have this report which gives you all the nitty gritty...
Hi Harry,
This is my first time writing to you, but my friend and I just came back from this year's 2002 Creative Screenwriting Expo in L.A., which took place this weekend at the L.A. Convention Center. The expo featured a number of guest speakers, which were David Goyer, Harlan Ellison, Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost, My Life, Jacob's Ladder, Stuart Little 2), Richard Matheson, Frank Darabont, Bill Condon, Scott Rosenberg, and David O. Russell (who we missed because we had to catch a flight home).
Anyway, some interesting news came out of this, which I figured you might be interested in:
David Goyer: he mentioned a project he's producing and adapting called 'The Descent,' which is a book by Jeff Long. The story is about a group of people who lives in a series of tunnels below the earth's surface. Below these tunnels runs a river, which turns out to be the genesis of the river Styx. Anyway, these people soon encounter savage horned tribes and civilizations that existed before human civilization ever existed.
Another Goyer project is yet another adaptation, but this time I believe he plans on directing. This is based on a book called 'Mucho Mojo,' by Joe Lansdale. The book is being adapted by Ted Tally and Don Cheadle is set to star.
Goyer also mentioned that he did a script polish for Ronny Yu's Freddy vs. Jason and that Blade 3 is still set to go forward.
Richard Matheson: he's busy writing a play that will be playing in London, but all I know is that its about a magician. Someone asked him about the status of I Am Legend, but he didn't know where its really at right now, but he did say that the latest draft replaces the vampires with something else......thats too bad!!
Now on to Frank Darabont, who had quite a bit of cool news (hint: Indy!!)......ready?
1. Books of Blood TV anthology series: although anthology's are very difficult to pull off and make successful, Darabont is planning on making this with Clive Barker. This series will be story and writer driven and so far he has only had preliminary discussions with Barker. The two of them are waiting for both of their schedules to clear before going forward. However, he did say that unlike Tales From the Crypt, this anthology will be serious and not campy.
2. Buckaroo Banzai TV series: NOT HAPPENING. Due to "corporate needs" this show will not go forward. MGM, which owns the rights to the property, wanted a 2 hour pilot, but Darabont believed that because it needs to be fast paced, a 1 hour pilot would suffice. MGM didn't think so.
3. Indiana Jones 4: Darabont is currently going through the 1st Act and he has weekly/twice weekly story meetings with Spielberg. The two of them are still coming up with the 3rd act, but Lucas has basically handed the ball off to Spielberg. Darabont said that he's trying to be very true to the character, but without being repetitive.....he doesn't want to simply give us a rehash of the last 3 films.
4. Fahrenheit 451: Once he's done with Indy 4, Darabont plans on doing Fahrenheit 451.
And thats basically it.
"T.Nixon"
