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A Peek At The PREACHER Script!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
I don’t believe this is going to get made. I just don’t believe it. It seems like the sort of material that just isn’t going to survive the transition to the bigscreen, and this report only reinforces my suspicions...
The Preacher script reminds me of Warren Zevon. Warren was a great songwriter, one of the best America's ever produced, but when you say his name, you've gotta say, "The guy who did 'Werewolves of London,'" or no one knows who you're talking about. And the thing is, 'Werewolves' doesn't really sound like the rest of the stuff he did, so Zevon fans are consigned to spend the rest of their days going, "No, you don't understand. He's a genius, and that fucking pop song ruined his reputation."
Get used to saying that, Preacher fans. Cuz when this movie comes out, you're going to be fighting an uphill battle trying to convince people that that the comic series was one of the best things ever written in the medium and the piece of dogshit movie isn't representative of it at all.
Garth Ennis wrote the first draft, and Rachel Talalay & Chris Donaldson are credited with revisions. Haven't heard of them? Neither have their agents.
Anyway, it's loosely based on parts of "Gone to Texas" and "Until the End of the World". Jesse gets his powers, runs into Tulip and Cassidy, fights the Saint of Killers and kills Jody and T.C. at Gramma's place.
The problem's not with the plot; it probably would have been the storyline I went with. Yeah, there's no Grail, no Starr, no Skeeter. That's not the problem.
The problem is that the tone, so carefully modulated between American Gothic/black comedy/action movie in the comic is all over the place. So much so that there are quite a few moments any filmmaker would give their left leg to avoid: the unintentional laugh. When Cassidy is first revealed as a vampire (after 30 pages of clues any mouth-breather could decipher), is comes off as...well, silly. When the Duke's ghost shows up to give Jesse advice, it's a "What the Fuck?" moment instead of the awe-inspiring American Myth from the comic.
Another problem is the flashbacks: I know it's a 115 page script instead of a 66 issue series (not including the SoK mini and the various one-shots), but when you tell the story of Jesse's childhood in a page-and-a-half, or the backstory of the Saint in one page, it just kinda glosses over the reason these guys are fighting.
Also--and this is mostly for fans of the comic--remember Sheriff Root? Minor character in the first couple issues? With the exception of the Saint, he's the major bad guy in this. That just doesn't make sense, plus he doesn't get to use his trademark catchphrase until; page 90 or so. (If you're not a fan, I won't ruin it. I'll just say that the Sheriff blames quite a few things on extraterrestrial minorities.)
Maybe Preacher is one of those things that can't be easily translated. I'm thinking it would have been better done as an animated long-form on HBO. But, I could be wrong, and it could be great. After all, it is being directed by the talented woman behind Tank Girl, so there's really nothing to worry about.
Sorry this wasn't better news, Preacher fans. Think of it this way: they haven't fucked up Transmetropolitan yet. Plus, a little bird tells me that the Powers script might be the best comic-related screenplay ever. Even better than the Aronofsky Batman draft. Trust me on this one, and call me...
Eel O'Brian Thanks, Eel. Great stuff, even if you were hard on the script. Fans of this series deserve a great film.
"Moriarty" out.
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Well I'm not going to be upset if the Preacher doesn't get made. Doesn't interested me very much, and they'd probably screw it up anyway.
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There are just way to many great/powerful, funny as hell moments in that comic to fit in a single movie. Jodie shooting Tulip, T.C fucks a chicken, Herr Star`s cranial make-over, ect..
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Do you ever get the feeling that the first casualty in a comic to movie makeover is the wit? We need Starr for his obnoxiousness, sexual proclivities and various prosthetics. And wasn't Arseface Root's son anyway? We demand Arseface. All we need now is Paul WS Anderson getting involved and an extra character like Tom Sawyer and it'll be really tarded.
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I can't see all the Tarantino homages working in the cinema as well as they worked in a comic.
Jesse talking to John Wayne was clearly a True Romance lift.
Garth should write a new screenplay. -
This is the same problem you'll get with an adaption of Watchmen. The subjective experience of reading these awesome stories will be traded in for Ben "cocking" Affleck running about being an action hero. Look at the league of extraordinary gentlemen, what the sweet fuck happened? The comic is nothing short of inspirational and the movie, ARGH! Alan Moore must be tearing his beard out! The Marvel & DC 'superhero' stories lend themselves to movies far better because most of their writers are frustrated film-makers, spanking off little action stories with the minimum of character work. Visionaries like Ennis and Moore don't require movie adaptions. The comics deliver more than a movie EVER could. Whatever next, an urban horror adaption of The Sandman?
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I saw an Arseface make-up test months ago, maybe even over a year ago, somewhere on the net. I don't know if it is actually going to be used in the film or not, but it looked ok. The film will, of course, be unmitigated shite, i hope it isn't made. I didn't even read the final episode of the comic, after getting it from issue 1, all the specials, everything. I thought it was the final issue, was shocked at such a bold ending, and then found out there was a final issue that softened the blow. So, i thought "Fuck it". As Bill Pullman says in Lost Highway, i like to remember things my own way... not necessarily the way they happened." I know, i'm a nob.
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And if it does get made, make sure Matthew McConaughey plays Jesse. An HBO series sounds the way to go to me. It'd probably be the best way to stay true to the story as a whole.
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I'll chew off my own foot if this is any good.
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Feb 10, 2004 9:37:31 AM CST
If "Preacher: The Movie" is as good as "Werewolves of London" it
by rev_skarekroe
Because most folks would LOVE to be misrepresented by something that cool. sk
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way to go.
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I am a HUGE fan of PREACHER, and I know this movie will just make me want to cry. But I think if the WB realizes the potential of this movie and fires the enire creative team except for Ennis, then this could be saved yet. I think that the first half of FROM DUSK TIL DAWN is the perfect blueprint for a good PREACHER movie, and the Sheriff from that movie's opening scene is a perfect Sheriff Root. But expect PREACHER to suffer the same fate as WATCHMEN: a GREAT comic that is doomed to suck in the eyes of the mainstream public because of a crappy movie.
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James Marsden, of Cyclops fame....I dunno about that casting, but it's official. I also dunno how they are gonna do a 2 hour movie of this. Robert Carlyle as Cass is great tho!
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James Marsden, of Cyclops fame....I dunno about that casting, but it's official. I also dunno how they are gonna do a 2 hour movie of this. Robert Carlyle as Cass is great tho!
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Will he be wanting the preacher in a plastic suit punching out the Saint of all killers in the first page of the script? ... Can we hope for giant spider robots and gay robot henchmen?
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Colin Farrell as cassidy, he has the charm and the irish accent, he just needs a dye job. And the lead guy from Dark City as jesse, he has powerful eyes that would be perfect. Those are the two most important characters to cast correctly, other than starr, who wont be in the movie anyways, unfortunately.
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Why would you want this bitch to play him?
That's as big of a dick move as having Bill and Ted's crappy actor playing J.C. Hellblazer.
Anyways,
Harry Sucks -
I count myself among Zevon's biggest fans, from "Wanted Dead or Alive" to "the Wind" I have all his albums. Werewolves is a damn good song.
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I thought about Rufus Sewell of Dark City for the role of Custer first so you just better RECOGNIZE you smart-ass motherfucker!
Seriously, all kidding aside, I would never have thought about Colin Ferrell (sp) for some stupid reason for Cassidy.
Anybody remember when the rumors circulated that the cast list for Preacher would be Ben Affuck (thank you Filthy Critic for coming up with that wonderful surname), Cameron Diaz, Samuel L. Jackson and Mark Carlyle? They never mentioned who Carlyle and Jackson would play but with Carlyle looking a whole hell of a lot like Cassidy it would not have surprised me in the least if the rumor had meant for Jackson to play Herr Starr, bald and with a malevolent look on his face he sounds perfect for the role, but would he be willing to go thru with all that humiliation outside of the fact that you might have trouble seeing the penis-shaped scar on his head, would he want to be in a scene in which his tallywhacker gets mutilated by Fido?
I guess the best we can all hope for is a good visual representation of the movie and that the true fans of this material don't get reamed like the Anne Rice fans did with that pile of shit Queen of the Damned. Even if they fuck up Watchmen, I still can't wait to see the characters realized on screen. -
You know it makes sense.
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Robert Carlyle as Cassidy is cool, but you gotta remember that he's only like nineteen years old. McConaughey can pull off cool fuckin' guy, but how's his badass muthafucka? There was a little of it in "Reign of Fire". Clint Eastwood seems too old and frail now (blasphemy!) to play the Saint. And while we're fantasy casting this movie, I remember that on a talkback a few years ago, someone suggested that for Gran'ma, they "shove a Spielberg robot up Jessica Tandy's ass."
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Robert Carlyle as Cassidy is cool, but you gotta remember that he's only like nineteen years old. McConaughey can pull off cool fuckin' guy, but how's his badass muthafucka? There was a little of it in "Reign of Fire". Clint Eastwood seems too old and frail now (blasphemy!) to play the Saint. And while we're fantasy casting this movie, I remember that on a talkback a few years ago, someone suggested that for Gran'ma, they "shove a Spielberg robot up Jessica Tandy's ass."
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Luke Wilson as Jesse Custer. Rhys Ifans as Cassidy. Ed Lauter as Sheriff Root. And Last But not Least The Saint Of Killers should be played by...WWE Wrestler
The Undertaker. I'm serious...I know this talkback will probably catch serious static, but those are just who I've always seen as the Preacher's Main Players.
PS I don't have a fuckin' clue who should play Tulip. But just in case, Please don't cast Juliette Lewis. -
Fuck Luke Wilson. Matthew McConaghey as Jesse (All The Way!!)
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forget collin farrell... marsden doesnt seem big or tough enough to play jesse, but who knows, ...rufus sewell as jesse's father... before someone had said carrie anne moss as tulip, she can definetly play a tough girl who likes guns, and even kinda looks like tulip, although might be a little big for someone like marsden, and tim roth or carlyle as cassidy, bad guy from patriot as starr, lance henrickson or scott glen as saint of killers or sherrif, ron howard's ugly brother as tc, steven seagal as jody,fabio as god, and the big fat vampire from blade as d'aronique
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Steve Dillon was a mate of my Dad's and drew me a cool picture of Spiderman in the pub when i was 13. Just thought i'd name drop for once...
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He was turned after the Irish revolt.
Fucking Shane MacGowan is Cassidy anyway.
Sewell is Jesse Custer. As someone said, just imagine his eyes when he turns on the Word.
It's a little obvious but the dude from Full Metal Jacket could be Sheriff Root.
Maybe a little old now, but Patricia Arquette was Tulip in True Romance. -
You know...the one with kung-fu zombie Jesus?
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Why can't Hollywood leave some things alone? Not everything has to be made into a film, right? I spent three hours last night reading through "Gone To Texas" and "Until The End Of The World". I laughed, i gasped, i smiled. It's perfect as it is. Preacher is one of the finest comic books ever written. It just won't work as a movie. Period. The beauty of Preacher comes from all of the little moments. Moments that will get cut away to get to the 'action' scenes quicker. The only people who get how great this comic is are those that have already read it. It would take a damned miracle to reproduce the magic on screen. Hollywood is really starting to p**s me off now. The same thing has happened to one of my other favourite comics "Hellblazer". Keanu Reeves as Constantine? Set in LA? Go to hell Hollywood and leave our comics alone. I Am Mr Monkey!
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Jesse Custer is a man who has lived through the trials of not only his lifetime but the turbulant past of his parents as well as carrying a forboding knowledge of all that may be yet to come. You can see it in his eyes- McConaughey is the man for the job- What is the the website address for the petition to abort the terrible Marsden casting?
And who should be tulip? -
Would it be wrong if Tarantino worked on this as well??
I think not. What say yall?
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