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Guillermo Del Toro's adaptation of DC Comic's DEADMAN takes a step forward!!!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with news on Guillermo Del Toro's adaptation of DC Comics' DEADMAN. What a great melding of material and director. If you don't know, DEADMAN is about the ghost of a murdered circus acrobat. His soul can possess any living being, thanks to a Hindu goddess, so he possesses people to protect the innocent and solve the mystery of his own death.
Warner Bros is making the flick and they've hired a guy by the name of Gary Dauberman based on a spec script (a zombie western) to work with Guillermo on the script. Good luck Gary! Can't wait to see this come about... certainly after HELLBOY 2, no?
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right on
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I interviewed him for a book I was working on a few years ago. We had lunch at this Mexican restaurant in Austin. This was at the time of the QT3 festival. The man knows his movies, loves movies, eats and breathes movies. He's a great guy, and I regret having ever lost touch with him. This man has made some great movies (Devil's Backbone, anyone?), but he has even better movies still ahead of him. This man is brilliant. And, perhaps humorous since there's that running Don Murphy joke on this site, it was Don Murphy who introduced us...
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Maybe not, but for some reason that's what I'd been assuming the last several months.
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And let me be the first to say, don't fuck with the costume. No black leather unitard and metal faceplate. But I could never figure out why one publisher needed both the Spectre and Deadman on the payroll. I guess the demand for dead superheroes was too great.
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Damn you Michael Bay
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and asked him about talking with me. By the way, I never met Don in person. Only on the phone. Didn't realize Don was working on this movie, too. Very cool.
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So Murphy and Hamsher are no longer partners? I'm sure it's been a long time, but I didn't know... And yes, I agree, Murphy is great. At the time I was working on book on Tarantino that never came to be -- publishers at that time all said his career was dead, lol -- and Don did this great interview saying that he and Q both acted inappropriately. It was this really great interview that, sadly, kind of died... :(
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Since I hated Hellboy....I'm pretty sure this will suck ass too.
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You and I both know this is a one-shot deal, not Spider-Man or X-Men, and there's like, zero crossover appeal. You're not setting up a trilogy. So why not skip the requisite 45-minute origin story and cover that in, say, a two-minute flashback? Dead acrobat possesses people...got it. Action.
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Yeah, the other books were sort of the problem, as well, lol. "There are several books about him already on the market and he's not really doing anything new," they said. None of them thought very highly of Jackie Brown, lol. And yeah, Hamsher's book cracked me up.
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Nice that we can sort of have our own non-sequitur conversation here, lol.
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Harry absolutely despises it when people drop Del Toro's name around here. *cough*
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You know, just like his MONTECHRISTO, COFFIN, MEPHISTO'S BRIDGE, BLADE 3, WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, THE WITCHES, LIST OF 7, MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS etc. etc. But I know it is necessary for him to attach himself to dozens of projects if he wants only one of them to go forward so more power to him. Maybe one day he'll be a big enough name to put things into production himself without having to hope that some executive is nice enough to throw a greenlight his way.
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Del Toro is perfect for a project such as this.
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Ron Pearlman isn't getting any younger
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Everything else can wait.
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Mind you, better to be Boston than Cleveland, I suppose. I always liked Deadman (better than the Spectre, and to answer BannedOnTheRun's question, they needed Deadman on the payroll in addition to the Spectre because they wanted a dead hero that made coherent sense), though I have to admit, if I could suddely possess any person and take over their body, well, there's a lot of women who would find themselves mysteriously undressed and exhausted. My killer or killers would go scott free 'cos I'd never get around to him/her/them/bartholomew.
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Del Toro will be holding out for Harry Potter 7 and will delay anything that gets in the way. Of course, these are rumors, but I'd rather see him do a Harry Potter. He's done enough comic book adaptations. That being said, yes, he is one cool Mofo (or whatever mid '90s term you want to use.)
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Not commenting on Del Toro (I'd have loved to have seen him do "Constantine"), BUT, as a long time DC fan, there is nothing inherently unique about Deadman - he's a wise-cracking ghost who can possess people (that's simplistic, I know, but that's a good summary of the character) - that doesn't strike me as inherently cinematic. Now if Del Toro wanted to do Doctor Fate or the Phantom Stranger, hmmmm....
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Del Toro has a great visual sense that would be great for Doctor Strange, but I've always liked Deadman so I'm down with this. If nothing else, the Nanda Parbat scenes with Rama Kushna should look cool as hell.
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I'm in.
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But Deadman would be cool, too. Just don't screw with the costume -- a little respect for the departed, know whut I'm sayin'?
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Who the fuck are you talking to? Who's Phartegodd? Is this a new talkback mode?
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how much more annoying can you fuckin g get? NONE! get that clown off there.
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I say this for most superhero movies, but it has never been more true. Deadman only makes sense as a character, especially a costumed comic character, in a world full of colorfully costumed superheroes.
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Tell him to quit screwing around, wake up old Howie Lovecraft and get to work! The stars are almost right!
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What I'd like to see is "ancillary rights" on comic book movies. This is the permission for a comic book movie to reference and/or have screen time for other heroes in a given comic universe. Nothing huge, like making a Spider-Man movie have a team up with Thor, but perhaps having a caped person fly by in a Batman movie, or a flying man who appears to be on fire in a Hulk movie, etc. The nearest thing we saw to this was the computer Mystique was hacking in X2.
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shit out of Marvel. Marvel's record has been awfully spotty. It looks like DC is quickly becoming the kings of the silver screen.
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Definitely ahead of its time in 68. Of course, I'd love to see a DC occultverse movie - get Deadman, Phantom Stranger, Spectre, the Demon, Swamp Thing, Dr. Fate, even an appearance by the REAL John Constantine (not Keanu, ahem). Maybe something like that Alan Moore Swamp Thing annual.
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...And not the new Vertigo version, which, along with pretty much everything else Bruce Jones touches, somehow manages to simultaneously both blow and suck ass. That is all.
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I'm wondering what criteria you're using to make that statement. Let's see... Quality-wise, Marvel's got Spider-Man 1 & 2, Hulk, all three X-Men films, the Blade trilogy, and - to a lesser extent - Daredevil. On the bad side, Elektra was terrible, the Captain America movie was DOA, and both Punishers were toothless. (Ghost Rider hasn't come out yet, so we can't count that one.) DC's good films are Superman 1 & 2, Batman Begins, and - arguably - the Keaton/Nicholson Batman movie. DC's crappy movies are Superman 3 & 4, Superman Returns (I'm sorry, but it was sub-par as a movie), Batmans 2 through 4, and Steel. (I think that's all of them... I could be forgetting one or two.)
I'm not a Marvel zombie, but in my opinion they've had a better track record since the launch of Blade. -
Oisin, I bet you're talking about Swamp Thing #50 - THAT was a helluva good comic starring all the DC occult greats. Poor Zatara...
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I've never read "Deadman," but I dig the look of him in the above image. Plus, he's the spirit of a dead circus acrobat? That's a cool low-man-on-the-totem-pole moving upward scenario.
I like Guillermo Del Toro. I'm not 100 percent sold on his Hellboy movies, but I enjoyed the casting, design, and action sequences quite a bit. He's got a creative eye for detail, which I'm sure will be wonderfully explored in "Pan's Labyrinth."
If Deadman can make me sympathize with his ghosty character and give me some kickass action sequences, I'll check this one out. -
Marvel seems to be on the slide movie wise, what with so so efforts like Daredevil and Blade Trinity, the unfocussed and under-funded Punisher, the somewhat crap Elektra and Fantastic Four, the extremely crap Man Thing, and the rather disappointing X-Men 3, with only Spider-Man 2 being a real highlight. That's not to say that some of those films can't be enjoyed on certain levels, but outside of Spidey 2, they hardly ring true as hallmarks of quality and/or filmic success considering their potential, regardless of what their respective box office takings may have been. On the flip side, DC has had a pretty great run recently with Batman Begins, Constantine, V For Vendetta and Superman Returns, all of which are, at the very least, damn good efforts, and a couple of which were damn well great (at least in my opinion). Sure, you could argue that two of those are Vertigo based, but vertigo is part of DC so it still counts in my book. It just seems to me that these last couple of years Marvel has gotten too obsessed with getting the maximum number of films out there as quickly as possible, often sacrificing quality in the process, whereas DC has been more careful with working to get things right on each of their films, treating each one like it really matters and getting the right sort of people involved first. Of course how successful they've been is a matter of personal taste and opinion to a certain degree, but all I'm saying is right now I'd give the upperhand these last couple of years to DC, who seem to be crafting their films far better than Marvel on the whole.
Mind you, both companies have a heavy run of films on their schedules for the future, so who knows which will turn out the strongest efforts, film wise in the next two or three years, and no one can argue how hotly anticipated some of Marvel's next batch of flicks are. Personally I'm hoping they both nail their respective upcoming projects, as the more quality films the better in my book, but we'll just have to wait and see how things unfold. -
Now, THAT I'd like to see!
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Man, what a glaring hole in my Marvel-vs-DC movie list... but FF was really mediocre, so no wonder it slipped my mind. There were a couple of small moments that really evoked the spirit of the comic, but most of it was limp and "non-epic". (And now I'm worried what they're going to do to Silver Surfer in the sequel... one of my favorite comic characters ever...)And you listed a few DC films I'd forgotten, but this is where personal taste makes enemies of us all. I felt "Constantine" was style over substance (I'm sorry, but I couldn't get past how much they changed the main character), but I'll agree that "V For Vendetta" was pretty good.But I still feel that Marvel's had more quality success with their output, as opposed to DC's recent string of movies.But then, it's all personal taste I guess. I know I'm one of the small number of people who thought "Hulk" was great, a successful melding of Lee & Kirby's original setup with the Peter David fleshing out that happened in the 80s and 90s.
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I had his complete run.
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I would agree that looking strictly at quality product, Marvel's successes on the silver screen have far outweighed the DC equivalents. However, I think I can argue that for the comic movie most imprinted in the mind of the public, the one that has had the strongest impact on the collective consciousness (here in the US at the very least), "Superman" remains far and away at the top of that list. I do not see even the top Marvel movies like Spiderman and X-Men ever reaching that kind of iconic status. Thoughts?
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I dunno how he did that. He must work for the site? He was first signed on as Phartgodde or whatever, then the name changed to Don Murphy on all of his posts, and now they are all gone. WTF? That was fucking weird. LOL
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Finally a superhero who has an actual excuse for wearing tights! We're really running low and decent adaptations aren't we? If Del Toro does this he's an idiot. I mean who wants to see this?
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speaking of damning Michael Bayanyone seen the design for Ratchet's (Hummer) robotic form? Good grief it just gets shittier. Same body as the rest of them of course but with a nice head of cabbage with a beak on top.
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"I say Supergirl sucked the most!"
"And I say Elektra sucked the most!" -
#50 is great and all, but that one's just too big in terms of scope and mythology and continuity - all that Infinite Crisis stuff, which I never really got into. I was actually referring to the first Alan Moore annual, when Swamp Thing goes to hell to rescue Abby after Arcane has tricked her. On the way, he encounters Deadman, Phantom Stranger, Etrigan the Demon and the Spectre (I don't think Dr. Fate's in that one). Not that I think that movie will ever be made. Deadman's an interesting concept in that once he's dead, his only 'action' scenes would be through other bodies, so he'd probably only occupy stuntmen. It strikes me as the 'good' version of the agents in the Matrix, or the demon dude from Supernatural who jumps from body to body. I always thought Phantom Stranger might make a good anthology series, since he's usually only a facilitator and the main stories focus on temporary characters. But if they could do an Alan Moore-esque Swamp Thing film that totally ignores all those awful 80s screen incarnations (apologies to Adrienne Barbeau) and goes with the plant elemental angle and not the tortured scientist angle, then you could have an amazing film or tv series. But hell, Guillermo on any comic property, will be gold.
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OK, I remember the annual now - that was before Spectre was the most powerful being in the DC universe and all that. You're right about Del Toro working gold with comic properties - I just hope he's not a fan of Detective Chimp.
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boring.
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All of his films look the same and lack visual imagination. An indie director who actually knows how to use lighting should've directed Hellboy. Instead, we get the sitcom version filmed "dark". Ooooh... Deadman would actually be quite cool in the hands of a freak like Lynch.
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Because if it isn't, it will suck, just like the rest of Del Toro's english speaking films.
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sheesh, if you're gonna show a cover, show this one: http://www.nealadams.com/DC/Deadman/dead1.jpg
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http://tinyurl.com/yfkuh5
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and have it be the Crow, but funny!
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Very funny. Funny like people who think Jack can actually act. After KK and his abortion of a performance, I am sooooo done with Jack Black. How about, and I hate to say his name twice now as a proposed hero, Hugh Laurie? I think he'd be a good Deadman, but an even better Phantom Stranger. I also thought earlier posts mentioning him as a better Reed Richards in FF were good too.
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It will be Jared Leto or something and he'll be in a band instead of a circus.
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I don't watch House, but I'm sure he's well liked for a reason. I could buy him as Richards, but not Boston Brand. I'm not even sure this character warrants a movie - maybe a music video. Deadman is funny in the comics only as a supporting character.
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Yeah, this is a really stupid rumor. Warners offered del Toro millions to direct POTTER 3 and he turned it down because he's all about projects that speak to him on a personal level (he said that while he likes POTTER it doesn't appeal to him all that much) and wouldn't become a hired hand for all the money in the world. Del Toro's POTTER 7 won't happen.
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Deadman is a rather flimsy character. I would much rather it be Phantom Stranger or Dr. Strange. And House is great, but if you really want to see him in action, check out The Blackadder and his sketch show A Bit of Fry & Laurie, both BBC. He is top shelf talent all the way.
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set in Greenwich Village NYC during the Beatnik period. Daniel Day Lewis can be the good Dr.
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movie? He's kind of cool like the Spectre (before they wussed him out), but a whole movie devoted to the guy? They should just adapt the Swamp Thing story that had John Constantine and throw all these wierd DC guys into it. And instead of going the lame-o horror route go for psychological thriller.
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Please do this. Please, please, please.
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movie? I haven't heard anything on that in a while.
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Joss delivered a first draft and is tweaking it with the studio. His contract does allow him to take his time, which is why he took WW instead of X3 (if only!).
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Del Toro is a glutton and Murphy's little pull is in his pants, not with a studio.
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That may be the best idea I have heard all day. Dr. Strange and Gilliam are PERFECT together. Lewis? Yeah, he could do it. I still favor Laurie simply because I think he's closer in age to the comic Dr.
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Wolverine, too? Actually Hugh Jackman could play every male superhero. Just clone him.
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I mean, it's slightly off topic, but I just saw set visit videos from MTV and it looks like her hair is thinning. Terrible making such a gorgeous girl look so awful. They should've given her a cute short bob and bangs.
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Deadman was always one of my favorite characters, and one that I've always thought would make an excellent movie or tv show. There's a very sad and poignant aspect to the character, and I have high hopes for this project just as long as............THE SUITS STAY AS FAR THE HELL AWAY FROM THIS PROJECT AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!! Let Del Toro persue his vision and I hope this goes back to the classic series I grew up with.And for the love of all that is Holy, don't put him in black leather.....it's getting thin, very thin. A couple of other characters I'd like to see brought to the big screen include Metamorpho and Kobra.
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It stared Deadman and the ghost of a certain blonde woman who died a hero and no one even remembered....even her first cousin!
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It stared him and....well never mind about that.
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No. In fact, those are about it. He has a good look for those characters. Tall and lanky and he can be as peculiar as those characters easily. And face it about Jackman, performance aside, he is still about a foot taller than Wolverine in print. He was good as Wolverine though, I think I'd have a real hard time buying him as any other hero now.
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as if they weren't just following the character's evolution in the comics. The Wolverine that showed up in the Claremont/Byrne X-Men is a far cry from Ultimate X-Men Wolverine. I could buy Jackman as Superman, Batman, Captain America, any number of heroes. He has the physique, but more than that, I think he has an immediate physical presence and intensity that works so well with superheroes to make them seem larger-than-life. Even in that crapfest Van Helsing and that snoozer The Fountain, he is visually dynamic. A Christian Bale or a Brandon Routh just doesn't have this kind of instant connect. When you see Jackman as Wolverine for the first time, he is like a force of nature. Just my opinion, anyway. I think he's hot, too, but it's really not about that, I promise. :)
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as Superman, too. Despite the fact that he looked kind of like a 'tard in that costume if you took it out of context.
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