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Okay, Warner... After THE FLASH And WONDER WOMAN, Is SANDMAN Going To Make The Bullshit Trifecta Complete?!

Published at:  Feb 06, 2007 1:48:31 AM CST

Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

Dear Warner Bros.,

Please don’t do this.

Sincerely yours,
Everyone Everywhere Ever On The Fucking Planet



Harry,

Don't know if you've seen this fucking bullshit. Yeah, I know it just says that he is "eyeing" Sandman, in which case I demand that we skewer his fucking eyeballs before it goes any further.

We need to nip this mother fucker in the bud before this shit gets outta control.

Killgore


    + Expand All

    Readers Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:39:25 AM CST

    cant see it

    by mattthebat

    i dont want to sign up, can someone who is a member repost it somewhere?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:41:05 AM CST

    Uh...can't log into the site

    by zeke25:17

    So I'm assuming "he" is either 1)Uwe Boll, 2) Paul W.S. Anderson, 3)Michael (Damn You) Bay, or 4) the ghost of Ed Wood.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:45:07 AM CST

    Try this link:

    by el oso

    http://iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1822&Itemid=99

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:48:06 AM CST

    I can't wait!

    by angry mean panda

    I hope Dream and Death fight vampires in a small California beach community, and there are lots of zooms on Destruction's crotch whenever he shows up at the end.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:50:18 AM CST

    Not Surprising

    by renholder

    The run of quality people working on these films had to come to an end at some point, especially once the Execs realized they are pretty much going to make money on them no matter what.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:53:41 AM CST

    Nipples on Sandy Batman?

    by hypno27

    Dear God, no

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:54:48 AM CST

    Don't get your panties in an uproar

    by monkeybrains

    It's never going to happen Trust me WB will never, ever let him do it Cause their smart people. Right? Oh dear God, NOOOOOO!!!! "BAM" plop

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:56:00 AM CST

    For those who cant get in its Joel Schumacher

    by hypno27

    I did a search and found out that from the headline - that was enough

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:56:21 AM CST

    now I really need to know what this is about

    by oisin5199

    I gotta register. Sandman can only be an HBO type series like they're doing with Preacher. If this is an abortion, I hope Neil puts a stop to it!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:57:13 AM CST

    Bawhahaha

    by blindambition238

    If this comes to fruitation WB hates us all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:57:32 AM CST

    BTW, "The Dude" just signed to be in Iron Man

    by monkeybrains

    At least Marvel knows what to do.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:58:10 AM CST

    The Director Formerly Known as Joel Schumacher...

    by onemanarmy

    ...will forever be known as BatNipples.

    Dear God, please don't let the man touch this franchise.

    Amen.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:00:27 AM CST

    im a girl and i dream of sexing delerium all the time.

    by dr.bulber

    i just now realized where those dreams come from.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:01:03 AM CST

    Wait, you're *sorry" Whedon is off WW?

    by annoyyou

    He wanted frickin' *Cobie Smulders" in the role! Aiieeeeee. If he was kidding, OK, but if not, Jesus -- what the *hell* was he thinking? I have a feeling that like Woody Allen, Joss casts with his johnson. At least WW is now safe from bad Canadian actresses from sub-par unfunny network sitcoms. Bleargh.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:02:07 AM CST

    ok I just read it

    by oisin5199

    He only says he's interested in it. Whew. There's no way Gaiman will let Bat-Nipple guy do it. He'll have to do a lot more to vindicate himself before he's even worthy to open a Sandman book.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:03:01 AM CST

    Nipples on Sandy Batman Forever

    by hypno27

    The personification of dreams interpreted through the media of film...that might work. Wait who can we get to direct - Terry Gilliam, no; Guillermo del Toro, no. I know, a man for whom camp knows no bounds. Please be a bullshit rumour.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:03:58 AM CST

    Well this could go either way

    by allpowerfulwizardofoz

    Yeah those two batman movies really sucked but he has directed some cool movies that were not half bad. Given the right script it could be ok or it could be a total shit fest.

    I will reserve any judgement one way or the other until this does or does not unfold.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:06:51 AM CST

    This Just In: Uwe Bol to direct Teen Titans!!!!!!!!!

    by monkeybrains

    If the world is ending, might as well go out in a blaze of glory

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:06:59 AM CST

    Too bad no one said this about Transformers

    by doc_strange

    I guess cause you're on the take from Michael Bay. I would really like to see how you guys would react to him directing either of these three films. Would you guys be going on set visits and shit then? Doubt it. Whatever happened to the anti-establishment attitude that AICN was known for? I mean really, some of you guys might have fledgling careers in Hollywood but are you ever going to be a part of something that's going to make a difference or raise the bar in films? Again, doubt it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:11:24 AM CST

    Why bother

    by instant_karma

    I honestly cannot see how a film or television version of Sandman could be anything other than inferior.

    It takes full advantage of the possibilities of the medium it was created in. And I think it would be one of the all time great nightmare films to cast.

    Well, okay, Rosie O'Donnell for Despair is a no brainer, but after that, it gets tricky...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:16:13 AM CST

    JS better with low budgets

    by axebox

    But you know WB will throw tons of cash at Sandman. Cuz we all know cash = success. Whatever.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:16:49 AM CST

    Doc_Strange...

    by therealmoriarty

    ... oddly, I don't automatically have the same reaction to every piece of news ever.

    For example, I always thought of TRANSFORMERS as a bullshit toy commercial. I recently sat down and watched the animated film, which I thought was an incomprehensible piece of garbage. So am I worked up over Michael Bay directing the movie? Nope. Not at all. Because I basically hope to see giant robots rampaging in Los Angeles, and I'll bet I get what I want.

    SANDMAN, on the other hand, is one of the finest works of graphic literature ever produced, and I know great filmmakers who would love to get their hands on it. Even so, I'm not sure it needs to be a film by anyone, much less the man responsible for the single worst representation of BATMAN in any media ever.

    I'm sorry I don't write from your perspective and advocate exactly what you want me to, but if I did, my opinion wouldn't be mine, would it? You say you don't want us to be studio bitches, but I don't want to be yours, either. Sometimes, we're just gonna disagree, brutha.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:30:40 AM CST

    Gaiman via GAY MAN.

    by zartan

    Keep him away from Marvel projects.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:31:23 AM CST

    Never EVER gonna happen

    by athanatos

    No way, uh-uh, nope.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:33:42 AM CST

    um, Sandman's DC

    by oisin5199

    The first official Vertigo comic, I think. And I'd go one better, Mori - I think it is the single greatest work of graphic literature. Having said that, Angelina Jolie for Desire?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:34:21 AM CST

    How the hell do you make a Sandman movie anyway?

    by angry mean panda

    There was a script that was floating around a few years back of an attempted Sandman flick, and while it wasn't AWFUL, it essentially boiled the whole series down to the storyline with The Corinthian and the serial killer convention, and made something incredibly complex into a by the numbers piece of magical conflict. Some things just aren't adaptable.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:42:41 AM CST

    A Beast Of A Film

    by liquid_daze

    You might need to cast a couple of big name stars just to get the studio to put up a proper budget. The fanboys would huff and puff because how are you going to get any three fans to agree on who should play Death. The "Season Of Mist" arc (IMO), makes the most sense cinematically, but Jay-zus that's a lot of introducing characters while trying give the audience a handle on Dream. Unfilmable (Hopefully.)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:49:45 AM CST

    Schumacher has been doing penance films ever since B&R

    by tallboy66

    I think he made it all better with Phone Booth, personally. Yeah, he dogfucked the Bat franchise pretty frickin hard, but I think he's trying for a darker take in just about everything now. I like his later output, so I, shockingly, wouldn't mind seeing him take this role. Hell, they could get the stupid fuck who made Magnolia then we'd REALLY be screwed!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:50:57 AM CST

    It's incredibly hilarious, actually...

    by quentintarantado

    Yah, Schumacher does Sandman. That would be perfect. The cherry on top of the Sundae.
    And then it wins Best Picture. Imagine that. No, really....Akiva Goldsman has already won an Oscar, half the tandem responsible for Batman and Robin has a gold statuette. Why not the other half, why not Schumacher while he's cornholing a treasured graphic novel?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:07:40 AM CST

    Whedon can cast with his johnson as much as he likes

    by franklin t marmoset

    Charisma Carpenter, Eliza Dushku, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Amy Acker, etc.Keep them coming, little Joss.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:09:09 AM CST

    They'll NEVER let him do it

    by steve rogers

    Even WB aren't that fuckin' dumb... Are they...?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:19:36 AM CST

    Let's face it...

    by gilest

    You're not going to be able to make a commercially viable film based on Gaiman's Sandman without completely bastardising the source material. At best, we'll get another Constantine (don't get me started), at worst...(?)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:23:25 AM CST

    the WB...

    by tibbar

    SUCK MY FUXKIN COXXXXXXXXXX

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:24:18 AM CST

    Schumacher helming the serial killer convention...

    by dwarf sidious

    You know that's why he's interested. It's the type of material he's great at squandering. Oh, and you can mention Andrew Kevin Walker all day long, but 8MM still sucked.

    Someone mentioned Del Toro--not a bad choice.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:41:02 AM CST

    Neil Gayman

    by jack scagnetti

    Gaiman's Sandman,American Gods and Neverwhere were all fucking terrible.
    Alan Moore should never have tutored
    him in the first place.
    Swamp Thing and Watchmen are the hands down the best comics literature ever.
    Gaiman deserves Schumacher.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:43:48 AM CST

    I love when people say Sandman is terrible...

    by angry mean panda

    It cements their total ignorance of absolutely everything in the known universe and means I don't have to acknowledge their babbling retarded shit flinging.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:53:07 AM CST

    Gayman is terrible

    by jack scagnetti

    Have you seen Neverwhere?
    or read American Gods,the man is an autistic savant,he followed Moore lke a puppy on a leash until Moore relented and showed him how to write.
    Moore's work is Vertigo,Gayman is an imatator and an inferior.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:00:35 AM CST

    Damn you Michael Bay

    by mcmlxxvi

    Damn you Michael Bay

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:08:44 AM CST

    can Sandman even still be filmed?

    by amy chasing

    Memories I have of Sandman, while yes it was a fantastical story of a man's (if you can call a concept "a man") choice between change or death, recall much of it having a wonderfully 80s/early-90s look and feel - because that's when it was written and set.

    To make the film now, setting it in the 80s would confuse too many people (J.Q. Public asks "why is this new fantasy film set then?"), and to not set it then would give it a different flavor that only the author should be allowed to permit.

    That may sound like a minor quibble, but that aspect of the graphic novels always meant something to me. Otherwise *spoilers ahead*, the story of how Sandman escapes being imprisoned; saves Daniel; kills Orpheus; sacrifices himself and is reborn - honestly without Mr Gaiman at the reins on this one, most directors won't know how to handle it, what to do with it, and most of all - how to effectively bring the world of Sandman to the screen.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:12:59 AM CST

    If it's half as good as Neverwhere..

    by jack scagnetti

    lets hope not.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:24:25 AM CST

    Jack..

    by amy chasing

    yes, and Nick Park would be nothing without Peter Lord & David Sproxton. We all got to start somewhere and learn from somebody - the difference is people like Gaiman & Park have become someone themselves (you can't deny that they're successful - no matter your opinion of their work).

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:24:53 AM CST

    Uh...

    by catvutt

    "Schumacher has delivered many good films including The Lost Boys, A Time to Kill, Falling Down, St. Elmo’s Fire, 8MM and Phone Booth." Was that a joke? GOOD films? 8MM? Phone Booth? A Time to Kill? St. Elmo's Fire? (Go watch it again, guys...it's awful. I know, I know...you remember it fondly from the 80's, but really. It blows.)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:29:01 AM CST

    Wonder Woman

    by nudeandaroused

    Did I read somewhere that Joss Whedon quit "Wonder Woman?"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:30:33 AM CST

    Gaiman & McKean

    by lone fox

    If anyone SHOULD tackle it, surely them, a la Mirrormask. But no-one should. Even them. Especially not Shumacher.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:35:02 AM CST

    OH HEEEEELLLLLS NAH.

    by littledudes

    Fucking FUCKING fuckfuck FUCK fucker FUUUUCK FUCKER Fuck FUCKING fuckerfuck FUCKEN FUCKFUCKINGFUCKER FUUUUUUUCK!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:40:06 AM CST

    One more thing I'd like to add to my previous post

    by littledudes

    PISS BALLS CUNT SHIT FUCK.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:41:24 AM CST

    "A Time To Kill" has one of the best ensemble casts...

    by theoneofblood

    Yet it totally squanders it with the most pathetic plotline and over-zealous direction/editing this side of a Tony Scott film. Watch the movie again. It's all weak sauce. The bad-guy rednecks are the most unbelievable cliche's you'll ever see. The dialogue is TERRIBLE. The only reason people even remember it is because of Samuel L Jackson's famous outburst. Don't even get me started on the final monologue. "Now imagine she's white!" Oh wow! What an amazing twist! Fuck Joel Shumacher. I can never forgive him for; "Ice to meet you!" and the Bat Credit-Card.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:50:49 AM CST

    LittleDudes

    by amy chasing

    Fuck'n A! (or as they say in Australia - Fuck'n Oath!)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:53:32 AM CST

    Amy Chasing

    by littledudes

    They say the same here in New Zealand, and sometimes both.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:55:42 AM CST

    THIS JUST IN!!! DC's Kingdom Come to be directed by...

    by littledudes

    ...A MOTHERFUCKER.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:56:44 AM CST

    don't get me started on Phonebooth..

    by amy chasing

    started ok, then just became cliched loss-of-plot with lack-of-point ending (though nice to see Kiefer getting work.. really liked him in Dark City).

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:01:54 AM CST

    Now, I can see Jack Black's Green Lantern coming...

    by wonderboys

    no, seriously... and Adam Sandler as Rorschach in Steve Oedekerk's Watchmen... hilarious!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:06:17 AM CST

    this just in!!! BLACK GREEN LANTERN directed by...

    by tibbar

    michael richards

    DAMN YOU AL SHARPTON!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:08:24 AM CST

    two movie titles that should never be said together...

    by tibbar

    "falling down" and "batman forever"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:11:38 AM CST

    Just Lay Back And Enjoy It

    by stuntman mike

    It'll happen. Just try and take some pleasure watching the heads of 30-something English majors explode from anguish.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:13:53 AM CST

    AMY

    by jack scagnetti

    Success is no guarantee of quality,
    and look up Lord and Sproxton, like
    Moore their work is of a better quality and pre-dates the inferior
    copies.And have you read Gods or seen Neverwhere?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:14:05 AM CST

    TomBodet

    by littledudes

    I will not have you encourage Warner Bros with your positive comments regarding Joel Something's filmography. I disallow it! Now go to your room, we'll talk about this later.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:16:57 AM CST

    jack scagnetti

    by littledudes

    Stop being a fanboy. Also, it would be rather charitable of you if you went out to the farm and choked on a horses cock.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:19:13 AM CST

    LittleDudes

    by jack scagnetti

    Why don't you just pimp your ass to gayman and be done with it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:19:32 AM CST

    roll that beautiful bean footage...

    by tibbar

    DAMN YOU TOM BODET!!!!

    you leave a fukin light on!!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:30:35 AM CST

    rant

    by tibbar

    your MOM was just an overglorified toy commercial

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:49:49 AM CST

    meh

    by tibbar

    ive heard better

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 6:01:51 AM CST

    Rant Breath

    by littledudes

    Stop pretending to be cool.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 6:14:46 AM CST

    Rant...

    by therealmoriarty

    ... there weren't even toys available for STAR WARS until eight months after the film was in theaters. That Christmas, all we could get as fans were coupons that promised we'd get the toys when they came out.

    Say what you want, but STAR WARS was a film before it was a toy line. TRANSFORMERS went the other way around, and it's one of the reasons the FCC had to step in and actually force these companies to change the way they were using their "shows" to sell toys to kids.

    Sorry to insult your God or whatever, but I really can't work up a head of steam over certain properties. I just don't think they're very good.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 6:30:46 AM CST

    michael richards is a clever disguise for starscream...

    by tibbar

    DAMN YOU BEAUTIFUL BEAN FOOTAGE!!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 6:47:43 AM CST

    yep, read & watched Neverwhere..

    by amy chasing

    and liked it: as Neil Gaiman said, he had a thin line to balance on, making a story where the homeless people were the heroes, that didn't make being a homeless person look cool. I especially liked The Bull Of London - actually played by a cow who didn't so much attack the actors, more licked them into submission.

    I've also read American Gods and really enjoyed it. Not as beautiful as Stardust and not as gritty as Neverwhere, but epic and surreal. Much better than his recent Anansi Boys. But I'd rather read more of his vivid yet dream-like descriptions and his sophisticated take on classic storytelling than read The DaVinci Code again. :)

    Success may not be a guarantee of quality - but quality is such a subjective thing.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 6:48:31 AM CST

    Fuck Off!

    by darquelyte

    How did this happen?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 6:53:35 AM CST

    Mori, you know I love you

    by chrth

    But you're fucking insane. The Transformers Animated Movie was the greatest thing that has ever happened to mankind and Judd Nelson.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 6:54:30 AM CST

    (Groan)

    by frankenblogger

    Sandman is to big and too complex to be a movie. There's simply too much material. I say cable series. HBO.


    As for the haters...Sandman is one of the top five graphic novels of all time. Right up there with Moore's Watchmen and Miller's Dark Knight Returns. Comics so good they transcend the genre.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:07:05 AM CST

    Fans, don't expect anything else on HBO soon...

    by abin sur

    With them doing "Preacher" and "A Song of Ice and Fire" (that one lasting several seasons) I don't see any room for big budget comic adaptations (besides Preacher), which means NO Sandman, but more importantly, NO Dark Tower mini anywhere in the near future, dammit!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:13:31 AM CST

    People need to regain focus here

    by chrth

    Akiva Goldsman was just as responsible for the two Schumacher Bat-Films sucking as Schumacher was.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:16:54 AM CST

    being serious for a sec...

    by tibbar

    why couldnt dave mckean have done an animated hour long series for hbo or something with gaiman adapting his own books?

    that would've worked better than bat-nipples on morpheus' robe

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:17:54 AM CST

    "You guys talking about batman?

    by 13th librarian

    " just Love his tight rubber suit and I hear his car can drive up walls!"

    "SHUT UP JOEL"

    Ultimate put down of the shoemaker from Batman the animated series (ok, one of its later incarnations..) Really Warners don't let him do this.. why would you let him direct this movie when you know we would surely KILL him for it? And probably some of you.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:23:33 AM CST

    didnt WB learn after his 2 bat-abortions???

    by tibbar

    dont let shit-maker behind the lens, you fat windbag rich fucks!

    grow a pair of nards, buy some taste, and get a GRIP on what fans want and dont want.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:24:30 AM CST

    wati huh?

    by holodigm

    didn't hbo greenlight a sandman series? how would schumacher get his hands on this? and even if hbo didn't, you are all blowing this WAY out of proportion. he just said he wants to do it. that doesn't mean that he will, or that WB wants him to. michael clarke duncan said 5 years ago he wanted to be on 24, but that has yet to happen. tarantino wanted to do bond. people, the want has to go both ways, much like Batman & Robin.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:26:04 AM CST

    Joel Schumacher is the ULTIMATE HACK!

    by rogue_leader

    Seriously the man is one of the worst out there.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:28:16 AM CST

    Let's put this in perspective.

    by beastie

    Granted Schumacher certainly wouldn't have been my first choice. But after all of the dread that was inbedded in me by the post, I was expecting Boll. Schumacher is actually a very good (not great) filmmaker and Batman & Robin really wasn't his doing. If you watch the doc's on the DVD's he mentions that at every turn, WBs would cartoon it up and say things like "let's do this so that we can sell more toys". He was really a WB puppet in that whole production and the film is not representative of his career. It was a horrible fluke. I will definately hold off judgement until I see The Number 23 or whatever it's called. All that being said, my dream directors for this project would be Gore Verbinski, Miyazaki, Brad Bird, Peter Jackson or Guillermo Del Toro.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:31:29 AM CST

    Here's the trouble...

    by kid z

    ...after a few years of fairly successful, dark-themed comics-based films, a coupla thinks happened... 1) Fantastic Four made a shitload of money... MORE than Batman Begins, in fact... 2) Superman Returns was... um... less than stellar. The suits read this as meaning people want "fun, lighthearted, wacky" comic book movies again. Hence numbnuts like 'Macher and that... person... responsible for stealing two friggin' hours of my soul with Night In the Museum getting taken seriously again. Sorry folks, but get ready for a cosmic-sized spewing of cinematic diarrhea, followed by the end of comic book movies for awhile, just like happened after the abortion that was Batman and Robin.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:44:59 AM CST

    Unfortunately, Joel Schumacher is NOT the Ultimate Hack

    by abin sur

    He's mediocre, with a couple of above average films (I LIKED Flatliners...I know), and that means he's going to continue to get work and the fans are going to get continually shafted.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 8:12:15 AM CST

    They'll probably get Avika Goldsman to write it

    by gozu

    Just out of spite. I don't know. I thought "Lost Boys" was cool, his John Grisham movies were okay, and, while I haven't seen it, I've heard good things about "Flatliners." However, "Batman and Robin" is really the turd in his punchbowl and to allow him to direct another comic book movie, especially one with such a loyal following, is alienating. Perhaps "Batman and Robin" is his cross to bear and he'll redeem himself with this film. It's doubtful, but it might happen...sigh. At least "300," "Spiderman 3," and "Iron Man" seem promising.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 8:35:48 AM CST

    Matthew Perry as Sandman!

    by zarles

    They should do it as a talky romantic comedy. Yeah!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 8:39:18 AM CST

    No! That's a BAD Joel Schumacher!

    by childe roland

    You can't have that. It's not yours. Do I have to count? I'm going to count to three and if you don't walk away from Sandman before I get to three, you're going to get a time out. One...Two...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 8:51:08 AM CST

    IT WONT HAPPEN

    by presidentevil

    as a long time fan of sandman...so much a fan that I COLLECT ALL SANDMAN RELATED MERCHANDISE and have read the comics so much i can almost repeat them verbatim, and i love the series enough to have a Death tattoo....not braggin, just showing how dedicated i am to this series...THE ONLY WAY IT WILL WORK IS AS HBO SERIES LIKE I SAID YEARS AGO...or if they actaully make the movie chapter by chapter which they will never give the funding for...shoefucker had his chance...he screwed the pooch...i must confess though, i cant even think who i would choose if it were my choice to choose...maybe robert rodriguez...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:05:40 AM CST

    Fantastic Four DID NOT

    by saluki

    ... Make more than Batman Begins. It made $50 MILLION less at the domestic box office, and only $9 million more than Begins overseas. It's a good $41 million behind Begins worldwide. And Mori, thanks for calling out Transformers, but just throw Joel's name in the headline next time, k?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:07:06 AM CST

    Actually, Rant Breath

    by lone fox

    20th Century Fox felt the whole Star Wars project would flop. It was running behind its filming schedule and the money was running out mid-shoot. In the end Lucas gave up his director's fee and took what he could get. So he accepted a percentage of the box office (which Fox thought would never pay out) and merchandising rights. In 1977 film merchandising was an untapped industry, and the chances of making any money at all from selling Star Wars toys was considered ridiculous. Lucas didn't demand the merchandising to make a fortune, it was all he could get. It just happens to have made him a very rich man. The polar opposite story, in fact, to Transformers, a cartoon produced specifically to promote a toy line.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:20:12 AM CST

    Someone grab Guillermo Del Toro PLEASE!

    by hellcatsagogo

    Shumacher brings down one ofthe best franchises in the DC catalog and it takes them 10years to recover. A bad SANDMAN moviemeans we will never get the great Sandman stories on screen. No!!!!

    Pan's Labryinth man... Seriouslly, come on... It's halfway there!

    Crap, even Dave McKean - he's got the headstart on the visuals already... Come on....

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:27:49 AM CST

    How did we get from Sandman to talking merchandising?

    by babba-booey

    I'm not intimately familiar with the Sandman series. I kinda got the feeling you had to smoke a bowl or eat a baggie of shrooms, listen to The Smiths and have razor scars on your wrists to get into the stories...my loss, I guess. But face it guys, the series all these fanboys go jizzy over was itself a re-imagining of an existing property. Gaiman wrote is 1700 pages. Maybe its ok for someone else to tell a story now?! Constantine stands on its own, let's see what Joel can do with this. Be thankful, its not Uwe Boll.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:37:33 AM CST

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    by dogsoup

    I swear I can't live in a world where Joel Shitmaker directs The Sandman. If this happens I may have to go Kurt GoBlam on everyone.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:41:56 AM CST

    strange

    by vaterite

    Is it odd that I would rather this project never get made at all? There's some things, you just don't do.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:45:15 AM CST

    I actually liked Batman Forever

    by fanboy71

    But Batman & Robin was a flaming pile of horse shit! But, back to Batman Forever... I thought Kilmer made an excellent Batman, and I really liked the addition of Robin (only in BF). It sure beat the hell out of the first two steaming Batman turds. Yeah, I'm all for a dark version of Batman (ala Batman Begins), but Keaton's Batman was laughable, especially when he was not in the batsuit, and trying to act tough. Add to that the fact that Batman was getting his ass handed to him every time he turned around, and that made for two horrible films. I have never sat through them again since seeing them in theaters. I like Keaton as an actor, but not as Batman.
    That said, I dislike most of Schumaker's films, because he always has to add a campy or comedy element to them that most would be much better without. Even the Lost Boys, which was a favorite when I was younger, is filled with cheese when you watch it now.
    And, seeing as how I've never picked up an issue of Sandman, I'll have no interest in it no matter who directs unless the trailer looks good. Just keep it (and anything else for that matter) away from Tim Burton.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:59:52 AM CST

    ...what a terrible decision...

    by polyesterrage

    I can picture it now "From the director of...LOST BOYS...and BATMAN FOREVER comes...THE SANDMAN!"

    Uggghhh. IMO, a Sandman adaptation would need to be more than one movie. I think that you could just cut out several of the books, the one that just consist of stories, or unrelated(ish) incidents, and focus more on Dream's arc. Also, Del Toro for directing. Great idea.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 10:26:21 AM CST

    I agree Abin Sur...

    by fanboy71

    Schumaker might make a pretty decent, although campy, FLASH pic. It couldn't be any worse than what we're getting, right?!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 10:26:56 AM CST

    Who is starting a petition?!?!

    by carmillavondoom

    Post the link here. There shouldn't be ANYONE directing a live-action version of Sandman. If it has to be made at all, give it to Miyazaki!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 10:30:41 AM CST

    I also liked "Batman Forever"...

    by abin sur

    It was a pretty decent outing if you watched it the way you might read a comic book that doesn't take itself too seriously. You know, Schumacher would actually be better served to do a "Flash" movie - with his penchant for over the top villains, he could actually do a pretty good job with Flash's Rogues Gallery. Not so much Professor Zoom, but Captains Boomerang and Cold, Mirror Master and others might fare pretty well...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 10:32:05 AM CST

    Joel Schumacher should have had his comic book...

    by rbatty024

    adaptation license revoked years ago. I remember reading somewhere once where he claimed that Batman and Robin was bad because he purposefully made it to be bad. He claimed he didn't want to make anymore Batman movies so he made a shitty movie on purpose. This is easily the worst excuse (and probably false) for making a reviled movie I've ever heard. I love the parody of Schumacher in the Batman The Animated Series, episode "Legends of the Dark Knight." Superb.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 10:50:01 AM CST

    BSB, you're starting to sound like Bob Dole...

    by abin sur

    The 3rd person thing could be a sign of more serious problems... ;)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 10:51:49 AM CST

    All 4 batman movies made

    by emeraldboy

    over 300,000,000 worldwide. Batman and robin works well a comedy. Its amazing to me how many people on this actually cant get beyond certain movies or certain directors. even though these films were made ten years. The reaction is like you have insulted me you bastard so fuck you and you and I will never sit through another film you make ever again. It used to be that you made one bomb and your career was over. That film with geena Davis which was directed by her then and maybe current husband Renny Harlin, which was such a huge bomb it bankrupted the studio that made it. When a franchise makes over 300,000,000. i assume that more than one person has seen these movies. I dont see fans planning a boycott regarding comic book movies, why? they will go and see the film and then whine on endlessly about it about how there beloved comic chracter has been defiled. I studied business management in college. movies are product and they make money for the studios. currently comic books and remakes are the de jour products in hollywood. This trend will continue as it has done for decades. I am glad that studios have an open ear to fans who complain. By the way last nigh Jonathon ross showed the trailer Rise of the silver surfer and the scene where the surfer is being chased by Johnny Storm and loved the scene where the surfer goes thrugh a building and exits out the front was cool. Yes the first film had its flaws. but i enjoyed it. I cant wait to see more. IF the only thing you can do is nitpick you wont enjoy anything.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 10:57:25 AM CST

    I said that AmyChasing is a Genius in...

    by chromedome

    ...the "Whedon off WW" tb, and now I read that she likes Gaiman, too.Amy, you are a Genius to the Nth Power, and a Person Of Sophisticated Taste and Higher Reason. Again, I doff the cap from my chromey dome to you...Cheers

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 11:11:57 AM CST

    Ending a statement with

    by emeraldboy

    Everyone Everywhere Ever On The Fucking Planet. is ridiculous. The total planet population is well over a billion, what your implying is that the world really doesnt want this movie to be made with Joel Schumacher. Maybe within the narrow confines of comic fandom that might be the case but the rest of the world really doesnt give a flying snot what you think. So thin very carefully when writing passionate please. thanks

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 11:32:30 AM CST

    Joel Schumacher's a great director

    by wolfmannards

    The only shitty movies he's done are the 2 batman movies he made. Lost Boys, Falling down. He's responsible for some cinematic greats.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 11:48:33 AM CST

    Not To Say That I Scoff At All Trends...

    by sandbagger

    But this passion for adapting any and all sequential art for TV and film seems to have overwhelmed any reasonable limits. If we have reached the point where it is more cost effective to adopt a popular comic book title and make a film vaguely based on an unfortunately selected storyline (the exception to my mind being Constantine, which chose a fantastically cinematic story, despite that film's final product) I think we need to brace for a lot of very painful experiences.

    Of course, anything that increases the odds of Bob Crumb's Dick-Nose becoming a film has at least one serious merit.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 11:53:36 AM CST

    Rant Breath, you ignorant slut

    by hif4life

    keep trying to prove how much of an idiot you are.. long live michel bay huh?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 11:53:39 AM CST

    SANDMAN is comicdom's LORD OF THE RINGS

    by frenchtoastmanifesto

    Yes, that's how serious a project this is, Warner. And YES, SANDMAN, does in fact, transcend the typical comic reader consumer category.

    So, in the words of Forrest Whitaker in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH: "Don't f$#k with it!"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 11:58:40 AM CST

    From the man who brought you The Wiz and Dying Young...

    by big bad clone

    And I know he's a former window dresser. I can't help but think of him as the inspiration for the Hollywood Montross character in Mannequinn.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 12:00:31 PM CST

    A couple of points...

    by colemanfrancis

    First, Moriarty and the Transformers... I was a fan of the show and the toys when I was little, and I've always had an affection for both, but that said I understand your thinking on the movie - it's loud and stupid. Still, I think transformers is a valuable property because of the memories a lot of us have, and how much we loved Optimus Prime back in the day, and a lot of the concern over the new film stems from the fact that apart from Peter Cullen they seem to have gotten nothing - and I mean nothing - right about this movie. It's impossible to update nostalgia, so why bother trying? And back to the point of this talkback, the Sandman, why bother making a movie? Do we need a movie to validate the series? I enoyed the books, especially the "Brief Lives" run, but people tend to hyperventilate when it comes to anything Gaiman/Sandman. If you read the introductions to the collected graphic novels you'd think reading them cured cancer or something. I highly doubt a Sandman movie will ever - mainstream audiences would think it was a sequel to "the Crow" anyway.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 12:13:52 PM CST

    Why doesnt linklater do a comic book

    by emeraldboy

    Superhero movie done in the style of a scanner darkly, would at least go some way to showing hollywood how it should be done and i have seen almost all the comic adaptions.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 12:15:48 PM CST

    Did the WB?

    by erichaislar

    Lose there fucking mind?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 12:20:35 PM CST

    the atemmpt to make a sandman movie has been around

    by emeraldboy

    for almost a decade. Even Wesley Snipes was attached at some stage back in the late 90's or maythiking of a different sandman

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 12:24:23 PM CST

    The Sandman: Sequel to The Fountain

    by spandau belly

    If I watched that with La Double Vie de Veronique all in the same day would my existential crisis reach a leathal level?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 12:44:53 PM CST

    The only thing I didn't hate about Batman and Robin

    by novaman5000

    was the casting. I thought schwarzenegger was a decent freeze but more importantly, Uma was great as poison ivy. She was totally over the top, definitely, but that's really in line with the original character IMO. Still, B and R was a terrible fucking film, you'll get no argument from me on that.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 12:55:29 PM CST

    Schumacher is really not THAT bad

    by mattapooh

    The problem that he and the others involved in the last two Batman flicks made was that they wanted to make it a star-centered fun movie that would sell lots of toys, hit a bunch of demographics (comic fans are NOT that big an audience, sorry) that really had more in common with the 1960s TV show than any of the other flicks. In fact, upon watching all four movies via that neato box set that came out a year or so ago, I couldn't believe how much the original Batman pales in comparison to Batman Begins. Nolan's flick is just infinitely better than Burton's take, even though Burton's was very entertaining (especially at the time). Anyways, Schumacher's done a few good flicks and all, but he's really not the director for this piece. The Guillermo del Toro mention was a great one, because he's the first person that comes to mind who could pull off that look and feel (as long as the script is decent). Overall, it's way harder to make this decent and very easy to fuck it up, which means it's probably best left alone.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:04:05 PM CST

    I hate to break it to everyone with decent taste...

    by rbatty024

    but you're in the minority. Look at all the people who still defend X3 on this website and the massive box office that film made (despite a huge drop off in its second week). Isn't this the website where all the movie obsessed gather? Shouldn't people who have watched more than a few movies in their time know what makes a good film? The studios have caught on that there are only a handful of people who expect a quality comic book adaptation and the rest will eat up whatever shit they dish out. Put an action scene in there every ten minutes or less and the general populace will think it's great and the rest will bitch about anything so they're opinion doesn't really matter. Alas, the studios are smarter than the average movie-goer and that's why they always win.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:11:24 PM CST

    Schumacher Could Do This.

    by buzz maverik

    He made a film out of the BATMAN TV show. Get over it. George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell were playing Adam West and Burt Ward. The show itself had its' merits. It was funny. It had a great visual style. The graphics and editing were well done. The guest villains were cool. While I didn't like BATMAN & ROBIN, I would have hated an adaptation of either BATMAN YEAR ONE (which BATMAN BEGINS definitely was not) or THE DARK KNIGHT. That said, Schumacher has made some good movies. Not fine films, but good movies and I'd say that here at AICN both good movies and fine films are welcome. LOST BOYS. FLATLINERS. ST. ELMO'S FIRE. FALLING DOWN. DYING YOUNG. A TIME TO KILL. Slick star vehicles, yes, but visually dynamic slick star vehicles. The movie is going to look good. Like many visual stylists, Schumacher's weakness is in terms of story, of screenplay. Hell, Tim Burton didn't shoot a well written story until ED WOOD. With the right script and a strong producer, no problem.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:33:45 PM CST

    The Bullshit Trifecta...

    by abin sur

    Was already completed with "Superman Returns," remember?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:39:49 PM CST

    Fincher instead

    by faust_8

    I'd rather watch hair grow on my balls than see Schumacher do this flick. Get David Fincher instead.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:53:03 PM CST

    Darren Aronofsky instead...

    by abin sur

    He's got the sensibilities for this kind of project. Maybe he still wants to make a comic book movie?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:55:38 PM CST

    Remember Jon Peters and Superman Reborn

    by successor

    After hearing what Kevin Smith had to say about Jon Peters and Superman, I could believe WB would do anything. And that includes handing Sandman over to the director of one of the worst films of the 1990's (and perhaps all time). How anybody could defend Schumacher after B&R is beyond me. The movie is atrocious. And the only way it could have been worse is to let Jon Peters produce it and add his stupid ideas into the mix (like fighting a giant spider in act three, changing Batman's costume to silver and purple and giving Batman a gay robot sidekick). As for Akiva Goldsman, the man should be banned from writing superhero scripts for life. He can't write a good plot or dialogue to save his life. Period. Bat credit card? "You not sending me to und cooler?" How can anyone defend such unmitigated crapola?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:56:47 PM CST

    I Would Die To Keep This From Happening

    by prague23

    There, I said it. I'm no danger to others, purely sacrificial, if it would help. The only way Sandman and what it represents to storytelling would work is in the way it was originally presented: As a collection of short stories, collected together to tell a larger story. A miniseries is the only way Sandman is going to be good. Hour long episodes, RATED R, as they were originally intended. Gore and nudity included, including different direction styles for each storyline. Use it, like in the early Tales From The Cript days, to allow a number of directors a shot at storylines. That would be incredible and the only way I'd want to see it. And Neil is fully involved - to attempt it without his full support and hands on participation would cause me to rethink that 'no harm to others' bit.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 1:59:53 PM CST

    Why God? WHY???

    by mukhtabi

    Gosh darnit, I've been thinking while the Sandman series would be a dreadful film, yes a DREADFUL film, if one approached the product from a different angle, you COULD turn it into one of the greatest things ever to hit cable television. By that I mean a long form tv series! just think 7 to 10 years of crazy wild animation experiments in the land of dreaming. It could work.
    But as a single 2 hour movie? NEVER.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:05:06 PM CST

    Good God "No!"

    by huntermaxin

    I died a little just reading that.

    Though, I hear Whedon has some time on his hands now.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:06:47 PM CST

    Zero Tolerance!

    by rizla

    No Sandman Movie please. At all. Ever. Thanks, that is all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:36:55 PM CST

    Well at least i should be thankfull for one thing

    by emeraldboy

    hollywood has not got its greed little hands on the beano or the Dandy. While in the Us you all grew up spiderman etc. in the UK/ireland we had the Beano and the dandy. I still have the Dandy Annual 1978, in the attic.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:40:49 PM CST

    What i cant stand about this site

    by emeraldboy

    is the preciousness regarding comic book movies. All filmmakers, writers and directors are allowed fail. Its the overboard hysterical reaction that . Akiva goldsman was so hated by this site, some wanted to hunt him down and carve him up in front of his family, so that he could never work again. I will say again the batman franchise has grossed 300,000,000. I think that schumachers batman movies looked great, even though the screenplay was ridiculous. Its frigging comic book movie. Comic book movies are by there nature slightly camp escapist movie. They are not supposed to found hanging in the louvre. Schumacher was a perfect choice to do Phantom of the opera. What is wrong with making a stylish comic book film. Kiefers performance In phonebooth was amazing. Menacing, chilling, physchotic, and the scene at the end where he turns out be an ordinary guy was extraordinary. what is bizarre is that the very people who lashed singer for making a dull superman, would have been the same people who would have attacked him for making superman with a visual panache.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 2:46:40 PM CST

    And here it is, the gist of the problem...

    by kid z

    "Its frigging comic book movie. Comic book movies are by there nature slightly camp escapist movie. They are not supposed to found hanging in the louvre."

    This is the resurgent mindset that'll put 'Macher in charge of Sandman. Thought we Louisville Slugger'd this one to death, but it's back!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:03:42 PM CST

    I used to go into a place in dublin called forbidden

    by emeraldboy

    planet. Anyhoo, one day i picked up a book by Neill Gaiman. Couldnt make head nor tale of it. Ch4 made a programme out of one of his comic books and i cant recall what it was. Made no sense to me whatever and I saw two clips of Mirror Maak and for me that was enough. Hensons should do this but i cant think of anyone who would pay to see a film involving the king of dreams. I really cant.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:07:59 PM CST

    Terry Gilliam Could Do It

    by buzz maverik

    But then, I think Gilliam can do anythung.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 3:18:22 PM CST

    Wow

    by jack burton

    This is one of the most disheartening talk backs I've ever seen. Bashing Neil Gaiman, defending Schumacher's Batman movies, I thought geeks were supposed to be somewhat literate. Guess not.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:14:29 PM CST

    I own all the Sandman Graphic Novels

    by skylinegtr

    If anyone should be allowed to translate them to the big screen (if it's even possible) it should be Darren Arnofsky AND Neil Gaiman himself
    get the FX crew from Mirrormask

    and do a 3 part trilogy, the first one concerning his imprisonment and escape from alestor's glass prison and getting his stuff back (helm, talisman, and sandbag) the movie itself would have to run really long and it still wouldn't be enough to cover each event correctly. Plus, as a bonus get Keanu Reeves to cameo as Constantine at the sand thing.

    since Morpheus is amorphus, anyone and their mother could be cast as him but i'ma try to play casting director on this, here we go!

    Morpheus: Jared Leto (he could use a film role that doesn't make him a scrawny junkie)
    Death: The asian chick from "The Scorpion King"
    Desire: Angelina Jolie (although a hemaphrodite Jolie is a total turn-off!)
    Destruction: Gerard Butler + CG-Enhancement
    Despair: Kathy Bates
    Delirium: Charlize Theron on crack
    Lucifer: Brad Pitt
    Constantine: Keanu Reeves (duh!)
    Destiny: Christopher Lee
    Dr. D: Doug Jones

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:16:02 PM CST

    Its along the quays

    by emeraldboy

    near the entrance of temple bar. I used to go in the vain hope that they had the gen 13 movie on DVD but no such luck. Batman and Robin has been on tv a couple of time and i really do think its funny. But not in an good way. All the cast did their best with the limited material they were. If arnie had decided to call it a day, i would not have been suprised. I think that whole thing where arnie was pining for dead wife was touching. Burton and keaton ran a mile when they saw what WB had in store for the franchise. I dont blame them.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:20:17 PM CST

    Here is question

    by emeraldboy

    if burton had made a third or fourth batman movie, in the similar style to the other two would this have killed the franchise?.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:21:46 PM CST

    from NEILGAIMAN.COM

    by obiwayne

    "I remember about eight years ago the then Warner Brothers co-studio head Billy Gerber told me that he got weekly calls from people who wanted to make, direct or star in a Sandman film. "On Wednesday," he said, "Michael Jackson called about it." Given the comments some months ago from Alan Horn and Jeff Robinoff, who now run Warner Brothers, I don't believe the calls from people who want to make Sandman have decreased in the last eight years -- quite the reverse. Which I mention because I got a small deluge of letters from people asking me what I thought about Joel Shumacher saying in an interview that he'd love to direct a Sandman film and wondering if that meant that it was now about to happen, and of course it doesn't and it isn't. It simply puts Mr Schumacher in a very long line of people who want to make Sandman, some way ahead of Michael Jackson."

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:26:23 PM CST

    Well you already have that hack MSJ doing Preacher!

    by neo zeed

    So who cares?! At least Joel Schumacher did a few movies that I actually like. Seriously though, I believe Joel already apologized for B&R. Plus he made his penance films, so I'm not worried about nipples or shit like that. However, he is a really hit or miss filmmaker (Bad Company anyone?) who's cool for slick looking movies. He should be doing something like Lost Boys again (maybe he should've directed that peice of shit The Covenant. He MIGHT have actually made it somewhat cool.) Leave Sandman to Guillermo del Toro.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:28:10 PM CST

    I just got off the phone with Gaiman's website...

    by the maven

    ...and he said this ain't gonna happen. Personally, I'm one of those people who hope there's never a "Sandman" movie--I just don't think the material would translate well into film (of course, I seem to be the only person here who isn't excited about a "Watchmen" movie). Oh, and for those of you who think the "Sandman" movie situation couldn't be any worse than with Schumacher, Gaiman mentioned that, at one point, Michael Jackson wanted to do it. That's right: Read it and shudder.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:29:12 PM CST

    No Way

    by eyeofpolyphemus

    SANDMAN has Tim Burton, Chris Nolan, or M. Night Shamaylan writtn all over it long before Joel Schumacher's should come up.

    Slightly off topic, isn't Gaiman pronounced Guy-man? I heard once that williamShatner atteneded a convention once because he thought the guest of honor was going to be Neil Diamond. it turned out to be Neil Gaiman instead. Whether it is true or urban legend, that is the only way the pronounciation would work.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 4:38:18 PM CST

    Oh yeah and one more thing...

    by neo zeed

    If I see that friggin Ghost Rider commercial with that fat goth chick talking about GR's flames going "woooo" one more time...I'm gonna send my TV back to hell. Fuck Mark Steven Johnson. Alright fellas, back to your regularly scheduled talkback.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:14:25 PM CST

    re: EyeofPolyphemus

    by taintyourwagon

    pretty sure it's pronounced GAY-man. Also, please never ever make a sandman movie. Why fuck up something that is perfect in it's medium. I don't even think it would work as a HBO series. It's too dense and wordy. Every comic shouldn't be a movie. But while you film execs are at it, why not The Authority. Now that would be awesome.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:25:49 PM CST

    I respect your opinion on Transformers, however....

    by doc_strange

    As it stands, maybe Transformers isn't the pinnacle of comic book literature. Have I ever read a Sandman book? No, and I trust not that many people have either. I mean it's pretty much a cult title if anything, though I could be wrong. My point is, it's something that you obviously have a great respect for and is something that you would like to see adapted respectfully to the big screen and anything less will have you up in arms about it. I trust that if they did somehow have Schumacher confirmed as director, this site will paste hate topics all over the main page. And you know what? That's cool because that is exactly how I felt when they announced Bay was directing the abortion that is now Transformers, along with the sub par script and character designs. The only difference is, I don't have a voice like any of the main guys on here, yet, when something happens that you guys don't like, you have your legions of talkbackers backing you up in the front lines. In otherwords, your voice is the one most likely to be heard more than ours. I would just like the same kind of loyalty as the kind we have shown. I don't think that makes you my bitch in any way. After reading my above post, I was probably out of line but cmon, the love that Transformers has gotten from this site tells me that Bay somehow has you guys in his corner and we want to know why? This is not nor will it be a great film. The potential for it was, had it been under different direction and production design, alas........

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:27:14 PM CST

    Best line in the article:

    by purityofessence

    "Jim Carrey as the Riddler was genius" Wow I think I just threw up in my mouth...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:49:23 PM CST

    Hey, the one project this guy would actually be perfect

    by superninja

    for. Schumacher can actually do dark without embarassing himself.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 5:54:57 PM CST

    Del Toro shoots in one tone. Have you guys noticed

    by superninja

    this yet, or not? He would be good for certain parts of Sandman. The ones that don't look like Blade he might have trouble with.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 6:09:10 PM CST

    I just woke up

    by david lazarus long

    and now I want to cry. Don't rape Sandman. Please. For the love of all that is good and pure in the world. Maybe I'm still asleep and this is just a really bad dream. Someone pinch me. No, wait, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. Someone shoot me in the face.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 6:34:27 PM CST

    "Chicks dig the car"

    by dr gregory house

    ...they also dig bat nipples. This is why chicks don't need to be considered when making comic book movies.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:16:48 PM CST

    I think it is pronounced "Guy-Man" but not sure

    by mace13

    I had always pronounced it Gay-Man myself but was then corrected by a comic dealer who had hung out with jill thompson at a convention. I guess that's what she had told him. Even afterwards i've still always wondered about it myself.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 7:30:27 PM CST

    Animation and comic books

    by david lazarus long

    are all for kids, don't you know? They MUST be cheesy, camped out, and ludicrous. Why, the mere idea of a serious comic book or animation is just silly. Every movie based on a comic book should be just like "Batman and Robin". Totally over the top, with lots of bright flashy costumes to take your attention away from pointless parts, like story and dialogue. I think they should have Jim Carrey be Sandman. And Lindsey Lohan should be Death. and maybe Arnold as Fate. Because if a comic book were to take itself seriously, then by definition it wouldn't be a comic book, right? It would be like... a painting. Yea. Totally. Comic books and animation are strictly for pre-teens, so why should we care about who directs what? Because we're over the age of 13, and comic books are for little kids. All of them. Preacher should be made by Disney as a sequel to Lilo and Stitch. If you haven't picked up on my sarcasm yet, please, take this rope and hang yourself.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 8:29:54 PM CST

    If anyone were to direct Sandman...

    by craiggers

    ...it should be Dave McKean. He did a hell of a job with Mirrormask (not a perfect movie, but an interesting start) and it would an appropriate match for obvious reasons. I think of all possible directors, Dave McKean would know how what to shoot for visually.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 8:35:27 PM CST

    NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    by chief redcock

    HAVE MERCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAVE MERCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:07:35 PM CST

    Sandman *IS* the comic version of Lord of the Rings

    by carmillavondoom

    If you don't agree, you are an ignorant fuck. Name a comic that is more cerebral.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:11:04 PM CST

    much as i dislike Schumacher's batman stuff...

    by omarthesnake

    Nosferatu Jones is right. Moriarty, don't be such a pretentious prick, you don't speak for everyone on the fucking planet and quit pretending you do. You speak for a few hundred hardcore geeks. And really, who gives a shit about them credentials? Ask Serenity or Snakes on a Plane how much having the Interweb on their side helped them. These pompous declarations are why people like matt groening just snort derisively when they hear the words "aint it cool".

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:22:16 PM CST

    Awesome a Sandman movie

    by kilik777

    So i guess spidey's not going to kill him off in part 3?
    http://tinyurl.com/pv8do

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:23:59 PM CST

    jim carrey's riddler...

    by tibbar

    can suck a fuck.

    take enough speed today, mr. carrey?
    aaaaand.. ACTION!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:35:26 PM CST

    So meone...

    by jellylover


    please take the cameras away from that man.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:58:35 PM CST

    Teaser Poster has been leaked!

    by littledudes

    http://tinyurl.com/2edksr

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 9:58:51 PM CST

    Hmmm. Sandman fans appear to be almost

    by superninja

    as bad as LOTR and SW fans.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 10:00:03 PM CST

    WB Would Be Crazy

    by barron34

    Schumacher has made some entertaining and good films before (Lost Boys, Falling Down), but he really would be wise to avoid any beloved comic-book properties for the rest of his career. I say thismainly because no one who had any understanding of the Batman character could have made the Batman movies that he did. It is apparent that Schumacher made his movies based upon his own ideas about the campy Batman TV series and Tim Burton's (superior yet still somewhat campish) Batman movies. Comic books have their own fan base and their own style and feeling. If someone wants to make a decent movie out of a comic book or graphic novel that any kind of a following, then that filmmaker should have a respect for and understanding of that comic-book and its fans. Schumacher, whatever his success with other films, has shown that he does not have either the capacity or the inclination to understand or respect comic book properties, and so should generally confine his future film work to non-comic book properties, in my opinion. Also, given the intensity of the negative fan feeling about Schumacher, Warners, or any other studio, would basically be shooting themselves in the foot by allowing Schumacher to work on any sort of comic book property, especially one with a strong fan-base, such as Gaiman's SANDMAN***** On the topic of SANDMAN, it could either be done as a cable mini-series, as some have suggested, or the first film could introduce the whole SANDMAN mythos, with future films to develop the mythos more fully, based upon various story arcs from the comic-books, if the first film is successful. Del Toro has been mentioned as a possible director, but I like his movies better when he does his own original material (PAN'S LABYRINTH, for example, is just great). Gilliam would be a good choice, and Aronowsky could work (despite the limited box office of THE FOUNTAIN, Aronowsky is still a talented film-maker, whether or not mainstream audiences agree). I think Alex Proyas would be a great choice to direct a SANDMAN film. Proyas, to me, is a great genre director who has never fully met his potential yet, since THE CROW so many years ago (I, ROBOT was screwed as a result of studio interference, not by any lack of talent by Proyas). I would love to see more genre films from Proyas, and wish he was more productive. Warners would be smart to give him something like SANDMAN to work on, and leave him alone to make the movie his own way. THE CROW is still a landmark genre film, DARK CITY is an unsung gem, and we need to see more good genre films from the talented Alex Proyas, in my opinion. I am a fan of his work.*****That all said, I used to pronounce Neil's name "GUY-MAN", but saw a video interview with him that seemed to indicate that his surname is pronounced "GAY-MAN". Whatever. In any case, I have to agree with the creator himself: better they not make a SANDMAN film at all rather than a bad SANDMAN movie. This is generally how I feel about ANY good genre property (WATCHMEN being another excellent example): better that they not make a film at all rather than make a bad movie out of a good (or even great) property.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 11:09:38 PM CST

    Why the fuck are people...

    by polyesterrage

    Taking Mori's "everyone on the planet" comment so seriously like it's an affront to them personally. Give me a break and just calm down people. Please.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 06, 2007 11:38:40 PM CST

    gotta love Neil

    by oisin5199

    and it's Gay-man. That's how he pronounces it himself. His website reaction was perfect - controlled, slightly mocking but respectful, and succinct enough to put our minds at ease. So why are we still talking about it? No one's mentioned this, but I almost think the best possible adaptation of Sandman could be an adult (still HBO level) animated series with kick ass animation and great voice talent. Will never happen, but it would be cool.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 12:14:52 AM CST

    Miyazaki's SANDMAN

    by blackwood

    I think I read this suggestion in this TB five years and fourteen aneurisms ago. I thought it would be neat.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 12:21:37 AM CST

    Word on both posts Mori....

    by wonkabar

    I always hated that Transformers movie. There's kind of weird cult following for it, I just don't get it. SW was never a toy-line like Transformers or He-Man. And Sandman is absolutely great literature...period. If they ever did a film, I don't know...I think TV is the way to go with it. HBO or Showtime preferably.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 12:56:05 AM CST

    Enter the Sandman

    by motoko kusanagi

    The Who-man? Sand-what? Should I care about this more in any way? One word about Schumacher: I like his early works (FLATLINERS, FALLING DOWN), but I think that this old fart can't even direct a cesspit nowadays.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 2:31:05 AM CST

    American Gods

    by sulis

    Forget Sandman - unless it's a Grindhouse-like franchise where different directors do their own short takes on it – but what about American Gods! Could there be a better project for de Toro after Pan's Labyrinth? One of the great resonant epic stories.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 2:56:55 AM CST

    PHONE BOOTH is awesome

    by tallboy66

    "I love that. You know like in the movies just as the good guy is about to kill the bad guy, he cocks his gun. Now why didn't he have it cocked? Because that sound is Scary." How can you not dig on that?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 4:19:43 AM CST

    Rossio and Elliott's take on Sandman

    by trader groucho 2

    From their wordplayer site: http://tinyurl.com/23clu

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 4:31:01 AM CST

    Joss Whedon as the director of a LA Sailor Moon movie?

    by mace tofu

    Mischa Barton as Sailor Moon? Is this true or just some Access Hollywood wishful thinkin'. 5 or 6 girls jumping around in spandex is way better than one wonder woman jump anyday. Even if it turns out "PG" Joss should shoot a group shower scene for the Japanese market and unrated DVD. I hope they get better cats than the ones used in the LASM JTV show lol... and Who's Sandman? Ps all three of these movies would be "C" choice video rentals only for me anyway so I could care less about the directors are on each.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 6:26:35 AM CST

    Yeah, let WHEDON do it...

    by gotta eat

    Most. Overrated. Ever.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 6:48:53 AM CST

    Falling down and phonebooth

    by emeraldboy

    are two of the best film schumacher has ever made. Douglas has never been better then he was in falling down. schumacher is very good if not great when his working on or with a limited budget. He is not so good with over the top bid budget films. He was punished by industry after batman and robin and i think he was right to have a go at warners brothers. We can all agree with him about Val Kilmer, Schumacher said"i didnt use the nut-bar, did I? or psych-ward, but i will tell you this i will never work him again".

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 6:58:43 AM CST

    phonebooth is Kiefer Sutherlands

    by emeraldboy

    best performance. ever. controlled, angry, menacing, chilling, physchotic and yet mysterious, always keeping ahead of the police leaving a trail of red herrings and then there is the really cool ending where Farrell and Kiefer come face to face, the shock he is an ordinary guy and he walk away. Has anyone seen The number 23. any good or utter rubbish. I dont think Schumacher will ever top Phonebooth or falling down.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 10:57:06 AM CST

    The best thing about Batman Forever

    by lance mark dexter st. john iii

    Was Nicole Kidman. Who is now cleaning my house.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 11:43:25 AM CST

    This whole talkback looks like the script for CLERKS 3

    by zerocorpse

    Seriously! Transformers. Star Wars. Gay men. There are like 12 Randalls in here! -- That being said, I think you're being too hard on Transformers, Mori. It had its moments, and the comic book series was pretty good at times. You can't say that merchandising toy ad shows have faded, because what the fuck is YuGiOh! and all that Americanized anime shit on Saturday morning and Cartoon Network? It sure isn't good writing or compelling animation! --- Sandman was good, by the way, but it wasn't the best thing ever. Frankly, I think Bendis' run on Ultimate Spider-Man beats the shit out of all the pretentious bullshit Gaiman slapped around in the Sandman mythos. Was Sandman a "badass" comic? Oh, yes. Was it good, solid writing and sharp continuity? Nope. It was a mishmash of weird concepts that made people stand up and take notice, but they were always so loosely tied together that the book had this snooty, vague air of false superiority, like I expected every issue to end with Gaiman writing "Did I just blow your mind? Did I? Just wait till you see the weird shit I come up with next time!"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 1:00:06 PM CST

    Who would be a great director for Sandman: The Movie?..

    by friedbrian

    I'm all for the creation of a Sandman movie; I love the graphic novels and adore Gaiman's work. Why don't Warner Bros get Gaiman to team up with Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton to realise this project?
    Get Gilliam and Burton to co-direct and oversee the adaptation of the script, written by Gaiman!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 4:26:52 PM CST

    Why I Don't Want Del Toro...

    by buzz maverik

    ...because he's too damned good to adapt things any more. I want him to keep making his brilliant films about children facing horror in fascist Spain. THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE. PAN'S LABYRINTH. I love the SANDMAN trades but they can find a director who isn't doing such great original work. I think M. Night Shamalamadingding would be a terrible choice for SANDMAN, but someone who is at that stage of his career and needs a comeback.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 4:49:32 PM CST

    Sandman script 96-97

    by edryder

    Most of you should remember that one(I bareley do)I recall it starting off with dude trapped or being held prisoner somwhere by someone.
    Jogging anyones memory yet??
    I just remember it was a an ok script.Not great but if it was done right would of made a solid Sandman film that was more for fans rather than folks who would come in clean.Something about the way that script started off right in the midst of something always stuck with me.
    I put it up there with the unused Plasticman script..In the light of-"Who the hell nows how this would turn out, but its still a good read"
    If anyone can dig the one Im talkin about up Id like to reread that..Revisit what I think now ten years later

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 5:57:19 PM CST

    I remember that!

    by littledudes

    And Sandman comes crashing through the glass above and says "I'M THE SANDMAN" and whips out his Dream-Uzi and shoots the Nazi captors in the brains. Finally he blows up the building and says "Sleep tight".

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 07, 2007 8:06:48 PM CST

    a "badass" comic

    by oisin5199

    if there's a better way to insult a comic like Sandman, I can't think of one. Try literary. Try genius. And I can't think of a comic with better continuity. Things that were mentioned from the very beginning were paid off at the end, years later. Everything fits neatly and tightly and well-planned. This is why it would be best as a series - it would have standalone episodes (almost like an anthology series) and mythology episodes. Sorry, zerocorpse. Gaiman IS superior.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 08, 2007 9:06:00 AM CST

    Okay I've read this news, I've couted to ten

    by crichtonastronut

    And calm and considered response is...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 08, 2007 9:08:36 AM CST

    NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    by crichtonastronut

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 08, 2007 9:31:51 AM CST

    Okay. Better now. The problem with Batman &Robin

    by crichtonastronut

    isn't just that it was bad. Really bad. Possibly the worst movie ever made. Made Eyes Wide Shut look good(well not quite).

    But it was worse than bad it showed showed a complete lack of respect for comic book fans.

    I mean, movies like Daredevil and Fantastic Four and X3 have their flaws. But at least I got the sense that the people involved were trying, mistakes were made sure. But they were just mistakes. And they had good points too.

    I never felt like the directors spent millions of dollars just to insult comic fandom.

    It is said that nobody tries to make a bad movie. But watching Batman and Robin it's really hard to think that masn't the mission.

    And I don't mind a decent spoof. A good send up done with love. But this wasn't that.

    This looked like the act of a guy who thought he was making a movie that wass beneath him.

    A guy spent every moment of filming sneering at the people he was filming it for. Or at least not putting in much effort.


    It hardly seems that put his hart and soul into the project. And if you can't do that do the world a favor and pass.

    The best that can be said is that it demonstrates a total lack of understanding of comic book fans, which is enough to bode ill for Sandman.

    PS The Number 23 is based on a soft drink commercial.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 08, 2007 9:43:25 AM CST

    The Number 23 is based on a Dr. Pepper commercial.

    by crichtonastronut

    I saw the trailer from the Number 23 and I wondered where I have i seen this before. the premise was so familiar. I remember that whateve I saw did not have Jim Carrey in it. But did have the number 23 appearing on a baseball score board, a weather report, other stuff.

    I just couldn't quite remember what is was all about. Then while waching a football game. the same commercial came on. Dr. Pepper 23. With 23 flavorings.

    And the commnercia had the same damn premise.

    That's ight Joel Schumacher has made a feature length Dr Pepper. Commercial

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 08, 2007 10:06:52 AM CST

    And Mr. Freeze was too silver.

    by crichtonastronut

    Seriously. Way too silver. Check it out.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 08, 2007 10:11:31 AM CST

    Del Toro would be friggin perfect for Sandman!

    by crichtonastronut

    Hell yeah, his own stuff is great. Reall great. But Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Come on. he couldn't turn that down.

    His Hellboy, the second Blade movie. Anb now Pan's Labryanth. Him and Sandman.

    Friggin Brilliant idea!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 10, 2007 11:51:44 AM CST

    First...

    by jaka

    ...no. Please, no. Second, Sandman is in no way, one film. If anybody had half a brain they'd make it at least a trilogy. Personally, I think the most interesting way to move it to film would be as a series of television movies/shows. Cable would obviously be best for translating the story in it's purest form. But it could make a great season on any network.

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