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Correcting an Entertainment Weekly article on Star Trek
Hey folks, Harry here with another misguided article that will probably have people slamming me, but what the hell, I'm on a roll tonight. Hercules sent me a link to Entertainment Weekly's Star Trek piece where they mention me, AICN, the Drafthouse surprise screening, etc...
The key part I'd take issue with is this:
"Abrams had endured the wrath of Harry Knowles once before, when, years ago, aintitcool.com leaked his controversial script for a Superman remake (in Abrams' version, planet Krypton never got blown up, among other heresies)."
First - it was the wrath of Drew McWeeny. At the time I was in Spain.
Second - they say that Aintitcool.com leaked his script for a Superman remake. Um, no. Moriarty/Drew wrote a scathing criticism of the script, but the script was not leaked online by anyone at AICN and AICN does not do that. And I'd hardly call the script a remake of Richard Donner's film - it was essentially a complete reboot of the SUPERMAN mythology from the ground up.
Which back at the time, I did a fairly lenghty interview with JJ about it, after having read the script - and at the time of Drew's scathing review - JJ was already knee deep into a massive 2nd draft that had already addressed many of those issues. That draft was more or less JJ seeing how far he could push things before reigning it back in. Having seen JJ's STAR TREK - had JJ been the director of his own script - I guarantee the film would've been fairly legendary by the time all was said and done in the process. AND - I'd say his experience on that helped informed how far he was willing to push the reinvention of the STAR TREK mythology for this film.
As for the rest of EW's non-fact checked article. It's pretty dead on. I wouldn't say I was "Blubbering" when I saw Leonard Nimoy - I did tear up. After all, I was there to see a movie where he dies at the end, and wound up actually seeing Nimoy in person and the New movie to boot. But I suppose the idea of a tear in your eye can be reasonably stretched to being "Blubbering"
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+ Expand All
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Ah, the vagaries of the media.
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Save your money for that folks.
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It's ok, man. I'd be blubbering, too if I saw his Spockness in person. I wouldn't be ashamed of it either...
OWN up to it, man! -
too bad they didn't go with it instead of Returns. Oh well
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I mean, the guy DID narrate Seaman after all.
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...about panning J.J.'s script, which directly led to the disappointment that is SUPERMAN RETURNS. Hopefully J.J. will get to help with the eventual Superman reboot WB is preparing, and both J.J. and Harry/Drew will be vindicated.
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Harry, I personally can't wait to see Star Trek. Thus far I haven't been truly disappointed in anything JJ Abrams has been involved with - I wasn't a huge fan of some of his shows, like "What About Brian?", but simply because I'm not a fan of the genre. I absolutely thought "Alias" was brilliant, warts and all. I enjoyed "Cloverfield." I thoroughly enjoyed "Mission Impossible III." And he is one of the creators of what is, in my mind at least, one of the very best television shows ever created - "LOST." I will line up to see his interpretation of "Star Trek." I like the original series, but never really considered myself a Trekker. I really enjoyed TNG and thought DS9, Voyager, and even Enterprise had occasional moments of brilliance. The movies have been a mixed bag - some good, some bad. None of them GREAT, in my mind. I fully expect my opinion on that to change when I see JJ's take on the iconic characters.
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"I was there to see a movie where he dies at the end," thanks a bunch!
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May 01, 2009 2:58:50 AM CDT
AICN & Moriarty are directly responsible for WB's SupermanReturn
by regicidal_maniac
If they had only put their own egos aside and denied themselves the reflected glory that comes from being a 'Spoiler'. If only Moriarty had allowed the creative process to take place, away from the prying snoopery of reviewing an in progress draft script, then who knows? Who knows, maybe we'd have been treated to a real kickarse Superman film, a film full of fresh ideas, a new take on the material instead of a rehash of Superman with Superman as a deadbeat dad to a kid almost as old as the actress playing Lois Lane. If you take the cake out of the oven after it's been in there for two minutes and complain that it's doughy and unformed, the you're an idiot and should get the fuck out of the kitchen. Likewise if you're the guy in the meeting that shoots down every new idea that doesn't fit what has come before then what did you add to the process. Moriarty, I'm calling you out you bastard, what the fuck did you add to the process, what do ANY of you cunts add to any part of the process. If you actually understood the creative process AT ALL then we would never have been subjected to the stale, burnt and cold-in-the-centre offerings of Superman Returns. If the films you're seeing at the moment have a distinct lack of originality then you should realise that you have no-one to blame but yourselves. Fuck you!
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Ya can't be so worried about this. A redaction is one thing, but you're sounding genuinely hurt here, and that... that's just unbecoming. Still, we love you, Harry.
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To bad McWeeny fucked him over and he left this site
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Blame Rothman.
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Huh?
I mean....huh? -
Its cool, dude, meeting Leonard Nimoy would be an awesome experience. I'd blubber, too.
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If you've seen all the glorious preproduction artwork that went along with JJ's Superman script, while the project was treading water between directors, then you'd know what we missed out on. Even Superman III was better than Superman Returns. Then you'd know why, not only as a Superman fan but as a fan of good movies, I'm still angry about this.
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Star Trek....the powers that be might indeed give him another shot at Superman, as the franchise has stalled badly.
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Uh, dude, he meant he was there to see Wrath of Khan.. That's where "I was there to see a movie where he dies at the end" came from..
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Spock dies at the end? Really? Thanks for the info, don't be a jerk.
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Oh, uh, I feel stupid. Nothing unusual about that though.
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Are people really that big a tool as to not understand that Harry was referring to WoK? And Harry, for what it's worth - your spot on with this.
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May 01, 2009 3:38:31 AM CDT
wait.... Spock dies at the end? fuck you and your spoilers!!!
by ray gamma
oh, you mean "Wrath of Khan". sorry. move along, nothing to see here.
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That's harsh, man!
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If you havn't seen Wrath Of Khan yet then you deserve to be spoiled! If you havn't seen Wrath Of Khan yet then WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?!?!?
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Thanks a fucking bunch!
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Harry, you shoulda just theatened legal action against EW, or just demanded the copy be changed and the entire run pulped and replaced. That woulda made them check their facts next time!
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thank god that piece of shit got canned. Too bad about SR, but its all gonna get rebooted anyway.
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We all know in our infinite wisdom that there would have been absolutely no changes made to that first draft script. They would have shot every word as it was unchanged. Because we know, again due to our untouchable & privileged position as AICN Talkbackers, that the first draft is the ONLY draft right? Of course.
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unreleased scripts, but not work prints of movies?
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I'm seldom wrong. Especially when it comes to movies where Lex Luthor is an alien CIA agent with the same powers as Superman. Where in the fuck could that story go that wouldnt fuck the Superman story in the ass?
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Harry blubbers when he doesn't get to see Christian Bale's man meat three times a week!
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Yeah, Moriarty wrote that review, but you know that everything on this site has your name and reputation stamped on it whether it's what you intend or not. Was the article technically correct? No. But them's the breaks. That's how this site works and you know it.
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May 01, 2009 5:27:37 AM CDT
Yes BMacSmith, you're right, nothing Singer did fucked Superman
by regicidal_maniac
Lex has been a crazy scientist, a boy genius, an intergalactic anti-hero with his own planet and acolytes, a battle-suit wearing marauder, a mega-business man and a scheming Blofeld type megalomaniac. Yep Kryptonian CIA agent would have been a total middle finger to his strict and unwaveringly constant history. And of course I never said you were wrong, as a Talkbacker the position of 'wrong' is not an option. Where would a new direction for this character go? certainly nowhere new and fresh and interesting, nope, no siree. No, Lex as a Kryptonian CIA agent, assuming that everything that is in the first draft would also have been in the final draft (as is ALWAYS the case with these studio tent-pole pictures), would have only trodden over the familiar ground we have already seen. I, and the cinema viewing public at large prefer my Lex Luthor to only be portrayed, as he always has since he was first conceived, as a two-bit criminal mastermind with delusions of grandeur and an obsession for waterfront real-estate. Thank goodness some things never change.
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It's not surprising it was attributed to you Harry, as generally AICN = Harry Knowles as far as the general public are concerned.
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rags like EW are shoddy. Death to print!
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"Death to print!"
the devil you say? Now I might agree that most newspaper articles and especially magazine articles are full of shite.... but I rather enjoy picking up a good paperback book and holding it and reading it.... I don't really like reading e-books....
-me -
... ever since Jeff Jarvis left.
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till May 7th
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Harry was referring to Star Trek II when he mentioned Spock dying at the end. Where'd you folks learn to read? Christ almighty, people.
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Harry, blubbering is nothing to be ashamed of. If I saw Nimoy or Shatner in person I'd blubber too, bro. Nerd tears are nothing to be ashamed of
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May 01, 2009 6:54:52 AM CDT
Harry didn't spoil anything.... learn to read
by hannaha_montanas_clit_blood
"After all, I was there to see a movie where he dies at the end, and wound up actually seeing Nimoy in person and the New movie to boot."
It's clear, that he was there to see "Wrath of Kahn" got to meet Nimoy, and got to see the new movie as well...... -
This entire story is a non-issue, on several counts:
1) Harry clearly never fact-checks anything that appears on this site (or edits, for that matter), given the sheer number of inaccuracies that have been reported here over the years.
) Harry never retracts any of the above-mentioned inaccuracies.
3) Anyone who thinks AICN is directly responsible for Abrams' Suerman script not getting made is giving Harry/Drew and this fan site WAY too much credit. Harry may like to name-drop and act like the industry likes him, but everyone knows Hollywood considers him and Drew second-rate fanboys, not credible journalists--and rightfully so. As such, they simply don't have the power or the influence to sink a film. It sank on its own merits.
4) Yes, Entertainment Weekly was technically wrong about who wrote the script review of Abrams' Superman--but that's irrelevant. Anything published on this site is, from a journalistic standard, from Harry. If Harry wants to pretend he's a journalist--which he's not--then he has to take the responsibilities that come along with the perks. The top editorial person on any publication (print or online) is, ultimately, the person responsible for what happens in that publication. The Superman story may have had Drew's name on it, but Harry allowed it to run, so it was from Harry. Any attempt to say otherwise is splitting hairs.
5) As far as I can see, the only factual inaccuracy in the EW story was that AICN leaked the script. But even that isn't entirely inaccurate, as the site DID leak details of that script in Drew's review, if not the actual script itself.
6) Yet again, Harry's unprofessionalism and hypocrisy have caused him to carry on with undue hystrionics. Good show, Harry. -
its not ok to review a leaked unfinished movie?
oh the hypocrisy of this site. -
He IS blubber.
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Anything Mori did rests on your shoulders as well.
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Thanks fucker.
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Apologies, Harry. I'm the fucker.
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In Abrams Wired essay he details how AICN killed his Superman script in its infancy (a kind of unwanted abortion by lynch mob): "In some cases, spoilers don't just prevent the intended experience of something, they prevent the very existence of it. Case in point: I had spent close to two years working on a version of a Superman script for Warner Bros. Then an early draft was leaked, reviewed, and spectacularly decimated on a Web site that I still adore and read daily. It wasn't just that the review was bad. Which it was. I mean, like, kraptastically bad. And probably deserved (I'm the idiot who made Lex Luthor a Kryptonian). What was so depressing wasn't just that the thing being reviewed was an old version of a work in progress. What killed me was that the reviewer—and then readers of that reviewer—weren't just judging my writing. They were judging the movie. A movie that was barely in preproduction and many drafts away from final. A film that ultimately never got made—in small part because that review, and subsequent posts, made studio decisionmakers nervous. The fact is, that Superman film might have been awful. Or it could have been something else. We'll never know."
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Not too classy from EW, but there you go.
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May 01, 2009 8:38:08 AM CDT
even if i like JJ's ST, i would not slurp on his cock like Harry
by quantize
because he's done too much total dogshit..
it will need to be a work of sheer genius... -
Was whoever thought that Kate Bosworth could capably play an experienced, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist with a child she apparently gave birth to when she was 9. Stupid talent agencies.
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FUCK ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
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I've tried to cancel my subscription, but when I did they first offered it to me at 15 cents an issue and now I don't think I pay anything! I can barely find anything worth reading in it, what with all the articles about American Idol and Gossip Girl.
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Ragging on EW for not fact-checking but you did the same over Emma Frost in X-Men Origins.
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go back to it after you have kids and then you'll know..best part was the "quiet" stuff lois and Supe reminiscing and him watching over his son like Jor-EL did..fuck you all..
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May 01, 2009 9:13:35 AM CDT
Oh gee Harry cried innappropriately at a silly genre flick...
by davidia
What a surprise! You need meds, guy.
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Harry, I've seen you talk. You blubber at the drop of a hat.
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I can't believe that, as a creative writer-type-person, that Mori even REVIEWED a FIRST draft of a script. Of course there was a bunch of junk that wasn't going to work. That's why it's a FIRST draft. For a moment of fairness, I think he should post the first draft of whatever he's working on right now and let all of us tear it to pieces. Good thing Mori wasn't floating around in 1975 and got a hold of one of the first drafts of Star Wars. Those were terrible too, and had LOTS of junk that didn't work, but by the 20th draft or whatever it was, all of that had been cleaned out. Of course, the stuff that got cleaned out came back in 1999, but that only serves my point...
BUT there was some really cool stuff in that first draft. I liked that JJ was trying to give us a big, romantic sci-fi movie instead of other versions of Superman that play down or ignore the huge fantasy elements. And I really liked the Superman symbol being made up of the negative spaces (the yellow fish parts) of his crest, rather than the "S". Yes, Lex as a Kryptonian was a bad idea, but was it any worse than having him be president? And the biggest mistake was leaving Krypton whole. You can reboot Superman all you want, but there are core elements to the characters that you can't change. Superman isn't Superman if he's not the last son of Krypton. It would be like rebooting Batman with his parents retired and living in Florida. Kinda undermines the character...
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Thanks for not giving a spoiler warning about Spock dying. Now I can bash my head into a wall.
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...crowd. Ahem: WTF?!?! SPOILER!!!! Fucking fuck mother fuck! I worked hard to avoid reviews and shit, and here something is thrown into a correction to a frickin' EW article?!
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Guys. Harry was at the Draft House to see Wrath of Kahn. Spock dies in Wrath of Kahn, and I think 27 years is long enough to not need a spoiler warning.
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Leo died at the end of Titanic. But then I saw him in real life and was so relived I had a tear in my eye.
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I'd put this somewhere b/w a tear and blubbering. From Harry's Trek screening: "I lost it. I’ve seen every other Classic Trek actor in person. I had drinks with Shatner. But I’ve never seen Nimoy in person – and I just started to cry I was so happy. It’s SPOCK! He’s Here! That’s all I could think. I couldn’t really hear what he was saying – and I couldn’t even see him because everybody was standing and I was stuck in this fucking wheelchair – but GODDAMN IT – I knew I was sharing airspace. And that was enough. That was goddamn amazing!"
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And a few months later they reviewed that Britney Spears movie a C, so they aren't exactly known for their accuracy (or taste).
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... from your article. It does sound like you were "blubbering," you know. That's how I'd interpret it.
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Well that's okay then. Didn't realize. So now my only complaint is that Harry's a wuss.
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Are you people illiterate or something? For crying out loud.
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thanks for ruining the ending, fat man.
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There's a lot of great things about AICN that I like. I do get the sense that Harry and most of the other main contributors have a respect for film making (or else why would they even spend the time doing this). But every once in a while they're feelings overshadow any attempt at being respectful of the system in which these movies are made. Hence... this JJ Superman fiasco. I also work in the industry - and these guys know that making a any movie can phases and an evolution that has to take it's time to find it's way. That's what JJ was exploring with Superman. It was early in the process. AICN knows this. They need to respect it. And most of the time they do. But in this case - I do think they jumped the gun. They messed with the process. Had WB second guessing and ended up giving us a dull and lackluster Superman movie for the decade.
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There I said it. It didn't follow the standard mythology and got ripped for it. But page to page it was as good a script as I've ever read. The set pieces J.J. dreamt up were ridiculous. I would love to have seen that version.
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oh, you meant wrath of kahn. sorry for misunderstanding.
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Get the latest at AICN!
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Review a leaked script and you're golden.
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So EW had to take a several paragraph explanation and cut it down to a few sentences to fit their column, and their version is very slightly different than Harry's version. I think EW probably condensed their paragraph a bit, writing it in a way that probably the general public would understand, and Harry is blowing it WAY the hell out of proportion.
I suspect the REAL reason Harry's pissed is because he wasn't interviewed for the story.
At least your site is mentioned in EW -
He threw that piece of shit in the garbage and completely started over, I'm with you. Otherwise, his second draft would have been a nicely polished turd, which no amount of good directing would have saved.
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Illiterate reviewers can't be trusted.
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He says the article's about the surprise screening, and that he just watched a movie where Spock dies. The word "Wrath of Khan" don't appear in the post. Yeesh.
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May 01, 2009 5:33:08 PM CDT
Go Back and read the original script review by Mori....
by goodtimebobby
... Where he states with supreme confidence "DAREDEVIL looks to me like another home run" ..That line speaks volumes for Mori's critical acumen. I urge everyone to go to JohnAugust.com and read his excellent article "Rise of the Amateur" that condemns the AICN cesspool of contributors for their misguided reviews and leaks.
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I've been reading you long enough. I'm pretty sure you were blubbering.
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the term 'BLUBBERING' is due to your fat ass not the tears that rolled, and I do mean ROLLED, down your face. and hats off to 'Regicidal_Maniac' (9th post) for telling it like it is!
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in ten years it will be appreciated as will ang lee's hulk.. count on it..
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Bosworth was just the icing on the crap cake.
Superman as super-deadbeat dad stalker.
Non action scenes consisting of the main character lifting increasingly heavy objects.
Lex Luthor, one of the most briliant criminal minds in history with yet ANOTHER real estate scam.
The portrayal of nearly all the characters as gloomy, whiny cranks. I suppose it was a nod to "dramatic realism", but it just made everythone boring and unsympathetic.
Bosworth was the least of this movie's problems.
That said, it seems that Abrams take would have been even worse. Singer's movie was boring, but at least it kept true to the main facets of the story.
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