Saturday, August 22

• Shazam! Gets New Screenwriters

  

  Last we heard, the Shazam! movie wasn't quite as dead as screenwriter John August declared it to be. Warner Bros., who picked up the movie rights last year, found a quick and easy solution to kick start the project: Hire two new writers.

  Newcomer Bill Birch will write the script while DC comic book writer Geoff Johns will co-author the movie's story with Birch. No word on whether Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is still set to play villain Black Adam, though Peter Segal is still attached to direct.

  Shazam! follows the adventures of Billy Batson, a teenager who can turn into superhero Captain Marvel merely by saying the word "shazam," which is an acronym for the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Aries, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury.

  
  

  Posted 08/22/2009 by Ryan

  Related: John August | Peter Segal | Bill Birch | Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam!

Wednesday, January 14

• Shazam May Have a Future

  The Shazam movie, declared "dead" by screenwriter John August, may still have a pulse. Shazam producer Michael Uslan told MTV News that things might not be as dire as August wrote in his blog: "I will only say one thing -- and all I will do is quote Samuel Clemens to you. This is direct from Captain Marvel himself: 'The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.'"

  Uslan did not elaborate, so what this means exactly is uncertain, but it does gives a glimmer of hope to an on-and-off project which may or may not be directed by Peter Segal.

  
  

  Posted 01/14/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Michael Uslan | John August | Peter Segal | Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam!

Tuesday, January 6

• Shazam Movie Declared "Dead" by Scripter

  In a post on screenwriter John August's blog, the Shazam scripter sent out the sad news that his efforts on Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam are over, and that the project is for all intents and purposes "dead."

  August gives an insider's peek at the maddening process of scripting for commercial entertainment. A few behind-the-scenes frustrations were the change of management brought on by the dissolution of New Line Cinema, the Writer's Guild strike, and studio anxiety over what makes a box office blockbuster.

  Here's a bit from the blog:

  By the time I got back [from travel to France], the project was dead. By 'dead,' I mean that it won't be happening. I don't think it's on the studio's radar at all. It may come back in another incarnation, with another writer, but I can say with considerable certainty that it won't be the version I developed.

  Yes, that sucks. And obviously, I can only share my interpretation of what transpired. There were dozens of meetings and phone calls in which I had no participation. As a reader, you should certainly consider the possibility that I wrote sh**ty scripts they simply didn't want to make. Because Warners controls copyright on them, I can't put them in the library for you to read yourself. So you have to decide whether to take my word on it.

  
  

  Posted 01/06/2009 by Jim

  Related: John August | Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam!

Wednesday, August 29

• Shazam! to be broad-based, "inherently funny" superhero flick

  Hard at work on his draft of Shazam!, screenwriter John August provided us with a glimpse of what we can expect to see in the upcoming live-action Captain Marvel flick:

  "The underlying premise is funny, so it's not just Spider-Man plus jokes," August revealed at last week's press day for his directorial debut The Nines. "There's something inherently funny about a 13-year-old boy who gets to become a big, studly superhero, and sort of what's a priority to him wouldn't be a priority to a normal person who gets those powers."

  Hmmm...sounds like Big with explosions.

  August promised, however, that Shazam! will appeal to more than just adolescent boys and other people who like movies about adolescent boys. "The thirteen-year-olds who who are reflected in the movie will really love the movie, and I think other people will too. At this budget, it's gotta be one of those classic 'four quadrants,' where everybody and their brother goes to see it."

  Shazam! is set for a release sometime next year. The Nines opens this Friday, August 31st.

  
  
  

  The Nines - Trailer

  Three lives intertwine in mysterious ways.

  Posted 08/29/2007 by reelz

  Related: John August | The Nines | Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam!