It’s funny that Warner Brothers is reportedly considering four very distinct but very high-grade directors to take on a new Twilight Zone movie on which the studio is hot to trot. What’s funny is that they only want one of them as they’re discarding the quadfurcated anthology format of the early 80s film and instead going for one big blockbuster narrative. Even if Nolan wasn’t at the top of the short-list I think most would read that as a response to the success of Inception, but with the director supposedly the most likely target for WB’s first offer, it definitely reads that way.
The other three directors supposedly considering the script are Michael Bay, Alfonso Cuaron, and recently upgraded blockbuster director Rupert Wyatt (of Rise of the Planet of the Apes). Along with Nolan, all of these directors would bring something very very different to the project, and frankly, all of them sound interesting for very different reasons. If it’s a strong script that has WB excited and not just the idea of cashing in on a dubiously marketable name, then this could be an exciting science fiction project.
I’m sure few people would be excited to hear Bay take on a project being waved in the face of Nolan and Cuaron, but again, if it’s the script that has everyone excited then I would actually love to see Bay apply his craftsmanship on top of an actually well-developed screenplay. That would be a rare bit of spectacle indeed. Then again Bay’s very nearly killed some actors and extras on his sets lately, so doing a Twilight Zone flick might mean he actually manages to whack someone this time… Could be messy.
Of course, this project also make sense for Cuaron, as it would be a logical bet-hedging move to sign on to a safe, franchise studio-darling project before Gravity –his own risky, expensive science fiction blockbuster– hits screens. You know, just in case…
Wyatt is a filmmaker that I’ll be excited to see develop and yet I don’t have a distinct set of expectations for him. He’s the only choice that I don’t feel like comes with some degree of opportunity cost, in terms of us losing out on or having delayed a more passionate project from Nolan, Bay, and/or Cuaron.
And of course with Nolan, there’s certainly the feeling that we won’t get our proverbial “one for us” quite as soon if he immediately dives in to another studio darling project. If he has a nice amorphous batch of science fiction concepts or techniques he’d like to blow out though, and they would apply well to this script, then maybe this could be a serendipitous project. Otherwise, let the guy toss an exec producer credit on it and move on to whatever it is he really wants to do post-Batman.
So who would you like to see tackle the project? It’s a shame that anthologies seem so outside the realm of studio possibility these days, but if the Twilight Zone brand will be the means by which a really original sci-fi project gets made, then I’m all for it.
You?
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Source | Variety (via Scott Mendelson)
14 comments
It really is too bad they aren’t considering an anthology. Those 4 names on the same film would be really great.
But maybe if one of them nails it we’ll see follow-ups by the others. Since Potter’s done and done, maybe WB is testing the franchise waters with this? Seems an unlikely brand for it, but you never know.
I’m a little confused as to what will make this a “Twilight Zone” movie.
how could you make a Twilight Zone movie and not have it be an anthology? thats madness i tell you! madness!
I’d like an anthology. And original stories, not something from the series. Maybe get Harlan Ellison involved.
I’d like to see Ellison get into this as well, just so his script can be rejected and he can then sue the producers when he sees minor traces of his script in the finished product.
Leonardo DiCaprio has wanted to this movie to happen for a long time, as he’s a huge fan of Twilight Zone. It would be great if he got involved so we could get another DiCaprio/Nolan film. As for Bay, he’s been talking about doing a smaller movie for the longest time, and I don’t think he has it in him to do anything small. I agree with Renn, though, it would be nice to see him tackle something with a great script.
They could go meta: the discovery of actual zone. Another dimension where for some reason, everything, no matter how unlikely, seems to take a turn of events that reinforces a Cold-War era progressive morality. The cynical scientists wish to harness the zone for its energy, but without all the pesky, liberal moralizing…but one of them, deep undercover begins to sympathize with the black and white people of the zone, he falls in love and leads a rebellion, &tc, &tc.
As long as nobody named Shyamalan is attached…
An ideal Twilight Zone movie needs to be like the 1966 film “Seconds” – small, intimate and character driven. Of course, that’s not gonna happen (especially if Bay gets the gig).
this could be awesome or fucking awful. http://wtflindseyp.blogspot.com/
It will include a shot of Robert Pattinson’s pale, glittering, pouting member.
The Island proved Bay can’t handle this sort of movie. And, generally “see Bay apply his craftsmanship on top of an actually well-developed screenplay” = taking a crap on said script for the sake of COOLNESS!!!
Yeah, I agree with chucking the anthology concept away. One movie, with maybe several lateral narratives based around a central “the Twilight Zone is a actual thing” kind of idea would be better – looking at you Mr Nolan.
It’s like something out of that twilighty show about that zone
It’s not a proper Twilight Zone movie unless an actor dies.
Does this mean we’re not going to see that Rod Serling biopic mentioned a couple of months ago?
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