Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Doug Petrie has provided me with hours and hours of entertainment in the form of BUFFY episodes. He’s a darn good writer. Knowing that he’s the one who is currently being trusted to bring THE FANTASTIC FOUR to life so that Payton (BRING IT ON) Reed can then direct the film some time next year, I’m interested.
We ran a report about a week ago in which someone quoted Petrie from an English magazine, in particular talking about how the origin stories in the movie would be handled in flashback since the film was going to begin with the heroes in Times Square, fighting a giant monster. Anyone familiar with the very early days of the FF should recognize that image, and the thought made me very happy.
Turns out that may not be exactly right.
How's this sound as an opening sequence? Adoring groupies cram New York's Fifth Avenue, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic, played by Charlize Theron and ANGEL's Alexis Denisof. The Thing, voiced by John C. Reilly, rips the top off an armored car and yanks out two would-be robbers. Paul Walker shouts, "Flame on!" as his Johnny Storm character ignites into the Human Torch, saving a female fan from another thief's rocket launcher.
Two hours later, just before the credits role on THE FANTASTIC FOUR, New York's favorite superheroes buzz away in their Fantastic Car, with Johnny dropping 8x10 photos to fans in a scene shamelessly lifted from the Beatles' A HARD DAY’S NIGHT.
That’s the buzz according to an excellent, if too-brief article, by Ryan Downey over at MTV.com.
"The big debate between everybody was giant monster or no giant monster," Petrie said of the flick's proposed opening scene. "I wanted the poster for the movie to be the cover for the first issue, where basically you do a live-action version of a giant monster ripping through Fifth Avenue and Fantastic Four kicking its ass. For budget reasons, it went to something else, but it's still a giant opening scene.”
There’s some other revelations in the article, including far more detail about how he plans to handle Dr. Doom, and in particular, how he plans to handle Doom’s face, and the demands by the studio that he has to spend time out of his mask so they can lure a movie star to play the role.
I know, I know... I can hear some of you groaning already. The truth is, though, that it would be next to impossible to get a name to play the whole role behind an immobile iron mask. It’s one of those truths of casting that affects the way something eventually gets portrayed onscreen. Much of the process of writing THE FANTASTIC FOUR has got to involve a sort of slow fight against the crushing weight of compromise, and it sounds like Petrie is trying to pick his fights. I remember sitting over dinner with Sam Hamm in San Francisco and listening to him detail just how insane the process was that he was involved in, back when he was charged with turning Michael France’s now-legendary first draft into something that Fox could actually afford.
Anyway... check the article out. It’s well worth your time.
"Moriarty" out.
