Butler's Script Sale of the Week...
October 22nd, 2001
There were some very interesting sales this week. SPEED RACER is back on track with a couple of new writers. We can only hope the mind-bending thriller STAY is as good as its logline (and its price tag). As long as Ben Stiller has something to do with it, PUBERTY sounds like it could be a wild flick. With a script based on work by one of the greatest sci-fi writers of all time (Harlan Ellison) and with one of the greatest sci-fi directors of today (Alex Proyas) attached to direct, DRIVE had better be good. And I think I can smell the sweat of Oscar Fever in the air with the announcement of the Lasse Hallstrom directed, Russell Crowe starring CINDERELLA MAN going into active development.
My sale of the week, or "sayles" of the week as the case may be, (I couldn't resist. Sorry.) is the news that John Sayles has just about signed on the dotted line to script Ron Howard's upcoming historical epic THE ALAMO.
Sayles is perhaps the most criminally under-celebrated writer/editor/director/actor/producer of his generation (although one gets the feeling he wouldn't have it any other way). Like James Cameron (perhaps the most criminally over-celebrated director of his generation?), Sayles got his start with B-movie legend Roger Corman by drafting the story for PIRANHA (1978). Unlike Cameron, who graduated from making Corman's B-movies to making his own ultra-slick, crowd pleasing B-movies (as good as ALIENS and the TERMINATOR flicks are - and they're excellent - that's all they really are. So is TITANIC, if we're all honest about it.), Sayles went on to write and direct films that would transcend their respective genres in a brave (and mostly successful) attempt to elevate cinematic art and storytelling.
Of course, this is why the average moviegoer would glance at Sayles's filmography and not recognize half of the films he has made. Remember MATEWAN (1987) or CITY OF HOPE (1991)? PASSION FISH (1992)? MEN WITH GUNS (1997)? No? Then get down to your local video store. Now.
Sayles has worked on bigger budget flicks (the man's got to make a living), most notably EIGHT MEN OUT (1988). He's also "helped out" on scripts for which he hasn't been credited. He did work for Ron Howard on 1995's APOLLO 13. As a master of character development and story structure, it's no onder Hollywood comes running when their project needs that little something extra (quality perhaps?).
THE ALAMO sounds like a great project for Sayles. He's been to cinematic Texas before, most recently with LONE STAR, one of his higher profile films (thanks to a then white hot Matt McConaghey and, well, the fact that it was an excellent film.) Howard must've liked what Sayles did on APOLLO 13, and it is we, the film fans, who will hopefully benefit from it.
Howard is a good director and a master craftsman. Sayles is a master craftsman and a true artist. Put them together on a project like THE ALAMO, which already has so much built in drama, conflict, and excitement, and it looks like we may have the recipe for an instant classic.
-- Edward Butler
My sale of the week, or "sayles" of the week as the case may be, (I couldn't resist. Sorry.) is the news that John Sayles has just about signed on the dotted line to script Ron Howard's upcoming historical epic THE ALAMO.
Sayles is perhaps the most criminally under-celebrated writer/editor/director/actor/producer of his generation (although one gets the feeling he wouldn't have it any other way). Like James Cameron (perhaps the most criminally over-celebrated director of his generation?), Sayles got his start with B-movie legend Roger Corman by drafting the story for PIRANHA (1978). Unlike Cameron, who graduated from making Corman's B-movies to making his own ultra-slick, crowd pleasing B-movies (as good as ALIENS and the TERMINATOR flicks are - and they're excellent - that's all they really are. So is TITANIC, if we're all honest about it.), Sayles went on to write and direct films that would transcend their respective genres in a brave (and mostly successful) attempt to elevate cinematic art and storytelling.
Of course, this is why the average moviegoer would glance at Sayles's filmography and not recognize half of the films he has made. Remember MATEWAN (1987) or CITY OF HOPE (1991)? PASSION FISH (1992)? MEN WITH GUNS (1997)? No? Then get down to your local video store. Now.
Sayles has worked on bigger budget flicks (the man's got to make a living), most notably EIGHT MEN OUT (1988). He's also "helped out" on scripts for which he hasn't been credited. He did work for Ron Howard on 1995's APOLLO 13. As a master of character development and story structure, it's no onder Hollywood comes running when their project needs that little something extra (quality perhaps?).
THE ALAMO sounds like a great project for Sayles. He's been to cinematic Texas before, most recently with LONE STAR, one of his higher profile films (thanks to a then white hot Matt McConaghey and, well, the fact that it was an excellent film.) Howard must've liked what Sayles did on APOLLO 13, and it is we, the film fans, who will hopefully benefit from it.
Howard is a good director and a master craftsman. Sayles is a master craftsman and a true artist. Put them together on a project like THE ALAMO, which already has so much built in drama, conflict, and excitement, and it looks like we may have the recipe for an instant classic.
-- Edward Butler
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