John August

Search Results for: Dahl

Project update

Projects

After a month of [baby duty](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2005/two-big-debuts), it’s back to work. This seems the perfect time to take stock of all the projects I have out there, and figure out exactly what their status is.

★ ACTIVE ★

__Prince of Persia__
[Jordan Mechner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Mechner), who created the videogame, wrote the movie adaptation, which he and I are executive producing with Jerry Bruckheimer Films at Disney. The script is great. Next step is to get a director. That discussion is just beginning.

I get more [comments and suggestions](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2004/prince-of-persia-announced) about this project than any other. So let me clarify what I know, and what I don’t know. First, the movie is much more like The Sands of Time than Warrior Within. Second, we have no idea who will star in it, nor where we will shoot it. Third, that’s all I know. Or at least, all I can say.

__Ops__
This is the Fox TV show that Jordan and I set up last year about two guys who work as private military contractors. For various reasons, we didn’t end up shooting the pilot during the usual production schedule. Instead, Jordan and I ended up writing an almost entirely new pilot script which we (and Fox) are a lot happier with. Now there’s talk about shooting the pilot outside of the normal schedule, which would be fine with us. Or it could go away completely. That’s show business.

__The Eye__
I did a few weeks’ of work on [this thriller](http://imdb.com/title/tt0406759) at Paramount, an American remake of [the Pang brothers movie](http://imdb.com/title/tt0325655/). I’m happy with the work I did, but it’s not my movie in any creative-ownership sense.

__Father Knows Less__
I rewrote Father Knows Less ((May 3, 2011 Update: IMDb listing now inactive)), set to star Dustin Hoffman as a second-time dad, for New Line. Director [Shawn Levy](http://imdb.com/name/nm0506613) left the project, so I suspect they’re looking for a replacement. (Actually, I know they are, because I’ve talked to two friends who were sent it.)

__Untitled Broadway Musical__
I’m writing the book for a Broadway musical currently in very, very early stages of development. It’s been interesting adapting to the challenges of storytelling on the stage. No, I can’t say what the project is, or whether it will ever happen. Based on the very busy schedules of everyone involved, it could take years.

__How to Eat Fried Worms__
This project, an adaptation of Thomas Rockwell’s book, was the very first script I was ever hired to write, way back in 1995. Originally, the project was set up at Imagine, then it migrated to Nickelodeon. I assumed the project was dead and gone, when suddenly I [read that it was filming](http://www.hdforindies.com/2005/08/ok-now-they-are-shooting-movie-in-my) in Austin.

[Bob Dolman](http://imdb.com/name/nm0231190/), who was brought in to rewrite the script after me, is directing. Producer [Mark Johnson](http://imdb.com/name/nm0425741/) called to tell me filming was going well. I haven’t read the shooting script — or any script at all — so I don’t know how much resemblance it bears to the movie I wrote so many years ago.

★ FINISHED ★

__Charlie and the Chocolate Factory__
[The movie](http://imdb.com/title/tt0367594/) is now out in almost every market, and looks to be closing in on $200 million domestic box office. I’ve seen the special features for the DVD, which are quite cool, although I don’t know the exact release date for the disc. But something tells me it would be a great stocking stuffer. Hint.

When I did Q&A’s for the film, many people asked if we were going to make a sequel, such as Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. As far as I know, no. That was never in the plans. Tim and I have never talked about it.

__Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride__
[The film](http://imdb.com/title/tt0121164/) is now finished, and ready for its debut at the Toronto Film Festival. I’m really happy with how the film turned out. I didn’t originate the project — I came on board after they had started filming — but I enjoyed working with the team to figure out how to get it in its best shape. In addition to shared screenwriting credit (along with Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler), I share lyric credit on several of the songs.

__Charlie’s Angels__
I keep getting questions about whether there will be a third one. I doubt it. I love the characters, and I love the people involved, but we’re all off doing other things now. I don’t foresee getting back together to make another one.

★ LIMBO ★

__Tarzan__
My modern-day, pan-African adaptation of Tarzan is in a (permanent?) holding pattern at Warner Bros. Last year, we started to go out to directors, but now it’s not clear what the next step is. There’s disagreement about many things, including my basic take on the entire movie.

It’s frustrating, because Tarzan is one of the best things I’ve ever written. It’s certainly one of the most difficult. You have a hero who grows from an infant to a man, and doesn’t learn how to speak until page 40. A lot of it plays like a silent movie, yet it has big [Joseph Campbell-y hero themes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces) that I generally avoid, but which work great for a film like this.

I really wanted this to be a trilogy. Now, I’d settle for a mono-gy.

__Untitled Zombie Western__
Largely due to readers’ terrific [suggestions for a new title](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2005/a-movie-by-any-other-name), I’m seriously considering dusting off this long-buried spec. Not that I think anybody’s itching to make a zombie movie after the disappointing returns for [Land of the Dead](http://imdb.com/title/tt0418819/maindetails). But I’ll at least add it to the [Library](http://johnaugust.com/library) section once I get it cleaned up.

__Fury__
There’s been some discussion about turning this unsold spec — the most violent thing I’ve ever written — into a graphic novel or a videogame. Both ideas make sense; the story is sort of a cross between [Grand Theft Auto](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_%28series%29) and [The Terminator](http://imdb.com/title/tt0088247/maindetails). But there are other projects that require my immediate attention, so I may just let this back-burner for a while.

★ QUESTION MARKS ★

__Alice__
This adaptation((May 3, 2011 Update: IMDb listing now inactive)) of [American McGee](http://americanmcgee.com)’s videogame was looking pretty dead, when it suddenly sprang back to life with the announcement that [Marcus Nispel](http://imdb.com/name/nm1197971/) would be directing, with [Sarah Michelle Gellar](http://imdb.com/name/nm0001264/) in the title role. The Hollywood Reporter article lists [Erich and Jon Hoeber](http://imdb.com/name/nm0388377/) as the screenwriters.

Back in 2000, the project was set up at Dimension, with [Wes Craven](http://imdb.com/name/nm0000127/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxrdz0xfHE9d2VzIGNyYXZlbnxmdD0xfG14PTIwfGxtPTUwMHxjbz0xfGh0bWw9MXxubT0x;fc=1;ft=20;fm=1) attached to direct. I wrote a long treatment — not a full script, as the Hollywood Reporter article states — and left the project under less-than-felicitous circumstances. But I’ve kept up with American McGee, who’s a friggin’ rock star.

I have no idea whether the movie will incorporate any of the material from my treatment, or if the current incarnation even has the applicable rights. If you’re interested in tracking the progress on the project, [American’s site](http://americanmcgee.com) is your best bet.

__Barbarella__
Oh, sweet Barbarella. This adaptation of the French comic book series about a sexually-liberated space explorer was set to star [Drew Barrymore](http://imdb.com/name/nm0000106/), but a tangle of rights issues got in the way. It was tremendous fun to write. Of all my unproduced projects, it’s probably my favorite.

There were [rumors](http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/622/622650p1.html) recently that [Lindsay Lohan](http://imdb.com/name/nm0517820/) was going to play the part. I think that was just fanboy fantasy. Although, honestly, last-year’s Lindsay (the nice girl who was in [Mean Girls](http://imdb.com/title/tt0377092/)) would have been great.

My agent got a call a few months ago from a producer who claimed to have the rights to Barbarella. I doubt he had all the right he thought he had, and he certainly didn’t have the right to my script, which is co-owned by Fox and Warner Bros. So I don’t see this getting made any time soon. (Although I would have said the same about How to Eat Fried Worms.)

★ PRESUMABLY DEAD ★

__Thief of Always__
An adaption of Clive Barker’s novel. The first project I was ever fired off of.

__Untitled John August Thriller__
[This Sony project](http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/036/036258p1.html) was intended to be a big summer event movie, but a competing project suddenly roared to life. I never ended up writing the script. In many ways, that’s good, because I don’t think our movie would have gotten made anyway.

__Demonology__
This Paramount thriller is about two prep school girls who have to save Manhattan from the Apocalypse. Sort of a cross between [Clueless](http://imdb.com/title/tt0112697/) and [Aliens](http://imdb.com/title/tt0090605/), which is why it will never get made.

__Fantasy Island__
A big-budget feature adaptation of the classic TV show. My version was a lot like [Lost](http://imdb.com/title/tt0411008/), except that Lost is a lot better than my movie would have been.

__Fenwick’s Suit__
Based on the book by David Small, a family comedy about a guy whose suit develops a life of its own. The studio gave up on it, but I think it could have worked.

__Bad Hospital__
An HBO dramedy about a terrible hospital. Not haunted, not evil, just really crappy. It was created by Julie Siege; I was executive-producing. Ultimately, we never made it out of development, but Julie landed a spot on [Invasion](http://imdb.com/title/tt0460651/).

Deciding which parents get to visit the factory

Charlie, Projects, QandA

[Charlie Tour Group](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/charlieriver.jpg)I have a question about your upcoming film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What made you decide to have each child bring only one guardian to Wonka’s factory, and how did you choose which one would go?

–Michael
Daphne, Alabama

In Roald Dahl’s [book](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375834605/), each of the four rotten kids (Veruca, Violet, Augustus and Mike) brings both of their parents on the tour of the factory. Charlie only bring Grandpa Joe, for reasons that are never entirely clear. According to the rules on the Golden Ticket, he’s allowed to bring two parents, but he doesn’t.

When Tim Burton and I first sat down to talk about how we were going to adapt Dahl’s book for the screen, the two-parent issue was one of my first questions. In addition to being a little unfair to Charlie, having each of the rotten kids bring both parents presented a lot of problems.

With a book, the reader can conveniently forget that Mrs. Teavee hasn’t said anything for a long time. In a movie, however, that character is always going to be on-screen. Which means she needs to be doing something, saying something. She has to interact with all the other characters in the scene, who in turn have to interact with each other, which steals focus from Charlie, Willy Wonka, and the rotten kids.

Basically, twice the parents means everyone gets half as much to say and do.

So we quickly decided that the rule on the Golden Ticket would be that every kid gets to bring one parent or guardian. No fuss, no muss.

Then the question becomes, which parent goes with which kid?

In my mind, piggy Augustus got that way because he had a mother who equated food with love. So Mrs. Gloop would be the first parent. We don’t learn much about her except that she and her husband own a sausage shop in Germany.

Violet Beauregarde claimed to be the world record-holder in chewing gum, so we decided to make her hyper-competitive, her ego stoked by sports mom Ms. Beauregarde, herself a former baton champion. We never say anything about Violet’s father.

Veruca Salt is a daddy’s girl gone wicked, manipulative and bossy. So it only made sense for her to bring her father, a British nut baron.

Finally, there’s Mike Teavee. In Dahl’s book, he’s obsessed with TV westerns and shoot-em-up cop shows. Updating it a bit, we gave him violent videogames and a well-meaning but completely over-his-head father, who is literally bullied by his son.

Even with just these four characters, it took work to find enough for everyone to do and say. In the Chocolate Room, for instance, we have to keep track of Willy Wonka, Charlie, Grandpa Joe, Augustus, Mrs. Gloop, Violet, Ms. Beauregarde, Veruca, Mr. Salt, Mike and Mr. Teavee. That’s eleven characters, not counting the Oompa-Loompas. If we’d added four more parents to the scene, we’d probably still be shooting it.

Buy clothes Charlie Bucket couldn’t afford

Charlie, Projects

wonka t-shirtMy best-dressed friend [Jen](http://highcamp.com/) sent me a link to [Kitson](http://www.shopkitson.com/index.php?pageId=3&commerce=1&categoryId=185), which has started selling a line of exclusive, and expensive, [Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-related merchandise](http://www.shopkitson.com/index.php?pageId=3&commerce=1&categoryId=185).

I certainly don’t lay any claim to the idea of Golden Tickets or t-shirts, but I was a little giddy to see that three of the slogan shirts feature dialogue from the script (as opposed to Roald Dahl’s book, or the original movie). The shirts in question are:

[“I’m sorry. I don’t speak American.”](http://www.shopkitson.com/index.php?pageId=3&productId=1956&categoryId=185) (Spoken by Mr. Salt.)

[“Chewing gum is really gross. Chewing gum I hate the most.”](http://www.shopkitson.com/index.php?pageId=3&productId=1954&categoryId=185) (Spoken by Willy Wonka.)

and

[“I love de Chocolate!”](http://www.shopkitson.com/index.php?pageId=3&productId=1955&categoryId=185) (Spoken by Augustus Gloop.)

Okay, the third one is a bit of a stretch, because Augustus says similar things in every version of the story. So I’ll just claim the “de,” since I wrote out his German accent. The fourth slogan shirt, [“There’s no know where they’re going”](http://www.shopkitson.com/index.php?pageId=3&productId=1953&categoryId=185), is also in the script, but it comes directly from Chapter 18 of Dahl’s book.

Obviously, there will be a ton of Charlie-related products over the next few months, so I won’t point out every promotion. And to anticipate the first question in the comments section, no, the screenwriter doesn’t get any piece of the merchandise.

But if Kitson wants to send me a t-shirt or two, I’ll take a men’s large. Not XL. L. Cheers.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory teaser up

Charlie, Projects

The [teaser](http://mp3content01.bcst.yahoo.com/bmfroot02/BMFShare02/yahoomovies/4/10140065.mov) for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is now up at Yahoo!, for those who are interested. It should be attached to movies beginning this weekend.

One good thing about a movie like this is that you don’t have to worry about the trailer spoiling the movie, because the story is already familiar to most people. If you go through the teaser frame by frame, you can match up pretty much everything with events from Roald Dahl’s book. That’s not to say there aren’t some surprises in the movie, though.

Thanks to reader Steve for pointing out the link.