7 Films That Must Be Saved From Development Hell

Suggesting new ways to jerk some life into ‘em…

Some films linger for years in the dusty vaults of studio development.

With Ghostbusters 3 - a notorious Development Hell-dweller - finally getting hosed down and shoved blinking into production, we've had a think about other projects that have been stuck in limbo for too long.

So as a helpful service to Hollywood, here's a few of the movies that clearly need to be transferred out of cold storage and into the fast-track microwave…

The Brazilian Job

The Pitch: Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, Seth Green and Mos Def get their crime team back together for a heist in Rio de Janeiro.

The original was a surprisingly fun, purist-annoying diversion. We want more. It's been six years now…

The Status: After a series of stops and starts, with various scripts written and junked, the movie seems no nearer to actually reaching the screen.

Plus the various actors are busy with their own projects, so scheduling must be a nightmare. “We're trying right now. They all want to do the sequel," blabbed producer Donald De Line as recently as this month. "We have a version at Paramount that we're talking very seriously about, so hopefully, if we're lucky in the next year we can pull it together."

Our Fix: Enough with the arsing about. Get all the actors’ representatives together in a room and hash out a schedule - even if it means they shoot some scenes at different times.

Also, get the Bourne stunt team together and throw enough money at Crank co-directors Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine to let them go crazy.

Comments

    • 8rustystaples

      Mar 10th 2009, 14:11

      I love Will Ferrell, but he's not the man to play Ignatius Reilly. The only reasonable choice at this point (citing age and acting ability as factors) is: Judah Friedlander Take a look at his work as Toby Radloff in "American Splendor" and then tell me Ferrell would do a better job as Ignatius. And I live in New Orleans, so I'm an authority.

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    • foodiedb

      Mar 11th 2009, 4:00

      Logan's Run HAS to be on this list!!!

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    • Motley

      Mar 13th 2009, 15:57

      Your fix for the Sandman sounds, well, sound! Mr Neil to write the script himself sounds even better. He has the most beautiful way with words and could send the films in the right direction. It seems strange there are no more "Guillermo del Toro" director types around - when will one creep out of the woodwork?

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    • marvinfinch

      Mar 30th 2009, 20:23

      How about 'Jennifer Government'? This sould be out for years and there are still NO other news than that it will be released in 2010.

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