Ok, Will Smith, we know you really don’t care who you collaborate with as long as they make you look good, heroic even. This has worked out for you so far, and no one seems to care you’re working with people the world’s number one box office draw shouldn’t bother with. Quality control didn’t stop “Hancock” from making $624 million worldwide, so why employ it now? Hell, you’ve worked with Akiva Goldsman, repeatedly (!), and somehow you’ve come out smelling like roses. But sooner or later, you have to come to terms with your track record of laughable, disingenuous garbage and finally put your foot down, saying “No” to something, anything. And it looks like screenwriter Justin Marks gives you that excuse.
Marks has just been hired to re-write “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo,” the big budget prequel director McG (we’ve talked about this guy a few times- check the archives, Will) has envisioned for Disney that has now been fast-tracked. The movie concerns Nemo building the mighty ship Nautilus and encountering a number of the characters found in Jules Verne’s classic novel. Marks’s first script, for the hilariously cheap looking “Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li,” sees the light later this month, but a look at his resume suggests Marks was found by Hollywood in some hellish fan fiction chatroom. Marks has also penned “He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe,” “Voltron: Defender Of The Universe,” the Green Arrow actioner “Super Max” and an adaptation of the cheap serial killer comic “Hack/Slash.” Can you imagine the mountain of cocaine and Mountain Dew it takes to write those types of scripts?
Anyway, Will, we know Disney is fast-tracking this potential $25 million payday for you, and Spielberg has ditched his “Oldboy” remake with you (another bad idea, but it’s Spielberg and not Andy fucking Tennant, so you’re somewhat forgiven) for “Lincoln.” Combined with the snazzy “Terminator Salvation” footage, and this all seems like a nice, cozy idea, right? Well, Will, you’ve done some terrible movies, but are you really ready to strap into a potentially blasphemous prequel to a Jules Verne novel, and ensuing franchise, with the director of “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and the writer of “Voltron?” Think about it.