MTV’s Splash Page talked to newly minted DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson, and while it was mostly a collection of “golly gee, we’re really excited” platitudes, it did shed some light onto the goings on in the DC Universe.
First, just as we had predicted, the Vertigo library is going to be the first thing to be mined. As we said before, Vertigo is home to a number of influential and downright brilliant titles, among them Bill Willingham and Marc Buckingham’s “Fables” and Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera’s “Scalped” (among literally countless others; Vertigo is the gift that keeps on giving).
Nelson told MTV, “But I will say that Vertigo is an area of great interest to me. It is even less well tapped than other parts of DC, and could potentially offer amazing stories for our future television, video game, digital and consumer products businesses. I’ll highlight that one, but it’s no less or more important than any of the other parts of DC.” Uhh, yeah, we just said that.
Also of note was the fact that the comic book creators will be more involved in the adaptations, a move that mirrors Marvel’s decision to frequently consult with the Marvel brain trust, including authors Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar, on their film projects (they were the ones that wrote that super geeky epilogue to “Iron Man”).
She specifically cites Geoff Johns, Marv Wolfman and certifiable super-genius Grant Morrison as being involved even before the formation of DC Entertainment.
On the subject, she said, “So, the short answer is: I hope that there is a whole lot of that moving forward, and I also hope that this becomes an opportunity for creators of comic books who have ambitions to do more than that. That’s where the word “incubation” comes in. It can be about incubating stories, but it can also be about incubating talent.”
One more thing, in regards to DC Universe re-collecting properties from various high profile producers, Nelson said, “We are looking at the slate and are very, very much of the mind that DC properties are something that Warner Brothers is looking forward to driving, and will be working with filmmakers as we do on a case-by-case basis.”
In other words: say goodbye to “Wonder Woman,” Joel Silver. (Hopefully she watched the horrendous “Whiteout” and saw how he cannot handle a comic book adaptation to save his life).
Overall, the interview was encouraging and she seems keenly committed to quality product. So hopefully, we won’t see anymore films like “Catwoman” anytime soon. — Drew Taylor.