All week, Collider have been running an in-depth interview with taste-free producer Neal H. Moritz, full of new information about his upcoming slate, which includes “Green Hornet,” “Jack the Giant Killer,” and, most eagerly awaited of all, a direct-to-video sequel to “S.W.A.T.” directed by someone called Benny Boom. Perhaps the biggest piece of news, however, came today.
Moritz tells the site that Sam Mendes, who had been developing Garth Ennis’ comic book series “Preacher” with screenwriter John August (“Big Fish”), has now left the project in favour of the James Bond film it was announced he would be directing at the start of this year. With Bond, like “The Hobbit,” in limbo due to the uncertain state of parent company MGM, it seems like an odd decision to have made, but Mendes never seemed wholly committed to the comic book adaptation, and with a start date unlikely until next year, it seems like he wasn’t willing to hang around.
According to Moritz, the script certainly wasn’t the issue, fortunately, telling Collider that “John August wrote a script that I think is terrific. The hardest thing… was how to distill it down. And what he made the smart decision instead of trying to cram everything into one, there’s plenty of room for 2 or 3 movies. So that’s what he’s done and he’s done a really faithful adaptation, but made it probably more accessible to a broader audience right now. That movie’s definitely R-rated and it’s an amazing central character.” We smell a franchise…
There’s even the possibility that August might direct himself, although Moritz’s response — “I said we’ll talk about it” — suggests that the scribe shouldn’t hold out much hope, as they’re going out to several “lofty” directors first. Mendes always seemed like an odd choice for the project, particularly with Moritz, a producer who has maybe the shittiest track record in Hollywood, quality-wise, shepherding it (seriously, he’s the worst; look at his IMDB page, we dare you to find one credit that’s even worth a rental). It’s probably for the best that he’s gotten out of this one.