Rainn Wilson And James Gunn Hawking New Superhero Script
Some little birdtells me thatPG Pornocrat andSlither-meisterJames Gunnis going out to “indie producers” with the script for a new superhero project. The same little bird also reveals thatRainn Wilsonis attached to the script, and that the premise is something like an “f’ed up low rentWatchmen”. This little bird – as has become increasingly common this last two months or so – is the little Twitter bird. Oh, how he sings and sings and sings.
Last night, Rainn Wilson tweeted some details of the script not once, but twice. I’ve just grabbed a screen cap for you, and put it below the break with some more details.
Gunn wrote a spoofy superhero film some years ago. Craig Mazin’sThe Specialsis one of those mid-figure wonders at Rotten Tomatoes, the kind of film that scores in the 35-60% range but develops a solid knot of a cult following.
From Wilson’s tweets, itseemslike Gunn has had this script for some time – see “old/new”. Could it be an old, would-be sequel-come-spin-off toThe Specialsthat Gunn has repurposed? Doesn’t seem impossible, does it?
Or could this be a remake? That one I’m not so sure about. Note how Wilson refers to a “f**d story and character” – this might just be him focusing (egotistically?) on the one character he’d play, but it probably suggests more of a solo-superhero enterprise than the ensemble structure ofThe Specials. I’d like to think Wilson has his ego securely in check.
James Gunn’s script work on theScooby Doofilms is a little underrated. I’m not making any great claims for a deep value to what he wrote there, but the robotic Rowan and souped-up Scrappy Doo climax is so utterly bizarre it shouldn’t go withoutsome kindof credit. And there are definitely jokes in there too – not exactly sidesplitters, but theyarejokes.
But overrated, I’d say, are his other works. Somewhere in between the scorn piled onScoobyand the cult love heaped onto Gunn’s less kiddy-friendly fare is the fair estimation. He can write okay, and he’s obviously somebody who loves his work, but I wouldn’t want to get carried away and credit him with anything too much more than a good sense of humor and a well developed work ethic.
While I rooted through to Wilson via my Twitter feed from Gunn, I did also see this story atCHUD.
