"Spider-Man" director resurrects "Shadow"
edonline
"Spider-Man" director resurrects "Shadow"
Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:35 AM ET
By Borys Kit
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts
of men? Columbia Pictures and "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi know.
After a lengthy negotiation, the studio has acquired the screen rights to
"The Shadow," the legendary 1930s pulp hero, for a big-screen adaptation to
be produced by Raimi and Josh Donen through their Buckaroo Entertainment
banner. Raimi is not attached to direct at this time.
"The Shadow" debuted in 1931 on a CBS radio show which aimed to boost the
magazine circulation of sponsor Street & Smith. The character was actually
the moniker for the announcer, and listeners began demanding stories based
on the name.
Walter B. Gibson created the character, writing the adventures of a
crime-fighter who skulked in shadows wearing a hat and cape, and who had the
power to cloud men's minds.
The Shadow became one of the greatest pulp heroes of the time, and the radio
series, which featured a young Orson Welles, spawned the catchphrase "Who
knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"
The character proved a merchandising bonanza, was the subject of seminal
comic books, and influenced an array of pop culture, from Batman to "V for
Vendetta."
The character moved to the screen, becoming the hero of several movies in
late '30s and '40s, a Columbia cliffhanger serial starring Victor Jory, and
a couple of TV series in the early days of television.
The Shadow's most recent incarnation was a big-budget 1994 feature from
Universal starring Alec Baldwin and directed by Russell Mulcahy. The movie
didn't fare well at the box office, quashing a hoped-for franchise.
A "Shadow" movie has long been a dream project for Raimi, and the
crime-fighter's influence can be seen in Raimi's 1990 movie, "Darkman."
"I've been a passionate Shadow fan ever since I was a kid and have long
dreamed of bringing this character to the screen," Raimi said.
After "Spider-Man 3" opens in May, the future of the Raimi-directed
mega-successful franchise becomes an open question. Star Tobey Maguire has
not committed to doing more. And Columbia relishes having Raimi's cinematic
fingers on another action hero. The screenplay will be written by Siavash
Farahani, whose credits include "Max Payne," a video game adaptation for
20th Century Fox.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Agent Smith
news:feKdnXlX4cpI-eDY...@giganews.com:
> The Shadow's most recent incarnation was a big-budget 1994 feature
> from Universal starring Alec Baldwin and directed by Russell Mulcahy.
> The movie didn't fare well at the box office, quashing a hoped-for
> franchise.
I quite enjoyed the film, and I don't understand why nobody else did.
"Shi-Wan Khan has hypnotized the ENTIRE CITY!!"
> "I've been a passionate Shadow fan ever since I was a kid and have
> long dreamed of bringing this character to the screen," Raimi said.
You see, guys like him got famous, because they know their asses from
their elbows.
> After "Spider-Man 3" opens in May, the future of the Raimi-directed
> mega-successful franchise becomes an open question. Star Tobey Maguire
> has not committed to doing more. And Columbia relishes having Raimi's
> cinematic fingers on another action hero. The screenplay will be
> written by Siavash Farahani, whose credits include "Max Payne," a
> video game adaptation for 20th Century Fox.
If they want it to succeed, they'd better get John Romita to draw the
storyboards.
Icebreaker on 34th Street
news:Xns98967E5D5C018ag...@207.115.17.102...
> "edonline" <edonlineSPAMOUT!@comcast.net> wrote in
> news:feKdnXlX4cpI-eDY...@giganews.com:
>
>> The Shadow's most recent incarnation was a big-budget 1994 feature
>> from Universal starring Alec Baldwin and directed by Russell Mulcahy.
>> The movie didn't fare well at the box office, quashing a hoped-for
>> franchise.
>
> I quite enjoyed the film, and I don't understand why nobody else did.
> "Shi-Wan Khan has hypnotized the ENTIRE CITY!!"
Couple of reasons. #1 Most people today have never heard of The Shadow,
especially young kids. #2 It had Alec Baldwin in it, whose star had begun to
fall by this point after having turned down Patriot Games and Clear and
Present Danger #3 The film just isn't that clever. It's got some nice set
decoration and costumes, but the script isn't as crisp as it needed to be.
Plus The Shadow wears a fedora, a bandana, and a trenchcoat, and that's not
quite as sexy as a spandex Spider-suit, or a leather and vinyl Batsuit.
-------------------------------------
Icebreaker
"Orlando, you can't be a pilgrim. The pilgrims had snowy white skin to match
their pure Christian souls. They didn't sacrifice coconuts to their monkey
gods."
chef_boyhowdy!
> "Agent Smith" <agent...@two-blocks-on-your-left.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns98967E5D5C018ag...@207.115.17.102...
>> "edonline" <edonlineSPAMOUT!@comcast.net> wrote in
>> news:feKdnXlX4cpI-eDY...@giganews.com:
>>
>>> The Shadow's most recent incarnation was a big-budget 1994 feature
>>> from Universal starring Alec Baldwin and directed by Russell Mulcahy.
>>> The movie didn't fare well at the box office, quashing a hoped-for
>>> franchise.
>>
>> I quite enjoyed the film, and I don't understand why nobody else did.
>> "Shi-Wan Khan has hypnotized the ENTIRE CITY!!"
>
> Couple of reasons. #1 Most people today have never heard of The Shadow,
> especially young kids. #2 It had Alec Baldwin in it, whose star had begun to
> fall by this point after having turned down Patriot Games and Clear and
> Present Danger #3 The film just isn't that clever. It's got some nice set
> decoration and costumes, but the script isn't as crisp as it needed to be.
> Plus The Shadow wears a fedora, a bandana, and a trenchcoat, and that's not
> quite as sexy as a spandex Spider-suit, or a leather and vinyl Batsuit.
>
the movie plot wasnt anywhere NEAR as interesting as Gibsons old
crime-cops-and-robber dramas in the pulps. Personally I think they should
just take something he wrote, Green Eyes or one of his classics, and just
spruce it up a bit. Anybody see Darkman? that was so bad, we ended up
calling it Dumbman.
Yer right, they're gonna have to glamourize The Shadow a lot. Make him
disappear with fancy effects. Make his chick partner, Margo, really hot.
Preferably mostly naked.
Icebreaker on 34th Street
news:aj2u1pg9ue57$.1rr78cfqnm2ax$.dlg@40tude.net...
> the movie plot wasnt anywhere NEAR as interesting as Gibsons old
> crime-cops-and-robber dramas in the pulps. Personally I think they should
> just take something he wrote, Green Eyes or one of his classics, and just
> spruce it up a bit. Anybody see Darkman? that was so bad, we ended up
> calling it Dumbman.
>
> Yer right, they're gonna have to glamourize The Shadow a lot. Make him
> disappear with fancy effects. Make his chick partner, Margo, really hot.
> Preferably mostly naked.
There are a lot of what I'd call secondary, or B-list, comic heroes that
could be adapted or need some retooling in order to make great films. I
thought The Shadow was a decent flick (much better than The Phantom). Dick
Tracy was an okay film; looked much better than it actually was. I think The
Shadow was the best of the three, and wasn't hampered by the ham-fisted
acting of Treat Williams or Al Pacino.
There was some talk of remaking The Phantom within the past year or two, but
I don't know what happened to the project (that's a film project that I
think would be hard to adapt; a hero in a purple suit....in a jungle???).
I'd like to see a Captain America or a Green Lantern film, I suppose. Maybe
even an Aquaman or a Wonder Woman. I think Flash Gordon should be given
another shot, though I have to admit the 1980 version is still a guilty
pleasure.
Agent Smith
news:MIkfh.17$Gx6...@newsfe03.lga:
> "chef_boyhowdy!" <attila_t...@nowaynohow.com> wrote in message
> news:aj2u1pg9ue57$.1rr78cfqnm2ax$.dlg@40tude.net...
>
>> the movie plot wasnt anywhere NEAR as interesting as Gibsons old
>> crime-cops-and-robber dramas in the pulps. Personally I think they
>> should just take something he wrote, Green Eyes or one of his
>> classics, and just spruce it up a bit. Anybody see Darkman? that was
>> so bad, we ended up calling it Dumbman.
>>
>> Yer right, they're gonna have to glamourize The Shadow a lot. Make
>> him disappear with fancy effects. Make his chick partner, Margo,
>> really hot. Preferably mostly naked.
>
> There are a lot of what I'd call secondary, or B-list, comic heroes
> that could be adapted or need some retooling in order to make great
> films. I thought The Shadow was a decent flick (much better than The
> Phantom). Dick Tracy was an okay film; looked much better than it
> actually was. I think The Shadow was the best of the three, and wasn't
> hampered by the ham-fisted acting of Treat Williams or Al Pacino.
>
> There was some talk of remaking The Phantom within the past year or
> two, but I don't know what happened to the project (that's a film
> project that I think would be hard to adapt; a hero in a purple
> suit....in a jungle???). I'd like to see a Captain America or a Green
> Lantern film, I suppose. Maybe even an Aquaman or a Wonder Woman. I
> think Flash Gordon should be given another shot, though I have to
> admit the 1980 version is still a guilty pleasure.
What b-list comic book heroes do you think they should adapt?
chef_boyhowdy!
> "chef_boyhowdy!" <attila_t...@nowaynohow.com> wrote in message
> news:aj2u1pg9ue57$.1rr78cfqnm2ax$.dlg@40tude.net...
>
>> the movie plot wasnt anywhere NEAR as interesting as Gibsons old
>> crime-cops-and-robber dramas in the pulps. Personally I think they should
>> just take something he wrote, Green Eyes or one of his classics, and just
>> spruce it up a bit. Anybody see Darkman? that was so bad, we ended up
>> calling it Dumbman.
>>
>> Yer right, they're gonna have to glamourize The Shadow a lot. Make him
>> disappear with fancy effects. Make his chick partner, Margo, really hot.
>> Preferably mostly naked.
>
> There are a lot of what I'd call secondary, or B-list, comic heroes that
> could be adapted or need some retooling in order to make great films. I
> thought The Shadow was a decent flick (much better than The Phantom). Dick
> Tracy was an okay film; looked much better than it actually was. I think The
> Shadow was the best of the three, and wasn't hampered by the ham-fisted
> acting of Treat Williams or Al Pacino.
>
> There was some talk of remaking The Phantom within the past year or two, but
> I don't know what happened to the project (that's a film project that I
> think would be hard to adapt; a hero in a purple suit....in a jungle???).
> I'd like to see a Captain America or a Green Lantern film, I suppose. Maybe
> even an Aquaman or a Wonder Woman. I think Flash Gordon should be given
> another shot, though I have to admit the 1980 version is still a guilty
> pleasure.
>
Flesh Gordon was funnier.
"yes, your ass-holiness!"
Derek Janssen
>>Anybody see Darkman? that was so bad, we ended up
>>calling it Dumbman.
(Although we'll give Liam Neeson points for acing the "hehehehhh"
snicker that Alec Baldwin couldn't.) :)
>>Yer right, they're gonna have to glamourize The Shadow a lot. Make him
>>disappear with fancy effects. Make his chick partner, Margo, really hot.
>>Preferably mostly naked.
>
> There are a lot of what I'd call secondary, or B-list, comic heroes that
> could be adapted or need some retooling in order to make great films. I
> thought The Shadow was a decent flick (much better than The Phantom). Dick
> Tracy was an okay film; looked much better than it actually was. I think The
> Shadow was the best of the three, and wasn't hampered by the ham-fisted
> acting of Treat Williams or Al Pacino.
Phantom was a confused puppy that literally started "For those who
missed the beginning...", threw an unhelpful thirty-second explanation
in our face, and still left us outside the door--
And Dick Tracy could have been good with the same idea and a more
focused director--But Warren Beatty just listened too much to the
"quirky" director on his shoulder, and by the end turned it from a
stylized pop-Batman into a sedate romanticized "Town & Country"...Most
those neat-o action scenes from the trailer ended up as part of endless
song-montages with Madonna torch-crooning in the background.
...Which leaves "Shadow" as one of the few 30's-pop comic movies to keep
its mind on its business, and with a sense of humor that "The Rocketeer"
didn't allow itself.
Derek Janssen
eja...@comcast.net
George Peatty
wrote:
>Then there's also The Phantom Stranger...
If we're going there, I'd rather see Phantom *Lady* .. headlights and all ..
Invid Fan
Smith <agent...@two-blocks-on-your-left.com> wrote:
> What b-list comic book heroes do you think they should adapt?
There's a number from the animated Justice League Unlimited that would
be fun to see tackled. The Question, for example, with his girl friend
The Huntress :)
--
Chris Mack "Refugee, total shit. That's how I've always seen us.
'Invid Fan' Not a help, you'll admit, to agreement between us."
-'Deal/No Deal', CHESS
Travoltron
>> I quite enjoyed the film, and I don't understand why nobody else did.
>> "Shi-Wan Khan has hypnotized the ENTIRE CITY!!"
>
> especially young kids. #2 It had Alec Baldwin in it, whose star had begun to
> fall by this point after having turned down Patriot Games and Clear and
> Present Danger #3 The film just isn't that clever.
#4 - He had a morphing nose.
chef_boyhowdy!
ha! perhaps you'd be more interested in the old movie from the 60s, "the
ghost in the invisible bikini".
cheesy as hell but good fun.