Judge Dredd Movie is Green Lit!

[Bouwel]

So many ways this could go. Some good, some bad. What's needed is a writer that's willing to break the Hollywood mold and give the audience something intelligent and stylish to watch. This is starting to happen with films such as Sin City and hopefully will continue with Watchmen.

I think there is so much potential for truly epic story telling and cinematic scenes in a lot of 2000AD content. Hopefully, this time they'll get it right.

-Bouwel-
(Who personally would like to see a cinema version of the Quartz Massacre done in the style of the Omaha beach scene of Saving Private Ryan)

[radiator]

I liked the ending to Sunshine.

28 Weeks Later was definitely inferior to Days... but wasn't a bad film in it's own right.

[IndigoPrime]

As for the script, simply pay Wagner a consultant fee and actually listen to him.

[Peter Wolf]

As for the script, simply pay Wagner a consultant fee and actually listen to him.

The simplest ideas are always the best.

[Grant Goggans]

*is cautiously optimistic*

[SuperSurfer]

Looking at the comments so far, we aren't all going to agree on the best approach.

Thoughts from a non-film buff:

I wonder if at this stage it's best to go for a younger Dredd. The earlier no compromise, less human version. I think the version of Dredd in the comic now works because we see him in contrast to the cold bastardo we followed for decades. Wagner has been excellent at hinting at a developing human side to Dredd in recent years and has found convincing ways to show this - unlike the clumsy attempt in the last version, with Dredd giving a stupid smirk at the end. Saw it recently and it always makes me cringe.

Story: perhaps include an origins type thing, showing the origins of the judges and Mega City 1 with the concreting over of New York (would give the special effects people plenty to get their teeth into).

Regarding Dredd's appearance, I really hope they don't show his face but there are all the issues of which actor will want such a lead role. Some elements of the helmet just won't work in real life but I'm sure there are less ruthless ways to go about designing it than last time. No Camden Town goth boots please (apologies to any goths out there), no cod piece and a uniform material that doesn't look like lycra!

Let's brace ourselves. Going to be interesting, that's for sure.

[flesario]

Please absolutely no Judge Death. I repeat no Judge Death or ghostly pantomime 'baddies' from another dimension.

The core of JD is not about fighting supernaturanal foes, more managing a crazy city and its people. It has to reflect the humanity- get in the democrats, the broken citizens etc. Total War?

The Dark Knight manged to work in enough humanity without being at all sentimental.

[Banners]

Please absolutely no Judge Death.

Quite right. The 'evil twin' is pure cliché and would lead to a negative mainstream reaction.

M@

[Leigh S]

NEW FILM MAKERS PLEASE NOTE:

THERE ALREADY EXISTS IN A BANK VAULT (according to Alan Grant) A TREATMENT FOR A DREDD FILM BY WAGNER AND GRANT, WRITTEN AT THE TIME OF THE ORIGINAL FILM, BUT NEVER RELEASED SINCE THE STALLONE FILM MAKERS REFUSED TO PAY UP FOR IT.  

BUY THIS AND SEE WHAT IT SAYS!


that is all.

[the shutdown man]

Check it out, we're famous. (well, not me, since I hadn't posted on this page yet)

http://http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39529

The "click here" link on the aintitcool page leads back here. A true example of the webcommunity at work.

Now I must ponder my various casting choices.

[Freddychopper]

Don't think that everyone should get too excited about this yet - no final script, no director, no casting, no budget, etc, etc...

And bear in mind that once talent gets attached to the project  (certainly a director, or any significant eads) - they will want input on the script, etc and the whole thing does the rounds again - a 2009 start date is v.optimistic since a ton of films are already booked for production next year, meaning FX studios are booked, studios have their release dates pretty much locked for 2010 (also, no indication of what studio will actually release this...)

It's fine as a positive announcement and sometimes these things are announced to drum up further interest and feedabck, but I think we should all wait and see.....

[Kerrin]

Ah, the voice of reason.

I want to see Fatties, big ones. Simps, moronic ones. Bat gliders, sky surfers, boingers, futsies, stub guns and great big bike cannons that go BUDDA-BUDDA-BUDDA. Oh, and a proper alien town with proper aliens with tentacles and everything. And a Lawgiver that doesn't look like it came out of a Christmas cracker. And the guy with the giant schnozz. And Max Normal. And Dredd has to have stripey socks. And Otto Sump...

[Peter Wolf]

"And bear in mind that once talent gets attached to the project (certainly a director, or any significant eads) - they will want input on the script,"

Thats not so bad if they have anything positive to add but i would warn against that because some people have a habit of trying to do everything and not all of it successfully apart from imposing their own will and i want to do this and do that when its someone elses job .I know directors do write their own scripts for their own films like James Cameron but if its not their film and they are hired purely to direct then thats what they should be doing and nothing else.

Too many chiefs and not enough Indians or too many cooks etc usually cause problems with projects.

[JOE SOAP]

I think this is another case of bad timing for a Dredd film. Spielberg is finding it hard to find money to keep Dreamworks afloat, he only has funding for one of his company's projects, Tin Tin, and all others are in doubt. If someone like Spielberg -guaranteed money in the bank director- can't find the cash there's no way a high risk Dredd film will. Producers will also be looking to less riskier projects so if this gets the go ahead, expect studio interference aplenty in this depression climate.

Plus there's Darren Aronofsky's new Robocop which is scheduled for 2010 and is his next film, the same timeframe as Dredd.

One can only hope.

[satchmo]

Merry Drokkin' Christmas!
I'm optimistic, I love 28 Days Later and Sunshine. My two creds would be just set it in Mega-City One, the richest backdrop for a story in all of science fiction. That would be a good start!