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BEFORE WATCHMEN: First Thoughts on the WATCHMEN PrequelDreamWorks and Warner Bros. Team Up for Martin Luther King Jr. Project
by Adam Chitwood Posted:April 28th, 2011 at 7:06 pm
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While many dueling Martin Luther King Jr. projects are in various stages of development at the moment, it looks like DreamWorks and Warner Bros. have decided to combine their competing projects and co-finance a MLK film together. DreamWorks acquired the rights to Martin Luther King Jr.’s story back in 2009, securing the cooperation of the King estate as well as the rights to Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Warner Bros., on the other hand, had scribe Kario Salem (The Score) on board. Salem spent three years researching and doing interviews for his screenplay.
After Universal abruptly pulled out of financing director Paul Greengrass’ controversial film Memphis (covering the days leading up to MLK’s assassination) following pressure from the King estate, THR reports that DreamWorks and Warner Bros. decided to combine the strengths of their respective projects and create a film together, with Salem in negotiations to write the screenplay. Hit the jump for more.
After seeing the trouble that plagued Greengrass’ project, as well as the difficulty Lee Daniels is having getting his own Martin Luther King Jr. film Selma made, DreamWorks and Warner Bros. realized that together they have the support of the King estate and three years worth of research.
Salem will now write a new script, with the King’s involvement. In fact, Martin Luther King II will act as an executive producer on the project. Now, it’s great that the King family has given their support to the project, but I think there’s something to be said about artistic freedom. With King II acting as an executive producer, and the estate keeping a watchful eye over the project, it appears there will be quite a few people the script has to be vetted through.
Personally, I’m much more intrigued by Greengrass’ project. The guy’s an incredible director, and I’m interested in seeing what the King estate was so unhappy with to push them to convince Universal to drop the project.
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i think i’ve read before that the dreamworks’ project is being shaped for Spielberg to direct. but since he still has Lincoln(which he can no longer postpone any more since DDL is “seriously” preparing for it already right now. plus the fact that DDL might have dropped out of Scorsese’s long awaited ‘Silence’ for Lincoln) and Robocalypse(which he is apparently dead serious to make). and Jonathan Nolan’s Instellar(a long written script that Spielberg just isn’t making even though the concept came from him), why not let Greengrass jump in and let them work togethere. i have not since Greenzone, but all of the Greengrass films that i’ve seen, Bourne Supremacy(which is a huge improvement from Identity), Bourne Ultimatum(which is THE perfect action picture) and United 93(what might be his best film), he can create thrilling cinema that is smart and leaves you breathless with its brilliant pacing and adrenaline.