With the writers guild expected to strike as early as Thursday, writers are furiously trying to get scripts completed for big projects.
The Hollywood Reporter says Columbia Pictures is set for Bond 22 – Paul Haggis delivered his draft to executives late last week.
Fox’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is being penned by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), and The Fast and the Furious 4 by Chris Morgan are among dozens of scripts that are being flipped, a process that actually is uniting executives and screenwriters in one goal: to get a script that is filmable.
Brian Helgeland had been writing Nottingham, Universal’s retelling of the Robin Hood story with Russell Crowe attached, for Ridley Scott’s approval Monday; Helgeland is also under the gun to deliver Tuesday The Taking of Pelham 123, with Denzel Washington and John Travolta attached, to Tony Scott and Columbia.
Paramount has asked for three different scripts from three different writers for G.I. Joe, and will perhaps combine the best parts from each one. Those involved in the novel tri-partite draft effort are Stuart Beattie (30 Days of Night), John Lee Hancock (The Alamo) and the writing team of Brian Koppelman and David Levien (The Winter of Frankie Machine).
The programming schedules of broadcast networks would be hugely disrupted as well were a strike to be called soon. A prolonged stoppage would lead to abbreviated 10-episode seasons of scripted series, forcing the networks to fill primetime with repeats, unscripted fare and occasional acquisitions.
Indications are that both Fox and ABC are sticking to their original plan to launch “24” and “Lost” in January and February, respectively. Fox’s “24,” which started production late and was affected by the recent wildfires, is working on episodes seven and eight, one-third of its 24-episode season. “Lost” has almost reached the 10-episode mark, closer to the show’s 16-episode season order.
