Home > Development hell

The screenwriter may have successfully sold his screenplay to a certain set of producers or studio executives, but then the executives in charge change, and these new people raise objections to all the scripts and casting decisions they oversee, mandating rewrites and recasting. As a director and actors become "attached" to the project, further rewrites and recasting may be done in order to accommodate the needs of the new talents involved in the project. Should the project fail to meet their needs, they might leave the project or simply refuse to complete it, causing further rewrites and recasting. Worse still is when a finished project (for example, a television pilot) is sent back for rewrites and recasting, which can often force a project to begin again from scratch. This process can last for months or years, and a project trapped in this state will more often than not be abandoned by all interested parties or outright cancelled. This process is not naturally an element of filmmaking. Many times, this "Hell" occurs simply due to the lack of foresight and competing visions of those parties involved. This revolving door in the film industry happens most commonly with projects that, to some, may have multiple interpretations and affect several points of view.

1 Projects known to have been, or thought still to be in Development hell

• A remake/additional film of Superman starring Nicolas Cage in a white costume. This project was ultimately canceled though there are several known versions of the script that took on possible storylines such as Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday and his resurrection. Director Kevin Smith is said to have written a script for this picture. Wolfgang Petersen was attached to develop a joint Superman/Batman film but this also fell through. A second script by J J Abrams had various Directors attached with Bret Ratner , and McG actually commissioning set designs. In 2004 it was announced that production would start on a new script with Bryan SingerBryan Singer (born September 17, 1965) is a film director from New York City. He graduated from USC film school. He is Jewish. As of Summer 2004, he accepted the position of directing a new Superman movie. Filmography Public Access The Usual Suspects Apt as Director.
• A film of Alan MooreAlan Moore (born November 18, 1953) is a British writer and co-creator of comic books such as Watchmen and V for Vendetta''. Beginning his career writing strips for publications such as Doctor Who Monthly (or Weekly as it was then), Moore went on to work's graphic novelA graphic novel is a novel or novella done in the medium of comics. It is typically a long-form work rather than a short publication such as an individual comic book, analogous to a novel rather than a short story. A graphic novel need not be a complete w WatchmenWatchmen is a 1986 graphic novel written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons. It is one of the most important superhero stories, ushering in a new era of adult-oriented mainstream comics. The title is a reference to the Latin phrase "Quis custodiet ip, Terry GilliamTerence Vance Gilliam (born November 22 1940 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) is a film director. Terry Gilliam started off as an American animator and strip cartoonist; one of his early photographic strips featured John Cleese. Moving to England, he anima had been tipped as director.
• For many years the 2000 ADNote: This is an article about the British comic book "2000 AD", rather than the year 2000 2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction oriented comic. The publication, which serialises a number of separate stories each "prog" (short for programme — a term comic strip Judge DreddMike McMahon for the first ever story Judge Joseph "Joe" Dredd is the main character of the longest-running strip in the British comic 2000 AD having been featured there since its second issue in 1977. History Judge Dredd was created by writer John Wagner had been touted as prime film material but various initial attempts to get the project off the ground floundered. Eventually a film was made but was widely regarded as disappointing by fans of the comic strip.
• A screenplay of the William GibsonWilliam Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an author, mostly of science fiction novels, who lives in Canada. He is one of the leading members of the cyberpunk movement. Gibson was born in Conway, South Carolina, USA. In 1968, he moved to Canada, and in novel Neuromancer was optioned soon after the novel was first published in 1984, and has been in development hell ever since. Because the rights to the story and characters are owned by the studio that owns the screenplay, the character Molly Millions had to be replaced with a generic girl named "Jane" in the movie version of Johnny Mnemonic.
• The upcoming movie of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was in development hell for over 20 years ever since it was first suggested in 1982.
• The next film of the James Bond series appeares to be in a state of development hell as Pierce Brosnan and Quentin Tarrantino both stated an interest in a new adaptation of Casino Royale to take the series in a new direction. However differences with the producers have lead Brosnan to announce he will not be appearing as Bond again.