What with WANTED’s very strong debut, original scribe Mark Millar is having his day in the sun, and you know what? He’s earned it. A few days ago, the UK Evening Times profiled him:
JET lag is an occupational hazard for Mark Millar. That and other hardships, like having Angelina Jolie rub suntan lotion on his face, being brought tea by Claudia Schiffer and making Jessica Alba gush happy tears.
It’s all in the line of work for the globe-trotting, Coatbridge-born comic book guru whose million-selling, graphic novel Wanted has had a Hollywood £55million blockbuster treatment, going on general release tomorrow.
“Comic-book guru?” Pretty good for a lad from Coatbridge, In this article and several others, Millar suggests a WANTED sequel is already on the way.
Millar also added that he’s been approached by Universal about concocting a sequel. “They’ve asked me how I can develop some of the other stuff from the book into the sequel. We’ll see what box office is like at the weekend, but everyone knows this is going to make a LOT of dough. Wall·E permitting.” (He actually has a few choice words for the hapless robot, who really shouldn’t be held accountable for his release date.)
Even if WANTED 2: STRONGLY HANKERED FOR doesn’t get made, Millar’s Icon book KICK-ASS is already looking good for the cinema, with Matthew Vaughn (STARDUST) on board to direct:
“I’m working as a producer on [’Kick-Ass’] as well, so I’ve been involved for about eight months, believe it or not. The comic didn’t come out until February, but we made the deal on the movie back in December. The script was finished six months ago, and it starts filming on location in New York in August. So it’s moving really fast.”
Even bearing in mind Millar’s wee penchant for, well, stretching things a bit, he’s got to be riding high and his projects in the pipeline are sure to get a boost as well. It’s all good for now.
UPDATE: A perfect example of Millarism in action, as he discusses the Superman movie he’s writing.
“million-selling, graphic novel Wanted”
yep, just a wee bit stretched this tidbit
(He actually has a few choice words for the hapless robot, who really shouldn’t be held accountable for his release date.)
I’ve got to assume that this is a joke, because there’s no way in Hades that Millar actually thinks that there were a substantial number of people trying to choose between seeing the G-rated “Wall-E” and the R-rated gunfest of “Wanted”, right?
Right?
“and you know what? He’s earned it.”
I couldn’t agree more. Mark Millar is my new hero.
Interesting photo. Aside from the fact that it’s a rare photo in which Angelina Jolie looks like a normal, very attractive woman (instead of being photographed to look like an Amazon Queen), wasn’t she shot to look taller than James McAvoy in the film?
I really like Millar’s work, but I can’t believe Kick Ass is already a movie.
Kick-Ass shouldn’t have been a comic in the first place.
//Oo/\
Actually, I can’t think of a less-deserving writer in comics.
I rather like Kurt Loder’s review of “Wanted,” in which he highlights the “schoolboy nihilism that made Mark Millar’s six-issue miniseries a sometimes disagreeable read” that was wisely left out of the film. Along with just about everything else Millar came up with, except the title itself.
“Schoolboy nihilism,” to one degree or another, perfectly sums up most of Millar’s output.
If Millar can make a lot of money off his comics work in Hollywood, then good for him. Ditto for all the other modern comics creators who have gotten rich with movie and TV treatments of their work.
Still … it makes me sad for the poor old bastards who created the Big Guns that have made hundreds of millions of dollars through movies and TV shows, characters like Superman and Batman and Robin and the Flash and Green Lantern and Spider-Man and the Hulk and Iron Man and the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. A few of the shrewder old guys worked the system and did OK, like Stan Lee and Bob Kane, but a lot of them ended up in poverty or close to it.
I was indifferent to Millar til he took over the FF with Hitch. Now I can’t wait for him to leave. The guy has made quite a rep for himself scripting high-profile books like The Ultimates and I was actually looking forward to seeing his take on Marvel’s First Family. But what a trainwreck.
I guess there’s no real editor in charge, otherwise they’d have explained to Millar the difference between a “copyright” and a “patent” before that first awful FF went to press. Yeah, Reed Richards makes a ton of cash off his “copyrights.”
And that’s just nit-picking. Nevermind Johnny Storm bedding a bank robber and Ben Grimm hitting on a schoolteacher right in front of her students with sexual innuendo that probably has Jack Kirby spinning in his grave.
So this is what the emperor is wearing this year.
Ultimate Fantastic Four’s first issues were some of the greatest super hero comics, ever.
Considering how he’s completely messed up the current Marvel Universe with Civil War, I’m not sure what success, if any, Mark Millar is deserving of right now.
“I can’t believe Kick Ass is already a movie.”
Doesn’t surprise me at all. There’s a high concept premise (“ordinary kid becomes real world superhero”). Superhero movies have done well lately. This is a variation on the theme, close enough to be easily marketable, but different enough to be… easily marketable. It’s got sequel potential if it does well. It doesn’t have to be expensive. And it’s by the guy who sold WANTED, so there’s a glimmer of track record there. Okay, the comic’s not done yet, but Hollywood’s more interested in the concept.
Millar’s agent had plenty to work with.
KICK-ASS will not be easy to market because of the title. You can’t advertise a movie (I’m talking about TV commercials) with the word “ass” in the title except at late nights or on MTV. So unless the title of the movie is changed from “KICK-ASS” to “KICK-BUTT” I don’t see a huge marketing opportunity for this movie.
“Ass” passes just fine in early primetime. I remember the first time I heard it said on Fresh Prince of Bel Air. It is not a deterrent to advertising.
Use of the word in a line of dialogue on tv is NOT the same thing as using it in a film title. Any examples of “ass” being used in a tv show’s title or a mainstream film’s title? Not that I know of. It IS an advertising problem. (And it should be.)
I think the chances of a major studio releasing a film called “kick Ass” are about the same as Warner going with Millar’s imaginary Superman project.
But if it gets him off Fantastic Four, I say go for it.
(Gee, I wonder if they’ll use the “F**k Crime!” tag for the film?)
It should also be noted that the early HANCOCK trailers were reedited in order to remove the words “jackass” and “punkass” out of the trailers.
I should also point out that commercials for reality/documentary movies like JACKASS and BADASSSSSS were ONLY shown at late night and/or on (NOT only on) certain cable stations.
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Interesting photo. Aside from the fact that it’s a rare photo in which Angelina Jolie looks like a normal, very attractive woman (instead of being photographed to look like an Amazon Queen), wasn’t she shot to look taller than James McAvoy in the film?