Vertigo's Preacher (D.J. Caruso Confirmed to Direct)

[GreenScar]

Columbia Pictures announces today that Sam Mendes, of Road to Perdition, Jarhead, and the upcoming Revolutionary Road, will direct an adaptation of Vertigo's Preacher comic series. No writer has been hired yet, but Mendes himself will search for one over the next few months. Neal Moritz (who has been in the news a lot recently) will be producing. The comic tells the story of a down-and-out Texas preacher possessed by Genesis, a supernatural entity conceived by the unnatural coupling of an angel and a demon. Given immense powers, he teames up with an old girlfriend and a hard-drinking Irish vampire to set out on a journey across America to find God - who apparently had abandoned his duties in heaven.

Merging with a bizarre spiritual force called Genesis, Preacher Jesse Custer becomes completely disillusioned with the beliefs that he had dedicated his entire life to. Now possessing the power of the word, an ability to make people do whatever he utters, Custer begins a violent and riotous journey across the country. Joined by his girlfriend Tulip and the hard drinking Irish vampire Cassidy, the Preacher loses faith in both man and God as he witnesses dark atrocities and improbable calamities during his exploration of America.

If it sounds badass, that's because it is. Preacher was one of the most popular comics in the late 1990s that has been a candidate for adaptation for years, taking the form an HBO series and feature produced by Kevin Smith, but neither of which ever came to fruition. This latest iteration has nothing to do with the past projects and will be adapted from the ground up again. It sounds like it could be a very badass story, especially in the hands of Sam "Kate & Leo Reunited" Mendes.

[Red Hood]

this was one of the best reads in a long time.

I do wish they would have done the hbo thing and turned every issue into a ep.

[mikejet]

Damnit now I have another comic I have to read.

[Deadset]

You should check out the comic, better yet....get the Vertigo sampler - mine has like 5 or 6 vertigo comics in one trade paperback, it has a preacher comic in it, nice preview for those that haven't read it.

[WyldeMan45]

Is it finally going to happen??

A bunch of news sites reported today on Columbia Pictures' long delayed adaptation of Vertigo's Preacher comic series, while one in particular carried some important information. While I refuse to believe it until I see it, Collider is reporting that director Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition) hopes to get behind the camera come 2010 and bring ol' Jesse Custard to life. John August is in the process of working on the new draft, but still no word on where the screenplay will take us. Out of sight, out of mind... call me when casting begins (when pigs fly).

"Preacher," which ran from 1995-2000, told the story of a down-and-out Texas preacher possessed by Genesis, a supernatural entity conceived by the unnatural coupling of an angel and a demon. Given immense powers, the preacher teamed with an old girlfriend and a hard-drinking Irish vampire and set out on a journey across America to find God -- who apparently had abandoned his duties in heaven -- and hold him accountable for his negligence.

Source

[tbizzle]

Never heard of it, but it sounds pretty kickass. Would like to see this someday

[Preacher]

Yes it is going to happen.

[iori]

I wished they would have done the hbo tv show that was talked about

[masob98]

I never heard of it, but yes it does sound very interesting.

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by masob98

I never heard of it, but yes it does sound very interesting.

This comic was a very hot property and has been rumored for atleast 5 years that I remember reading about. I know I was still in high school when they first reported this and I graduated 5 years ago, lol. It is probably just another film that will never happen, but these comics where very popular and I read them when I first heard about these rumors and quite enjoyed them, and I normally don't ever read comics. There is lots and lots of potential for a franchise here if don't right, or ever........and to the other poster yeah I would have loved the HBO show they talked about years ago.

[Moefiz]

Can'r see it on the big screen in one movie..need to be at least 3 parts..

I can see it as an HBO series like they wanted..

Way too much material in this to put into one movie.

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by Moefiz

Can'r see it on the big screen in one movie..need to be at least 3 parts..

I can see it as an HBO series like they wanted..

Way too much material in this to put into one movie.

Like I said it would be perfect for a franchise I remember when they wanted James Marsden (Cyclops from X-Men) for Jesse! Horrible idea he was no edge at all.

[Offender_Mullet]

We can remove Mendes from the thread title.

"It has been a while since we’ve gotten a solid update on the big screen adaptation of the beloved Vertigo comic book series Preacher. A couple years back, Columbia Pictures picked up the rights and hired American Beauty/Road to Perdition director Sam Mendes to helm the project, but the filmmaker dropped out to pursue Bond. John August (Go, Big Fish) penned the script which producer Neil Moretz has said will be the first of a series of films.

In the latest issue of Total Film Magazine, they talk with producer Moretz about the project, and gives a couple tidbits. First off, the film adaptation will be rated R. Secondly, August’s script is “a really faithful adaptation but made it probably more accessible to a broader audience.” And thirdly, Total Film mentions that “Another unnamed director has apparently signed on.” But who could that filmmaker be?

We do know that screenwriter John August (who has directed a feature film called The Nines) has expressed an interest in directing the film himself, as he and Moritz were talking about the wishlist of possible directors to replace Mendes. Moritz has said that it might be a possibility is none of those other guys say yes.

We also have heard that A-Team director Joe Carnahan has said he would like a shot at Preacher:

I’m kind of desperate to do another comic book adaptation…And the other thing I’m really keen on or interested in is ‘Preacher’ because I’m a big Garth Ennis fan and I love that series and that’s out there, and that might be something…I really love that. You gotta do the Allfather (D’Aronique) and all that crazy shit and I haven’t seen a script and I don’t know what it is, but yeah, we’ll see. Who knows?

Those are our two guesses. I’m not sure who else might be connected the the project.

Preacher has a long history of false starts, despite having a loyal following among geek filmmakers. Originally set-up at Kevin Smith’s View Askew with a $25 million budget and James Marsden attached as the title character, the project fell into limbo and later found light as an HBO television series helmed by Mark Steven Johnson (fans were not happy about this one). When the one-hour series was first announced in November 2006, Pretty in Pink director Howard Deutch was named to helm the pilot episode. Robert Rodriguez was said to be one of the “many top-shelf directors interested in” directing an episode of the series. I have yet to read the series, but from what I understand, most fans saw it more as a television mini-series than a big screen movie.

The official plot synopsis from the graphic novel follows: “Here’s a book guaranteed to offend a bunch of people, not only because of its profuse profanity and graphic violence, but because it’s the epitome of iconoclasm. Like a brutal accident, you can’t watch but you can’t turn away. The story follows an ex-preacher man, Jesse, who has become disgusted with God’s abandoning of His responsibilities. So Jesse starts off into the wilds of Texas with his hitman girlfriend and new best friend (a vampire) to find God so that he can give Him a piece of his mind. Despite its superficial perversity, this book contains what may be the most moral character in mainstream comics. A cult hit in the making. Fans of Quentin Tarantino take note.”

The 75 issue comic book series was created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, and published between 1995 to 2000."

Link: http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/09/01/...but-who-is-it/

[GreenScar]

Superman and Wolverine may not be the only comic book properties attracting the attentions of director Darren Aronofsky. Newsarama is reporting that Aronofsky is also being courted by Columbia Pictures to helm the adaptation of Preacher. For those unfamiliar with Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s comic, Preacher centers on the dark adventures of Jesse Custer, a preacher who accidentally kills his congregation and then awakens to discover he can speak with the word of God (meaning he can command almost anyone to do anything). I’ve always maintained that the adaptation would work better as an HBO miniseries, but perhaps screenwriter John August has successfully cracked it and made it work as a movie.

Sam Mendes was originally attached to direct, but dropped off the project to helm James Bond 23 instead. Speaking to Steve in April, producer Neal Moritz said that they’re aiming to shoot next year, which is also when The Man of Steel and Wolverine 2 plan to shoot so Aronofsky would have to choose. Of course, he could just choose to go off and do his own thing, which would be fine since Aronofsky’s amazing and I’ll happily go see anything he does. His latest film, Black Swan, has been picking up rave reviews and is set to open on December 1st.


What do you think? Do you think Aronofsky should take the gig? Would he be better suited to Superman or Wolveirne? Or do you think he should leave the comic book movies to someone else and stick to more independent fare?

[Moefiz]

I really thought this movie fell thru..

I think Aronofsky can put a good spin on this...about time this project get going, been forever...

[Walts Ghost]

I like that idea. Still think it would have been better as a TV show though

[Walts Ghost]

D.J. Caruso Signed to Direct 'Preacher'

Despite the poor box office and critic reception on his latest film, I Am Number Four, director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye) recently tweeted the following:

Whoa! Someone is actually going to make a film version of Preacher. This fits in with the rumor Peter ran last week, saying that Caruso was in talks to direct the big screen adaptation of the famous, dark, Garth Ennis-written, Steve Dillon-drawn Vertigo comic book series. It appears he’s now locked the role down. Read more after the jump.

The Film Stage first alerted us to Caruso’s tweet, though it ran late last night. But with only 50 followers as of press time, it makes sense. Who knew D.J. Caruso was on Twitter? @deejaycar.

Caruso actually commented on the film last week but didn’t give any idea that he was so close to actually directing it. In an interview with spinoffonline, he said the following:

As previously reported, Preacher was set up at Columbia several years ago with Oscar-winner Sam Mendes set to direct from a script by John August with Neil Moritz producing. Other directors such as Joe Carnahan and Darren Aronofsky were also discussing the film.

Source

Very interesting choice. I like it though. He's a good director. I really liked Disturbia and Eagle Eye, and I could see him making Preacher a great film. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out, and who they'll get to play Jesse....

[Foggy]

I hope he does a good job.

Thread title needs changing by the way guys

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I hope he does a good job.

Thread title needs changing by the way guys

I already sent Diesel a message, he'll change it when he logs on.

I think he'll do great, as long as he keeps with the source material. This is one that can definitely NOT be toned down to PG-13. So I hope they don't try to...That would just be awful.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

I already sent Diesel a message, he'll change it when he logs on.

I think he'll do great, as long as he keeps with the source material. This is one that can definitely NOT be toned down to PG-13. So I hope they don't try to...That would just be awful.

I think this sounds like the sort of film that producers will meddle with.

RED was a very graphic bloody comic book that was toned down to a PG-13 action comedy and that did really well, so they might attempt to re-do that.

However The Losers was the same sort of thing and dropped like a stinky turd.