Bright (2017)

[Akijama]

EXCLUSIVE: The hot package du jour: Bright, an action spec package for a script that David Ayer will direct, with Will Smith and Joel Edgerton attached to star. I’m told the script was written by Max Landis, and it falls into the director’s wheelhouse, with a major twist. It’s a contemporary cop thriller, but with fantastical elements. The bidding is just warming up.

This puts Smith and Ayer back together after they wrapped Suicide Squad for Warner Bros and DC. Smith is shooting the David Frankel-directed Collateral Beauty with Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley and Jonah Hill. Edgerton starred in the Jeff Nichols-directed Midnight Special with Adam Driver, Kirsten Dunst and Michael Shannon, and he’s shooting Loving, the Nichols-directed saga of Richard and Mildred Loving, a mixed race couple that married in West Virginia and were imprisoned and successfully sued in Supreme Court in a landmark civil rights case. Focus Features acquired the project at Berlin.

http://deadline.com/2016/03/will-smi...ge-1201713446/

[Gamma_Winstead]

Ugh. Max Landis. I'll pass.

[The Debts]

I was interested when it said David Ayer but lost it when Max Landis was mentioned. Can't stand the guy and his massive ego.

[aiman04]

What's wrong with Max Landis?

[Foggy]

You guys know you don't see Max Landis' face in the film right? He's a scriptwriter, if the script is decent, I'll more than likely see it. It's not as if he's gong to be going away anytime soon.

[Dalekbuster523Bluray]

Sounds like an interesting idea. Can't stand Max Landis when he's on Movie Fights but I don't hate him enough to not give a film written by him a go.

[GorillaGuy]

Yep. I ****ing loathe max landis. Easy pass.

[Dalekbuster523Bluray]

Originally Posted by GorillaGuy

Yep. I ****ing loathe max landis. Easy pass.

****?

Shoeing? Toading? Bakeing?

(I'm joking, I know what the starred-out bit is really.)

[GorillaGuy]

Originally Posted by Dalekbuster523Bluray

****?

Shoeing? Toading? Bakeing?

(I'm joking, I know what the starred-out bit is really.)

Yeah you're right it was bakeing

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by Foggy

You guys know you don't see Max Landis' face in the film right? He's a scriptwriter, if the script is decent, I'll more than likely see it. It's not as if he's gong to be going away anytime soon.

It has nothing to do with his face. I hate his writing. He's a hack with a rich daddy and people who keep telling him he's great. He's not a good writer. He continues to think he is, and slam other writers, spouting off why he thinks he could write their films better. THAT is why I don't like him. Nothing to do with his face.

[Pounder]

Netflix gets the rights!

In its biggest movie deal yet, Netflix is getting into the movie business with Will Smith and David Ayer.

The company has come out on top of the bidding war and is in final negotiations for Bright, the magic-infused cop thriller package that has Will Smith and Joel Edgerton attached to star and Suicide Squad director David Ayer attached to direct.

Ayer re-wrote the script initially penned by Max Landis, the writer of Chronicle and American Ultra.

The story is described as a mixing of End of Watch, Ayer’s own gritty cop movie, and Alien Nation, the 1988 movie that starred James Caan and Mandy Patinkin as human and alien cop forced to work together.

In Bright, the setting is world where magical creatures live side by side with humans and the police have a division handling crimes involving magic. A human cop (Smith) is forced to work with an Orc (Edgerton) to find something that unsavory elements are prepared to kill for, a powerful wand.

Eric Newman and Bryan Unkeless are producing as is Landis.

Netflix has been making aggressive strides into movie content but for the most part, it’s efforts have been modestly-scaled and without wide commercial appeal. It has a deal for a series of Adam Sandler comedies but Sandler is seen as an actor whose big-screen power has waned.

It made the acclaimed drama Beasts of No Nation with Idris Elba but that movie is said to have suffered during the Oscar race due to not being widely seen.

With Bright, it has a project that reunites Smith and Ayer, a duo that is generating heat due to the buzz on Warners’ Suicide Squad. The studio wants Ayer to jump into a sequel as soon as possible but insiders say that the director wanted to do something else first before returning to the land of DC villains.

The project was shopped as a film with a budget of $80 million-$100 million and required a production commitment - something that was a worry for some suitors. (One studio was ready to go all in at $55 million but that offer was rejected.)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hea...h-david-874009

[Foggy]

Netflix paid $90 mill for the rights, budget will be $45 mill, cast gets $45 mill. Max Landis' spec script gets $3 mill.

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2016/03/1...rs-cop-fantasy

[dgoswald]

I've a lot of time for Joel Edgerton. I hope this succeeds for his sake. I actually think he'd make a cracking young Jim Gordon if they ever reboot () in a decade or so, particularly if there's ever straight-up adaptations of Year One, Long Halloween, and Dark Victory.

I don't think I've seen a Landis penned film.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by dgoswald

I don't think I've seen a Landis penned film.

Chronicle is the only one worth the time of day. And for the love of God never check out his Twitter or YouTube channel.

[chris_sc77]

Not a fan of Landis. This sounds pretty lame as well. Netflix could put that money to much better use.

[Zillamon51]

I like Max Landis, but this premise sounds tired. And a big-budget movie from the director of Suicide Squad, starring Will Smith, going straight to Netflix (basically DTV)? HA HA HAAAAA! Smith's ego should have kicked in and put the kibosh on this deal.

[ArmyOfDarknessAW]

I actually like Landis. I don't agree with quite a bit he says, but he has a distinct personality and is a good writer. Chronicle was good and Superman American Alien is a very good comic book.

As for $90 million for the movie i feel Netflix is nuts. Will Smith isn't the name he once was. Will this movie draw enough new people to Netflix to make it worth it? I feel it would've been better to bankroll 6 movies with $15 million budgets. You can have a great movie with great actors for that amount. Heck Ex Machina was made for $15 million.

[chris_sc77]

They probably could have made Hellboy 3 instead with that $90 million .

[Karmasux96]

Max Landis has all of the personality of Quentin Tarantino without any of the talent. It's hard not to be biased against him when you listen to him speak.

I'll give this a shot and completely ignore the fact that Landis wrote it

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by chris_sc77

They probably could have made Hellboy 3 instead with that $90 million .

That just made me sad. If only.