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Afterellen.com No wonder I’m often disappointed in Hollywood (joss whedon mention)Friday 15 June 2007, by Webmaster Some of you may have heard of "development hell." This is the pit of red tape and phone tag that happens when a movie becomes mired, seemingly endlessly, in the development stage. A film can have a big-name director and A-list stars attached to it for years before it extricates itself from this Hollywood quagmire. This week, in 20 Movies Not Coming Soon to a Theater Near You, Premiere.com lists 20 films they’d like to see "dug out of development hell and brought to a multiplex near you." I’m not sure what to think of Premiere.com, because of the 20 flicks they listed, about three of them had women in them. Personally, I’m glad most of these movies haven’t made it out of development hell. I’d like Hollywood to attempt (I know it’s hard for them, but come on) to make more movies that tell stories of interest to the majority of the population - not teenage guys. Nonetheless, here are the lesbianish highlights from the list: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: Based on Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about two immigrant cousins who create a comic book, the film was set to star Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire. A Confederacy of Dunces: Drew Barrymore and Lily Tomlin were on board for this adaptation of John Kennedy Toole’s book, but rights concerns tabled the film at Paramount. Apparently the project is in development once again, though. Wonder Woman: Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Lopez were rumored to be in the running to play the Amazon with the golden lasso, but honestly I can’t see either of them donning that outfit (and I’m totally a Sandy fan). As far as I’m concerned, the most disappointing thing about the Warner Bros. film is the fact that the studio nixed Joss Whedon’s script and hired some other people to write it. Note to Warner Bros.: You royally messed up. Joss, more than any other Hollywood writer these days, knows how to create a female heroine. The lack of a Joss Whedon-helmed Wonder Woman, in my opinion, basically sums up what’s wrong with Hollywood these days. Instead of a nuanced re-envisioning of the story, I now fully expect someone like Halle Berry to headline the movie, which will be chock full of CGI special effects and explosions rather than actual storytelling. Maybe they should stick Wonder Woman back in development. |