Quentin Tarantino's Unrealised Silver Surfer Project

[Cockney Mackem 514]

Kind of off-topic, but I know there's a few comic book fans and Marvel aficionados on here.

I was reading about film projects that never took off and one of them was about Tarantino. Now he talks a lot about films he'd like to make and most of them never got last the "mentioning them one in an interview" stage. But apparently in the 90s he wrote a screenplay for Silver Surfer and submitted it to the film company that held the rights, but was turned down.

Has anyone heard about this? Is there anywhere that has more details on that script or how close it got to being made at all?

[RyanSz 3140]

All I've found was that it was basically written and submitted to the film company after he found success with Reservoir Dogs, so it should have seemed like a sure thing it would have been made, I'm guessing it was a bit too off-brand for what a studio was thinking a comic book movie should have been at that time. If you want an interesting read on Hollywood at that time regarding QT movies, check out Killer Instinct by Jane Hamsher, one of the producers of Natural Born Killers. It basically details how they got the original script for a steal because it was right before Reservoir Dogs premiered and all of a sudden they found themselves holding the hottest script in town once that movie was a hit and every studio was trying to buy any and all scripts he touched. Also if Tarantino does stick to his claim of retiring after his tenth film, I'd want either him or a film historian to publish a book on all of the films he wanted to make and/or talked about making but never got far into the process for, because that could easily fill 300-400 pages with how many things he's talked about doing over the years.

[GrahamS. 803]

5 hours ago, RyanSz said:

All I've found was that it was basically written and submitted to the film company after he found success with Reservoir Dogs, so it should have seemed like a sure thing it would have been made, I'm guessing it was a bit too off-brand for what a studio was thinking a comic book movie should have been at that time. If you want an interesting read on Hollywood at that time regarding QT movies, check out Killer Instinct by Jane Hamsher, one of the producers of Natural Born Killers. It basically details how they got the original script for a steal because it was right before Reservoir Dogs premiered and all of a sudden they found themselves holding the hottest script in town once that movie was a hit and every studio was trying to buy any and all scripts he touched. Also if Tarantino does stick to his claim of retiring after his tenth film, I'd want either him or a film historian to publish a book on all of the films he wanted to make and/or talked about making but never got far into the process for, because that could easily fill 300-400 pages with how many things he's talked about doing over the years.

That’s a very entertaining book, but it’s hamstrung by the fact that she’s hellbent on portraying him as a talentless dweeb. I’m not saying that he’s flawless (she did mention that Roger Avary didn’t get his share of the credit for Pulp Fiction’s success, which is—by various reports—true), But—and bear in mind that my memory is rusty since I read the book many years ago—she acts like Tarantino stabbed them in the back by disowning the film....which I don’t blame him for, because the film is WAY less nuanced than a typical Tarantino project and, is totally over the top and generally sucks (in my humble opinion). Tarantino only has a story credit—Oliver Stone rewrite the script as a satire because he’s so deft with light, topical humor (that’s my snarky asshole side right there)—and I think NBK pales in comparison to any Tarantino film (except maybe Four Rooms, but that film is such a train wreck it’s at least fun to watch). 
 

To make a long story short (too late), while the book is undeniably entertaining, Hamsher is so bitter at points that she is an unreliable narrator. Plus she went on to produce Apt Pupil, a Bryan Singer film (which has it’s OWN giant bag-of-worms scandal behind it) that also fucking sucked. 
 

i am interested to see what his final project will be. I was kinda hoping for an R-rated Star Trek. Hell, give him the reins for a Star Wars spin-off.

[Cockney Mackem 514]

Thanks - I'm trying to find out more about it for a podcast. Basically I'm trying to build up a picture of what that film would be like, if in some kind of parallel universe it got made

[RyanSz 3140]

4 hours ago, GrahamS. said:

That’s a very entertaining book, but it’s hamstrung by the fact that she’s hellbent on portraying him as a talentless dweeb. I’m not saying that he’s flawless (she did mention that Roger Avary didn’t get his share of the credit for Pulp Fiction’s success, which is—by various reports—true), But—and bear in mind that my memory is rusty since I read the book many years ago—she acts like Tarantino stabbed them in the back by disowning the film....which I don’t blame him for, because the film is WAY less nuanced than a typical Tarantino project and, is totally over the top and generally sucks (in my humble opinion). Tarantino only has a story credit—Oliver Stone rewrite the script as a satire because he’s so deft with light, topical humor (that’s my snarky asshole side right there)—and I think NBK pales in comparison to any Tarantino film (except maybe Four Rooms, but that film is such a train wreck it’s at least fun to watch). 
 

To make a long story short (too late), while the book is undeniably entertaining, Hamsher is so bitter at points that she is an unreliable narrator. Plus she went on to produce Apt Pupil, a Bryan Singer film (which has it’s OWN giant bag-of-worms scandal behind it) that also fucking sucked. 
 

i am interested to see what his final project will be. I was kinda hoping for an R-rated Star Trek. Hell, give him the reins for a Star Wars spin-off.

Oh there's definitely an edge of a person who didn't reach the heights they were hoping for going after those who did in their opinion, especially after hearing from her former partner who produced the film with her how their partnership imploded shortly after the movie and book came out. While NBK is no perfect film, I think it's made solely on the various characters in it rather than the peyote fueled ramblings of the director. It's an odd thing as despite what the story is, which is a condemnation of modern media and then celebrity culture, the characters are fantastic on their own with amazing, if not over the top, performances from two leads as well as Robert Downey Jr. Rodney Dangerfield, Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. As for Apt Pupil, that was one I enjoyed for the performances of the leads, especially Ian McKellan, even though it is a very watered down adaptation of the source material.

As for QT's final movie, I don't know what it could or should be but at this point I don't think it should be something like a TV show adaptation, especially given how fandom reactions can get to anything that strays even the slightest from the perceived canon and style. And with how many things he's talked about making  over the years, I'd love to see the Kill Bride movie that he's talked about.

Also if there was ever a person that has a filmography made for HDTGM, it's Hamsher's former partner Don Murphy who was the producer for Double Dragon, the entire Transformer series, League of Extraordinary Gentleman, and Splice, among others.

[GrahamS. 803]

4 minutes ago, RyanSz said:

As for Apt Pupil, that was one I enjoyed for the performances of the leads, especially Ian McKellan, even though it is a very watered down adaptation of the source material

I read the book—or novella, I think (isn’t it a Bachman book?)—when I was whipping through Stephen King books in high school. I remember the film was well acted, I just remember it feeling creepily exploitative with no real point to it and wondering who the hell it was made for. Haven’t watched it since, have no desire to watch it again. Too many Nazis in real life.

I also think a third Kill Bill would be fucking awesome.

[RyanSz 3140]

35 minutes ago, GrahamS. said:

I read the book—or novella, I think (isn’t it a Bachman book?)—when I was whipping through Stephen King books in high school. I remember the film was well acted, I just remember it feeling creepily exploitative with no real point to it and wondering who the hell it was made for. Haven’t watched it since, have no desire to watch it again. Too many Nazis in real life.

I also think a third Kill Bill would be fucking awesome.

Yeah the book, which was a Bachman, was a bit more heavy on the kid being a fanatic about the Holocaust and what happened there, and there was a shit ton more killing than what was in the movie, especially in the altered ending which features a shooting spree from the kid. As for the third Kill movie, I remember QT basically saying it would be a revenge film attempted against the Bride featuring the survivors of her killing spree in the first two films, it would have Daryl Hannah shown to still be alive and working with Lucy Liu's assistant who was butchered by the Bride, and that they've trained Vivica Fox's daughter to get her revenge for seeing her mother killed in front of her. It definitely could work depending on the genre he wants to influence the movie.

[theworstbuddhist 572]

13 hours ago, RyanSz said:

Yeah the book, which was a Bachman, was a bit more heavy on the kid being a fanatic about the Holocaust and what happened there, and there was a shit ton more killing than what was in the movie, especially in the altered ending which features a shooting spree from the kid. As for the third Kill movie, I remember QT basically saying it would be a revenge film attempted against the Bride featuring the survivors of her killing spree in the first two films, it would have Daryl Hannah shown to still be alive and working with Lucy Liu's assistant who was butchered by the Bride, and that they've trained Vivica Fox's daughter to get her revenge for seeing her mother killed in front of her. It definitely could work depending on the genre he wants to influence the movie.

Sorry to be that guy, but the novella is under King's name - it is one of the four in Different Seasons, which also includes The Body (Stand By Me) and The Shawshank Redemption. Not a bad collection! And yeah, the film is relatively limp compared to the source, though the cast was fine.

I have mixed feelings about Tarantino as a person from what little I know about him, but I do like most of his films. I still haven't seen The Hateful 8. I quite enjoyed Once Upon a Time. Maybe his last will be a musical!

[Cockney Mackem 514]

16 hours ago, RyanSz said:

Oh there's definitely an edge of a person who didn't reach the heights they were hoping for going after those who did in their opinion, especially after hearing from her former partner who produced the film with her how their partnership imploded shortly after the movie and book came out. While NBK is no perfect film, I think it's made solely on the various characters in it rather than the peyote fueled ramblings of the director. It's an odd thing as despite what the story is, which is a condemnation of modern media and then celebrity culture, the characters are fantastic on their own with amazing, if not over the top, performances from two leads as well as Robert Downey Jr. Rodney Dangerfield, Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. As for Apt Pupil, that was one I enjoyed for the performances of the leads, especially Ian McKellan, even though it is a very watered down adaptation of the source material.

As for QT's final movie, I don't know what it could or should be but at this point I don't think it should be something like a TV show adaptation, especially given how fandom reactions can get to anything that strays even the slightest from the perceived canon and style. And with how many things he's talked about making  over the years, I'd love to see the Kill Bride movie that he's talked about.

Also if there was ever a person that has a filmography made for HDTGM, it's Hamsher's former partner Don Murphy who was the producer for Double Dragon, the entire Transformer series, League of Extraordinary Gentleman, and Splice, among others.

How serious do you think QT is about stopping after 10 films?

[GrahamS. 803]

2 hours ago, Cockney Mackem said:

How serious do you think QT is about stopping after 10 films?

I think there’s a good chance he’ll be like Steven Soderbergh, where he says he’ll quit and might lay low for awhile, but come back to movies or streaming platforms in some capacity.

[RyanSz 3140]

11 hours ago, theworstbuddhist said:

Sorry to be that guy, but the novella is under King's name - it is one of the four in Different Seasons, which also includes The Body (Stand By Me) and The Shawshank Redemption. Not a bad collection! And yeah, the film is relatively limp compared to the source, though the cast was fine.

I have mixed feelings about Tarantino as a person from what little I know about him, but I do like most of his films. I still haven't seen The Hateful 8. I quite enjoyed Once Upon a Time. Maybe his last will be a musical!

Damn you're right. Think I got it mixed up with Thinner which was a Bachman but sold separate of the first four Bachman stories. Hateful 8 I really enjoyed, as it is kinda of a whodunnit in a Western setting with great performances from the small cast.

7 hours ago, GrahamS. said:

I think there’s a good chance he’ll be like Steven Soderbergh, where he says he’ll quit and might lay low for awhile, but come back to movies or streaming platforms in some capacity.

I would not be surprised if he starts doing either TV episodes like he's done in the past or a miniseries, which technically isn't a movie.

[Cockney Mackem 514]

In case anyone is interested in this kind of thing, I've started my own amateur film podcast called Double Reel. I've just released the second episode, which includes a discussion on Tarantino and Silver Surfer, how close he got to making a film of it, would he still do it, what would it be like? A lot of speculation obviously but if you like geeky film stuff you might like it.