Kurt Busiek's Astro City is headed to the silver screen, according to reports from Deadline. Working Title Films signed a deal, and it looks like Busiek gets to write the feature length screenplay.
There's dozens of Astro City stories out there, and since the report doesn't list a specific volume or story line, the film's focus is anyone's guess. What do you think would make the best single film out of the franchise?
Deadline also tells of a potential Chew television series in the early stages of development. Circle of Confusion, the same company behind that obscure Walking Dead television series over at AMC, have inked some sort of deal with creators John Layman and Bob Guillory. Stephen Hopkins, who directed the pilots for 24, Californication, and The Unusuals is set to direct and executive produce the first episode. They just need to find a writer first.
Circle of Confusion has some exceptional taste in picking out comics to adapt for television. Everything we've seen from The Walking Dead looks pretty promising, and Chew's high concept might make for a truly zany and effed up show. Tony Chu's cibopathic powers would translate well to film or television. It'll probably be one of the most disgusting shows on the air, but it could also be one of the most interesting. No doubt the monumental launch of the comic series played into this decision, but this is also a case where the creators have developed a unique story unlike anything else on the racks. Here's hoping it has a smooth transition to TV, and that it finds itself a nice audience. Or a disfunctional audience. As long as there's tons of 'em. It's also really early, so let's hope it happens at all.
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Chew idea sounds awesome especially with how good The Walking Dead is looking. Not sure about the Astro City idea though.
I’ll believe it when they’ll go into production.
If Kurt Busiek is not only involved but writing it, I’m sure it will be awesome.
Stoked for Chew too!
If Jack-in-the-Box shows up in this Astro City movie I will be right there at the midnight showing. I’ll probably be there anyway, but if he’s in it I’ll be there with bells on.
Paul’s Q: "How do you feel about adaptations?" Ready, set, analogy!
I have this really hot girlfriend, see, and we have a really great thing going on. After hearing me (and so many others) tell her how beautiful she is for all of these years, she decides to become a stripper to make some good money (or has she really wanted this all along)? Now, I can’t fault her for this, because the money is GREAT. It would be petty of me to not be happy with her newfound "success."
And even though we are still together, I liked it better when she only got naked for me.
Re: Astro City. Probably the Confessor. It was always the best one to me.
AC could be a collection kind of like Sin City. I really think it would work better as a TV show though.
Effing. A.
I could see Astro City being a new story, and not an adaptation, perhaps with some familiar elements taken from various published stories. It would fit with the series dynamic, it would draw more people to the books, and if Busiek is writing it, it would be perfect.
Astro City will be done like Unbreakable or even the Watchmen.
A real world application to superpowers. Serious problems with the uncertainty of how powers fit in with it.
The intro for Watchmen had me hungry for seeing the lives of the Minutemen unfold. Astro could capitalize on this.
In our current media environment both of these are no brainers. Playing opposite sides of the field, one appeals to traditionalists who crave a pure hero experience and the other to those with more avant and humorous tastes.
Astro City should definitely be a new story, build for the medium, just like the comics are.
@HallScott I think that adaptations are more like your girlfriend heading how beautiful she is and deciding that she’d be even more beautiful if she invested a ton of money and had a national marketing campaign to back her up, so she gets implants (in order to become 3D, you see) and a personal trainer, and then a bunch of people who’ve never talked to her show up to write her dialogue. People who never liked her before start to follow her around, everywhere. Now she’s better looking (though not exactly the woman you always pictured in your head), but not as interesting as the person you spent all those years dating. Luckily, you have all of your back issues photo albums and "home movies" to look at, so it’s not like she’s really gone, and you can tell people "I liked her before she was cool." All the same, it’s cold comfort when your back issues photo albums and "home movies" start to look and sound like the woman from all those billboards and late-night television appearances.
I really hope that this is a hypothetical/metaphorical girlfriend, otherwise I just sound like an ass. I’m sure that the original run of Your Girlfriend was Stan-and-Jack-awesome.
Yes, please. I’d like to see both done well.
I would actually rather see Astro City as an anthology series, like the old Amazing Stories series.
Miles from Lost needs to play Tony Chu. As Layman pointed out himself, he’d be perfect.
Chew could be awesome, and like you said, one of the most disgusting shows on the air. One thing though..a big part of the Chew-niverse is the art and the Guillroy’s cartoon-like style. As great as the writing is, the art is almost its own character. For me that quirky art offsets any sort of gag reflex the subject matter might cause. I dunno how that will translate to live action…..what i’m getting at is, i think its gonna be hard to retain the spirt of what makes the comics so successful.
I think seeing Tarnished Angel on the big screen would be awesome, but I also think that The Confessor storylines would be very good as well.
@j206: I was totally about to type that. I didn’t know Layman had said that, but I thought it from the first time I picked up the book. He’d be awesome.
Here’s my concept of the Astro City movie that I posted somewhere else after hearing the news:
It could be a meta-fictional ride through the life of a self-aware Superhero who is searching for the Creator, Kurt Buseik. In the end, he finds Buseik, except its not Kurt, its…Grant Morrison.