Pray, little children, to the Saint of Killers.
Filmmaker D.J. Caruso (who was once rumored to be developing a direct a big screen adaptation of Y: The Last Man) tweeted out a confirmation to a rumor that's been broiling for some time now. Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher is finally being adapted for the screen. And the I am Number Four and Eagle Eye director stands at the helm.
You can read more on the /Film regarding the history of the project, a film (and sometimes TV series) that's been radiating on a spit in Hell for over a decade now. It was once a Sam Mendes vehicle, and had even gotten to the script stage with John August.
It's as if vampires are suddenly popular in the mainstr–
Oh.
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Really, really, really, really don’t want a Preacher movie. It’s way too much to compress.
I had to google this guy. His movies suck. This is not good.
I guess I should start reading all the trades so the experience isn’t tainted by the movie.
hmph.
That number 4 movie looks like it could be really fun. But Eagle Eye…..it was forgettable and generic.
Agree with Gobo. There’s just too much story for one film. Scott Pilgrim managed, but that was a completely different type of story and the script was finished before the books (first drafts at least, I believe). It’s just too much story.
As for the director, I haven’t seen Disturbia but I didn’t really care for Eagle Eye at all. Having said that, you never know.
I really liked Sam Mendes idea of doing a trilogy. Sigh…
Definitely would have preferred a TV series…
I’ll believe it when I see a trailer.
Just wanna mention that THE SALTON SEA was a pretty decent neo-noir flick. Not that that has anything to do with Preacher, but… it was a Caruso movie that I liked.
I also think you can do Preacher as a film. The basic concept is strong enough to be streamlined. But, yeesh, then I think about the odds:
– of any film being done well
– of an adaptation from another medium being done well
– of a STREAMLINED adaptation being done well
It’s like the chances just get slimmer and slimmer….
Hurm.
That’s too bad. He is a TERRIBLE director. Every one of his films have been pure dreck.
Too bad AMC isn’t all over this.
Hmm… on the down side, all of his movies I’ve seen have been blagh (although they both starred Shia LeBeouf, whom I actively dislike). On the up side, he directed The Shield, which I loved
I am predicting at least one shot of Custer walking away from an exploding car in slow-mo. Lol
This is something that really doesn’t need to be made.
I don’t know anything about Caruso’s work, but… Man… I was really hoping for a HBO or SHO miniseries.
I would’ve liked to see a TV series instead as well.
On the bright side, it’ll be nice to see a vampire that doesn’t sparkle
OK guys of course there is too much material to make a move out of the whole series but the ideas and characters presented in the Preacher comic book can make a spectaular movie (or 3). I personally dont like to see panel for shot remakes of comics. Watchmen was visually stunning but it was not so much a stand alone peice of cinema as a fully rendered motion comic. Just getting the genius work that is Preacher in front of more eye balls is worth tedium in itself. And if it gets Garth to give us one more taste of the Preacher world in a one-shot or mini then it was all well worth it. Crappy movie or not!!!
I’m currently (finally) getting around to reading Preacher (mid way through volume 8) and I just dont see this working as a movie at all. Possibly as a TV series on HBO or AMC or something but not at all as a movie.
Well if there was ever the barest glimmer of hope that we’d get Absolute Preacher, this movie getting made would be it.
@conor OMG Absolute Preacher would be soooo awesome. I had not even thought about it.
D.J. Caruso is not the best choice though …
The name D.J Caruso keeps making me think he’s the unholy lovechild of D.J Qualls and David Caruso
I’ll be sure to put this Blu-Ray right next to the Jonah Hex movie on my shelf.
He did just work with Timothy Olyphant in I am Number Four. Maybe he can get him as Jesse Custer.
@kennyg is your Jonah Hex movie in the trashcan?
I will believe this is happening when they start filming.
@conor Well there’s the silver lining. Hadn’t thought of that.
Like @daccampo said, The Salton Sea was a decent flick. But his other works since then…. Glad he’s doing this and not ‘Y: The Last Man’, as he’d been attached to direct for years. Really didn’t want him doing that movie.
If this is The Shield DJ curoso i be in
Yeah, Caruso directed some of The Shield. THAT I liked. His movies? No, thanks.
I’ll second the motions made about making this a tv series. I do think this is more HBO than AMC.
Well they hired the “perfect” director for this!
By “perfect” I mean: Oh my god, they hired a Michael Bay-lite director to do a story with a theme of love and friendship.
This is going to be shit.
…Sorry I don’t mean to be so over the top for this but they couldn’t have choose the WORST person to direct this.
I’m willing to see how this goes. Sometimes a director just needs the right material. I haven’t loved his films but you never know what someone can do given certain things. My choice was John Hillcoat, but Caruso may be able to do something great with this. I’m willing to see what happens.
And if it sucks, then it sucks and I got my 9 trades that I can go back and read with joy.
@nextchamp: I beg to differ, I would be a much worse choice.
This just might be the worst news ever.
@conor That would make me excited to see a Preacher movie get made. I do so want an Absolute Preacher.
Can this be good? Yes. Very much yes. But I can see a lot of things standing in the way of a dark satire of god getting made and then released without extreme compilcations that change the heart of the story we all love dramatically. Preacher isn’t mainstream, it’s part of what makes it so fun. It’s an underground thing your parents don’t want you to read because it’s fucked up and isn’t scared to be about what its about. In order for a movie to make money it has to appeal to the greatest number of people and that means it has to care about what it says and how it says it in a way that will neuter the ideas and heart of the comic. I think it’s best to leave this alone. Make Y the last man, or transmet, but it’s going to take the clout of a tarantino for a preacher movie to ever make a fanboy happy.
Just in general, even though it’s been said already about a dozen times, this story isn’t meant to be told as a film. If it had to be adapted it can really only work as a serialized story. There’s so much going on in this story and it has so much characterization in it that condensing it to 2-3 hours will never do it justice.
It’s like the idea that Walking Dead could’ve been a film. Sure you COULD do it, but it would be much better as a series then a film.
My point is, this isn’t going to make you happy guys, if it gets made it’s not going to be the thing you’ve read and loved, it’ll have it’s balls removed and you’ll hate it for that. The proof is in who they put behind this thing, it’s a guy they can push around, someone who they convince to make a change here or there. They didn’t give this to a Tarantino or a Sam Mendez or a jj abrams because those guys have enough power in Hollywood to get done what they want if they want to and if they can’t they have a bunch of other projects they can do, and then the project ends up in limbo. This guy can make a film, but also if the studio wants to change something they will, and he’ll do it because he needs the work. Thats why this isn’t going to happen.
I’ve just been rereading my preacher trades, and I have to say . . . please don’t make a movie out of it. I could handle a TV show, but it’s too big for a movie. TV series, ok I could handle, but I don’t see it lasting.
However, an if it’s a neccessary evil for an Absolute Preacher, I might just bite my lip and suffer through it, but they probably wouldn’t do that either. Though such a tome would spell the doom for any of my bookshelves.
This…. can’t be good. Sixty issues… I guess it’ll just be one arch. I’ll keep an open mind. Fuck it. We’ll see.
Come on, guys. I’ve seen Eagle Eye and Distubia, and while those are neither very edgy movies nor do they scream “Preacher” to me, both of their stories didn’t sound like they where written to be from the get go. Those are clearly Mainstream, or Popcorn, flix. Always intendet to be. And for that, they’ve actually been well done. Caruso clearly knows what he’s doing.
He was great on The Shield, so if he can get into the right mindset for a Preacher movie, this can actually work.
TV series would be the way to go with Preacher, I feel like it could better portray what the comic was about, but who knows.
When are the nitwits of Hollywood going to understand that most comics are in serialized form and by their very nature would fit better in TV. I’m not saying that the movie can’t possibly be good, but we are going to lose a lot of great content. At least Locke & Key gets the TV treatment.
On the other hand… words Absolute Preacher make me all tingly inside.
Well, the encouraging thought is if this is terrible it could encourage someone to do it right.
@Gabe I think 9/11 was worse news than this. But maybe I don’t take movies nobody is forcing me to see as seriously as i should.
i hope it’s a great movie. i think the material would be better served as a tv series on showtime/hbo or amc. the religious aspect of preacher, as a movie, will be toned way the fuck down. why? they’re trying to make money; not a bad thing, but that’s the nature of movies: make it so the masses will pay to see it. preacher’s religious storylines will offend john & jane q. jesus christ’s descendant a drooling, mentally handicapped person? herr starr? sorry, i don’t see that stuff making it to the big screen. i LOVE preacher, from the first page to the last. unfortunately, the general masses get “offended”.
Since the inevitable casting discussion follows every announcement of this sort, I wanted to share my current thoughts on Cassidy: Cillian Murphy.
Wow it makes it clear that time has passed…long ago, when the series was still running, I would have said Robert Carlyle. At the time, he looked exactly right to play the role.
And the above comment of Timothy Olyphant as Jesse? Nice!
Nice, looking forward to 9 films of Preacher goodness! 😉
I see a lot of negative shit talking fanboy’s that’re so worried that their precious Preacher will get fucked up by the big screen treatment. When I read comments saying that this is worse news than 911, I’m thinking WTF is the matter with some people?
We all should be celebrating that Preacher has finally gotten the attention it truly deserves. It’s the most simultaneously dastardly and beautiful story I’ve ever read and it should be spread by as media formats as possible. This book single handedly got me back into comics after a 30 year haitus! Look at it like this, even if it’s the worst movie ever made, 100 times as many people will have heard of Preacher and they can go and enjoy the TPB’s as I have done. I defy any of you shit talkers to defy me about it being good for the comic book industry.
@skydog i defy you…grr.:)
God I hope this turns out at least tolerable if not pretty good. Disturbia was good & so was Eagle Eye so I’m some what interested.
@skydog Ummmm, I said the opposite of what you said I said
@skydog — Ask the makers of The Surrogates, Tank Girl, Judge Dredd, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen if they think their shitty film adaptations helped or hurt their comics in the long run.
I haven’t seen it, but I hear that sitting through I Am Number Four is like facing the wrath of God so perhaps this directorial choice is appropriate.
I heard that somebody said he read on a screenshot from a messagboard posted in some blog that Caruso likes one movie that is not very good, so I assume it’s save to say that everthing related to Preacher, or maybe comics overall is doomed. DOOMED i say!
@bansidhewail Carlyle was my choice to. I am not sure that Murphy could pull of that “fuck all” additude of Cassidy. Cassidy sure is fucked up (and no doupt Murphy can do that), but on the surface, he’s a fuckin cool guy. Murphy might look a little to nerdy for that.
@johnferringo- i stand corrected.
@ultimatehoratio- Indeed. However, I had never heard of Surrogates until I heard of the movie. Then I want out and bought the Hardcover. Same thing with LoEG. Case and point.
Watchmen is another movie that brought the book to my attention.
As far as Tank Girl, I didn’t even know they made a movie …it must have….tanked.
And Judge Dredd is famous for being the worst adaptation ever made…wasn’t that like in the 80’s?