On The Flash:
“Warner Brothers is in the process of figuring out what their method is for releasing their superhero movies,” said Mazeau when asked about his draft of the planned live-action Flash movie. “They had ‘Green Lantern’ come out, and I think ‘Flash’ is high on the list of what would be next.” Encouraging news we heard in an earlier post on CBM.
“It’s a matter of a lot of things coming together — the right story and the right filmmaker and the right sort of visual approach to Flash, because he can’t just be a guy who runs fast,” he said of the project, which would feature the Silver Age version of the character, Barry Allen. “That was important to me while I was writing my script. Fingers crossed, though — hopefully there will be some news soon.”
Of course, Mazeau's script was last on the development table in 2009 before being pushed aside in 2010 for the writing team behind Green Lantern [Greg Berlanti, Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim]. Maybe with the disappointing performance of Green Lantern, WB might be returning to Mazeau's draft?
On Bleach:
“I love ‘Bleach!’ ‘Bleach’ is awesome,” laughed Mazeau. “It’s been a long process getting to write the script. Getting the rights from the Japanese company that owned them was a complicated process. But early on we set down with Tite Kubo the creator and the publisher of the series, and we had a long meeting, making sure we’re respectful to the property. Nobody wants to, well… Let’s just say that if you enjoyed [the live-action] ‘Dragonball Z’ movie, that’s great, but I thought it was a noble effort that ultimately didn’t succeed. That’s what we’re trying to avoid. We want to make sure this movie lives up to what the manga is.”
“I’m currently working on ‘Bleach’ and the idea is to set it in Japan and really be respectful to the source material,” he added. “It’s an amazing story. I’ve been shorthanding it as an ‘action-adventure Sixth Sense,’ but obviously on a bigger canvas than that. So I’m incredibly excited about that. It’s a good one.”
If Bleach is set in Japan, then maybe..just maybe.....they'll go for an Asian cast? There's more over at IFC, including the scribes plans for a live-action Johnny Quest film. As you can see, the brass over at WB have a lot of faith in Mr. Mazeau
Bleach (ブリーチ Burīchi?, romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper (死神 Shinigami?, literally, "Death God") —a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.
Bleach has been serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 2001, and has been collected into 51 tankōbon volumes as of August 2011. Since its publication, Bleach has spawned a media franchise that includes an ongoing animated television series that is produced by Studio Pierrot in Japan, two original video animations, four animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as many types of Bleach-related merchandise.
Viz Media obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime on March 15, 2006. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach in the United States as part of its Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006. Viz Media has licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada, and has released 34 bound volumes as of March 2011 as well as published chapters of Bleach in its Shonen Jump magazine since November 2007. Viz Media released the first Bleach film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, on DVD in North America on October 14, 2008. The second film, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, was released on September 15, 2009.
Volumes of the manga have sold more than 72 million copies in Japan, and is one of the most sold mangas in the United States. The anime adaptation has been similarly received; it was rated as the fourth most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006 and held a position amongst the top ten anime in the United States from 2006 to 2008. The series received the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen demographic in 2005, and is among the best-selling manga issues in both Japan and the United States.
The Flash film----Warner Bros. hired comic book writer Jeph Loeb to write a screenplay in the late-1980s, but the outing never materialized. Development for a film adaptation was revived after the studio was impressed with David S. Goyer's script for Batman Begins, and he was offered his choosing of a Flash or Green Lantern film adaptation. In December 2004 it was announced that David S. Goyer would be writing, producing and directing The Flash. He approached his Blade: Trinity co-star Ryan Reynolds for the Wally West role, with the intention of also using Barry Allen as a supporting character. Goyer's script, which he tonally compared to Sam Raimi's work on the Spider-Man trilogy, was influenced by seminal comic book runs by Mike Baron, Mark Waid, and Geoff Johns. By 2007, however, Goyer dropped out of the project, citing creative difference with the studio.
With the financial success of Night at the Museum, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct The Flash in February 2007. Levy would oversee the writing of a new draft, using elements of Goyer's script. Levy instead went to work on Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and was replaced by David Dobkin in October 2007. Dobkin developed The Flash as a spin-off of Justice League Mortal, focusing on the Wally West character. Craig Wright was hired to write the script, and, after the collapse of Justice League Mortal, Warner Bros. placed The Flash for a 2008 release date. The project became delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Warner Bros. then hired Charles Roven to produce The Flash, with comic book writer Geoff Johns serving as a consult and co-writer. Johns created a new film treatment, which was screenwriten by Dan Mazeau.
In September 2009 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. had launched a new division, DC Entertainment Inc., in order to better expand the DC Brand. In October 2009, Charles Roven was asked of the future of the Flash. In the interview, Roven explained that he was involved but that he was removed from the project because The Flash was speeding in the direction Warner Brothers had in mind, leaving the possible film in uncertainty. The day after Dan Mazeau responded to the article by saying “Just to chime in on your latest article: The Flash has not been hobbled. Everything is moving forward as planned… I’m still writing the script. Geoff Johns is still consulting. Flash fans have no cause for concern, and — IMO — lots to be excited about.” In February 2010 it was reported that Warners is expected to announce its DC slate in the coming months populated by characters like The Flash and Wonder Woman."
In late February 2010 IESB.com reported that they had learned exclusively that WB leading contender to helm The Flash is Greg Berlanti. Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Barry Meyer says they are getting close to giving the go-ahead for a movie about the Scarlet Speedster, DC Comics superhero "Flash." On June 9, 2010 Green Lantern writers Greg Berlanti, Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim were hired to pen a treatment of the film.” The Flash script will apparently be based on the recent run by DC's Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, and will feature Barry Allen as the first film incarnation of the Scarlet Speedster. Mazeau told Blastr.com that the studio are still actively developing the big screen take on the DC Comics' character and that the project is not dead yet.
