John August Writing 'Shazam!'

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Currently toiling on the first draft of New Line Cinema's "Shazam!" film is none other than John August, screenwriter of Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Corpse Bride."

Screenwriter John August was never a comic-book guy and some Captain Marvel fans are unhappy with his take on the new "Shazam!" film, and with the chosen director, Peter Segal of "The Longest Yard" and "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult."

Geoff Boucher of the LA Times recently lunched with August, who revealed a lot about his hopes for a project that he's looking to be funny and light-hearted but respectful of the classic story: young Billy Batson is told by the wizard Shazam that, when he utters his name, a bolt of magic lighting will transform him into an adult hero in a red and yellow suit with a white cape loosely tied around his neck.

The movie will be set in modern day, and may feature Black Adam as the chief villain.

August said that his work on "Chocolate Factory" likely led to this project: "Like Charlie, Billy Batson has an innate goodness, he’s is pure, and that is why Billy is chosen to be a hero and why Charlie succeeds."

August thinks the character could fly in the cinema, but he worries that comic book movies might be wearing on moviegoers. "Inevitably there is going to be a fatigue. At this point, too, every movie has to be bigger. What I like about ‘Shazam’ is that a lot of what is great about the movie and what is most fun about the movie is small."

Ryan Anthony
7/20/2007
Source: LA Times

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