Gareth Edwards‘ reboot of Godzilla just got a monster screenwriting boost, but there could be a rampage behind the scenes. First, the good news: Deadline reports that Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) has come on board to do a final rewrite on the script, which was previously written by Max Borenstein (Seventh Son). That’s not intended to slight Borenstein’s script (which I haven’t read), but I have faith in Darabont even though he seemed to struggle with The Walking Dead in its first season. Nevertheless, the guy has a great track record with Shawshank, The Green Mile, and The Mist. I assume that his involvement in Godzilla means the entire movie will be about the importance of hope or else monsters will obliterate everything you know and love.
While Darabont is working on bringing drama to the screen, drama is already brewing behind the scenes between Legendary Pictures and producers Dan Lin and Roy Lee. Hit the jump for more. Godzilla opens in 3D on May 16, 2014.
Last night, Hitfix reported that Lin and Lee had departed the project, and suggested that the producers were simply too busy with other projects. Lin is working on Lego, Sherlock Holmes 3, a remake of It, an adaptation of Death Note, and Justice League. As for Lee, he’s on board with Lin on It and Death Note, and separately he’s doing remakes of Oldboy, Poltergeist, The Woman in Black: Angel of Death, and a Battle Royale TV series.
However, Deadline is saying that the producing duo is in a “huge battle†with Legendary, who wants to cut Lin and Lee loose with upfront money and no credits or back-end percentage, which is where the real money is made on a franchise like Godzilla. According to Deadline, the argument stems from Lin and Lee refusing “to reduce the fees they signed on for when the original deal was made.†Deadline also hears that Legendary is upset with Lin for talking about the film to “fantasy film blogs†about Godzilla. In a related story, Collider is now a “fantasy film blog†since Lin talked to Steve about Godzilla.
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