Actually, I doubt it. Still, nice article on the history and current status of the long bandied about film project. Hey, it took Batman like 20 years to get to the screen, so who knows? But even if it does get made, chances are about a hundred times better that it will more Deep Blue Sea than Jaws. Still, these are the things that keep our dreams alive.
The details involving Jan de Bont are ominous. Not so much because de Bont is a dream director (although he seems to have been on the right track here) as because this calls to mind de Bont’s similarly aborted version of Godzilla for TriStar. Budget concerns closed down his more traditional proposed project, and when the film was finally made, it was the notorious suckfest by Dean and Emmerich which monumentally screwed the pooch and destroyed what could have been a great fanchise.
My advise: If this gets made, keep it a sea monster movie, by which I mean have spectacle like ships and boats and stuff getting attacked. Put in lots of things for the Meg to be scaled against, so it that really is communicated how big it is. Use physical effects as well as CGI. Keep the screenplay lean; we all know the cliches by now, and there’s no reason to drag things out. And anyone who’s read any of the source novels knows that characterization is not what we’re talking about here. However, at the same time things should be kept lean, don’t for the love of Jabootu film it like a Michael Bay movie. Keep the direction simple and clean, with a focus on storytelling.
