Captain Marvel and his sister Mary (a.k.a. Mary Marvel)
© DC Comics

Related Links

0

Shazam!

Genre:
Comic Book Adaptation/Action.

Studio:
New Line Cinema.

Production Company:
Unknown.

Project Phase:
Script stage.

Who's In It:
Unknown.

Who's Making It:
Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow, William Goldman (Screenwriters); Peter Segal (Director).

Premise:
When he utters aloud a magical word, young Billy Batson is granted the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury.

Release Date:
Unknown.

Comments:
Unknown.

Scoop Feedback:

March 24, 2003... Superhero movies are all the rage with Hollywood these days, but even so today's news was still unexpected. Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman has been hired by New Line Cinema to write...wait for it...SHAZAM!

The DC Comics character (also known as Captain Marvel) has been around for decades and was even once a live-action Saturday morning series on TV. Goldman's SHAZAM! will still stick with the source material, that being the adventures of a young man named Billy Batson who transformed into a costumed superhero when he uttered the word Shazam. New Line is eyeing the movie for a holiday 2004 or summer 2005 release.

"I started collecting comics in 1938," Goldman is quoted in today's Variety as saying. "I was a lunatic comicbook lover, and I had everything. (This project) is a big deal for me. I hope I don't screw it up." Who woulda thought it? [Source: Variety.]

Screenwriter William Goldman was hired to write the screenplay last March. Upon the surface there is one irregularity present in CHUD's report, that being that the SHAZAM! project is set up at New Line Cinema and not Warner Bros. However, it's not impossible that WB might acquire the property from NL; both companies are owned by AOL Time Warner. Warner Bros. is the primary place for development for almost all of the DC Comics superhero films since, you guessed it, DC Comics is also owned by AOL Time Warner. That doesn't mean WB develops all of them; the Vertigo comic book Y: THE LAST MAN is in development at New Line Cinema and not Warners. If SHAZAM! is being brought back to Warners from New Line the move is still a secret.

The Rock is getting ready to star in the remake of WALKING TALL, scheduled to start shooting this month. [The speed
of CHUD.]

December 6, 2003... After hearing unconfirmed reports that screenwriter William Goldman (DREAMCATCHER) is now off of New Line Cinema's SHAZAM movie project, IGN Filmforce quotes reliable sources that Goldman's replacements are the writing team of Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. Cohen and Sokolow were two of the writers for Disney's TOY STORY and they also wrote the upcoming comedies CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (out this Christmas Day) and GARFIELD. They have been writing together for almost fifteen years.

Filmforce theorizes that, if Cohen and Sokolow are indeed now working on SHAZAM, the project may be moving more in tune with a comedic approach to the superhero material. [FilmForce.]

February 2, 2004... Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow have been hired to take the second shot on the SHAZAM! superhero movie script, in development at New Line Cinema. The writing duo are performing a total rewrite of William Goldman's earlier draft.

Cohen and Sokalow have some heat from the recent hit CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN which has turned out to be a $125+ million dollar hit for 20th Century Fox. They're also the guys responsible for the script for Fox's upcoming GARFIELD and are working on the sequel to DADDY DAY CARE, titled DADDY DAY CAMP. [The Hollywood Reporter.]

April 13, 2006... New Line Cinema has signed Peter Segal to direct the big screen adaptation of DC Comics' SHAZAM! Peter Segal and Michael Ewing will produce. William Goldman and Bryan Goluboff have both worked on the script. [The Hollywood Reporter.]