“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream“

(With apologies to Harlan Ellison)

I’m really frustrated, folks.

Here I am, with a popular website and a shitload of juicy projects in the works—and I’m not allowed to talk about any of it. 

Not a blessed word.

To be quite honest, it’s starting to drive me a little nutz!

So, this month, I decided to vent a little, since I have my own blog and that’s what one does when they have such a vehicle.

First of all, there’s my frustration with Hollywood.

May marked the three year anniversary of the comic-based movie project that David Michelinie and I have been involved in producing—based on one of our joint creations.

In 36 months of false starts and personnel changes, the project now seems (and I stress the word “seems”) to be on the right track and it’s possible that it could actually get done within my lifetime.  Of course, because of all the leaking of information and the tenuous nature of developing intellectual properties in Hollywood, I’ve been sworn to secrecy and the figurative ‘Sword of Damocles’ has been securely placed above my aching skull by the Powers-That-Be.  I’m not allowed to mention the names attached to the project (some of which would be familiar to you readers), which character it’s based on or which studio is in the running to finance and distribute it.

Having been involved in other television and movie projects in Hollywood over the last four years, I DO understand the need to be discreet.  There are sooo many weasels out there who make a living by attaching themselves to a production via a lawsuit.  A wrong word here or there and your potential project can be in real jeopardy.  The tragic part of that situation is that, even if the claim is totally without merit, just the hint that your project has legal action looming over it is enough for the studios to back away from a deal.  Believe it or not, the practice of threatening a production with a frivolous lawsuit for profit is not as uncommon as you would think. 

Ah…Hooray for Hollywood!

And then, there’s what I’ve dubbed as “The Alan Moore Legacy”. 

I love Moore and his work.  The man is a brilliant writer and conceptualist.  Unfortunately, for guys like me who are trying to make a living in Hollywood, he’s also considered a ‘hothead’ because he’s had the unmitigated gall to stand-up against the studios butchering his work and has not been a ‘team player’ in their eyes.  Personally, I applaud his integrity and unwillingness to dilute his vision.  But—it has not been without consequences to the rest of us.

Since his last run-in with the studios ( on ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’, I believe), many movie studios and producers now see the source of their material-- comics creators-- as “THE ENEMY”!  (cue dramatic music!)

So, once you’ve agreed to allow your project to be developed, they generally don’t want to hear a peep out of you… ever again.  “Just take the big check and let us do whatever we want!”, is the prevalent philosophy in Tinseltown nowadays.

Not to say that I’ve had to deal with the “Alan Moore Legacy” much.  But it’s annoying to think that you have to contend with that sort of executive mindset while trying to simply do your job and create something worthwhile on film.  And, if you ever pondered why so many comic-to-movie adaptations are so badly done—wonder no more.

As much as I want the Iron Man movie to be a winner, there’s no telling how it’s going to turn out.  A friend of mine, who is an executive producer on a hit TV series and a hardcore Iron Man fan, recently asked me if Jon Favreau had contacted either David or me about consulting on the film.  He was shocked to discover that no one from the production had bothered to consult the two guys most known for that character’s renaissance.  As I told him, I chalked it up to the way business is done out there these days.  That--and the prevalent fear by producers that acknowledging our contributions could lead to a frivolous Michelinie/ Layton lawsuit.  (I give you the recent Ghost Rider lawsuit by Gary Friedrich as Exhibit #1). You know as well as I do that you’re going to see some of what David and I created up on that screen next May.  But that stuff was done as work-for-hire and I’ve long since accepted that there nothing to be done about that.

Nor…would I. 

I still see myself as a team player or I wouldn’t be back at Marvel work on yet another Iron Man series.

But, alas-- we live in a world where the man who created Venom has to stand in a movie line to see Spider-Man III, paying his hard-earned cash to see his own creation on the big screen like any other schmuck in the theater.  

Man—there’s something seriously wrong with the system, boys and girls.

The bottom line is that after three years, there’s not a single thing I can tell you about this project that David and I have been involved with.  Hopefully, that will change in the next few months.  Once I can talk about it, expect to see lots of features and interviews on this website with the principles involved with the film. (I am shameless when it comes to self-promotion and you all know it!)

And then—there are the two, separate Iron Man projects that Mr. Michelinie and I have going at Marvel.

“The End” story that David Michelinie and I came up with many years ago will finally see print sometime in the near future—tentatively scheduled to be released in conjunction with the Iron Man feature film.  Tom Brevoort, Bill Rosemann (editor) and I have had several discussions about the perfect penciller for this special project and I thought we would be announcing the selection of that artist by now.  However, the guy we’re trying to get (Not JRJR—so get that right out of your head!  He’s committed through next year.  We asked.) is in the middle of some re-negotiations and can’t make a commitment as of yet.  In the meantime, David Michelinie has completed a draft of the full script and is currently awaiting final approval. So again, I am sworn to keep my big mouth shut. 

Obviously, discussing the details could affect the final outcome—so here I sit…waiting for someone to make a decision.

The same applies to our other Iron Man mini series. That four-issue project is slated to be the third and final installment of the Dr.Doom/Iron Man/ Camelot saga. Editor Molly Lazer has asked that I not discuss any of the details until the penciller and release date has been finalized. 

We’ve turned in the first plot, so I can’t imagine it’ll be too much longer before I can ‘let the cat out of the bag’.

Hopefully, by this time next month, I can tell everyone that Metallix & Silver Surfer alum Ron Lim will be working with David and me as the penciller on this project.

Obviously, discussing the details could affect the final outcome—so here I sit…again.

And don’t get me started about the new owners of Valiant Entertainment!

I’ve already done two big assignments for them and…*sigh*…you guessed it—sworn to secrecy!

Now you know why I want to scream.

Here’s my solution: I’m going to start offering my blog page to advertisers.  That way, I can at least make a profit from saying nothing.

See you in thirty days, potential advertisers!