Well, so much for PREACHER on HBO.....

[Sean Walsh]

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0808/25/index.htm (via http://blog.newsarama.com/)

Fans won’t be seeing an adaptation of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s Preacher on HBO.

Mark Steven Johnson, who wrote the pilot and was set to serve as an executive producer, tells Comics Continuum that the new head of the cable network thought the series “was just too dark and too violent and too controversial.”

“It was a very faithful adaptation of the first few books, nearly word for word,” says Johnson, who directed Daredevil and Ghost Rider. “They offered me the chance to redevelop it but I refused. I’ve learned my lesson on that front and I won’t do it again. So I’m afraid it’s dead at HBO.”

Plans for the one-hour TV series, announced in November 2006, were welcome news for fans who had been disappointed when a previous attempt to adapt Preacher as a feature film was abandoned.

Johnson says there are efforts to give a movie another try: “I’ve heard someone is in the process of getting the rights to turn it into a feature film. I hope that happens. But I hope it happens as a series of movies as one movie couldn’t do it justice.”

Well, kudos to Johnson for giving it a try.

BTW, what relevant TV is HBO showing now that The Sopranos and The Wire are done? I don't even know what they air (besides Entourage?) anymore.

[jesse_custer]

Generation Kill (miniseries) has been fairly received, it seems. I tried watching it and couldn't get into it, though.

[Paul McEnery]

So Preacher's more dark and violent and controversial than Dexter, is it?

Or could it possibly be that they're scared *&%$less of the Crazy Christian lobby?

[jesse_custer]

Think of how much worse it would be if they tried making a Preacher movie. A few of my fellow Mississippians would be bringing the guns and the Bibles.

[Paul McEnery]

Think of how much worse it would be if they tried making a Preacher movie. A few of my fellow Mississippians would be bringing the guns and the Bibles.

He should shop it to the BBC.

[MartianBlonde]

He should shop it to the BBC.

Channel 4 might be more likely, but really, no British network is going to be willing to spend the amount of money it would take. And I certainly don't want to see it relocated in Leicestershire. Perhaps Showtime?

[Ryan Day]

So Preacher's more dark and violent and controversial than Dexter, is it?

Or could it possibly be that they're scared *&%$less of the Crazy Christian lobby?

It's also entirely possible it just wasn't very good. This is the man behind Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Elektra, and Jack Frost, after all. His resume doesn't exactly scream "high quality entertainment."

[jesse_custer]

Christ, he also did Jack Frost?

He instantaneously became worse in my eyes.

[darkhanamaru]

So Preacher's more dark and violent and controversial than Dexter, is it?

Or could it possibly be that they're scared *&%$less of the Crazy Christian lobby?

Dexter is showtime; HBO has a new head and losing the old one has killed the department. But yes, the christian lobby would flip/

[Libaax]

Im glad this didnt happen. As Preacher fan and Ennis fan its nice seeing some works stay being what they are and not become movie or tv like they must for some reason.....


I find it funny how he complain it not getting a chance because it being too violent and dark. Like its an excuse. Your resume show you suck, dont blame it on anything else....

[Don't pee in the (Dead)pool]

Thank God, that MSJ has not been given the chance to f*** Preacher over like everything else he's done, Daredevil's on a par with Catwoman, IMO, and Ghost Rider's nearly just as bad, but bad all the same.:evilsmile:

[suttercain]

Im glad this didnt happen.

Agreed.

Goodbye Arseface!

http://www.keef.net/images/200501/Arseface.jpg

[dancj]

Channel 4 might be more likely, but really, no British network is going to be willing to spend the amount of money it would take. And I certainly don't want to see it relocated in Leicestershire. Perhaps Showtime?
Would it have to be that high budget? The special effects bits a pretty few and far between.

[bookguy]

Who knows, maybe Showtime might pick up the series, especially with a show such as Dexter.

Given the contents of Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Carnivale, The Wire, Entourage, and Rome: I'm kinda surprised that HBO would hesitate to play Preacher.

Reminds me of Global Frequency, another comic book made to tv, never aired.

[Sean Walsh]

So Preacher's more dark and violent and controversial than Dexter, is it?

Or could it possibly be that they're scared *&%$less of the Crazy Christian lobby?

Jesus as inbred retard, giant fat puking pope character, God who gives up on humanity, inbred Jesus........

Garth kinda gives 'em some fodder to go legit crazy over, you have to admit. :tongue:

[Sean Walsh]

Christ, he also did Jack Frost?

He instantaneously became worse in my eyes.

He also wrote and directed Simon Burch.

And wrote the Grumpy Old Men movies.

........there've been worse people alive and working in Hollywood.

[suttercain]

........there've been worse people alive and working in Hollywood.

I'm not naming any names but...

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/BeaArthur-thumb.jpg

[The Xenos]

Mmmm... Bea.

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/7751/deadpoolky0.gif (http://imageshack.us)

Anyway, Johnson might not have been terrible. He was producing and taking things directly from the book. He wouldn't be working on every single episode and it seemed a number of directors were interested if it got the green light. As much as I despise his previous films, this might have worked out quite well.

Meanwhile, I would think they'd try getting connections at Showtime before shopping it back as a film.

[BatWing]

The director's cut of Daredevil was good. The studio made him shoot additional footage because his cut was deemed too dark. So, other footage (the romance subplot between Daredevil and Elektra, the confessions) were shot and put in the movie. I haven't seen Ghost Rider, so he might have made that awful, I don't know.

[The Xenos]

What romance sub plot? That was a major plot. Matt and Elektra were lovers. It was a fantastic and intense love story in the comics. Too bad it got watered down in the movie. Was the romance any better in the director's cut?

Of course the funny thing is that the two actors later got married in real life.

[Darth Logan]

It really shouldn't come as a surprise that HBO backed down. I think it was the religious (or sacreligious as the case may be) aspect of the story that scared them off. They were probably on board for the sex and violence.

[ultramandingo]

.......man - think of all the arseface merch they coulda sold

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

The director's cut of Daredevil was good. The studio made him shoot additional footage because his cut was deemed too dark. So, other footage (the romance subplot between Daredevil and Elektra, the confessions) were shot and put in the movie. I haven't seen Ghost Rider, so he might have made that awful, I don't know.

Unless they made him replace every shot of the movie, there was no saving that thing.
Be it horrific costume design, poor CGI, a fight on a pipe organ or (to paraphrase The Greatest Page In The Universe) an origin sequence that was both too long and yet rushed at the same time.
But Jack Frost, Daredevil, Elektra and Ghost Rider... you don't make that many bad films if you've got any real talent - they weren't even enjoyably bad, ie knowingly bad, they were just bad.
And if even if you do claim studio interference, do you really want a guy who bends over that easily to the studio heading up Preacher?

[filthysize]

The only reason I was looking forward to this was because Johnson got Ennis on board to write new stories for the TV show. I would have liked to see Ennis do more Preacher.