Alex Proyas Says No to Fox, 'Silver Surfer' Spin-Off

We know a few things about Alex Proyas now that we didn't know a few months ago. To begin with, his director's cut edition of Dark City is damn near perfect (OK, I could've guessed that a few months back). This past week, we learned that Proyas would be making a bloody Dracula movie, and good for him. We also know, thanks to \film, who was clearly paying attention last month at Comic Con, that he won't be directing a Silver Surfer movie. What we didn't know until late this past week is the reason why Silver Surfer is out of the question. Let's back up: The talk that Proyas would make Silver Surfer was just that, and the director never had a deal in place and doesn't even know where the rumor started. And after he revealed last month that he would not take the project, MTV asked him if he would consider the job if asked. Nope. Wanna know why? “Because it’s a Fox picture,” he said. “And I’m determined never to work with them ever again because of my experience on I,Robot.” Oh. Well, OK then. Even though the Will Smith movie made the studio $350 million worldwide back in 2004, apparently Proyas had some run-ins. But there were other issues. Proyas hated the second Fantastic Four movie, which introduced Surfer. “It’s like the origin of Silver Surfer was in that movie, and I’m going, ‘This is such a f–king great story, why throw it away?’” Proyas asked pointedly. “I think they messed it up.” I won't argue with that, although he was still the best thing about the movie. We asked what director you'd like to see behind the new Superman movie, and while I don't know if Proyas is a great fit, he's anxious to do a comic book movie. “You know, there aren’t that many left,” he sighed. “Silver Surfer would have been something I would have loved to have done. He’s one of the last cool ones left, really.” Added the director, “If you have any thoughts, give me a call.”

Comments

[Armando]

This is a shame because he could have done Surfer a ton of justice. It's too bad that the studio attached to the project is what is causing him not to consider the project, but I totally understand and respect that. And yes, the director's cut of Dark City was phenomenal. The interviews on the DVD are a worthwhile watch too.