Shane Black Directing New 'Doc Savage' Flick

There's been a Shane Black sighting, and you know what that means: It's time for another gratuitous plug for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the sublimely entertaining mod-noir that, if it had been released two years later, would have benefited from Downeymania. It's a great damn movie that Black (Lethal Weapon) wrote and directed. Check it out. This time, though, it's about a much larger project. Variety says that Black will direct and co-write development hell escapee Doc Savage. Doc has been around for over half a century in various forms. I remember the 1970s show, but only because my brother had a Doc Savage puzzle. This one, in fact. I should clarify the point about Black's involvement. He's co-writing with Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry, although several months ago, maybe a year, Black was just working on the script himself. So something's up there. I mean, Shane Black is one of the most competent action writers around. "Doc Savage is an icon, a character with limitless possibilities," said Columbia co-president Matt Tolmach in announcing Black's role. "We have had a great experience working with [producer Neal Moritz] to bring another classic character of the era, the Green Hornet, to a new generation of fans, and we think he and Shane make the ideal team to bring Doc Savage back to the big screen." Well, I won't hold a studio executive to his words as it relates to the Seth Rogen movie, but I used the quote to illustrate what Columbia is trying to do with a lot of these properties. As long as people buy tickets, it'll be part of the culture for a while. And normally that would bother me, but it's Shane Black. Is he capable of crap. Well, he wrote The Long Kiss Goodnight, so you tell me. But I like the mixture here, so maybe that will count for something.

Comments

[Serverian82]

and shane black was in predator so you know...he'll be a future governor too...

[Vince]

I finally got Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in the mail from Netflix the other day. Consider it watched...tomorrow!

[nick soapdish]

kiss kiss bang bang is one of my favorite movies in recent years. It's really well done. I read some of my dad's doc savage books when i was younger. I hope it turns out to be a good film.