Mark Millar's 'Nemesis' Adaptation Moving Forward, Screenwriter Hired

Anyone who has ever heard comic book writer Mark Millar speak knows he likes to shoot his mouth off.  Whether it be Wanted 2, Kick-Ass 2, or that little Superman trilogy he pitched, he makes these outrageous claims about his work and then virtually nothing comes to fruition.  And I'm still waiting for that announcement about the "most high profile actor of 2010" coming aboard Superior.  But movie and comic book fans always forgive this guy because his work is just that damn good.

Well it looks like one of his announcements is finally going to pay off as the big screen adaptation of his anti-superhero comic Nemesis is moving forward.  Before the first issue of Nemesis even hit the stands, it was reported director Tony Scott wanted the project and now the film has a screenwriter.  And a pretty good one at that.

According to Latino Review, Matthew Michael Carnahan has been tapped to pen the screenplay.  For those of you that don't know, Carnahan is the very intelligent, very methodical screenwriter behind The Kingdom, Lions for Lambs, and State of Play.  He also happens to be the brother of Smokin' Aces and The A-Team director Joe Carnahan.  At first glance, Carnahan's filmography doesn't scream superhero film, but I think his meticulous approach is perfect to reign in Millar's crazy.

As far as the film itself goes, Nemesis is the anti-Batman.  A billionaire who uses his money and power for evil rather than good.  In a nutshell, if Bruce Wayne became the Joker rather the Dark Knight.  Millar describes the story as this:

"Nemesis is the world’s smartest man, and the bad news for us is that he’s the world’s only super-villain. That means he’s got freeze guns and jump-jets and all these James Bond gadgets and he’s using them against us. To entertain himself, he picks a different cop every year and makes his life a misery. The book opens with him fucking over Japan’s top cop, and then our story, the mini-series, takes place as he shifts his attention to Washington and his first American attacks."

As you might have guessed, Nemesis includes A LOT of death and terrorism primarily focused on the police force and government.  So needless to say Carnahan and Scott (if he does ultimately direct) have their work cut out for them in making a story where the villain is for lack of a better word the film's "hero" accessible for audiences.  I personally couldn't care less about accessibility and would love nothing more than to see a 2-hour film about the Joker's sociopathic spree from his perspective, but that really wouldn't translate to commercial success.  The future of this project truly lies in the casting of Nemesis and we'll keep you updated on that front.

Comments

[pat]

I am tired of all the economic negative news. I think the reason the economy sounds bad has less to do with an actual recession than media sensationalism and doomsday pessimism. Everyone was in a panic in 2008 because the price of oil was rising, but the sky did not fall. I don’t think the media should lie about a high unemployment rate, but I would like to hear more positive news stories.

http://www.usnews.com/money/blogs/alpha-consumer/2009/1/8/did-the-media-cause-the-recession.html

I did some research and found that there is plenty of good news out there:

The recession officially ended in June 2009:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/20/news/economy/recession_over/?section=money_latest

The stock market has risen 53% recently and is still cheap:

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/15/cautious-optimism/?uniontrib

Wells Fargo, Apple, Ford, SkyWest, Adidas, Men’s Wearhouse, Kroger’s, General Mills, AutoZone, CarMax, and Walgreen are some of the many companies to have declared profits recently:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=az6fjhaa_gsg

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-11-05-skywest-q3-profit_n.htm

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/topnews/story/906588.html

http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/182538.asp?from=blog_last3

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-earns22-2009oct22,0,1394503.story

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-10/men-s-wearhouse-surges-most-since-09-as-profit-rises-update2-.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/business/15kroger.html?src=busln

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-22/general-mills-first-quarter-profit-rises-12-on-sales-of-cereals-snacks.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/21/AR2010092101256.html

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2010/09/22/1033100?sac=Bus

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/business/29walgreen.html

US housing starts have increased:

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/10/us_housing_starts_rise.html

Business confidence has risen:

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1203965&srvc=rss

Consumer confidence has risen:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/31/news/economy/consumer_confidence/index.htm?section=money_latest

Consumer spending is up:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65M2WK20100628?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r5:c0.051546:b35270006:z0

North Dakota has an unemployment rate of just 3.7%. If you don’t have a job, move. If you can’t sell your house at the price you want, you shouldn’t have paid so much for it. If you don’t want to move and make trade-offs, I guess that you aren’t that desperate for work.

http://www.bls.gov/lau/

The United States will face a labor SHORTAGE in the next few years as millions of baby boomers retire. There are 76 million baby boomers, but Generation X only has 46 million people.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002185894_boomers21.htmlhttp://www.argusleader.com/article/20091107/business/911070331/1001/news

If you really want to stay where you are and haven’t found a job, think of a way to make money from your hobbies. Find a need and fill it. Do you like to cook? Are you good at fixing things? Do you like to paint? I strongly believe that if you do what you love, the money will follow. Just because someone says there is a recession, doesn’t make it true. Just because most people used to believe the world was flat, did that make it true? If you are feeling negative, I highly recommend the book “You Can Have it All”:

http://www.librarything.com/work/508754

You might also feel less sorry for yourself or the economy if put your life in perspective. Would you rather live in Zimbabwe where the GDP per capita income is $200 per YEAR?

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html

Even if things are really bad for you and you become homeless, there is a safety net of food banks, shelters, general relief, and food stamps. You could join a commune or a monastary.

America needs a good pep talk instead of negativity. I really think Obama would be more helpful to the economy by talking about the positive sides instead of pushing expensive stimulus programs. People should live within their means to avoid crashing the economy, but even when overextended, the United States has managed to pay the massive debts of the Depression and WWII.

http://zfacts.com/p/318.html

Americans need to think more like immigrants. Politicians are too afraid to say it, but Americans should stop whining, get up, take responsibility, lower their standards, bite their lips, tough it out, and get busy. Americans should stop buying SUV’s and McMansions they can’t afford and pay off their debts. I have no sympathy for the sheep who went in debt to buy expensive restaurant meals, clothes, vacations, cars, and overpriced homes when times were good instead of saving for a rainy day. Buy LOW and sell HIGH. If people had put their money in the bank instead of wasting it they would still have it. The United States is capitalist not Communist. There is social Darwinism and survival of the fittest here. If Americans want a handout, they should move to Sweden. I have seen refugees from places like Vietnam immigrate to the US with NOTHING and own houses and cars five years later, while some lazy Americans who haved lived in public housing and on welfare for GENERATIONS complain about how poor they are. Why can a third world immigrant who doesn’t speak English make more money in five years than some Americans who have lived in the US their entire life?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/09/27/financial/f063017D17.DTL&ao=all

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895004575395491314812452.html

The negative thinking about “tough times” and the supposedly “decline of the US” kills me. The USA is by far the richest and most powerful country in the world. Who invented the assembly line, telephones, movies, light bulbs, airplanes, air conditioning, elevators, skyscapers, television, the atomic bomb, the pill, calculators, microwaves, lasers, the Internet, mobile phones, the space shuttle, and landed on the moon? What country wins the most medals at the Olympics despite having only 5% of the world’s population? If the United States is dying, why do so many people want to immigrate there?

http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/List-of-United-States-inventions

http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2010/02/14/russian-or-not-russian/

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/medals

I think the best years of the United States are ahead of us, not behind us. I would be shocked if the USA won’t be the first country to put a person on Mars, invent mass-produced hydrogen and solar cars, and cure cancer. Americans who worry about the future are ignoring the facts and aren’t doing anyone any favors.

While I am not blind to the difficulties that may exist in the present economy, I just think people should be more optimistic and look at the good sides. I remember when I was in middle school in the mid 1980’s and had a teacher who asked my classmates whether the USA was on the way to the peak of power, at the peak, or on the way down. I was the only student who said the US hasn’t reached the peak yet. A few years later the Soviet Union collapsed, the Japanese economy crashed, and America was the only superpower.

I am not sure if there is a recession, but if there is one, I think it will be over soon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/05/opinion/05douthat.html?_r=1