Writer Scott Z. Burns On 'U.N.C.L.E.' and '20,000 Leagues'

With recent news that George Clooney would not be starring in Steven Soderbergh's The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the film would be based on the 1960s television show by the same name, we're seeing one of the last few films to come from the director before he switches his focus to painting. Even Soderbergh confirmed that: “I’m interested in exploring another art form while I have the time and ability to do so… I’ll be the first person to say if I can’t be any good at it and run out of money I’ll be back making another Ocean’s movie.” Thankfully writer Scott Z. Burns has been working with Soderbergh on U.N.C.L.E. and the soon to be released Contagion, as well as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo with David Fincher, has been speaking about the films and his collaborations.

Comingsoon.net recently sat down with Burns about what drew him to The Man From U.N.C.L.E.:

"I thought it would be really fun to go back and look at spycraft in the Cold War and what you could and couldn't do. When you think about the world in the 1960's just in terms of cars and fashion and the aesthetic, to be able to go and shoot that world with today's cameras and today's technology, I think we could do some really cool stuff. Then also, the thing that was so cool about 'U.N.C.L.E.' that people don't realize--and this is why I like it more than 'Mission: Impossible'--the initial conceit of 'U.N.C.L.E.' was amazing. It was really about an organization that didn't have an affiliation with a country and Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin were guys who should've been sworn enemies. One was Russian and one was American and they worked together. In that way, it was a really incredibly progressive, hopeful kind of show."

The interview then shifted from U.N.C.L.E. to his collaboration with David Fincher on the remake and the many changes at Disney, including directors and writers, then settling on the current vision for 20,000 Leagues:

"'20,000 Leagues' came about because David and I were trying very hard to find something to do together and I wanted to do something that was science fiction with David because I think science fiction is maybe the most exciting area to work in right now. David is so visually gifted that I was like, I'd love to be able to sit there at my desk and come up with any kinda crazy sh*t and know that David Fincher is going to turn it into something. As it so happened, David and I both loved '20,000 Leagues' when we were kids. It was one of my favorite books. So David came to me and said that Sean Bailey had contacted him about doing '20,000 Leagues' at Disney and I said, 'I would love to do that.'Then we met with Sean who was really great and said, 'Come to Disney and let's try and make a really cool version of a classic story.'"

Many of the versions for the film included an origin story for Captain Nemo, as is the status quo with Hollywood obsession to solely remake bankable properties, Burns states the story would still be from Captain Nemo's point of view:

"David and I had a really great conversation about who Captain Nemo was and what makes a guy like that happen in the world. As it turns out, Captain Nemo, even if you go back and look at what Jules Verne was doing, Captain Nemo is a guy who you find throughout history of being a guy who's a little bit ahead of his time both in terms of what he's capable of intellectually and what he's capable of in action. He was a revolutionary in a lot of ways and is a great sort of good bad guy. I love kind of bad guys who are a little morally complicated."

Contagion is directed by Steven Soderbergh and is written by Scott Z. Burns. Starring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cottilard, Laurence Fishburne and Gwenyth Paltrow. The film opens September 9, 2011.

Source: Comingsoon.net, FilmJunk

Comments

[burberry]

However there are many resellers, and smaller thomas sabo stores which may have special offers or stock a particular item which you cannot find elsewhere. Thankfully, thomas sabo uk are forward thinking, and give the stores which they supply to online a "Certified Online Retailer" badge which they can display on their websites. If you are still unsure about whether or not the site is genuine, you could always visit the genuine thomas sabo jewellery website and do a store search for the online retailer. If they appear in thomas sabo bracelet listings then they are sure to be an authentic reseller. If you are looking to buy some more charms to add to your thomas sabo charms, but are considering buying charms which are not official then there are a few things to consider. Firstly, the thomas sabo sale may not fit well, either with hole being too small for the, or too big - so that the bead may move around more, causing more wear to the beads on either side.