ROTTEN TOMATOES: David Benioff Promises Fun Wolverine

David Benioff Promises Fun Wolverine

Screenwriter hoping for "no social relevance whatsoever."

by Fred Topel | December 28, 2007

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Gavin Hood may be trying to justify directing Wolverine with his explanations of its existential metaphors, but screenwriter David Benioff just wanted to write a fun movie. Coming off The Kite Runner, Wolverine expressed other facets of his filmmaking personality.

"I don't know what the social importance is," said Benioff. "I think sometimes there's a real benefit in just going to see a movie and not having to worry about the real world for a while. For two hours, you can go and just have fun. I love movies like that. A movie like this [The Kite Runner] is sometimes what I want to see, and sometimes I just want to go and watch Hugh Jackman with claws fighting some other guy. I think they both have their place. Hopefully, that will have no social relevance whatsoever."

Whatever Hood intends to do with it is out of Benioff's hands: "I have never met him, actually."

Benioff knew he was writing for fans of the comics, though, and was sure to do his research. "I grew up a big Wolverine fan. I've been reading comic books since I was a little kid, and Wolverine was always my favorite comic book hero. I consider myself just as much of a fan as anyone else. I'm hopeful that that movie will make the fans happy."

Related Items

Movie:	The Kite Runner
Celeb:	Hugh Jackman
	David Benioff
	Gavin Hood

(1-20 of 33 posts) | Reply

cmonsteve writes:
on Dec 28 2007 09:43 AM

well that's just about that...why didn't they just bring ratner back...

hopefully they'll be some sort of emo dancing wolverine, couple love interests, why don't they just bring "viva laughin" or whatever that crap was to the big screen

ugh

(Reply to this)

xenogears writes:
on Dec 28 2007 10:04 AM

Looking forward to Wolverine racking up a high body count.

(Reply to this)

Vortex&Vertigo writes:
on Dec 28 2007 10:21 AM

Well I think this is great news. The screenwriter was writing for fun and The director wants to make art. Blend it together and we have something cool.

(Reply to this)

Exode writes:
on Dec 28 2007 10:54 AM

This is a mistake, you're not supposed to create something for fans of the source material. That's the wrong way to look at it. You stay true to the source while using whatever wiggle room you have to make it interesting for those who are unfamiliar with the source material then the fans fall naturally into place for such a well made film.

Make it for the fans and you'll unintentionally isolate everyone else unless you have a gimmick for one worthwhile viewing.

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Hamboner writes:
on Dec 28 2007 10:58 AM

I really haven't been encouraged by a single thing pertaining to this movie. I still get mad about the title, and feel as though this is going to come down to being an action movie with a needlessly twisting, mostly illogical plot that will also posture as a philosophical inquiry into isolation and human animality.... but without doing it intelligently.

I hope I'm wrong. But I really don't feel good about this movie.

(Reply to this)

ManofStee1 writes:
on Dec 28 2007 11:05 AM

This is good news. Wolverine is not a character suited to socially relevant story lines.

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FireflyFan4evr writes:
on Dec 28 2007 11:21 AM

By all accounts, the comic of Wolverine SHOULD be great. But it's sadly not. It touches upon many questions like humanity and human vs animal struggle, etc. but never quite gets it right. The director that I think could pull it off with great success would be David Cronenberg, judging on his very poignant stances and takes on the human condition in some of his past films (not counting History of Violence or Eastern Promises).

(Reply to this)

tycox writes:
on Dec 28 2007 12:02 PM

I DON'T WANT A FUN WOLVERINE!!!! I WANT A BRUTAL *** BLOODY WOLVERINE!!!!

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u1sart writes:
on Dec 28 2007 12:11 PM

Hey Hey Hey... come on ppl, Wolverine is not no happy happy fun fun character.. plese, we are not dealing with spy kids 3d here. where dealing with one of the dark, aggressive, X-men character... so no fun fun thing, Wolverine is coming from a dark background and i really would suggest that is stays that way

(Reply to this)

u1sart writes:
on Dec 28 2007 12:12 PM

Hey Hey Hey... come on ppl, Wolverine is not no happy happy fun fun character.. plese, we are not dealing with spy kids 3d here. where dealing with one of the dark, aggressive, X-men character... so no fun fun thing, Wolverine is coming from a dark background and i really would suggest that is stays that way

(Reply to this)

TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Dec 28 2007 12:14 PM

I definitely agree with Exode and I agree with Vortex, albeit only if he or she (Vortex) is being sarcastic in their conclusion that this will be 'cool.'

Having a writer and a director who have ever met or worked together, before, would be a benefit to the project, though I could probably be persuaded that it's not vital.

having a writer and director who have two entirely different ideas as to the point and significance of a project--Director wants 'relevance' and 'philosophy' and writer wants [sounds like mindless] 'escapism'--sounds like a recipe for a mis-matched and ultimately dumbed-down, 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'-type piece of corporate yak sh#t. The title, assuming it's still 'X-men: Origins' already speaks to shooting for the lowest, least creative common denominator.

..This is why I love articles about The Dark Knight; I can actually get enthusiastic and upbeat about something, as opposed to these articles for which I can only express my frustration.

(Reply to this)

cmonsteve writes:
on Dec 28 2007 12:17 PM

In reply to this comment (#1402487)
amen to that

and although i understand the economics of making a kid friendly wolverine it would be nice to have a movie that was made for the fans of the source material

(Reply to this)

Elixor writes:
on Dec 28 2007 12:52 PM

There's no chance that this movie is going to please anybody who knows the source material.

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arendr writes:
on Dec 28 2007 02:00 PM

The only way this movie will work is if it's like a First Blood sort of thing.

(Reply to this)

atticus-alaric writes:
on Dec 28 2007 02:45 PM

In reply to this comment (#1401554)
Simple, because Ratner is an untalented hack. Thought that was common knowledge.

(Reply to this)

Ruckas356 writes:
on Dec 28 2007 03:08 PM

this movie better be good... or me and magneto will destroy the earth...

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rgallitan writes:
on Dec 28 2007 03:44 PM

Fun does not necessarily mean fluffy kiddie stuff people. Nowhere did he say anything about fluffy kiddie stuff. You think that '300' was anything but mindless entertainment? You think 'Planet Terror' had any kind of redeeming social relevance? You think people play 'God of War' or 'Manhunter' to ponder a mature and thematically rich narrative?

Of course not.

This really doesn't have anything to do with Wolverine, I guess - which will probably suck. But it annoys me when people disregard the word "fun" like that, because it's pretentious, and because it betrays the all-too-common teen boy mentality that just because something contains violence and morally undecided antiheroes it is therefore more grown-up. Real grown-ups know better. The "BRUTAL *** BLOODY WOLVERINE!!!" that tycox wants to see is simply the natural R-rated extension of Looney Tunes. And that's good stuff, and I hope he gets it. Because it's FUN. But meanwhile, some of the most mature movies ever made are rated G.

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jacog writes:
on Dec 29 2007 01:28 AM

Some of you people are just weird. The story is all about how the writer is planning to screw up (my opinion) Wolverine, but you bash the director for it.

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xeronic writes:
on Dec 29 2007 05:12 AM

watch it be PG-13....................

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lestatthevampire writes:
on Dec 29 2007 10:11 AM

Ghost Rider was deemed "fun"

(Reply to this)