Screenwriter Removes Name From ‘Punisher: War Zone’
Kurt Sutter, co-producer and writer for the television series The Shield, has requested that his name be formally removed from the screenwriting credits for Punisher: War Zone.
Sutter claims that, after rewriting a script by Nick Santora for the film, his script was later rewritten and changed to such a degree that he no longer feels his name should be included in the film’s credits.
In Sutter’s post about the decision, he explains that the only piece of his script to appear in the film is the set piece in which Jigsaw, the villain of the film, earns his nickname. Sutter adds that his original vision for the film — a a departure from what he saw as standard comic-book adaptations — is quite different from the actual story used in production.
The other reason I removed my name is because I didn’t want credit. My pitch, my vision, for the Punisher franchise was something much different. I tried to rip Frank Castle from the comic book world and place him in the real streets of NYC. Castle is the only superhero without powers. He’s a tortured, highly skilled soldier with a really bad anger problem. I always felt we should see Frank in some place uber-real and gritty. I threw away the first draft written by Nick Santora and did a page one rewrite. I changed the locations, the characters, the story. I dropped Frank in a real New York City with real villians, real cops, real relationships. To me, the Punisher deserved more than the usual comic book redress. It shouldn’t just follow the feature superhero formula.
Sutter also acknowledges previous Punisher actor Thomas Jane’s disdain for his script, writing, "I’m not saying my draft was perfect or even good for that matter. God knows, Thomas Jane wasn’t fond of it."
It’s also worth noting that Sutter followed up his initial announcement with another post the following day — an apology of sorts — stating that his decision should not be interpreted as a negative assessment of the Punisher: War Zone film or its working script.
Punisher: War Zone is scheduled for a Sept. 12, 2008, release.
"Castle is the only superhero without powers."BatmanCatwomanBlue Beetle (the Ditko/first DC version)Black Canary (mostly, setting aside the deus-ex-machina sonic power)Nick FuryWildcatGreen ArrowArrowetteNightwingAnd lots of others, i'm sure (can you tell which company's stuff i've been reading almost exclusively for a few years?)
Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, The Shadow…
Well, the Shadow and "clouding men's minds…"
That was the radio show. I, ah, was referring to the pulp hero!
I'm pretty sure he could do it there, too.And, remember, the pulp was a spinoff from a radio program.
Well, actually… the radio show where the dude clouded men's minds was a spinoff from the pulp, where he didn't, which in turn was a spinoff from a radio show where the dude was just a narrator, which was a spinoff from two different pulps, one of which being a romance magazine.But I just like referring to the scariest hero in American pulp fiction as "the dude."
Okay, here's a wild idea … return the comic book tone that made the first film a success, write a script that would score in the red zone on the Thomas Jane-O-Meter, then bring Mr. Jane back and stop trying to re-invent the wheel!
"To me, the Punisher deserved more than the usual comic book redress."Somehow changing everything that made the character successful, and trying to place the character in the real world is the current usual redress. I still don't understand why someone would pay for the rights to use Catwoman, then throw away 50 years of ideas and change everything until the only selling point is Halley Berry in kinky leather outfits.Well at least I haven't seen the Punisher reduced to Joel Schumaker practically giggling in each interview about having nipples on the costume.
"I dropped Frank in a real New York City with real villians, real cops, real relationships."Ah, like the first Punisher movie..the Dolph Lundgren one..where he lived in the sewers and went after mobsters and didn't wear the skull emblem. Yeah, that's the way to go!
This guy has no respect for comics his statement "Castle is the only superhero without powers." is like saying. "Harlem is the only neighborhood with Black people.' I'm from NYC trust me The Punisher should stay in the 'comics world.' and the writer should stay in whatever asshole land he lives in.