Quote: Aronofsky Ankles Watchmen Director needed for comic book pic.
November 03, 2004 - Ain't It Cool News breaks the dispiriting news that director Darren Aronofsky has ankled Paramount Pictures' big-screen adaptation of Watchmen. The Requiem for a Dream filmmaker was long attached to helm the development hell-plagued feature adaptation of the classic Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons graphic novel.
The site claims that "the reason (Aronofsky) left involves timing issues. See, The Fountain is about to start principal photography. We're talking about a matter of days here. And I love The Fountain as a project. Paramount just couldn't wait, though. They want to have Watchmen in a theater by the summer of '06, no matter what. That means they need a filmmaker who can be ready to shoot long before Aronofsky would be ready. So the hunt is on."
AICN adds that the cast Aronofsky was mulling would have been "glorious." Past reports had Simon Pegg and John Cusack up for Rorschach and Nite Owl, respectively. There's no word yet on if David Hayter's script has also been jettisoned.
Found this blurb on Hollywood Reporter as being posted a couple weeks after the announcement of Aronofsky's leaving the project.
Quote: Nov. 22, 2004 Greengrass, Par on Watchmen
Paul Greengrass, who directed "The Bourne Supremacy," is going to direct "The Watchmen" for Paramount Pictures. The project is based on the seminal DC Comics limited series of the same name, created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbon and originally released in 1986 as a 12-issue comic book. Darren Aronofsky had been attached to direct but bowed out because of scheduling conflicts. Aronofsky is shooting "The Fountain," starring Hugh Jackson. David Hayter has written the screenplay for "The Watchmen," which Paramount was eager to put into production. With Greengrass aboard, the project is now eyeing a possible 2006 release date. (Borys Kit and Liza Foreman)
I've not seen The Bourne Supremacy yet... or any of the other films this guy has directed, for that matter. Anyone who's seen anything of his care to enlighten me as to what his style/ability is? Do you think he can pull this off?
