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I've been doing all of my updates via Twitter. However, some
things require more info than Twitter updates can provide. Speculation about whether The Avengers
would include EN as the Hulk has been going on for a while. But the frenzy has grown more intense after Marvel's Kevin Feige spoke about The Avengersa few days ago at Comic-Con. RopeOfSilicon.com asked about whether the Hulk would be in it and Feige replied "I think he will be [in it], absolutely." As to "Edward Norton returning as The Hulk, Feige said, ' think there's always a chance. It's certainly our intention to use the same actors from film-to-film where we can.'" He also mentioned that if there was a Hulk sequel it would be "post-Avengers if that happened." Variety has an excellent article on the background of EN and Marvel and The Incredible Hulk.
So the big questions are what does Edward Norton now think about returning and has anyone from Marvel spoken to EN? Unfortunately, we don't know. One article reported that MTV news recently talked to EN about it. In reality, MTV news spoke to EN 9 months ago during his press junket for Pride and Glory. This article keeps getting picked up by new sources. So here is what EN told MTV News about the Hulk back in Oct 2008:
MTV: Is any part of you interested in reprising the Hulk in any form? Are you a betting man? Do you think it's gonna happen?
Norton: You know, I really couldn't say. The minds of Marvel are sometimes opaque. I won't say obtuse, but opaque. I don't have any idea what they want to do. This notion of connecting the Marvel characters — who knows where they'll go.
MTV: "The Avengers" is less of an interest for you?
Norton: I really actually have no information. I don't know what the agenda is in the moment, but I'm sure you'll find out more than me.
Another factor in The Avengers is the relationship between Avengers screenwriter Zak Penn and EN. Some background info from Variety:
Zak Penn wrote the original script, which includes two pivotal scenes from his 16-year-old first screenplay for the Hulk, which was not used on the Ang Lee movie written by James Schamus. Marvel came back to Penn and wanted the two scenes in the movie: Bruce Banner jumping out of a helicopter to the earth below, not knowing whether or not he would morph into Hulk, and a lovemaking scene in a motel where Banner's rising heart rate becomes an issue. Both are among the best scenes in the final movie.
When Marvel approached Norton to do The Incredible Hulk, he initially declined. They asked him to meet with director Louis Leterrier (Transporter) to discuss his objections to doing the movie; there Norton offered some ideas as to where he'd want it to go. Marvel agreed to hire a screenwriter to work with him. This is totally normal. At this point Penn was off the movie.
Marvel realized they didn't have time to hire a new writer and asked Norton to do it, offering him an uncredited producer credit as well. With about two months to go before the movie started filming, Norton did a page one rewrite--knowing that he couldn't do anything radical, because sets were being built, locations found, etc. The entire Brazil sequence was already story-boarded.
So Norton mostly changed dialogue, filled in gaps of motivation and developed character. For example, the scenes in Brazil about finding a serum in the Amazon to cure him, and Banner's emails with Tim Blake Nelson, were Norton adds. Marvel agreed to shoot Norton's script.
[Further down in the article]
As for the script, Marvel submitted both Penn and Norton (under his pseudonym, Edward Harrison) to the Writers' Guild; Penn (who had substantial economic incentives to want to win the arbitration) wrote an impassioned argument that Norton had not considerably changed his screenplay. The Guild tends to favor plot, structure and pre-exisiting characters over dialogue. Given the final version of the movie, they gave the sole credit to Penn. (Another early writer was seeking story by credit and didn't get anywhere.)
Could there be a Rounders 2? Pokerlistings.com talked to Matt Damon and one of the screenwriters David Levien:
"Everybody would probably come back," Rounders star Matt Damon told PokerListings. "The actors all had a really good time working together. I know Edward would want to do it; we had a blast working together. [Director] John Dahl I'm sure would like to do it. Maybe someday it will happen.
[Further down in the article]
"We've been concentrating on Rounders 2 lately; Ideas are percolating," Levien told PokerListings. "It's great to know that all of the original players want to come back and do another one."
By the People: The Election of Barack Obama the Obama documentary which Edward Norton served as an executive producer will air in November on HBO (Source: Jeanne Jakle column). EN is going to the Television Critics' Press Tour to promote it (Source: Philadelphia Inquirer)
Leaves of Grass will make its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival (Source: Variety)
Variety reports a remake of Straw Dogs that is supposed to start filming in August. What does this have to do with EN? EN had been trying to do a Straw Dogs remake called Fear Itself written by Keeping the Faith screenwriter Stuart Blumberg (one of his partners in Class 5 Films). It looked like it was close to filming back in Aug 2002 back when Miramax hired Jim Polson to direct and producer Hawk Koch stated "...we will be looking to cast it right away." There was no mention of whether EN would star, just that he was producing the film. Neither EN nor any of his collaborators seem to be attached to this new version. |
