Sam Mendes Believes PREACHER Is Best Suited For Television

Sam Mendes Believes PREACHER Is Best Suited For Television

In the past Skyfall's Sam Mendes, was attached to direct a film adaptation of "Preacher," a DC/Vertigo Comics' series that was created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon.

By nailbiter111 - Nov 07, 2012 12:11 PM EST
Filed Under: Preacher
Source: collider



The new James Bond film, "Skyfall," is set to open in U.S. theaters tomorrow and if it's as good as I hear it is than director Sam Mendes is about to become one of the most sought after directors in Hollywood. During an interview with Collider Mendes discusses one of his projects that never got off the ground, the adaptation of DC Comic's "Preacher." He says that "Skyfall" has fulfilled his interest in tackling an action movie, so don't expect him to take another crack at a "Preacher" film.

Almost seems strange that a director like Sam Mendes, that pulled off the impossible, by making what most consider the best Bond film ever had such a difficult time adapting "Preacher." As you will hear in the video below he had to walk away from the project because he just couldn't figure out way to make it work on screen.

"It’s a brilliant graphic novel, I loved it, but a lot of it takes place in the real world and we’re surrounded now by fantasy and superhero genre pictures which are full of eye candy. And actually, Preacher is much more real world, it’s more of a Southern Gothic with elements of the fantastic in it; it’s a quite difficult thing to balance."



“If you look at somewhere between Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead, True Blood—that world of real but fantasy, the two mixed, it’s young and sexy and it’s got many, many chapters. Actually when I saw that it was a possible HBO or a possible cable show, I thought ‘that’s a great way to do it,’ because then you can let it develop gradually, because there’s also a huge amount of it.”

Preacher tells the story of Jesse Custer, a preacher in the small Texas town of Annville. Custer was accidentally possessed by the supernatural creature named Genesis in an incident which killed his entire congregation and flattened his church.

Genesis, the product of the unauthorized, unnatural coupling of an angel and a demon, is an infant with no sense of individual will. However, as it is composed of both pure goodness and pure evil, it might have enough power to rival that of God Himself. In other words, Jesse Custer, bonded to Genesis, may have become the most powerful being in the whole of living existence.

Custer, driven by a strong sense of right and wrong, goes on a journey across the United States attempting to (literally) find God, who abandoned Heaven the moment Genesis was born. He also begins to discover the truth about his new powers. They allow him, when he wills it, to command the obedience of those who hear and comprehend his words. He is joined by his old girlfriend Tulip O'Hare, as well as a hard-drinking Irish vampire named Cassidy.


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campblood
campblood - 11/7/2012, 12:52 PM
i agree nomis, HBO or STARZ
soberchimera
soberchimera - 11/7/2012, 12:52 PM
HBO, Showtime, or Starz. It's not safe for basic cable.
AlexDeLarge87
AlexDeLarge87 - 11/7/2012, 12:55 PM
HBO all the way.

If they would make it a movie. It would have to be saga like Harry Potter.
Fogs
Fogs - 11/7/2012, 12:56 PM
Agreed. If we can have Game of Thrones and Walking dead why we couldn't have Preacher and ass-face?
toco89
toco89 - 11/7/2012, 12:57 PM
Come HBO nut up. But the whole angel and demon, who are created and defined being and are essentially the same thing since its the choices they make that makes them one or the other, union, although they are spiritual beings not contained in flesh, sprouting a being who is all powerful and is feared by his creator who is the same but also all knowing and always present, makes absolutely no sense.

IF they are taking the christian route, since it is Preacher. Reeks of social commentary really, yet interesting. But I guess I'll wait to see if they even make it.
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/7/2012, 1:10 PM
with tv shows like game of thrones,the walking dead,true blood,american horror story & breaking bad.

i believe its time & we are ready for an adaption of quite possibly the best comic book series ever.
SuperPickle
SuperPickle - 11/7/2012, 1:51 PM
Garth Ennis is a god. I'd LOVE to see Hitman made into a series.
Preston
Preston - 11/7/2012, 2:00 PM

If it ever gets made, the studios will (probably) turn it into some twilight vampire love triangle. They'll throw out the hunting of GOD stuff, and concentrate on the relationship between Cassidy, Jesse, and Tulip. In other words, they will a$$rape and gut the whole story. Studio after studio has turned it down based on the subject matter.



1). HBO almost green-lit a faithful adaptation of the series that would have brought each issue of the series to life and used new stories penned by Garth Ennis, himself, to shake things up for fans. However, HBO, one of the most subversive and cutting edge cable channels out there, abandoned the project because it's "too stylistically dark and religiously controversial."

2). Kevin Smith asked the Weinstein Bros for 25 million to make the movie, and they said, “no.”

3). Garth Ennis wrote a script (and did three re-writes) based on Gone to Texas. Columbia Picture threw out his script and brought in John August (Charlie's Angels/ Dark Shadow) in 2008 to start from scratch.

The scripts have been sitting in limbo.

4). It has had a revolving door of directors: Joe Carnahan, Darren Aronofsky, etc.

tazmaniak
tazmaniak - 11/7/2012, 2:47 PM
Not gonna happen. The story is too polarizing. The whole point of making a TV show is to bring in a lot of viewers and make money. No network is going to take a chance on a show that they already know is going to turn off a majority of the potential audience.
Bandrews1
Bandrews1 - 11/7/2012, 4:06 PM
I really hope this gets off the ground some kind of way, even though I would prefer it as a tv series as well.
pud333
pud333 - 11/7/2012, 5:56 PM
Definitely better suited for TV. Each season could have about 10 or 12 episodes on HBO or Showtime.
leftcoastpunk
leftcoastpunk - 11/7/2012, 6:19 PM
I respect the guy for turning it down because he didnt think he could do it right, wish more directors would have that decency.
I agree with mercwithamouth, i dont want to see the adventures of jesse, cassidy, tulip and arse face. I want to see Preacher!
Growler
Growler - 11/7/2012, 7:57 PM
@Wormwood: You're right onevery count. However..

The thing that impresses me most in this interview is that Sam Mendes, when he should have been pushing Skyfall, spent time talking about Preacher, and how he knew he couldn't do the story justice. You can tell by the way he talks about it that he has a great deal of knowledge, affection and respect for the source. And he was well aware that he was speaking on camera.

The director of the most immediately profitable Bond film ever made speaks passionately about a project like Preacher?

If we've seen this, then lots of other people have, too.

You never know. Someone might have the balls to do it someday.

Maybe.
loki668
loki668 - 11/7/2012, 11:09 PM
I see this on the Family Channel or, maybe, a Lifetime movie. Set it up for Christmas and watch it with your kids! Starring Zach Braff as Jesse Custer and John C. McGinley as God.

Lord Loki has spoken
pepe
pepe - 11/8/2012, 12:18 AM
Constantine rip-off
GetsugaTensho22
GetsugaTensho22 - 11/8/2012, 1:42 AM
It's basically something Richard Dawkins violently masturbated to. I don't mind Atheism of course, but the comic was some over the top in your face kind of shit.
Besides, Garth Ennis is crap anyway, and not just limited to Preacher.
Fogs
Fogs - 11/8/2012, 11:06 AM
@pepe - ahahahahaha good one!

wait, you're serious?
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