Editorial: 10 Must-Haves For A Wonder Woman Movie From A Wonder Woman Fan
Introduction:
I´m not going to spend a huge amount of time on this, mainly because as a lot of you know I´m writing a Wonder Woman script and its hard not to give away my ideas.
However needless to say many people seem to enter the topic of how to do a Wonder Woman film; but much like myself 3 years ago are not that familiar with the character. So, I hoped as someone who now has researched this amazing character, and, is not only writing a script on the Wonder Woman, but also has started research for a screenplay on her creator, William Moultan Marston (who also invented the lie detector machine) I think I´m in a good position to help out, some who have written editorials with the best of intentions, but have limited knowledge of the character and her history.
Rule 10
You are not smarter than this man:
There is no doubt old Billy boy up here had quirks. No doubt in my mind whatsoever. In fact creator of Wonder Woman, William Marston Moulton was in fact in relationship, with two women, who he shared a home with. Had some kinky fetishes about bondage. He also had a rather curious philosophy about men submitting to women being the only way that we could achieve world peace. However, I´d like to put this in perspective, because one thing people might not know is DC often use this as some kind of critique against the underlying principles of the character, and, lament the amount of bondage that found its way into the pages of a children’s comic strip under his run.
First, in-spite of William´s various kinks, he was clearly a man of profound imagination and foresight. He invented the lie detector as stated before, he also produced a personality profiling test that many multinational companies still use to this day, he was a Harvard Professor who protested openly when women weren´t allowed to be admitted to the Ivy League Universities (much like his wife who scored higher than him on the entrance exam) and yeah he had a 3 way relationship, but it was actually 3 way, when he died, his wife and their lover stayed with each other in love, continuing their relationship; so if they cared about each other that much, was it really that bad? No human being is perfect and it is precisely out of the imperfections that many a beautiful thing arises. Now DC complaining about the gender politics and treatment of women in comics, is pretty much like the pot calling the kettle black. DC really don´t have a leg to stand on.
Now don´t get me wrong, I´m not saying I dislike the way comic-book females are objectified (at least to an extent, I like my comic girls quite hot) but DC writers of today can hardly criticize a man who was writing in the 1950´s sexual politics, when they regularly put out images like this aimed at adolescent boys.
Anyway my point was William Moulton Marston really was ahead of his time and the Wonder Woman found in his pages was truly revolutionary. What he did that was so clever that any good Wonder Woman film ought to do, is he examined the genre of comics by turning everything on its head. He used a classical archetypal story “The Heroes Journey” but he placed a woman at its center, and, in it he made, perhaps the most archetypical hero of all time Hercules a villain. His whole approach to the subject mythology, and his almost academic approach to deconstructing it, everything from the Amazons to the notion of the damsel in distress, is so way ahead of its time that even modern Holly Wood has not caught up. Even now most women still remain to this day the mere love interests to the heroic male protagonist, and, Holly Wood still fears breaking this formula, only slightly placating its female audiences intelligences and capabilities by making those said love interests, slightly more 3 dimensional. Like she´s so useless she doesn´t seem to be able to kill a man with a knife, when she has a gun, but that’s ok because she has a P.H.D in physics.
Its not only insulting to women, and the many accomplishments they´ve achieved, its also, insulting to a male audience who has to sit through the same formulaic crap, over and over again.
Rule 9
Know And Love The Character. Don´t just make a Wonder Woman movie because of pressure to do so. Find a great or talented writer, they are out there, who love the character. Its not that hard. Hell get Greg Rucka to do it if you must, but just find someone who gets why she´s special.
Rule 8
[frick] Azzerrelo and his new stupid ass origin to Wonder Woman. He has single handedly destroyed her popularity amongst those who actually like the Superhero genre. Made everyone think her story was irredeemable and needed a desperate shakeup. So now instead of being trained by women to be the warrior she was, she was trained by men. Instead of be a child of immaculate conception, unique amongst superhero origin stories, she´s now a bastard child of Zeus. Instead of the Amazons, being a flawed utopian society with noble intentions, they´re barbaric, men raping, baby killers. Its not cool, its not a relatable story, in fact in damn near retarded, with enough plot holes in it to make Goyers Dark Knight Rises look like the tightest script written since Fight Club.
Rule 7
Learn from Lynda Carter but make a Wonder Woman For our Generation:
I cannot give Lynda Carter enough praise for her portrayal as Wonder Woman, and there is a lot to be learnt from her version of Wonder Woman and why it had such mass iconic appeal. However, we need to now find our Wonder Woman. What does the legacy of the first and greatest female super-heroine mean to us. Her comic incarnations in recent times have taken a much darker, edgier turn. Her character fleshed out. There is a really cool story to be told about this chick, one that can be as inspirational and uplifting as Man Of Steel was supposed to be. Wonder Woman is enigmatic, a warrior baptized in the flames and blood of battle, but whose mission in this world is to use her training to fight against the forces that seek to fan the flames of hate, prejudice, and inequality.
We all know there is plenty of that going around these days, and who better to give us a vision of strength to strive toward and follow and stumble behind than our Amazing Amazon.
Rule 6
Write For Yourself Not Other People
Write a film that you would love to see not one you´d imagine comic nerds would like. This is so important, because there is so much conflict. Should Gina play her, should she be a super model to appeal to men, or butch to appeal to women (?), should she wear the iconic outfit or should it be altered for film? (duh: what did you do for Superman and Batman), should we take out the Greek Gods or keep them in? Maybe audiences won´t get how she comes from an Island never discovered by men? Is an invisible jet or Lasso Of truth silly?
WB need to stop second guessing themselves on these elements of the story, it is a fantasy story, audiences don´t expect it to conform to the rules of the world we live in. Care and love of the character and a good story will translate all the hick-ups you may think are there but really aren´t.
Rule 5
Badass Villain
Stop focusing on the titular character and her origin story. They are perfect. They are just as fantastical as an alien who looks exactly humans and gains powers from the different frequency of radiation emitted from our yellow star. Focus on Wonder Woman´s villains. And sorry Wonder Woman does actually have some great villains, she also has some awful ones, admittedly, but so do most superheroes. Ares for me is not all the only choice, having said that I do agree he would be good for the first movie. Its simple, we get it and there´s so many ways to make a modern Ares from that could end up being one of the sickest comic villains to date, if dealt with correctly.
Rule 4
Hire a great actress, with a Wonderful smile.
I´m not joking about the smile either. I tried to reduce what it was Lynda Carter did that made women want to be her and men want to … well. This was the thing, she didn´t intimidate women with her obvious beauty, and, men watched her cause she just was goddamn sexy. That’s really important to have that balance, make her just eye candy with no humanity, lose the women, film flops, make her all brutish and masculine, gain some weird freak guys, but not many, film flops. The single most relatable thing in psychologically, which people identify with inner as well outer beauty is the human smile. Fact. That is why Lynda captured the heart of the world, the moment she flashed us those pearly white gnashes’ of hers it melted our hearts, even women who may have been jealous of her beauty, because of that smile were drawn to her, because it came across as inner rather than exterior beauty.
Get a woman who just looks superhot, but doesn´t have that connection and that sense of humanity, you´ve lost the whole game before its started.
To finish Wonder Woman has many sides, wise ambassador of peace, princess of a utopian island, mighty warrior. That’s a lot to handle, to balance that well you need an actress at the top of her game. So choose well, this is important as [frick].
Rule 3
Add Don´t Subtract
The basic premise of Wonder Woman is sound, both her comic book and TV incarnation. What we need now is someone to come in and take that idea and add to it. Give Steve Trevor psychological motivation, sort out a city for Wonder Woman that makes sense to her story, solidify and give psychological motivation to her supporting cast. Do not think you´re smarter than the basic story and subtract from it, no modernize and add to it. If you really think an invisible jet is silly (ask any one whose ever been in a dogfight if they wouldn´t want one of those bad boys) try and add something that makes it a bit more palatable for modern audiences, like a badass modern jet with a stealth mode for instance, maybe?
By the by, those who say Wonder Woman having a jet is silly when she can fly, should take another look at Superman flying Lois Lane around in the upper hemispheres of the planet where she would freeze to death or otherwise not be able to breath.
That’s stupid? So what if she doesn´t want to fly alone? Say, maybe with Steve Trevor?
Rule 2
Make it Political: She is here to save us from the evils within ourselves:
Superman saves us from megalomaniacs wanting to rule the world. Batman from psychopaths. Wonder Woman saves us something quite different, our inability to get on. War has to be a theme in Wonder Woman for it to have an impact.
That is the power of her story, that she sees such greatness in the world of man, but she also sees the ever looming threat of our own self destruction by our baser impulses. This is symbolized by her villains, who by an large just want to see the world burn. I´m thinking Cheetah, Dr. Psycho, Ares, Genocide, Alkyone. All to a greater or lesser extent have more interest in causing chaos and mayhem either themselves or by manipulating the wills of man.
Rule 1
Wonder Woman being feminist does not equate to her being a man-hater
Fact, I am not a feminist, in fact I´m quite the nihilist. I don´t really believe in a hell of lot, but sometimes certain themes and explorations enhance a story or mythology. Trust me I have no time for man-hating women, it pisses me off so much when I see it I want to explode, but I can say this, I have yet to read a Wonder Woman story that is worth its salt that does not deal with feminist and or deep philosophical issues arising from the notion of a Utopian female society. What do I mean by this? Not all have done it in the same way, but before dismissing feminism as just man hating or no longer really relevant because women are equal, just take a look a bit beyond our shores at what is happening to women all around the world. In Africa, the Middle East, Asia etc. Or look a bit closer to home at the Sex in the City generation of free-market Feminism, and how profoundly it has impacted society and what women think it means to be independent. For, better or worse, Wonder Woman is a place where we can debate such gender issues. The question of men’s dominance and influence over world politics is still ripe for examination. Further more, the question of whether women are so virtuous and peace-loving as Themyscira on the surface seems to be saying they are is worthy of examination as well. We mustn´t be scared of this. As long as it isn´t trying to ram one version of the truth down our throats, but is open and thoughtful, it will facilitate making a great Wonder Woman story rather than hindering it. It can´t take over the movie, but ought be touched on throughout. She loves everyone, enhancing the feminine aspect of that desire to bring peace to the world, her care, and yes the power she possesses, is a feminist message in itself, but truly when you think about it, it’s a humanist message as well.
Oh P.S. Wonder Woman kills only when she thinks she absolutely has to, not as a rule of thumb.