Variety Article
Schwarzenegger pumps up pulp hero
for WB, Universal
Darabont, Russell taking helm
By BENEDICT CARVER, July 7, 1999
Arnold Schwarzenegger will flex his muscles as pulp magazine superhero Dr.
Clark Savage Jr. for Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures.
The pic, "Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze," will be produced and directed by the intriguing combo of Frank Darabont and Chuck Russell for Castle Rock Pictures.
Doc Savage is a millionaire philanthropist turned superman. The character, the brainchild of pulp author Lester Dent, first appeared in Doc Savage Magazine in 1933.
Savage cult
Since the '30s, Doc Savage has remained firmly in the public eye due to a series of books by Bantam based on the comic strip. The doctor also has a strong cult following on the Internet.
Warners turned Savage into a campy, critically panned feature, "Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze," in 1975, with the tagline "Have no fear, Doc Savage is here!" In that production, directed by Michael Anderson, Doc Savage and his cohorts flew down to South America to avenge the death of Doc's father.
Darabont and Russell are developing a completely new story for their film, together with screenwriter David Leslie Johnson, based on a separate story by Johnson and Brett Hill.
There's no script yet, although Johnson and Hill did write an 80-page treatment. However, participants were mum on story details.
Split fit
According to Castle Rock prexy Martin Shafer, it's unclear whether Darabont, best known for star-driven dramas, and Russell, who made his name on cartoonish action pics, will literally co-direct the film, or split the producing and directing duties between them.
"Frank and Chuck go back a long way, and the two of them brought the project to Arnold, and then the three of them came to us," Shafer said. "Once we have a script, we'll determine who'll direct."
Film rights to "Savage" eventually ended up with publishing house Conde-Nast, and it took the film-makers and Castle Rock a good while to extricate them. As with other Castle Rock projects, Warners and U will co-finance and co-distribute "Savage."
Found 'Redemption'
In addition to best picture Oscar nominee "The Shawshank Redemption," Darabont directed the Tom Hanks-starrer "The Green Mile" for Castle Rock, which will be released in the U.S. by Warners on Dec. 17.
Darabont has already announced that his next film, "The Bijou," will be produced by Castle Rock for Warners and U.
Schwarzenegger and Russell last collaborated on the action-thriller "Eraser" for Warners. U, meanwhile, will release the supernatural Schwarzenegger vehicle "End of Days" in the U.S. on Nov. 24.
Russell's other directing credits include "The Mask" and the upcoming thriller "Bless This Child" for Paramount.
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