Ninja Turtles reboot script leaks online
An early draft script for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie reboot leaks, and Peter Laird has had one or two things to say about it…
We’ve had an instance or two in recent times of a script leaking online and a movie being pulled apart as a consequence, before a frame of footage has even been shot. We've opted not to report those, as - even though the subsequent script reports have raised worrying issues - it seems harsh to write a film off before they've unloaded the cameras from the truck.
This particular script story is a little bit different, though.
In the original plan, Paramount’s $100m cinematic reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is going by the name of Ninja Turtles, was set to be released in December 2013. Since then, it’s been pushed back to the summer of 2014, with the reason for the delay reportedly the quality of the screenplay at that point.
Now, the fansite TMNT, Not TANT, has got its paws on an early draft of the script, and inevitably, the response to it has not been pleasant. In the leaked draft, the Turtles were reportedly aliens, having been sent to Earth by a race who picked Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo and Donatello to send. Furthermore, Shredder has become Colonel Shrader, and the main focus of the screenplay was apparently April O’Neill and Casey Jones, now a pair of dating late teenagers.
That screenplay was binned, it’s important to note, and it’s not necessarily reflective of the project in its current form. But it does give an indication of where things were heading at one point.
Furthermore, Turtles co-writer Peter Laird added his voice on the screenplay, having taken a look at the draft himself since it appeared online.
In his words, “If it is, in fact, the actual draft that was rejected and caused the production of the next TMNT movie to be pushed back to 2014 because the script was unsatisfactory, then I think all true TMNT fans should be grateful to the new ‘powers that be’ that they did not allow this wretched thing to go any further”, adding “It reminds me of one of the reasons I am glad to not own the property anymore... because I don't have to tear what little hair I have left out while trying to fix junk like this”.
You can read Laird’s full post here, and read the breakdown of the screenplay here. As it stands, Ninja Turtles remains scheduled for May 2014. Just not with the script described above.
Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here
Disqus - noscript
I have a bad feeling about this. Reckon it'll be like the Percy Jackson film if that's anything to go on - disrespectful to the source material and utterly utterly shite.
Isn't that what Hollywood does to most film versions of books and cartoons?
I haven't read the screenplay but I have never been keen on the idea of the Turtles coming from outer space. Hopefully they can find some sort of balance between the original darker comic book and the comical 80s series.
Let's make the turtles from space! Did they learn nothing from Highlander 2?
seem to be learning their lesson recently, but in the case of mr Jackson, t'was like they took the book, pissed on it, shat on it, then set it alight, and made a script from the remains.
A reboot of TMNT was already done CGI style and it was utterly terrible, something tells me this will be even worse likely resulting in the franchises ultimate destruction just like what happened with Total Recall, Batman and will likely happen when (or rather if) GB 3 ever comes out
First off, the CG TMNT was a sequel. And not only was it good, but it made three times its budget.
Honestly, from what I remember of them as a kid, the comics and cartoons were pretty bad back then. I don't see how they can make it good now and still call it TMNT, or NT, or whatever.
I think they just need to leave the franchise alone, or let it come back strong in comics or TV before they make another movie. All these damn reboots and remakes are making my head hurt. It's foolishness what they're doing in Hollywood.
"T'was"... lol.
The fact is that Hollywood is running out of new and original ideas, and or, they have these filmmakers who, once they get a name, want to do their definitive version of an already established product. That's ridiculous. I'd rather pay money to see something original and find out it sucked than to go to something I know and love, see someone else's vision of it, and it sucks. Such was the case with G.I. Joe.
I agree entirely.
I thought Laird originally loved the Bay script...or was that Eastman