CREATOR CHAT

T328-6

David Hughes

We chat with author David Hughes about the book and what he considers to be the greatest sci-fi movie ever made.

1. Of the movies you talk about in Greatest Sci-fi Movies Never Made which one would you really have liked to have seen make it onto the big screen?

I would have loved to see James Cameron’s version of Spider-Man, Tim Burton’s Superman, and especially Ridley Scott’s version of I Am Legend, which had Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role that Will Smith eventually took.

2. What draws you to Sci-fi as a cinemagoer?

Have you ever tried watching 2001: A Space Odyssey on TV? Only the big, big screen can deliver the scale and spectacle which science fiction does so well. And if I mind-bendingly big film can make you think as well – as the best works of literary science fiction can – then even better.

3. Which filmmakers are you interested in at the moment?

Any filmmaker who is true to his or her artistic vision, whatever that may be — whether it’s to make a profound artistic statement based on the human condition, or a kick-ass action popcorn flick based on a toy line. The best directors are often the most uneven: Tim Burton, Ridley Scott, Darren Aronofsky, the Coen Brothers, M Night Shyamalon, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone — they’ve all made films that failed, artistically or commercially or both — but I always want to see what they’ll come up with next.

4. Of the movies from your book that have now been made, do you feel any
lived up to expectations?

No, the idea of covering a few films that have been made is to show what might have been. Having said that, I have high hopes for Pixar’s John Carter of Mars.

5. What do you consider to be the Greatest Sci-fi Movie ever made?

2001: A Space Odyssey. And I have a feeling it will remain that way for as long as movies exist.

6. Are you working on any new books at the moment?

No, but there are a couple I should be: a biography of Hal Ashby, a book about the rise and fall of Tartan Films, and a book about great films that failed at the box office which I’m thinking of calling Top of the Flops or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. I’m also planning to revise my new book’s companion volume, Tales from Development Hell, for its paperback edition.

7. Did any other Great Sci-fi Movies which haven’t been made not make it into the book?

There were some fantastic unproduced scripts for Planet of the Apes, including one by James Cameron and one by Oliver Stone, so it’s extra sad that they filmed the pitiful script they ended up with. But they’re covered in my other book, Tales from Development Hell, along with a whole bunch of other more mainstream films. I’d have liked to talk about the sequel to Unbreakable but I don’t think it can really be classed as sci-fi.

8. If you were to take over any sci-fi franchise which one would it be and what would you do with it?

The Star Wars saga is beyond help, and Star Trek looks to be in good hands, so I’d wrest control of the Alien franchise from Fox and either strip it back to basics — a Blair Witch/Cloverfield kind of deal, to make the alien scary again — or write a prequel set aboard the derelict spacecraft from Alien, the one with the weird looking space pilot. I’d love to see what those creatures looked like while they were alive. I’d also maybe like to explore whether or not it was the predators who created the aliens in the first place, so they had something to hunt. But the whole Alien vs Predator concept is so tired it needs putting to bed with a cup of cocoa.