Ashleigh Hill-Buxton
Pete Travis has reportedly been booted from “Dredd”, the latest film adaptation of the popular comic series from 2000 AD.
According to 24 Frames, Travis (“Vantage Point”) completed the film earlier this year but has not been involed in the editing process. Much like Tony Kaye on “American History X”, who was locked out of the editing room and forced to watch another (in that case, star Edward Norton) cut his film, Travis has had to give up the console to writer-producer Alex Garland.
In fact, so involved are Garland and two other producers, Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich, that Garland may seek a co-director credit on the movie. Although he’s made no decision on whether he’ll seek that credit — a petition would need to be filed with the Directors Guild of Great Britain — the fact that the possibility is even being considered is unusual. Garland is a novelist and screenwriter who did not shoot the movie and has never been credited with directing a picture before. Representatives for Garland and Travis did not respond to a request for comment.
There also still exists the possibility of reshoots, two of the people familiar with the film said, although who would man the camera in that scenario is an open question. The movie is set to come out next September.
Although the specifics of the disagreement that led to Travis’ dismissal are up for debate, two sources said it arose when Travis and producers and executives in charge of the production did not see eye-to-eye on footage Travis was delivering. A separate person involved in the film maintained that although Travis is no longer involved in postproduction, he is keeping up with progress via the Internet and has not been pushed aside.
Usually, I’d say this is a bit of a worry… but think about it, the guy that made “Vantage Point” is no longer in charge of the film; instead, we’ve got Alex Garland, the guy who gave us awesome flicks like “Never Let Me Go”, “The Beach” and “28 Days Later” now in charge of putting the film together? I dunno about you, but I say this is a win for the audience. Not so fair on Travis, maybe, but last thing the comic book move community wants is another film akin to the 1995 “Judge Dredd”.
Based on what we’re seeing so far, I don’t think we’ve a reason to worry anyway; looking good!.. check this out…
