Caffeinated Clint
“Layer Cake” director onboard comic-book movie
Matthew Vaughn (“Layer Cake”) will direct – well, at least until he drops out over ‘creative differences’, which is what he did with “X-Men 3” – the film adaptation of Marvel comic’s “Thor”.
In an interview promoting his latest flick “Stardust” a couple of days back, Vaughn hinted he may be in the mix.
“I’ve been discussing it with Marvel”, Vaughn tells Aint it Cool News. “I really like the Marvel guys, and it would be good to make. We’re trying to find something to work on together. If THOR is going to happen, I don’t know. I’m seeing them again next week. And, the other problem is the whole strike thing. It’s, like, we’d like to make a movie before the strike, so whether THOR could be the one, I don’t know.”
Today, the trades announced that Vaughn had been sworn in as the film’s helmer.
Apparently the deal has closed just as “Stardust” makes its way to theatres – and no doubt aligns a few Paramount execs pockets with a few extra greenbacks this month.
Mark Protosevich (“I Am Legend”) did the adaptation of the comicbook franchise that launched in 1962. Thor is a blonde-tressed, hammer-wielding hero who’s sent to Earth to protect mankind.
Marvel Studios will likely finance “Thor” using its $500 million credit facility through Merrill Lynch. Marvel has used that fund to finance both Edward Norton starrer “The Incredible Hulk,” which Universal releases June 13, and “Iron Man,” the Robert Downey Jr. starrer that Paramount will open on May 2. And yes, I’d love Merrill Lynch’s phone number, too.
