Can't wait! *nt*

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: : Posted by Kevin at etntwn1-blk1-hfc-0252-d1db060b.rdc1.nj.comcastatwork.com on June 29, 2000 at 13:03:47: : : So I've read all your thoughts and well-wishes and concerns and complaints. Thanks for the input. But in an effort to burn : : down the rumor mill, here's the lay of the land in regards to View Askew's (re)involvement with 'Fletch'. : : A couple of weeks back, David List - the lit agent for 'Fletch' author Gregory McDonald - left a message at the office that the : : rights which had belonged to Universal had gotten free. Since my desk is a pig-sty, this message got lost under a pile of crap, : : until Tuesday, when I was cleaning house. I found the message, gave David a call, and he reiterated that the option on 'Fletch' : : was now up for grabs again. I talked about how I'd wanted to do a screen version of the books that was very true to the : : source material (the '85 flick which starred, as we're all aware, Chevy Chase was funny, but not nearly as funny as the book on : : which it was based). I'd always felt that the idea would be to start with 'Fletch Won', a book that came late in the 'Fletch' series, : : but actually told the story of how Fletch became... well, Fletch. It's 'Year One' adventure of a younger Irwin that would allow : : you to cast anyone, and not be tied solely to Chevy Chase. As a nod to the previous movies however, one COULD use Chase : : in wraparounds or bookend sequences, I said - as if an older Fletch was telling the story of his first big story - which would be : : useful in maintaining the narrative flow of Chevy's voiceover from 'Fletch' and 'Fletch Lives' (a device that I thought was : : well-used). : : After that, I said I'd call Miramax and see if they'd be interested in picking up the rights (which were also being pursued by a : : number of other interested studios and producers, apparently). I called Harvey and told him about the situation, and he : : immediately said yes. Jon Gordon (our Miramax bitch) got on the horn with the Miramax legal eagles and David, and within : : three or four hours, it was done. I was watching a test screening of Ben's new movie 'Bounce', and about twenty minutes in, : : someone came into the theater and whispered to Harvey, who then leaned forward and informed me "We got 'Fletch'." : : All in all, a surprising and whirlwind turn of events that came to pass in far less than a business day. : : So to answer some questions... : : 1) No, I didn't know about any of this 'Fletch' business until Tuesday, as it all happened then. : : 2) No, it's not going to be Chevy (unless we use the framing device mentioned above, and he opts to be involved). : : 3) I bear no grudge against Chevy Chase which would translate into the reason we're not using him in the lead role. We're just : : adapting 'Fletch Won', which, as mentioned above, tells the story of a young, cub reporter Fletch. : : 4) For those of you who refer to this as 'Fletch 3' and think this is a crap idea because you hate the 'Fletch' movies: you're a : : little misinformed. We're not planning a sequel to the 'Fletch' movies. This is an adaptation of Gregory McDonald's wonderful : : series of books, that could very well turn into a franchise, if we handle the first one well. Calling it 'Fletch 3' is like calling 'The : : Talented Mister Ripley' 'Purple Noon 2', just because both were based on Patricia Highsmith's series of books. : : 5) This will be the first non-Askewniverse film from View Askew (ie - no Jay and Silent Bob). : : 6) We're not starting until we're done with View Askew 5 (which we're looking at starting in Sept/Oct and releasing in May : : 2001). That means the earliest you'd see 'Fletch Won' would be late 2001. : : 7) No one's been attached as Fletch, though you can probably guess there are a couple guys in the running (at least in my : : mind). : : 8) The 'Fletch' library is currently out of print, so don't go looking for them in stores (you can find most of the titles on E-bay, : : however). : : 9) We're going to stay very true to the book, as it has all the makings of a terrific story, and needs very little input from me. : : 10) I actually learned to write dialogue by reading McDonald's 'Fletch' books. If you read his stuff, it reads like one of my : : screenplays. They're very dense with dialogue, and spartan in descriptive passages (just the way I like 'em). : : So that's all there is to possibly know at this point. We're all pretty pleased about this very recent yet somehow familiar turn of : : events. Hopefully, when the flick's done, you'll dig it as much as you've dug the other flicks we've made. There's a certain : : personal, kharmic symmetry for me in making this flick, as the book is one of my all-time favorite things ever written, and : : there's a debt I feel I owe Mister McDonald as far as my own writing goes. : : The whole damn affair couldn't be more perfect, to be honest. : : So now we know what looms in the near future, following the shuttering of the Jersey Saga. Hopefully, you'll all stick around : : for our first foray into something different for us (which isn't that different after all).

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