Last time we heard anything about the film adaptation of PREACHER – about a priest who battles demons and searches for God – Sam Mendes was still aboard and John August was scribbling the screenplay. Only one of those things is still true.
In an interview with Collider, producer Neal Moritz explained that Mendes is now committed to another project, and is no longer in the PREACHER business: “We now have a terrific script that John August wrote. We were originally talking with Sam Mendes about doing the movie. Sam Mendes is going to go off and do the Bond movie, so there’s another director that we’re talking to right now.”
Of course, the James Bond franchise is in a troubled place of its own right now thanks to MGM’s financial woes; regardless, Mendes is no longer the man in charge of PREACHER.
Moritz goes on to sing the praises of August’s script: “We’ve got a great script. John August wrote a script that I think is terrific. The hardest thing was with all the books-the Preacher books-was how to distill it down. And what he made the smart decision instead of trying to cram everything into one, there’s plenty of room for 2 or 3 movies. So that’s what he’s done and he’s done a really faithful adaptation but made it probably more accessible to a broader audience right now. That movie’s definitely R-rated and it’s an amazing central character.”
At the end of the interview, Moritz alludes to the idea of August directing it if they don’t get who they’re looking for. (In other words, someone better.)
To read the whole article, head on over HERE.