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Comic Book Movie Updates: The Forgotten & Night and Fog

by Alex Billington
December 22, 2009
Source: Mania, SlashFilm

Just as I was about to start writing up the news that the adaptation of Evan Young and Jareth Grealish's comic book The Forgotten had finally attached a screenwriter, news hit that another comic called Night and Fog is being adapted, too. And since they're both independent comics, I thought I'd put them both together in one article. We'll start with The Forgotten, a mystery comic centered on the corruption and dark alleys of Philadelphia. Mania learned from co-writer Jareth Grealish that they have a new screenwriter, but it was SlashFilm who confirmed that they've hired John Rogers, of The Core and Catwoman previously.

The Forgotten is about a man with the ability "to reach out with his own mind to anyone he sees, anyone he meets, anyone on the street -- and make them forget about him completely." Sounds like a great concept. Grealish told Mania that "a well established screenwriter is now attached to the project." I guess that would be John Rogers. "The take that he and our producers have on 'the forgotten' is top-notch. Evan and I are very excited about where they are taking it." I like the concept, now let's just see what Rogers can do with it. Don Murphy's Angry Films (Shoot 'Em Up) optioned the rights to this earlier this year and is developing.

As for Night and Fog, the comic's publisher Studio 407 announced today (via SlashFilm) that producers Gil Adler (Superman Returns, Valkyrie) and Shane McCarthy (Sweet Judy Blue Eyes) will be developing the adaptation. The comic tells the story of a Frankenstein-like infectious mist unleashed on a military base that transforms its victims into preternatural creatures of the night. But when the survivors try to kill them, they adapt and change into something even more horrific and unstoppable. So basically it's The Fog mixed with a WWII zombie thriller? I'm in! If you need more convincing, listen to Adler explain why he's making this:

"When I read this I knew I had to take it off the market. It's a great high-concept that blends the gothic horror of the Hammer films with the sci-fi horror of Aliens and The Thing... What really appealed to me wasn’t so much the genre trappings, but rather the characters that really drive this story."

Earlier this week, Brandon wrote an article talking about about how Hollywood is obsessed with adapting pre-existing material. While he makes a great point about originality, it's these kind of indie comics that I'm happy to see optioned, even if they are "pre-existing material." It helps introduce the comic books to those who aren't familiar with them yet and allows their unique concepts to be seen on the big screen. And both of these have great concepts that I'm very excited to see. I'm glad to hear that both seem to be moving forward without any major snags as of yet. We'll keep you updated on 'em! Which do you think sounds better?

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