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Update on Preacher Movie - Sam Mendes Still Directing?

by Alex Billington
May 11, 2009
Source: MTV

Those of you who are fans of Vertigo's comic book Preacher know that there has been some good progress as of recent on an adaptation. Late last year it was announced that it was being adapted for Sam Mendes to eventually direct. And earlier this year, it was announced that John August was writing the script. When MTV got the chance to catch up with Mendes, they made sure to get an update on it. "[John's] doing pretty well. He's about halfway through [the screenplay]. There's a long way to go yet, but I'm very, very hopeful. I think it could be amazing." So, there's not much of an update yet, per se, but it's something.

"You have to try and get one really good and then, if you're lucky, you can make a second or a third." He's already talking about sequels? "You can create something that's going to run. But I think that there's certainly more than enough for one good movie and plenty left over." The fact that Mendes is even talking about Preacher might mean that that he's still attached. See, after the news hit last year that he was directing, he criticized the trades, said it was a premature announcement, and presumed to say he wasn't attached. Not good news, especially when in January he reiterated that he still wasn't officially on board.

The MTV article doesn't have anything more specifically about Mendes' involvement, so I think it's safe to say he didn't later mention that he's actually not going to direct Preacher at all. Mendes is a great director, so I'd be more than happy to have someone of his caliber on board directing a comic book adaptation like this, that could become a great movie. Here's to hoping it comes together with both August and Mendes.

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Fisherr

The Preacher is one of the comic books that i would love to see as a live action movie,there have been alot of buzz around the comic book as well as the movie, hope it's out into something solid and hope it's out soon.
Sho' Nuff

Wow! Loved the Preacher series... and Mendes is a well respected director. Can't wait to see this take form!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least with this combo, I'm sure/hope that we won't see anything corny like Ghost Rider.
nelson

here is a video interview he did on ign talks about it briefly he is just waiting for John August to Finish the script http://movies.ign.com/dor/objects/33987/preacher/videos/mendes_prchr_051109.html
Matt S

Alex, I'm curious, have you read the "Preacher" comics? I'm curious as to what you thought I them. They are very different then a lot of other comic books. Personally I think they could make a great series of films, they deal with some terrific ideas about religion and American culture, but I think they need to tone some of it down so the important ideas don't get drowned in an endless sea of violence and, just about every perversion imaginable. The comic book went too far sometimes and a lot of the readers I don't think "got" what they were supposed to. I love how it never pulled punches, and I don't think the movie should either, but just make sure it's balanced. Sam Mendes is probably a very good choice of a director who won't just turn it into a mindless, perverted, bloodbath. Hopefully he can turn it into a very smart, perverted, bloodbath. Also the comics were very heavily inspired by westerns, I think it'd be great if the film was shot similar to a western, rather than filmed like every other comic book movie that gets released..... but not SO over the top spaghetti western, like Kill Bill Vol 2, more like a John Wayne western (which is very fitting to this comic)
Luis M

Who would they choose to play the parts?
Smiffy1

Man I've been wanting a Preacher movie for ages. It's too big a story for one film and I'm glad to hear they're looking at more than one.
thorsten d

Although I'm a huge fan of the 'Preacher'-series and think that it could be made into a really great movie - or series - I'm now definitely sure that it's - and even with Sam Mendes directing! - not possible for a US-based company to produce a ...well ... call it 'faithful' adaption of the comics. Just look at the disastrous changes made to ... well ... dumbdown Phillip Pullmans 'His Dark Materials', and try to imagine how the studios involved will try to change the overall tone of the comicbooks into something less strange, dark, violent and especially less religious (or morally?) provocative. And that's the real crux - you cant' just adapt the 'friendly' parts of Jesse Custer's (the main protagonist, by the way) story, and leave the most important - and surely disturbing - parts out. It would be just another of those soulless comic-to-movie junkheaps we all know too well. Or does anybody really believe that the average american moviegoer - by definition the target of such a movie, and not your typical comic geek or fanboy - will understand or tolerate the ideas, visions, etc. presented by a 'faithful' adaption of 'Preacher'?! I doubt that very much... so ask yourself: do you really want to see this?
nisl

Oh please, don't let it star Keanu Reeves! What he did to John Constantine...
Ben

I love love LOVE this series. I'm greatly concerned they will FUCK IT UP though. A lot of the very EXPLICIT material will be left out I'm sure and they would pick and choose from all the stories to tell a NEW story. I'm sure it will still be about Jesse Custer and Genesis inside of him. But what else would they choose to tell? His back story in Texas? Cassidy's story? Herr Starr? I may gain more faith in this if Johnny Depp plays him. I know his name is tossed around A LOT for cult movie characters, but he looks a lot like Jesse and he's from the south. We'll see what happens
http://yourmum.com Wil

Depp would be bad choice for jessee. think shoukld get that soyer guy from lost to play him.
Ross

While I loved (and I mean truely maddly deeply loved) the Preacher comics i don't see how they can ever make them into a movie. Half the apeal of the comic is that it never pulled any punches and was so dark in content the vast majority of unthinking idiots are going to deem it obscean, blasfamous and even homaphobic. Example, you can get away with characters like Fat B****** in Austin Powers but that's because he's a joke, but the Allfarther isn't, to properly depict him you need to give the viewer the sense that he really would eat a baby and throw up the remains without a moments thought or any comment because the destruction of a completely innocent life, in his warped view, just isn't important enougth to waste his thought processes on. And how are they planning to get away with depicting the direct desendent of Christ as a inbreed retard or having the St of Killers murder God. One things for sure, if they stay true to the original comic it ain't going to be shown in France. As far as I can work out the only way to make this is as several films with most of the original plot just gutted out, the bad guys arn't going to be as warped as they should be, the St of Killers isn't going to be leaving genocidal piles of bodies behind him and there won't be half the nudity (which is a shame because the intensity of Jesse's and Tulips love is what makes the story, the fight wouldn't be worth it if they wheren't so utterly and passionately addicted to each other and the best way that is depicted is by the fact that when they're alone together are no barriers between them, not even clothes.). I have a horrible feeling it's going to be crap.
http://justinashworth.com justin

I haven't read much of the preacher, but i like it. I'd love to see a good film come of it. My main focus is on the music though. and I hope someone cool is hired to score for it. I'd love to see someone like Tom Waits compose/preform/produce it. that would totally kick.
Pat

The only way this could work would to be on HBO or Showtime. I wouldn't want to see anything left out.Make it a 12 part series.
jessi

I would love to see Milo Ventimiglia (?) from HEROES play Jesse! He's got the smolering mysterious vibe down. No cheesy actors like Zach Efron or anything, please! Glenn Close could so pull off the grandmother-have you SEEN Fatal Attraction? Tulip could be tough to cast. Will they put the meat lady scene in? That was kinda gross and shocking, but, reading the books, you knew it would be when they finally showed when he was up to in there! Brad Pitt could get back into makeup from Benjamin Button and totally have the look for the meat guy-I forget his name...I think this movie will kick ass! They did Watchmen pretty faithfully, if you ask me, and they can make this one rock too....they better...
Daryl Collison

Stephen Moyer of True Blood is my pick for The Preacher. Unfortunaqtely though, he is still very much in the spotlight with his current role so it might be hard for people to see him as Jesse. I have rather unique PREACHER collection. I commissioned an artist to reproduce EVERY Preacher cover in a painting 4X the size of the original comic. He did an AMAZING job. I better end up as part of the exras on the DVD!!! STILL SO looking forward to the movie!! OR an HBO series with deifferent directors for EVERY show!!