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James Gunn Says the Film Industry Is Dying Because Movies Are Made Without Finished Scripts
James Gunn recently got candid when diagnosing what’s wrong with Hollywood. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, the co-head of DC Studios explained that the movie industry isn’t dying because people don’t care about movies anymore, it’s dying because too many films are being made without a finished script.“I do believe that the reason why the movie industry is dying is not because of people not wanting to see movies. It’s not because of home screens getting so good. The number-one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay.”That might sound like a no-brainer, but in the world of blockbuster filmmaking, especially over the last decade, it’s become common practice to greenlight and even start production on massive studio films before the script is locked. Gunn, who’s directing Superman and overseeing the new DC Universe alongside Peter Safran, isn’t willing to play that game.He offered a real-world example revealing that DC Studios recently “killed a project” because the script just couldn’t get to the right place:“Everybody wanted to make the movie. It was greenlit, ready to go. The screenplay wasn’t ready. And I couldn’t do a movie where the screenplay’s not good.”In that case, Gunn pulled the plug. Not because he didn’t want the project to happen, but because it wasn’t ready. That’s a rarity in a studio system where deadlines often matter more than story. Gunn explained that DC has managed to dodge that bullet so far with its upcoming titles.“And we’ve been really lucky so far, because Supergirl’s script was so f–king good off the bat. And then Lanterns came in, and the script was so f–king good. Clayface, same thing. So f–king good. So we have these scripts that we’ve been really lucky with or wise in our choices or whatever the combination is.”Another factor that sets his current situation apart is that Gunn says there’s no pressure from Warner Bros. Discovery to crank out a fixed number of DC films or shows just to meet some financial target. That kind of creative breathing room is rare at a major studio, and he knows it.With so many recent blockbusters underperforming and audiences growing more selective, Gunn’s stance is exactly the thing I’ve been preaching for years, so finally someone in the Hollywood machine gets it. In a time when studios are still chasing cinematic universes without clear storytelling foundations, he’s pushing a pretty simple idea… maybe start with a great script.
James Gunn recently got candid when diagnosing what’s wrong with Hollywood. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, the co-head of DC Studios explained that the movie industry isn’t dying because people don’t care about movies anymore, it’s dying because too many films are being made without a finished script.
“I do believe that the reason why the movie industry is dying is not because of people not wanting to see movies. It’s not because of home screens getting so good. The number-one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay.”
That might sound like a no-brainer, but in the world of blockbuster filmmaking, especially over the last decade, it’s become common practice to greenlight and even start production on massive studio films before the script is locked.
Gunn, who’s directing Superman and overseeing the new DC Universe alongside Peter Safran, isn’t willing to play that game.
He offered a real-world example revealing that DC Studios recently “killed a project” because the script just couldn’t get to the right place:
“Everybody wanted to make the movie. It was greenlit, ready to go. The screenplay wasn’t ready. And I couldn’t do a movie where the screenplay’s not good.”
In that case, Gunn pulled the plug. Not because he didn’t want the project to happen, but because it wasn’t ready. That’s a rarity in a studio system where deadlines often matter more than story.
Gunn explained that DC has managed to dodge that bullet so far with its upcoming titles.
“And we’ve been really lucky so far, because Supergirl’s script was so f–king good off the bat. And then Lanterns came in, and the script was so f–king good. Clayface, same thing. So f–king good. So we have these scripts that we’ve been really lucky with or wise in our choices or whatever the combination is.”
Another factor that sets his current situation apart is that Gunn says there’s no pressure from Warner Bros. Discovery to crank out a fixed number of DC films or shows just to meet some financial target. That kind of creative breathing room is rare at a major studio, and he knows it.
With so many recent blockbusters underperforming and audiences growing more selective, Gunn’s stance is exactly the thing I’ve been preaching for years, so finally someone in the Hollywood machine gets it.
In a time when studios are still chasing cinematic universes without clear storytelling foundations, he’s pushing a pretty simple idea… maybe start with a great script.
