Edward Norton Not Given Writing Credit For The Incredible Hulk?
According to IESB, Zak Penn has been given the sole writing credit for The Incredible Hulk, despite the fact that Edward Norton re-wrote his draft. It is well known that one of the only reasons Norton agreed to do Hulk were if he had creative input, in this case re-writing the script.
The IESB contacted Zak Penn’s office to ask about the credit. They confirmed Penn will be receiving sole writing credit on the film.
Universal reps are saying, “WGA determined the writing credit not Zak or Edward or Universal or Marvel. WGA always determines final writing credit for our films right before the film comes out. Up until that time, we include the writers on the project to date.”
A call to the WGA got this response, “Zak Penn is receiving sole credit for story and screenplay.”
Apparently, there was arbitration, which is quite common since two screenwriters were listed. The WGA sided with Zak Penn.
In my opinion it wouldn’t be hard just to give them both credit. I’m not a WGA script expert but it would seem the logical and fair thing to do. It’s not as though the script had input from many writers such as Catwoman (14 writers in total). In cases where there are lots of writers then I suppose this process of choosing is better, but when only two writers have worked on the script it would see, fair to credit both.
If everyone from the catering ladies to the lighting guys get credited than surely one of the writers should get credit somewhere.
Edward Norton and Marvel Studios Reportedly Arguing Over The Incredible Hulk
“I’ve got the touch.”
Over at Deadline Hollywood Daily, Nikki Finke is reporting that actor Edward Norton and Marvel Studios are in an escalating tizzy over editing and final cut on The Incredible Hulk. Oh boy, this is not good. Norton, who pretty much received the right to rework Zak Penn’s script however he wanted, is known for having strong feelings about the end product. His arguments with director Tony Kaye over American History X (Norton won) are the stuff of legend.
Finke reports that Norton and Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel are currently “holed up” alongside director Louis Leterrier (who is oddly mentioned in the news item like a third wheel) in hopes of reaching an amicable decision. It’s not clear what the arguments are over and it seems that, like fanboys, even the insiders have little idea how the $150 million flick is shaping up.
Another unnamed source seems to throw some water on the flame, saying…
“There is a very healthy exchange of ideas going on. Discussions now are even more heated. But some of Ed’s best movies have had this exact dynamic to them. Everyone’s in the process of figuring it out and working it out. But I expect it’ll all get resolved pretty quickly.”
With The Incredible Hulk’s teaser trailer, yes only a teaser, appearing tomorrow night on MTV, it’s at once worrisome and kinda sweet how cloaked this project is from the public eye. Opening on June 13th, its secrecy has almost seemed like a Sun Tzu marketing strategy when compared to The Dark Knight and Iron Man; but while a secretive approach might work for a never-before-seen character that’s eagerly anticipated, we’ve seen Ang Lee’s Hulk already. Either Leterrier’s Hulk is going to blow us away tomorrow or get a big “meh!” It’s really that simple. And Norton is pretty sharp, so hopefully Marvel listens to him. As much as I pined for Liv Tyler in that Aerosmith video, Norton is the only reason why I’m interested in the remake.
Discuss: Does Norton’s disagreement with Marvel over final cut bother you? What are you expecting from the teaser tomorrow? Do you find it cool to know so little about the film this far in?
The Truth Behind Edward Norton’s Hulk Screenplay
News broke at Comic-Con 2007 that actor Edward Norton wrote the script for The Incredible Hulk. It was an announcement that virtually shocked everyone. The production had announced that X3 screenwriter Zak Penn had written a script long ago. Thankfully now the Los Angeles Times has connected the dots. The newspaper explains that Penn had been working on the script for a year before Norton even became involved. He wrote three drafts over that period, but left the project unfinished when he left to promote his movie The Grand.
When Norton came in to meet about starring as Banner in April, the film had already been greenlighted and there were just three months before shooting was scheduled to begin, just after Independence Day. But Norton had well-established (if underground) writing experience and strong ideas about how to separate the film from any confusion over its connection to the 2003 Ang Lee version by casting it in a more distinct, starting-over vein like “Batman Begins” or “Casino Royale.”
So Norton’s initial deal included payment not just for his acting services but for his writing talents too, with his draft contractually stipulated to be turned around in less than a month. As it turned out, Norton delayed work on another screenplay job to do “Hulk,” and he continues to tweak the script as principal photography hits its halfway point outside Toronto.
Norton has done a lot of uncredited writing work over the last few years, for movies including Frida and Red Dragon. The Times claims that Norton actually showed up on set “with new script pages not only for his character but for Dr. Hannibal Lecter as well.” Rumor has it that director Brett Ratner fought with Norton over the issue.
I have heard that many directors (especially writer/directors) are reluctant to work with the Academy Award nominated actor. But who really knows the extent of Norton’s writing abilities? He did seem to have a good enough grasp over the Hulk comic book and the resulting tv and movie adaptations. Norton showed an incredible certainty which could infused confidence in the crowd of Hall-H. But last minute rewrites never usually turn out well.
Hulk and Iron Man to Appear in The Avengers Movie?
In the past I’ve viciously bashed Zak Penn as an overrated hack. He gets a lot of credit for being one of the writers on Bryan Singer’s X2, which many consider to be one of the best comic book adaptations of all time. But truth be told, he’s written a lot of crap, including the Elektra movie, X-Men: The Last Stand and an early draft of Fantastic Four. Anyway, when it comes to comic book movies, Penn is Hollywood’s golden boy of the moment. Not only is he writing the script for The Incredible Hulk do-over, but also a young X-Men spinoff and a film based on Marvel’s The Avengers. Penn now tells MTV that he hopes to bring both Hulk and Iron Man on screen together in the superhero team-up.
“‘Avengers’ is definitely going to happen; the idea was always to do a crossover with multiple superheros,” Penn revealed of the superhero tag team group, Marvel’s answer to DC’s Justice League. “I’m waiting to let ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Hulk’ come out because those are two characters that could appear in it. I used to think that movie would be impossible to make but now I feel like it’s not.”
Tagged by Marvel as “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”, the Avengers originally consisted of Ant-Man, Wasp, Thor, Iron Man, and the Hulk. But The Hulk departed very early on (The Avengers vol. 1, #2) allowing Captain America to join. But the roster has always been fluid, allowing a rotating group of super-heroes to partake in the team. But most people assumed that Hulk and Iron Man would not be included in the film, especially since high profile actors (Edward Norton and Robert Downey Jr) are playing the characters in their own big blockbuster releases. One of the big problems of doing another X-Men movie is getting all the stars to sign on. With huge actors it’s harder to schedule and way more expensive. But does Paramount believe they could secure both Norton and Downey to a team-up movie?