Despite boasting a script that fluttered around Hollywood and was considered to be one of the best scripts waiting to be produced Tonight, He Comes has had a seriously rocky road through development hell.
The tale of a superhero who crash lands in Brooklyn and then causes chaos in the neighbourhood by trying to win the heart of a local housewife (trust us, it reads better than that pitch sounds) hasn't had much luck with its directors.
Written by Vincent Ngo (with a more recent polish by former X-Files producer Vince Gilligan), it was all set up to be shot by Michael Mann for Artisan Entertainment. Then a little movie called Miami Vice happened along and Mann decided he didn't want to play with Tonight anymore and the poor project was dumped on the curb like an unwanted puppy.
Fortunately, super-producer Akiva Goldsman wouldn't give up on it, and the movie was soon adopted by Sony, who attached Terminator 3 helmer Jonathan Mostow and star Will Smith. All was hunky dory until Mostow left due to that old excuse, creative differences.
Smith stayed put, and brought in Gabriele Muccino, who he'd just worked with on inspirational rags-to-riches tale The Pursuit Of Happyness. Things were bubbling for a few weeks and then the script's director kryptonite kicked in and Muccino left.
Now The Rundown and Very Bad Things' director Peter Berg is in final negotiations to take on the film. We'll see how long he lasts - current betting is two months...
Source: Production Weekly
