With production beginning just about year ago, we won’t even see Pete Travis‘ Judge Dredd remake for almost another year. We got news of a fall 2012 release date earlier this summer, but I’ve wondered why the long post-production process and what the hold-up is. 24 Frames now lets us what the problem could be.
The remake of Sylvester Stallone‘s 1995 actioner is titled simply Dredd and screenwriter Alex Garland (Sunshine, 28 Days Later), who also serves as producer here, may be adding another credit on the film. Travis, whose last theatrical release was 2008’s Vantage Point, has been reportedly booted from the editing process due to “creative disagreements.”
Their sources say that Garland is heading up the post-production with producers Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich. His crafting of the film may lead to a co-director credit on the film, if he so desires. The UK production would need to file a petition with Directors Guild of Great Britain in order to start the process, something that wouldn’t happen until the picture is in a complete stage.
Although Garland hasn’t directed anything in his career, if he decides to helm possible re-shoots, this could be favorable in the decision whether he deserves the credit. But if the producers aren’t happy with footage, why would Garland want to take responsibility and have that credit to his name? Unless he is able to rework the original footage to deliver something up to his standards, I don’t see the positives of vying for credit.
Another source does note that Travis, while not part of the editing, is still be allowed to see progress on the film. Every so often post-production struggles leak out. We heard rumors of Universal locking out director Jim Sheridan in the editing room on the his recent critical and financial bomb Dream House. There is also Jerry Bruckheimer taking over Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time from director Mike Newell, and we all know how that turned out. We’ll have to wait almost a year to see the results, but as the film gets closer to locking, I’m sure this is only the beginning of the controversy. My question still remains: what promise did the producers see in the director of Vantage Point in the first place?
Update: The original source has now been updated reflecting a joint statement by Pete Travis and Alex Garland. Read it below.
During all stages of the filmmaking, ‘Dredd’ has been a collaboration between a number of dedicated creative parties. From the outset we decided on an unorthodox collaboration to make the film. This situation has been misinterpreted. To set the record straight, Pete was not fired and remains a central part of the collaboration, and Alex is not seeking a co-director credit. We are all extremely proud of the film we have made, and respectfully suggest that it is judged on viewing when its released next year.
Synopsis:
DREDD takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot – if necessary. The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and the frenetic vision of director Peter Travis bring DREDD to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film that returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s revered comic strip.
Dredd will hit theaters September 21st, 2012 and also stars Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey.
What do you make of this post-production controversy? Should Garland get some credit just for advising editing?