The Flintstones (film): Difference between revisions

In 1985, producers [[Keith Barish]] and [[Joel Silver]] bought the rights for a live-action feature film version of The Flintstones and commissioned [[Steven E. de Souza]] to write a script. They eventually hired [[Richard Donner]] to direct. Silver was said to be interested in casting [[Jim Belushi]] in the role of Fred. Steven E. de Souza's script was eventually rejected and [[Mitch Markowitz]] was hired to to write a script. Said to be a cross of "The Grapes of Wrath", Markowitz commented that "I don't even remember it that well, but Fred and Barney leave their town during a terrible depression and go across the country, or whatever that damn prehistoric thing is, looking for jobs. They wind up in trailer parks trying to keep their families together. They exhibit moments of heoism and poignancy." Markowitz's version was apparently too sentimental for direct Donner, who didn't like it. Eventually, the rights were bought by Amblin Entertainment and [[Steven Spielberg]] who, after working with [[John Goodman]] on the movie [[Always]], was determined to cast him in the lead as Fred. Briant Levant was hired as director and all previous scripts were thrown out. Levant then recruited was he called an "all-star writing team" (writer friends from television show such as Family Ties, Night Court and Happy Days). "This is a sitcom on steroids," said Levant. "We were just trying to improve it." Dubbed the Flintstone Eight, the group wrote a new draft but four more roudtable sessions ensued, each of which was attended by new talent. [[Lowell Ganz]] and [[Babaloo Mandel]] took home a reported $100,000 for just two days work. <ref>{{cite web|title=Bringing "The Flintstones" to the Big Screen|work=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,302470,00.html|}}</ref>