Writer Josh Schwartz Explains His Departure From X-Men: First Class

Writer Josh Schwartz Explains His Departure From X-Men: First Class

The Gossip Girl and Chuck writer has explained why his script was scrapped in favor of a new screenplay by Jamie Moss.

News
By JoshWilding - Mar 02, 2010 04:03 PM EST
Filed Under: X-Men: First Class
Source: MTV Splash Page



"I finished my draft," Schwartz told MTV News. "Bryan Singer came onboard the movie, who's the best possible guy to direct the 'X-Men' movies, and he wanted to make a very different kind of movie."

"He's Bryan Singer. If he wants to make an X-Men movie, they make his X-Men movie. But it was a great experience and it was an honor to work on it."

However, when asked if he could reveal any information about the direction that the movie will take he remained tight lipped, "I cannot. It's on lockdown. Sworn to secrecy. I swear to god, there's a sniper with a gun pointed at me from that building."
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ecksmanfan
ecksmanfan - 3/2/2010, 4:29 PM
Does that mean his sucked?
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 3/2/2010, 4:29 PM
I know I'm in the minority on CBM that I hated Singer's two X-Men movies and I'm not going to go through the reasons why all over again! (let's just sum it up by saying it was down to the badly written characters, poor storylines and Singer's personal feelings about homophobia rammed down our throats disguised as anti-mutantism!)

Suffice to say, I wont be going to see X-Men: First Class with the guy who's never read an X-Men comic book as director! :)
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 3/2/2010, 4:32 PM
Guys, check out Part One of my CABLE Fan Cast!!! Just click the link!
WolvieCBM
WolvieCBM - 3/2/2010, 4:33 PM
@MikeSanderson09-yeah, you are probably the only one who liked it :)
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/2/2010, 4:41 PM
hahah, I liked it too..mostly.

And i'm not going into all of the reasons why your wrong Josh;) hehe. But seriously, either way I don't really care about this.

Que Lee: "Has to be original 5 or don't bother"

Well, it ain't and they are bothering!
ecksmanfan
ecksmanfan - 3/2/2010, 4:43 PM
Oh, and I'm a fister!!! Should I be proud of that?
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 3/2/2010, 4:43 PM
LMAO, thanks tea! :) Leather eh?

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HelaGood
HelaGood - 3/2/2010, 4:44 PM


watch what you say, mr. schwartz... kitty's watching...
jimthefan
jimthefan - 3/2/2010, 4:46 PM
What ever
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 3/2/2010, 4:47 PM
ROR: Lol, we've had that discussion too many times! :) And yeah, I care as little about this as I do the Spider-Man reboot!

tea: Hahaha!!! Hilarious and more than likely true bud! On a serious note, I'm guessing Schwartz' script didnt contain enough angst and B-Movie plot devices! (Magneto want to turn everyone into mutants...original!) ;D

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ecksmanfan
ecksmanfan - 3/2/2010, 4:47 PM
@Tea- Thanks and that is just wrong.
comicb00kguy
comicb00kguy - 3/2/2010, 5:05 PM
I think Teabag is right. This guy didn't like Singer's "brainstorming" sessions. :o)

Honestly, there were parts of the first two X-Men movies I did enjoy (especially the novelty of actually seeing these characters in "real life"), but I HATED seeing them in those stupid motocross outfits instead of their costumes.

I wouldn't be surprised if Schwartz actually read some X-Men comics and wrote a pretty damn good script. He probably found out who the "first class" really is and wrote a script based on those characters, NOT centered around Wolverine. Maybe someday we'll find out.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/2/2010, 5:16 PM
I don't know what you guys are smokin! X2 was one of the greatest cbm's we have had..with or without the yellow spandex:) I understand a few purists will be pissed that they didn't follow the comic to the letter, but what can ya do, can't please everyone. Even if they were wearing costumes and no focus was paid at all to the actual emotional core of what the X Men were all about in favor of frequent action scenes;)..people would moan that Nightcrawler's tail wasn't pointy enough.
StephenStrange
StephenStrange - 3/2/2010, 5:27 PM
Personally I am going to give this thing a chance.

Like our comrade LEEE, I rather wish it could be the original five, but I am not going to let that spoil things for me.

I like Singer and I like his movies. If he blows it, then he blows it and we will all know way ahead of time, but not THIS far ahead. Yup. No sense in naysaying at this early date
ecksmanfan
ecksmanfan - 3/2/2010, 5:32 PM
@Ror & Darth- I agree. X2 is my favorite CBM. Yes, above Watchmen, TDK, Batman Begins. I never get sick of that show. The opening sequence with Nightcrawler gave me the biggest nerd-gasm of my life.

I am thrilled to see Singer back in the X-Men series and I think it's waaaay to early to be passing judgement on this film. Sothey won't have the orginal 5, which sucks, but at least they are staying relatively consistent with their own timelines and character arcs...sans Origins.
McLovin
McLovin - 3/2/2010, 5:33 PM
Ror & MikeSanderson09 - You guys are not alone on the Wolverine Origins. My cousin dated a guy who went to school with another guy, who had a roommate that also liked it.

I also happen to think that X2 is one of the better CBMs out there. It was better than the 1st one and much better than the last one. The Wolverine going berserker scene alone was worth the whole movie!
StephenStrange
StephenStrange - 3/2/2010, 5:35 PM
@ Ecksmanfan: Cool
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 3/2/2010, 5:41 PM
Like tea, I thought that X-2 was ok the first few times I watched it but personally the more I then watched it the more boring it became and the more ridiculously far from the comic it went!

OZY: I agree with you completely about Singer - I mean, his Superman movie pretty much killed off that franchise so I cant wait for him to kill off the X-Men as well! Actually, that will probably be a good thing as I havent enjoyed a single X movie so far! Let Singer direct all Fox CBM's and maybe they'll all fail so badly Marvel will get the rights back to them! :P

As for the original five thing...not the end of the world I guess - it just sticks in my throat that we have an American Emma Frost (thanks again Wolverine) and a screwed up continuity where characters like Gambit will be in their late 40's if they ever decide to make an X-Men 4!

God, I hate Fox.

Guys, check out Part One of my CABLE Fan Cast!!! Just click the link! (Yup, pimping it twice in one article!)
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/2/2010, 5:41 PM
Anyway, decisions like which characters to use and the plot etc were nothing to do with Singer, he only directed it! AND, apparently he campaigned to use the original script which featured the first 5 and Wolverine(cos he was always gonna be in it obviously) but the studio thought Angel and Beast would cost to much to realize so they altered the script.

Tea, I think that scene was intended to be that way so the kids would get a shock when they saw Nightcrawler...
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 3/2/2010, 5:45 PM
I'm going to give this a chance, just like I am with the Spidey reboot. Personally, I view Singer coming back as good news.
superdog
superdog - 3/2/2010, 5:48 PM
ror@ yeah cause it really looked like the beast makeup on kelsey grammar cost a fortune :)
McLovin
McLovin - 3/2/2010, 5:50 PM
telavizion @ if you know anything about Singer, I'm sure he would have no problem kissing you ass (among other things ...)
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/2/2010, 5:53 PM
hah, true enough Dog, but I guess they were just thinking from a pre production stage. I actually liked how Beast looked in X3..Grammar was a highlight.

McLovin, why? Is Singer......A HOMOSEXUAL!!! My Goodness, whats the world coming to eh?:)
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 3/2/2010, 5:55 PM
superdog: Lol, X-Men 3's Beast looked like one of the Blue Man Group's members with a wig on! ;) And of course that was too expensive for Singer's X-Men movies - all that leather doesnt come cheap!

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ngu13
ngu13 - 3/2/2010, 5:58 PM
im sick of the reboots an prequels ..ive got all the super hero films on blu ray . and I end up watching the cartoons more than the films ... spiderman sucked ... hulk 1 .. didnt get ... hulk 2 got iron man good .. batman begins ok . tdk .. very good take note ..fantastic four ... omg .. havent watched them since i got them punisher ill dust the webs off .. not in top 100 to watch even when ..sky gose down lol......all this hype to the avengers .. ironman 2 thor .. cap .. 2012..we will see ill book mark this .. just to show .. how we all thought at this time 4 a laught .. and show it again when the avengers film comes out ..
ngu13
ngu13 - 3/2/2010, 6:01 PM
singer should kneel before nolan lol and take note ..
superdog
superdog - 3/2/2010, 6:01 PM
ror@ i thought grammer did a good job as well, however i agree with tea he didnt quite get the essence of beast. beast is always happy and looks at the bright side of things. i didnt get that from grammer. but compared to the rest he was gold. i think beast should be a cgi character or use that davey jones face plant technology. a guy in a fur suit just shouldnt cut it these days.

josh@ being that i live on the gulf coast of florida i can vouche for that picture. they are everywhere.
jimthefan
jimthefan - 3/2/2010, 6:02 PM
i think grammars beast might be the best character all 4 films had, the 2nd was just to predictable to me idk nothing suprised me or excited me at all the night crawler fight was cool everything was just kind of saying get it over with
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/2/2010, 6:03 PM
Yeah he was a bit serious..but then, not many opportunities arose in the script for wisecracks. He did say "Oh my stars and garters":)..and there is a deleted scene in which he quotes Shakespeare which I thought was cool..if a bit cheesy. I see why they cut it.
jimthefan
jimthefan - 3/2/2010, 6:03 PM
no real good villain in the movie, i understood what they did with deathstrike but she was kind of a joke
jimthefan
jimthefan - 3/2/2010, 6:06 PM
and singer killed the franchise when they decided to open for the phoenix saga, there is so many other story arcs that would work better on screen then the phoenix saga.
ratners x3 was simply horrible but it was also doomed from the start
superdog
superdog - 3/2/2010, 6:09 PM
see and i think one of the essences of the character is that he always quotes shakespeare and other authors, even in wierd situations, and they cut it out cause they didnt think it fit. and they could have been right, but its understandable why us fans get upset when they cut out an essential character trait in the name of pacing.
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 3/2/2010, 6:09 PM
tea: Lol! Him saying, "Oh My Stars And Garters" was probably the highlight of the movie for me...which doesnt exactly say a lot! I'm a big fan of Kesley's (especially Frasier) but I didnt like his Beast all that much either - he just didnt capture the right feeling of the chracter IMO! It was ok but could've been better! (damn, I've heard that before...j/k, honest!) ;D

superdog: Ugh, scary thought! Make yourself feel better with this exclusive piece of X-3 concept art!

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jimthefan
jimthefan - 3/2/2010, 6:09 PM
one thing about x2 that really bothered me the absence of cyclops pretty much threw the hole movie, he had so little screen time when 3 rolled around and they had to recast him they said eh F*ck it he was barley in x2 lets kill him off

singer is nothing but trouble
ngu13
ngu13 - 3/2/2010, 6:09 PM
he mest up by killing patrick stewert off .. bad move .. didnt like xmen 3 at all .. another film i dont watch
superdog
superdog - 3/2/2010, 6:12 PM
the raping of the cyclops character was the absolute worst thing about the x men movies. i know alot of people dont like him but he deserved far better.
jimthefan
jimthefan - 3/2/2010, 6:14 PM
@josh im suprised u felt that way with beast

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