Inside Secrets: Chuck Russell Reveals Untold Stories Behind Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx’s Iconic Film Collateral
Ashely
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Now, interestingly, it doesn’t sound like with the blob and with these female Western stories, it doesn’t sound like you wrote a spec script and went in with that you had the rights to the blob, you had the rights to this book. Is that correct? And if it is correct, why not write a spec and then you’re going in with it.
Chuck Russell
Right. But on Gentle Tamers, the book was kind of a critical success, there were historical stories and there were a number of them. I might have written a spec script at the time, but it was actually a little bit of a tough sell. To my surprise, you know, 10 years later, it wouldn’t have been because it’s very popular to make this kind of story. It still might be a good book to make. But on the blob, I had to get the rights before I wrote a spec script or I’m wasting my time. That’s how I know. Yeah. And I needed to talk to Jack Harris, who’s passed away now, who was the original producer and liked the independent spirit. It turned out Jack Harris was an independent filmmaker himself and admired a young guy with an ambition. And he didn’t have much to lose, nothing was happening with the property at the time. There had been another remake or two, I think Larry Hagman, of all people, shot one. But it didn’t really succeed. And I did have a background already in visual effects from just with something I was always handy with visual effects. And some people, some people knew that. So it helped. But but yeah, I didn’t go to New Line until I had a script on the blob and some artwork.
