Tales From Development Hell: The Greatest Movies Never Made? Paperback – February 28, 2012

If you follow movies at all then you know that the rumor mongering that occurs when a hot property makes its way around Hollywood can be more interesting than most of the movies that are actually produced each year. This book offers essays on several projects that either never saw the screen or eventually made it as a product that bears little resemblance to the original idea that generated the excitement to begin with. (For example the Burton Planet of the Apes, The Hot Zone, Crusade etc.) If you love movies and like to dwell on what could have been this book is a fun read. My two main criticisms are one, the Kindle version seems to contain some typos and two, the final chapter is about the author's own unproduced screenplays. If he had led off with this chapter I wouldn't have minded as much but to go from James Cameron and The Fantastic Voyage to the author's inability to get TJ Hooker The Movie made and then to have the book end is a bit of letdown. Also it struck me as odd that the book retained the British English spellings. I realize the author is from the UK but don't publishing companies typically make those revisions for the US version? Thought that was kind of odd. Anyway, worth reading if you enjoy movies. PS: I'm surprised Jon Peters has not been assassinated by a movie nerd yet.

The book reads very much like a history text book on the development process of various films, and I don't mean that in a negative way. I think this is a very good read for people that are extreme film buffs and are also interested in the (sometimes long and absurd) development process of a major motion picture. I think you would have to be highly engaged with film history to appreciate this book. That being said I can't imagine why anyone would think otherwise after reading the description. If you are already considering buying this, you will probably like it quite a bit.

I hadn't read the authors first book so all of these movies were new to me. Some of this will make you frustrated that they never went through and made some of these. A good example is Sandman which has been development hell for quite a while now. Its a quick read and you will have a hard time giving up on certain chapters until you finally see the rug pulled out of the writers hands.

I absolutely loved this book. I'd heard of "Development Hell" before, but never knew much about it. The multitude of stories about movies that never got made, or movies that went through sheer hell before they finally were made, were all extremely interesting. There were more than a couple failed movies that I would have loved to see finished! The book gives a great insight into the behind-the-scenes of movie-making without being overly technical or difficult to understand. The book is extremely well-written and comprehensible, and I'm definitely going to seek out more books by this author.

We've all heard anecdotal stories about films that died in development hell, but David Hughes chronicles many of them in more gory detail than one might imagine. A fascinating look into how even great scripts sometimes don't make it to the big screen.

fun book, came on time and in a good shape, nothing to complain, really liked it, i was looking for it for a time and finally found it here. good product

Possibly the most boring book I've ever read. I can only get through a few pages before I almost die of boredom. If I were on death row, I would rather the electric chair than have to sit through someone reading this to me.

"Trying to make a movie in Hollywood is like trying to grill a steak by having a succession of people coming into the room and breathing on it." - Douglas AdamsWe've all heard the rumors before; whether it was the incredulous reaction many of us had to the notion of Nicolas Cage portraying, `The Man of Steel' in Tim Burton's (ill-fated) Superman Lives or the anticipation of finally seeing Neil Gaiman's immensely popular comic book series, The Sandman adapted to the silver screen...only to have nothing materialize and simply disappear into the annals of history.In this newly expanded edition, author David Hughes just might agree with the assertion that perhaps Dante should have revised his Divine Comedy to include a 10th Level: Development HellIn Tales From Development Hell: The Greatest Movies Never Made?, Hughes recounts the arduous and oft-frustrating movie development process, in which many promising-sounding projects and scripts either never see the light of day or endure years of endless rewrites and a revolving door of actors/actresses, producers, writers and directors - all of whom become continuously attached/detached from a project over time - but not before attempting to place their individual (and usually self-serving) stamp on the project...which, in turn, begins the rewrite process all over again...rinse & repeat.Hughes did his research and the result it a concise, entertaining and interesting glimpse into how the sausages are made in Hollywood. Each "chapter" is a self-contained anecdote | case study relating to either a project that eventually got made - albeit sometimes over a decade after the original script was submitted - to projects that languished in Development Hell for years and were eventually scraped...but not before numerous rewrites and (in many cases) millions of dollars were invested, and subsequently lost.As quoted in the book, Producer Jane Hamsher describes development as:"The writer turns in a script. The producers and studio executives read it, give the writer their `development' notes, and he goes back and rewrites as best he can, trying to make everyone happy. If it comes back and it's great, the studio and producers will try and attach a director and stars (if they haven't already) and hopefully the picture will get made."However, as Hughes points out, this is rarely the case.Instead, what occurs is a process in which - to justify their huge salaries and obtaining a credit on the film - everyone who touches the script wants to put their stamp on it, which usually entails additional rewrites...often times straying dramatically from the original source material. Let's see if I can give a more truncated version:Writer submits script -> Producers read & provide notes -> Script is rewritten, incorporating the changes -> Director is hired -> Director has own ideas -> Director brings on new writers -> Script is rewritten -> Producers or studio head adds notes -> Script is rewritten -> No one is happy -> Director quits -> New Director is hired -> New notes -> New writers -> New Script -> Actors are hired -> Actors want script changed to suit them or give them the best lines -> Script rewritten -> No one is happy -> New writers -> Actor quits -> New actor hired -> New notes -> New script -> Etc -> Etc -> Etc.Although the book details many well known films that were eventually produced, there are also just as many that went unproduced.I think it was apropos for the author to use a `?` at the end of the book's sub-title, as it illustrates that there is absolutely no way of knowing whether or not the best version of the script is what finally made it onto the screen and/or whether a better film could have been shot, had the project not toiled in Development Hell for so long and with so many changes.Some examples of projects / films detailed in the book:How Smoke & Mirrors became the hottest script in town...only to magically disappearThe long road to re-imagining The Planet of the ApesThe development of the 4th and final Indian Jones movieHow Batman Begins almost never made it back to GothamHow making the leap from video games to the big screen was a challenge for Tomb RaiderHow Neil Gaiman's wildly popular graphic novels turned to quicksand during developmentThe not-so-"preeeeecious" development path to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the RingsI mention the "?" at the end of the subtitle, as I doubt that there are many people reading this that believe Tomb Raider ever had a chance of being considered one of the `greatest movies ever made', regardless of how good the script was. However, I believe that what Hughes is saying is that we may never know how good it (and the other movies chronicled) could have been, had it not been locked in Development Hell and with so many changes to appease the arbitrary whims (or potential box office profit or budget concerns) of the studio, director(s), writer(s), actor(s) egos and producers.Throughout the book, Hughes ultimately asks the reader to repeatedly pose the question, "what if?"...Tales From Development Hell: The Greatest Movies Never Made? is an often-times interesting and insightful read, although at times it does suffer from almost too much irrelevant / uninteresting detail (admittedly something I am also guilty of).This is not necessarily a criticism to be levied at the author, per se, but rather at the reality of there simply being "too many cooks in the kitchen" as it pertains to the convoluted nature of Development Hell. For example, as I was reading about a film, so many names would be attributed to quotes (with only brief exposition), that I found myself - on more than one occasion - thinking, "Who the hell was that again? The 6th writer? The 3rd Director? The 2nd Producer to be associated with the project?"Hughes did an otherwise outstanding job of conveying the frustrating and arduous nature of being trapped in Development Hell.Additionally, I found the treasure trove of insider tidbits to be extremely interesting and entertaining...especially since I consider myself to be a huge film buff. For instance, reading about Batman (a personal fav) and how George Clooney feared that he might have killed the once-popular franchise with his campy portrayal of The Caped Crusader in 1997's Batman & Robin - truth be known, a road that the franchise had been going down before he donned the cowl - and then reading about the effort to resurrect "The Dark Knight." This included a script based upon Frank Miller's popular graphic novel, Batman: Year One, and through to speculation that Clint Eastwood, Matt Damon, Keanu "Whoa!" Reeves, Ben Afflect, Bill Murray (?!), Colin Farrell and Christian Bale could possibly be the next Bruce Wayne (despite the fact that Clooney was contracted to play Batman in two movies). Hell, even Val Kilmer reportedly wanted another shot at it! Let's all just take a moment to be grateful that didn't happen...but I digress.Indeed, other "fly on the wall" insights and speculation included:Actresses who could play Lara Croft: Elizabeth Hurley, Diane Lane, Sandra Bullock, Denise Richards, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Demi Moore, Jennifer Lopez, Famke Janssen and even Anna Nicole Smith (yikes!)The long and arduous road to making the 4th Indiana Jones film, which seemed less about "Development Hell" and more about scheduling hell = trying to coordinate the availability of Ford, Lucas and Spielberg, and getting them to occupy the same space at the same time...likely creating a Black Hole in the processThe fact that Minority Report almost became a sequel to Total RecallAnd how a monkey banging away on a keyboard probably could have written better treatments than some of the early attempts to bring back, "The Planet of the Apes."All of this made for a very compelling read, especially for anyone interested in the process of movie-making and everything it entails...for better or for rewrite.

Tales from Development Hell chronicles the good, great, idiotic and downright plain barmy ideas that film makers have had in trying to guide film scripts and ideas to the big screen. Remember that old phrase "too many cooks spoil the broth?" Well, you get that here in spades as David Hughes catalogues Hollywood's continual quest to create box office gold which usually results in cinematic lead.Whilst some of these films did eventually hit the big screen (Total Recall, Planet of the Apes, The Lord of The Rings), the journey to get to the end is the most tantalizing as Hughes describes the countless different directors, scripts and visions that fell by the wayside. Even more interesting are the "ones that got away" such as Crusade, Isobar, The Sandman and various reboots of Batman. All in all, if you have even the remotest interest in film or often ask "who thought that would be a good idea?" this is about the best place to start.

A wonderful and easy read as you navigate the development of some of Hollywood's hottest intellectual properties. It's both funny and shocking in turn. It is frustrating and plain stupid at times just how Hollywood "works". There are tantalising "what if" and "if only" projects that either never made the silver screen or were transformed into something else. I've purposely avoided giving any spoilers; suffice to say that if you enjoy reading about movies you will love this book. I zipped through it and couldn't put it down. Great fun.

This is a fascinating insight into the way Hollywood works - or rather doesn't work. Based on this interesting book, I would not want to work there. Many of the stories here make me wonder how they ever get films made. However, it's not a book to read in one continuous go as some of the stories, inevitably, do sound similar. That said, some of them are funny, outrageous and fascinating, so it's well worth looking at, especially if you've ever thought of writing a script.

The book was good and I enjoyed reading about both the scripts that made it and those that didn't.I bought off the back of the free sample.The only reason this is a 4 and not a 5 is that sometimes there was a little too much back a forth in the stories that could have been summed up in a paragraph or two.Would be interested in reading more stories like these. For movie lovers really,obviously.

Although it's a little pessimistic in spirit, this is a great insight into just how exciting development can be. I really enjoyed reading about scripts I've never read.