Remember how last week we told you about Law Abiding Citizen, the Jamie Foxx/Gerard Butler vigilante drama that Frank Darabont was directing? The film, trite Hollywood genre fare, looked to be a real departure from Mr. Darabont’s normal oeuvre, causing us some quiet excitement. Whoops! It looks like a "jk" might be in order.
Ain’t It Cool News reported over the weekend that Mr. Darabont has left the project over dreaded "creative differences," and apparently the divorce was "ugly." Rumor has it that the director didn’t like the way the film had developed and flipped his lid. Originally it was set to be about a "criminal mastermind" who holds the city of Los Angeles hostage. However, last week the plot had changed to the story of a grieving vigilante set to punish the people who killed his family. Either way, we’re not sure why Mr. Darabont would be upset; both plots sound about as fresh as three day old bread.
Regardless, this is disturbing news. It’s yet another project that Mr. Darabont has quit or not seen through to completion (writing Indiana Jones being the other high profile miss). Obviously, this has caused some to question Mr. Darabont’s attitude. In the talkback section of the Ain’t It Cool story, someone calling themselves "Tom Cullen" says that he heard Mr. Darabont is a "prick to work with," citing two crew members from The Majestic and an episode of The Shield that Mr. Darabont directed as the source. Uh-oh. You know if the Ain’t It Cool talkback crowd is turning on the director of The Shawshank Redemption, something has gone off the tracks.