Screenwriter John August Shares His Rejected CATWOMAN Movie Pitch and How a Studio Exec Responded To It
John August, the writer behind films such as Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, and Frankenweenie, has shared details on a pitch he made to Warner Bros. for a solo Catwoman film back in 1998.
After Michelle Pfeiffer played Catwoman in Batman Returns the popularity of the character exploded. They spent years trying to get the film off the ground until finally in 2004 they made that movie with Halle Berry, which was terrible!
August's version of the film seemed like it would have been much better! But, the studio had no idea what they wanted from it. His first initial tweet says it all:
Catwoman at Warners in 1998. Sequel with Michelle Pfeiffer returning. Producer excited. After pitch, exec insisted it needed to be Sarah Michelle Gellar and involve hair-washing scene, then showed me Matrix trailer. #ShareYourRejections
— John August (@johnaugust) August 16, 2018
Yeah, that's totally sounds like something that a studio executive would say in the 90s. August then proceed to share the following story details for his pitch:
UPDATE: I found my old pitch and I actually still love it. Dated January 13, 1999. Also, I used to be a double-spacer. pic.twitter.com/mMngeQ2XCt
— John August (@johnaugust) August 16, 2018
A few more paragraphs. #catwoman #shareyourejections pic.twitter.com/Q0gG8CjfMX
— John August (@johnaugust) August 16, 2018
Last chunk for now. This would be about page 10 of the script, had I written it. #catwoman #ShareYourRejections pic.twitter.com/Nfq0Czj8Go
— John August (@johnaugust) August 16, 2018
One more bite. Keep in mind, these were just my own notes for the pitch, thus the many typos (incl “Selena”). These would and should *never* be left behind. #catwoman #ShareYouRejections pic.twitter.com/rCHziIteOK
— John August (@johnaugust) August 17, 2018
It's a shame that Warner Bros. didn't know a decent story for the character when it was staring them right in the face. Some might argue that not much has changed about the studio over the years in regards to their DC film properties.
What do you think about the August's pitch for Catwoman?