The Writer of DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION Offers an Apology to Fans for That Terrible Film
Seven years after Dragonball Evolution was released in theaters, screenwriter Ben Ramsey wrote a sincere apology for how terrible the film was. Dragonball definitely deserved a better film. So why are fans just now getting an apology? Well, Dragonball fan and writer Derek Padula reached out to Ramsey to conduct an interview with him for a book he’s writing.
Padula ended up receiving an apology addressed to all the fans everywhere, and Padula published it on his website. Here is the apology:
I knew that it would eventually come down to this one day. Dragonball Evolution marked a very painful creative point in my life. To have something with my name on it as the writer be so globally reviled is gut wrenching. To receive hate mail from all over the world is heartbreaking. I spent so many years trying to deflect the blame, but at the end of the day it all comes down to the written word on page and I take full responsibility for what was such a disappointment to so many fans. I did the best I could, but at the end of the day, I ‘dropped the dragon ball.’
I went into the project chasing after a big payday, not as a fan of the franchise but as a businessman taking on an assignment. I have learned that when you go into a creative endeavor without passion you come out with sub-optimal results, and sometimes flat out garbage. So I’m not blaming anyone for Dragonball but myself. As a fanboy of other series, I know what it’s like to have something you love and anticipate be so disappointing.
To all the Dragon Ball fans out there, I sincerely apologize.
I hope I can make it up to you by creating something really cool and entertaining that you will like and that is also something I am passionate about. That’s the only work I do now.
Best,
Ben
It’s always nice when someone actually steps up to the plate and takes responsibility for the failure of something. It’s not an easy thing to do! Hell, the guy admits that he took the job for a paycheck and that he wasn’t really a fan. That’s a rare thing for someone to fess up to these days. There’s a lot of filmmakers out there who will claim to be fans of projects they are working on when clearly that’s not the case.
I’d say it the studio's fault for not hiring someone who was actually a fan of the series. The guy needed a writing job to survive in the industry. I can understand that, but had the studio actually hired someone who knew what the film needed, we probably would have gotten a strong movie that fans would have enjoyed.
A lot of people had a role in making this movie, and even though Ramsey is taking the blame, the awfulness of the film isn’t completely his fault. Remember, the movie was made at Fox during a time when they didn’t even really know what to do with the X-Men franchise. Dragonball Evolution came out in 2009, which is the same year the studio released X-Men: Origins: Wolverine, so it wasn’t the only shit film to come out at that time.
Via: io9