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F
or a hardcore comicbook fan like Tim
Miller, the opportunity to make your
feature film debut with one of
Marvel’s cult favourites was a dream come true.
However, it almost didn’t happen.
Co-founder of Blur Studio, which specialises in
visual effects and animation for the film and video
game industries, Miller (pictured right with star Ryan
Reynold) was taken on as director in 2011 and even
went as far as shooting some test footage. However,
the project became bogged down in development hell
at the studio and for a time
Deadpool
looked, err, dead
in the water.
“We got it to a point where it was either make it or
not, and Fox decided not,” he recalls. “Hollywood is
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full of projects that don’t happen, so it wasn’t like
I was shocked – but I was crushed. When it didn’t
happen, the writers and I - and Ryan too - we really
never gave up. My agent said, ‘dude, just walk away’,
but I loved it so much. We kept pushing and two
things happened: the footage we’d shot leaked, and
Simon Kinberg came on board as a producer. Fox
really trusts him, and he’s a real gatekeeper for all
the Marvel stuff at Fox. Simon said, ‘look, the script
is great, and Tim’s not a total loser. I really think you
guys should make this film.'"
It proved to be a very smart move.
Deadpool
is now the highest grossing ‘R’ rated movie in
history, with a global box office take of more
than $1 billion and unsurprisingly a sequel
Deadpool
director Tim Miller explains why he never gave up on bringing
Marvel Comics’ foul-mouthed superhero to the big screen.
BETTER OFF
DEADPOOL