Writer-producer Laeta Kalogridis is building a Hollywood resume that would make anyone in the industry jealous. After getting her start writing and producing the short-lived DC Comics-inspired Birds of Prey TV series, Kalogridis graduated to feature movies by writing the screenplays for Alexander and Pathfinder.
While those movies underwhelmed at the box office, Kalogridis had the distinction of joining James Cameron as executive producer of the box-office juggernaut, Avatar, which just took the top spot for the 7th week in a row. And, if that alone isn't enough to make her one of the most important women in Hollywood today, Kalogridis wrote the screenplay for and is executive produced Martin Scorsese's latest film, Shutter Island.
In a recent interview with MoviesOnline, Kalogridis spoke about her upcoming projects and what is was like working with two of the most esteemed directors in the history of cinema.
Well, it's very much apples to oranges because they are such different people. I have to say Avatar has been such a rewarding experience. I mean, I wrote Shutter Island while we were filming Avatar. That's how long Avatar has been going on. I've been doing Avatar for 4-1/2 years. In terms of working experience, I can certainly say that one of them was longer and I can also say that ... I mean, I love Jim. I love Jim. I've actually been working with him off and on for a little over 8 years now and we've written two other scripts together. It was different primarily in that obviously the personalities of the two directors are very different, but they're both exceedingly focused perfectionists with very singular visions. So, in that way, it's similar. But obviously, in terms of their directing style, they're just very different men. I tell people I'll never have another year like the year where I got to work with both of them. I'll never have another year like that because everything about both experiences was wonderful for me.
Back in October, it was announced that Kalogridis had been hired to write the screenplay for Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks' big-screen adaptation of the popular Ghost in the Shell manga (Japanese for "comic book"). Kalogridis confirmed the news and said that her screenplay was based more on the original source material than on any of the subsequent adaptations.
Ghost in the Shell was originally the manga. The anime came from the original graphic novel and then — and that anime, as you know, is a relatively famous, groundbreaking piece of material — also generated two seasons of an animated television show as well. And this is an adaptation of the original manga, the original comic book that sort of began everything.
Kalogridis also shared that she is writing a "fun horror movie" called Demonkeeper that will be aimed at a wider audience than her more latest movie.
It's certainly not a hostile kind of horror movie. It's a little bit of a — in my mind anyway — a throwback to the really fun movies when I was a kid, those great Amblin films like Gremlins. I mean, you know, just the really wonderful kind of family movie that you can take [the kids to] that has the scary stuff for kids but that everyone can enjoy. I have children so I really like the idea of something we can all go see together. Shutter Island would not be that movie.
Posted 02.01.10 by BrentJS