Dynamic directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller are two of the most well respected filmmakers in the business today, with four consecutive hits under their belts: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, The LEGO Movie, and 22 Jump Street. They're also incredibly picky about their projects (as evidenced by their passing on Ghostbusters 3 when Sony offered it to them earlier this year), but would be absolutely perfect for a character like Shazam. The LEGO Movie proved that Lord and Miller could execute tricky material with visual finesse, incredible character work, and a ton of fun, while making Warner Brothers dump truck loads of money in the process. The LEGO Movie featured several DC Comics characters (unfortunately, Shazam wasn't one of them), and showed that even a character as dark and broody as Batman could be fun and light-hearted. Not only have Lord and Miller shown that they can handle the visual effects and spectacle needed to pull off a big summer tentpole film; they've proven that blockbuster filmmaking doesn't have to be mindless, loud entertainment. If the executives at Warner Bros. are smart, they will have already approached Lord and Miller for a superhero project. Hopefully for us, they're considering it, as they would easily show that not all DC films have to be dour affairs. There's room for a fun, energetic superhero film in there as well.
James is a 24 year old writer and filmmaker living in Portland, OR. He attended college for graphic design and writes for various sources on the web about film, television, and entertainment.
You can view all of his work on his website, www.thereeljames.wordpress.com
