Edward Norton releases statement about the cutting of THE INCREDIBLE HULK

When you hire Edward Norton for your movie you are not only getting a terrific dramatic actor but you also get his input as a writer/producer/director - no matter if you want it or not. Just ask Tony Kaye. He will give you all the gory details over what happened with American History X. So we've heard all sorts of rumors about the production of Marvel's second attempt at cracking one of their A-list heroes The Incredible Hulk including Edward Norton's huge input in re-writing the screenplay and also his desire to recut the movie in post. In a pretty lengthy article over at EW, they suggest that although director Louis Letterrier used Norton's redrafted script - it is actually his final film that he collaborated with Marvel that will be seen on screen this Summer and not Norton's cutting.

This cut will be action orientated and more in tone with Iron Man, Spider-Man 3 and the rest of the recent Marvel movies. Norton wanted a longer, more detailed and dramatic piece but Marvel have stuck with what has made them tons of cash over the last eight years. Here's a press release from Norton letting us know the situation of the film...

Like so many people I've loved the story of The Hulk since I was a kid, so it was thrilling when Marvel asked me to write and help produce an altogether new screen incarnation, as well as play Bruce Banner. I grew up reading Marvel Comics and always loved the mythic dimension and contemporary themes in the stories, and I€™m proud of the script I wrote. In every phase of production, including the editing, working with Louis Leterrier has been wonderful...I've never had a better partner, and the collaboration with all the rest of the creative team has been terrific. Every good movie gets forged through collaboration, and different ideas among people who are all committed and respect the validity of each other's opinions is the heart of filmmaking. Regrettably, our healthy process, which is and should be a private matter, was misrepresented publicly as a 'dispute,' seized on by people looking for a good story, and has been distorted to such a degree that it risks distracting from the film itself, which Marvel, Universal and I refuse to let happen. It has always been my firm conviction that films should speak for themselves and that knowing too much about how they are made diminishes the magic of watching them. All of us believe The Incredible Hulk will excite old fans and create new ones and be a huge hit...our focus has always been to deliver the Hulk that people have been waiting for and keep the worldwide love affair with the big green guy going strong.

Big nasty black clouds hang over this movie as far as I'm concerned. I would hate to see The Incredible Hulk franchise die again after one movie but it's so difficult to get excited over this one, even with an attempted reassurance like this.