Before JJ Abrams was selected to write and direct Mission: Impossible III, the job was in the hands of Joe Carnahan. The director of such films as Smokin’ Aces spent around 15 months working on the film until he had a falling out with Paramount and Tom Cruise. When Abrams came on board he threw out the Carnahan script and started from scratch. Now Carnahan claims his version would have "kicked the s**t out" of the Abrams version. Carnahan touts how his M:I:III would have had a gun toting Carrie-Anne Moss, a sexy Scarlett Johansson, and Kenneth Branagh playing the villain (none of whom were ever officially signed on to do the film). Although Abrams’ film did fall short of hopes, it still grossed $400 Million before DVD sales and was regarded by most critics to be the best of the franchise.
End of the road for Six Degrees
Abrams also got a bit of bad (but expected) news on the TV front. ABC have finally pulled the plug on Six Degrees. The show was brought back after a long hiatus and retooling, but still ended up last in the timeslot and has been removed from the roster. Abrams’ Lost has already been picked up and What About Brian is still still ‘on the bubble.’ With all his other projects, it never appeared that JJ had much involvement beyond his Executive Producer credit on Six Degrees.
More on Carnahan at Hollywood.com
More on Six Degrees at Variety
Someone’s bitter
… and someone else is losing his mojo.
Of course Carnahan’s version of MI:III was better than JJ’s. And of course he never has to prove it. Hey, guess what! MY version of of MI:III would’ve made a gazillion more dollars than Carnahan’s version and make HIS look like it was written by a bitter whiny little girl. Prove me wrong, Carnahan, PROVE ME WRONG!
Who the f— is Joe Carnahan?
He’s the guy who almost grossed 550 million worldwide.
Oh my God people, please this is not Yahoo.News.Com or the cover of a major newspaper. If some says a “naughty” word print it. It’s a good word to use that “s” word. Print it. Justman says another word and he said it right and it was printed. Print curse words for the love of Jesus.
God help us when Star Trek XI is released…………..btw Jon you are absolutley right and Abrams is over rated!
geez, not another thread de-railed by the love of or the disgust of profanity. I don’t really care if it is spelled out or if the word is full of asterisks to “censor” it…..we all know what it means.
It’s clear the quote was saying “shit” whether all the letters were there or not. As long as I can read it and understand the intent, whether its spelled or just implied doen’t make a bit of difference. The perception is there regardless of how it’s presented. No biggie. Now if the director has said it, but it was entirely omitted…that would be a problem.
As far as this Carnahan character goes, honestly I’ve never heard of him. I love MI 3, but I can’t argue the fact that Scarlett Johansson would have been infinitely more entertaining to look at!
I thought Joe Carnahan was the Missouri Senator who was killed in a plane and his wife strepped and elected to the office. But I then realized that was Mel Carnahan.
Oh yeah and my version I did on a camcorder with a casio kyboard and action figures would’ve kicked the poop of Carnahan’s and Abrams’ versions.
FACT! Prove me wrong with no evidence…
-cs™
If Joe Carnahan wants to prove his point why not have him post his entire MI:III script on-line and let the fans decide which is better. Since Paramount will never option that particular script NOW, he has nothing to lose in doing this to prove his point. Not to mention if any producers like what they read in said script, he could have it be a calling card that might get him some other writing work. Either put up or shut up!
Yikes, do we ever need some real news. No offense, Anthony and all.
That’s ok, my upcoming “Star Trek XVII: Federation League” film will annihilate the winter 2017 Box office, break Titanics cumulative worldwide net, and sweep the academy awards with an unprecedented 27 oscars causing the award and ceremony to be re-christened the “Joshie” awards.
You guys don’t have to worry, just grin and bear it through a handful more Trek films then you will get to the much deserved icing, and as an added bonus, each person that contributes a mere dollar, will have their name in the DVD credits on the 7th disc.
I’m taking applications now to render nacelle dome caps, tholians, off center turboshaft elevators, and pink galactic barriers.
Anyone that feels they meet the criteria send a self- addressed stamped envelope care of “Loose stools partnership LTD”, and in return you will recieve a complimentary Kirk bobblehead.
10 year olds need not apply to satisfy Mark.
It’s actually going to be a Saga spanning 9 films which I will drop subtle hints about over the course of two years then once completing the first trilogy, retroactively demote the saga to 6 films then complete Star Trek XIX, XX, and XI 17 years later.
Be patient, you can’t rush or second guess perfection dammit.
“loose stools”
Hmph, sounds like a country western music band on steroids! Here they are ladies and germs…….the loose stools!!
They will provide the score to the films Michael.
I’ve heard them play and, I’m sorry to say, they sound pretty shitty! Hey, what did you expect?
No, wait, I take that back. I saw them in concert back in ’93 at the Crapalooza Festival and they weren’t bad, but after that I heard they broke up. Apparently they couldn’t keep their shit together!
…and, that about sums it up. Josh, I DO like the way you put things in perspective, sometimes! Be sure to make the colors in the movie less vivid and give it an overall DARK, look. lol
I much prefer the mature phrasing “dookie snake.”
Thanks.
Hollywood is bitch city isn’t it?
I stromgly belive that Abrams wold ruin franchise. CArnahan is absolutely right. WE want Romulan Wars, we want Erik Jendersen!
Let’s see here…
Carnahan gets bounced from MI:III without shooting an inch of film, then directs “Smokin’ Aces,” which plays to empty movie theaters, and he’s got the stones to say his version of Mission: Impossible would have been more successful than Abrams film?
Sour grapes, anyone? Mr. Appleton, you’re quite correct. Carnahan should put up his script for MI:III for all to see or he should shut up. Seems to me he’s doing a darn good job of sabotaging his own career.
And I see some of the Abrams-cursers here are going on about his status dimming because “Six Degrees” was cancelled. Give me a break. Basically, he just lent his name to the show as an Executive Producer. It says nothing about his talent or experience dwindling, so stop with the “I told you Trek XI will suck because of him” crap. The man is able to seemlessly interweave action with drama, and he writes powerful characters that work well in ensemble. He also has a subtle knack for political intrigue and social commentary. His characters are always at the forefront of his scripts. They drive the story, not the other way around, and he doesn’t let technology overshadow them either.
That sure sounds like “Star Trek” to me, so give the guy a break and let him give it a shot. If he weren’t involved, most likely Paramount would be doing nothing with Trek at all, save for auctioning off their inventory of costumes, props, etc. Can’t you at least be grateful that someone out there is trying?
#21
Quick, where are the stones! ;)
Good Lord, the man who made Smokin’ Aces slags off somebody else’s movie. This is obviously a man running low on the old Self Awareness.
And I say that as someone who was pretty ‘meh’ on the M:I:III that got made…
IMO It was alot better than MI 2 and i never cared too much for 1 so I’d have to say its the best MI film by default
However i DID NOT like the Hunt/Cruise romance and marriage with his girlfriend/Katie Holmes clone…although i’ve a feeling Cruise himself influenced that being put in the film..
Other than that it was a good movie IMO..it was the most faithful to the tv show anyway…(the other 2 wernt)
of course its BO was damaged by Cruises eccenticities at the time..still it did similar box office to superman so it wasnt too bad
BTW were there any Star Trek references in it? I cant remember..but there might have been some..(after all the original MI series had Leonard Nimoy as a cast member after Star Trek was cancelled)
BTW – the opening to MI 2 was lifted straight out Trek V – Final Frontier… stealing from the best huh…(joke)
#11 Xai
:D
Oh, and #23… :D also.
Someone is definitely bitter. “Yeah, Bill Gates did a good job with Microsift, but if I had been allowed to run it, I would have made 10 gazillion bucks instead of only 8 gazillion”.
Three words for Carnahan: Let it go.
Well, I was going to make MI:3 before Carnahan…and I was going to have DeNiro and Meryl Streep in it…and I was going to have Sir Lawrence Olivier play the villian (too bad he was dead)…and I would have made 700 zillion dollars! I would have kicked the shit out of both Carnahan’s and Abrams’ versions!
See how easy that is to say.
See this is why I love TrekMovie.com: Joe Carnahan went from a person I knew nothing about to a person I never need to know anything more about ever again.
All you need to know about him:
http://www.amiannoying.com/view.aspx?ID=11578
ARRRRGggggggggghh!
All these Hollywood types are annoying.They need to be celebrated and coddled.It’s like a cult of some kind.The people that need to be recognized are Mothers and fathers who sacrifice their lives every day,not a bunch of show business weasels who act like they just discovered the cure for cancer.
Must have new information on ST:XI….going through withdrawal…..can’t last much longer….go on without me……..tell my kids I love th……..beeeeeeeeeeeep!
Woulda,coulda,shoulda….but Joe didn’t. Movies are made for profit.
Speculation aside sometimes movies make it, more often they don’t.
Maybe his script would have made a better movie but without a MI IV
we will never know. There are a great many story ideas that never see
the light of a projection screen. So Joe… if at first you don’t succeed quit.
hmm…Abrams seems to have quite a few babies to look after. I hope ST XI doesn’t turn out to be the middle child. How many pots did Nick Meyer have on the stove when he did ST II?
Good job Buckaroohawk—-pretty much my feeling too.
People, this is the guy who directed “Smokin’ Aces”… That movie sucked soooooooooooooo bad! I wouldn’t take this guy seriously at all. I’m sure Paramount had good reasons to go with another script.
After the “Jumping Couch incident” and “Scientology is cool..” I couldn’t take anything done by Tom Cruise seriously anymore. MI3 included. I felt Mi1 was much better script. Elements of the third film were repeated from the first one.
Movie making as well as producing television series are as much as about ratings and money as much as the studio politics behind them .
Even though Shatner is now 76, why doesn’t somebody arrange an HBO pay-per-view live event where we have him wrestle a Gorn in a boxing ring with a referee and everything. Boy, I’d pay good money to see that! And we know the Shat would do it because, hey, you give him a cheque with enough zeroes on it, he’d go to the opening of an envelope!!
#39: To be fair, I think the Gorn would have to be at least 76 too. Couldn’t be a young gorn. It would eat Bill alive. An older gorn may also have to wear dentures, and our gravity would be heavier on him, so Shatner could might have a chance winning.
#39…Promise?
Promise margarine tastes like butter…promise.
Alright, well since the ‘s’ word is OK, Lost is sheeit and if Star Trek, an ongoing franchise that needs to rest before coming back, is in the hands of JJ whose MI3 was weak then Trek is sooo fugged.
#43 John…..
Lost is fun and Trek seems to be in good hands….. give it a chance… filming hasn’t even begun yet. Jeez.
Great, an elderly Gorn with dentures vs. an old Shat with fake hair! I can see it now, in the fourth round the Gorn bites off Shat’s “rug” spitting teeth and hair everywhere, while Shatner beats the Gorn half to death with his walker!
People from StarTrek.Com message board realized “milenia ago” that Abrams is wrong person to helm franchise.
I think that only choice for new showrunner is Manny Coto.
#6. “Print curse words for the love of Jesus.” I cannot speak for the Big Guy but in my opinion those two things are pretty much mutually exclusive.
As with Nemesis, I will remain excited about STXI until I have a real reason not to be. It’s the shot we have and I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with. Wishing for someone else to be helming is a waste of time–Abrams has the center seat. Engage!
#46 Archer
So if you are an “enlightened” ST.com board banger reminding us that the grass is greener over there… why are you here?…Just to bait us?
I like Coto, but your opinion will likely remain just that.
Joe Carnahan? Let me guess, MI:3 would have been another style over substance masterpiece like Smokin’ acess, right? Sorry, John Woo already tried that approach to MI. The last thing we needed was another movie with Cruise jumping off a motorcycle in slow motion to opera while doves fly in the background. If carnahan’s script was so great, why was he fired and replaced with an unproven feature film director? Oh that’s right, because his script was garbage and got rejected so he’s just a bitter douchebag now.
I can’t imagine a better director than Abrams doing MI:3 because he went back to and RESPECTED THE SOURCE MATERIAL, right down to taking incidental music from the original show. Know what he’s gonna do with Trek XI? Go back to and RESPECT THE SOURCE MATERIAL. If you don’t like the fact that Abrams is doing a prequel or recasting Kirk and Spock, then it sucks to be you. But here’s an idea, how about waiting to see it before you judge it.
#49 “just a bitter douchebag”
Heh, heh, heh…I love that phrase! Course, maybe because it reminds me of an old girlfriend, but that’s another story! If Abrams will RESPECT THE SOURCE MATERIAL I will be one very happy camper!!