The Greatest Sci-fi Movies Never Made (Fully Revised and Updated Edition) [Paperback]

David Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2008

What if I Am Legend had been directed by Ridley Scott, and had starred Arnold Schwarzenegger? What if James Cameron had directed Spider-Man?

This groundbreaking book, now fully updated and revised, tells the story of legendary unmade films. What would Terry Gilliam’s Watchmen have been like, and how did Darren Aronofsky almost end up directing the movie? Why was Nicolas Cage paid $20 million for not playing Superman?

Also covered are Steven Spielberg’s Night Skies, Stanley Kubrick’s Childhood’s End, Philip Kaufman’s Star Trek: Planet of the Titans, Kevin Smith’s Six Million Dollar Man, Tim Burton’s Superman Lives and James Cameron’s Alien 5!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's a muted celebration and a "melancholy examination" of what might have been in movie buff David Hughes's (The Complete Kubrick) The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made. In brief, slap-happily titled chapters (Twin Freaks; Alienated; Lights, Cameron, No "Action!") Hughes explains David Lynch's difficulties with movie financing, how a Spielberg project called Night Skies became the genesis for both E.T. and Poltergeist and why the Six Million Dollar Man never made it to the silver screen. Illus.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

From Tim Burton's Superman Lives to Steven Spielberg's Night Skies, the litany of uncompleted films presented here lends credence to the notion of Hollywood as a city of broken dreams. Hughes (The Complete Kubrick) draws on numerous exclusive new interviews with the disappointed filmmakers for this compendium of good intentions gone awry. Not surprisingly, the intricate machinations of business and financing tend to play the primary role in the demise of promising projects, together with healthy doses of petty bickering and infighting. Whether a prospective film might have turned out to be great cinema is usually a minor consideration. For instance, the proposed Terminator 3 faded away largely because the legal rights to produce the film were bogged down with the failing production company responsible for Terminator 2, writer-director James Cameron's interest was drifting away to other ventures, and Arnold Schwarzenegger insisted that he would not do another Terminator without Cameron. Serious sf fans and those fascinated by the inner workings of the film industry will be intrigued by the complexity of events that thwart these often promising projects. Recommended for academic libraries. Richard W. Grefrath, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Titan Books; Exp Upd edition (July 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845767551
• ISBN-13: 978-1845767556
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another brilliant book by David Hughes, January 14, 2004

By 

Not American (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made (Paperback)

Well, Hughes has done it again. He has written a book that appeals to students of science fiction (of all types, not just films), movies, history, economics, you name it - and has made it completely entertaining and utterly un-putdownable at the same time. Fans of his earlier book on David Lynch will appreciate the chapter on Lynch's two "lost" movies, Ronnie Rocket and One Saliva Bubble.
Also, even though this book is only a couple of years old, it is interesting to see what has happened with some of these projects. For instance, Spider Man and Terminator 3 have already been released, Thunderbirds and Alien vs Predator are being filmed right now (Jan 2004), and apparently I Am Legend and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy are being cast and actually being made (for sure this time!). I think this proves how fascinating this book is - with any other writing the fact that you are reading about Terminator 3 as a "dead" or "possible future" product would ruin the reading experience. With this book, though, it is still just as fascinating to see why the projects took so long to come to fruition.
So if you have any interest in films, art history, behind the scenes Hollywood gossip, or just a fascinating read, pick up this book NOW. Then go on to read his David Lynch bio, and everything else this man has written. I GUARANTEE you won't be disappointed.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This isn't a bad book, but..., September 10, 2002

By 

Taed Wynnell (Sunnyvale, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made (Paperback)

This isn't a bad book, but it's namesake _The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made_ does a far better job at similar material. There is almost no overlap between the two books, despite the fact that the former book does cover a good deal of science fiction.

Where I think this book fails most is its approach. It's spends a lot of time dealing with production notes on the movies that were made instead (for example, Alien3), instead of the movie that wasn't made (Aliens vs. Predator). Furthermore, it never gets to the key issue -- why would this particular unmade movie have been great?

So, I'd recommend this book only as a follow-on if you've already read the "original".

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Hollywood keeps on failing to make a good Sci - Fi movie, September 19, 2002

By 

"prof_von_morgan" (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made (Paperback)

A must for all Sci-Fi and film fans (like myself!). I'd always wondered why some of the greatest Sci-Fi stories had never made it to the silver screen and why the one that had were often very disappointing; after reading this book, I now know why!!!

Not only due to you get all the facts and figure regarding the featured "never made" movies, this book lets inside the hearts and mind of the people that tried their hardest to make these movies happen and the studio management idiots that stopped them!

Like movies? Like Sci-Fi books? Want to know why your favourite stories never made it to celluloid? Read this book and find out!