Speed Racer
The Wachowskis’ $120 million big studio live-action version of Tatsuo Yoshida’s 52-episode anime series (syndicated to US tv during the 1967-68 season) was a major critical and commercial flop even after 17 years of development, which variously involved such names as Julien Temple, Gus Van Sant, Alfonso Cuaron, J.J. Abrams, Vince Vaughan, Johnny Depp and more. Shot largely against Greenscreen at Germany’s Babelsberg Studios, the unnecessarily convoluted plot confused kids and bored adults, but its brilliantly realized cinematics are destined to be cited as a milestone in the advancement of filmic storytelling techniques.
About Josh Olson
Josh Olson was the only student in his second grade class to see The House That Dripped Blood. Many years later, he wrote and directed the no-budget horror film, Infested, a brutal assault on The Big Chill, with zombies. He went on to write the screenplay for A History Of Violence and was nominated for the WGA, BAFTA and Academy Awards for Best Screenplay. He kept losing to Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, but that’s okay. He has written features and TV shows with Harlan Ellison, Walter Hill, Slash, Willie Nelson, and Mick Jagger. His Village Voice essay “I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script” became an internet phenomenon, getting upwards of five million hits. The ten-part audio drama Bronzeville which he wrote, starring Laurence Fishburne, Larenz Tate, Tracee Ellis Ross, Omari Harwicke and Tika Sumpter was a popular and critical hit, and is currently being developed for TV. He and John Brancato (The Game) recently wrote and sold the feature spec Trigger Warning, which is being produced by Thunder Road. Josh is the host of Trailers From Hell's official podcast, The Movies That Made Me, available everywhere podcasts are streamed and downloaded!