io9 got a chance to talk to Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, writer/producers on "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "Fringe," about rewriting the script for 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: First Class, which Matthew Vaughn will direct for a June 3, 2011 release. The duo also worked on the script for Marvel Studios’ Thor. Here are some highlights from the interview:
What is Bryan’s vision?
ZS: Pretty good, I think — did he have laser surgery at some point?
AEM: You see it in X-Men and X2: Character first.
You know mutants: a bunch of bitchy little girls." Had either of you read Jeff Parker’s First Class comic before landing the assignment? Did you lean on it at all, or was the idea of "X-Men: Freshman Year" enough to run with?
AEM: Nope. all we had to hear was Bryan’s take.
ZS: That sold us immediately. It felt so of a piece with the emotionalism and drama of the first two films.
Did you feel any pressure/desire/necessity to "reintroduce" us to the X-Men?
ZS: In some sense you should be reintroducing your characters in every film.
AEM: The thing is, we’ve been here before. We did it on Terminator for two seasons. We did it on Thor. You learn how to approach the material as something you can live in and not just nod at.
ZS: Well, look at Star Trek (2009) — that’s a film that did a great job of acknowledging that its characters are part of the culture, yet treating them as fresh and new to the audience.
AEM: I would also argue that if you’re telling a story where your characters can no longer surprise the audience, you’re telling the wrong story. These characters surprised us at every turn, sometimes in really wonderful and emotional ways. Those moments are what make movies great.
You can read the full interview here!
