Neil Gaiman adapting 'The High Cost of Living' to Film

I don't know anything about Neil Gaiman or his work, but I've always heard good things about him, and it seems like he's in the verge of breaking into Hollywood with his work -- as firstshowing notes -- in much the same way that Frank Miller (Sin City) did. Gaiman is writing the script and may direct (both bad choices unless he's shown demonstrable talent for either) but I've got to take issue with this little quip:

The way Hollywood works these days is that any adaptation or idea always takes a long time to come about, moving in small steps, unless it sparks something in the mind of a big Hollywood exec.

This is all wrong, the only reason this film has been greenlit is because it has a star actor attached to it now (which you can read about if you head over to firstshowing which is host almost all films get going. Writers don't matter because the industry treats them like gutter scum; no respect and no weight to throw around. A big director or even a mediocre actor that comes on board can move a film from 3+ years of development hell to the fast-track in exactly 1.5 seconds -- no joke.

Anyway, it looks like Guillermo del Toro is on board as a producer which is actually no guarantee that he'll being quality to the project, that he'll be very involved with it, or that he'll even stay attached. Talent comes and goes with these things pretty fast.

I don't find it likely that Gaiman will be allowed to direct this film, though. There's a chance that del Toro is on board to throw his weight around to get Gaiman the directing gig, which is probably what happened with Frank Miller and Sin City (Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez got that project off the ground, not Miller.)

Something to think about.

Topics: Film, Neil Gaiman, The High Cost of Living, Guillermo del Toro