New Punisher Production Turning into a War Zone

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on July 28, 2008

Punisher: War Zone

Rumors began floating around the web earlier this weekend stating that director Lexi Alexander had been “taken off” of the upcoming film Punisher: War Zone. This rumor came from comments made by producer Gale Ann Hurd at the Comic-Con panel for the film. Hurd said that Lexi was not in attendance for the film’s panel because she was “on her honeymoon.” Many websites took this comment as she was off the project.

Since then we have been burning up the phone lines, trying to get some sort of official or unofficial response to either confirm or deny this. Rumors have been flying around the interwebs for a few months now that Alexander was having problems with the project, and it would only be logical after the overwhelmingly negative response to the first trailer that both Lionsgate and Marvel would want to go in a different direction.

And while we could not get an official statement from the studio, we did get the scoop from a very reliable source close to the production. And according to what we’ve now been told, the film is in trouble, but all is not lost. Here is the rundown of what we now know:

  • Lexi Alexander is not officially off the project, but she has been pulled away from it at this point.
  • The problems began after Lexi turned in a cut for the first trailer that was not to the studio’s liking. When confronted about it, Lexi’s reaction was “childish” and unpredictably erratic. Apparently she has been making negative comments on her own personal blog about the production, even going as far as to compare working with the studio to an episode of Hell’s Kitchen. Now, when you go to LexiAlexander.com there is just a picture of the “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkeys,” her blog entries have been removed. So take that for what it’s worth.
  • Currently, producer Gale Ann Hurd is spearheading an effort to get the film re-cut and make it more presentable for its release on December 5.
  • Reportedly Hurd has brought in the editing team of The Incredible Hulk (which includes Rick Shaine, Vincent Tabaillon and John Wright).
  • While it is clear that Marvel is gung-ho about delivering a quality product to the big screen in December, if the production cannot be salvaged it could lead to a limited release and a bigger DVD release.

Having not seen more than a few clips, it is hard to say exactly what the studio sees wrong with this film. But based on fan reactions and the limited footage available, it doesn’t look like a bad decision for them to move away from Alexander and on to something new. Because as our own Punisher aficionado Robert Fure said in his report from the Comic-Con panel on Friday, while the film appears to be very, very violent it is not yet clear as to whether or not it will hold up as a good Punisher film.

From where I am sitting, I am encouraged to hear that both Lionsgate and Marvel are taking charge of the production, listening to fans and trying to deliver a great film. Of course, we will keep you updated if something official comes along. As well, we have a few more videos from Punisher: War Zone to share with you a little later.

What do you think of Marvel and Lionsgate going away from Lexi Alexander?


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  • Mike
    So far, the new trailer looks awesome!! I hope all goes wee for the film.
  • J Macgon
    This movie looks absolutely terrible. It looks like a parody of the first Punisher.
  • This Filmschoolrejects site has some of it's information wrong.

    "This rumor came from comments made by producer Gale Ann Hurd at the Comic-Con panel for the film. Hurd said that Lexi was not in attendance for the film’s panel because she was “on her honeymoon.” Many websites took this comment as she was off the project."

    Actually, it was Harry at AICN's report that sparked the rumor. He claimed to have a very reliable source who came to him out of sheer frustration and allegedly claimed that Lexi had been pulled off the movie because of differences of opinion regarding heavy metal music replacing the score.

    The "honeymoon" comment along with the AICN report and the pulling of all PWZ references from Lexi's blog combined are what started the rumor.

    "Rumors have been flying around the interwebs for a few months now that Alexander was having problems with the project"

    I search and scan a number of websites several times a day for any and all PWZ related production news. Been doing so for months. Never heard of this before.

    "...and it would only be logical after the overwhelmingly negative response to the first trailer that both Lionsgate and Marvel would want to go in a different direction."

    Bull. LGF is the one who edited the very first teaser according to Lexi's blog made a day or two after it's release on the web. She claimed she had nothing to do with that and was suprised that LGF was editing a teaser to release and had not been informed about it.

    That always struck me as odd. ???
  • J Macgon
    DeAnte just unleashed the factual pwnage.
  • DeAnte is correct.

    "it was Harry at AICN’s report that sparked the rumor. He claimed to have a very reliable source who came to him out of sheer frustration and allegedly claimed that Lexi had been pulled off the movie because of differences of opinion regarding heavy metal music replacing the score."

    It was Harry that started the rumor here: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37642

    "LGF is the one who edited the very first teaser according to Lexi’s blog made a day or two after it’s release on the web. She claimed she had nothing to do with that and was suprised that LGF was editing a teaser to release and had not been informed about it."

    And you are right about Lionsgate cutting the trailer (although, to be specific Alexander just said that she didn't know it was coming out, not that she had nothing to do with it), but I can assure you the negative response to the film overall after it was released put them into panic mode.

    "I search and scan a number of websites several times a day for any and all PWZ related production news. Been doing so for months. Never heard of this before."

    This hasn't yet blown up -- but it has been subtly mentioned in a few places. Perhaps I am also working with some insider information here... I guess we'll see how right I am sometime down the road. ;)
  • "And you are right about Lionsgate cutting the trailer (although, to be specific Alexander just said that she didn’t know it was coming out, not that she had nothing to do with it), but I can assure you the negative response to the film overall after it was released put them into panic mode."

    Here is what Lexi wrote in her blog about the first teaser trailer:

    "I'm not sure what kind of impression I would get from this trailer if I didn't actually know the film. I am utterly impressed, though, they managed to find that much PG rated action footage at all. It had to be a challenge to cut a trailer from our
    action stuff without showing any gore and blood." - Lexi Alexander

    Certainly doesn't give the impression that she had anything to do with it considering her references to what "they" managed to cut from "our" footage.

    But who knows?

    Yes, It will be interesting to see how this all pans out. I have the best wishes for PWZ. I just hope we get gory, bloody action, coherent plot, and decent original score. Not a Nu-metal music video.

    I got the impression that's what LGF wants.

    Neil, Do you have any idea what is meant by making PWZ "presentable?"
  • @DeAnte

    I too have best wishes, as I am a big fan of The Punisher. Despite the fact that I was deeply saddened by Tom Jane having to walk away from this project, I would still like to see something quality come out the other end.

    And as far as the "presentable" part, I believe it has something to do with better action beats -- though I am not 100% sure. I heard through the grapevine that one of the words being tossed around to describe one of Lexi's rough cuts was "train wreck." So take that for what it's worth.
  • 790
    I hate when they substiute a score with Nu-Metal music.
    Its cheap and becomes a marketing ploy to get the soundtrack cheap !!!!

    She's right in walking I support Lexi.
  • Al
    I wonder how supportive of Lionsgate you guys will be when they remove the director of
    their OTHER comic book movie December release. Personally, I think the War Zone footage
    looks better than The Spirit footage I've seen.
  • @Al

    Sigh... The Spirit is a whole different bag of problems. Yet, I am not sure how I would react if Frank Miller would be taken off of it (something that certainly won't happen). With Miller, I say let him put his vision out there and we will judge it on its own merits.

    With Punisher, we are talking about constant problems -- replacing Tom Jane with Ray Stevenson, bringing on Lexi Alexander (who is relatively untested), etc. This production is a mess and I can only hope that Marvel can help Lionsgate straighten it out before someone pulls the handle on the toilet.
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