The TV Addict 

With the glut of comic book material being picked up for feature length adaptation, I was waiting for the moment when Ed Brubaker’s fantastically dark, nihilistic Wildstorm pseudo-superhero twelve issue mini-series would be given the Hollywood touch and make its way onto the road to production.

What I was waiting for was not to see whether it would get adapted but rather by whom, because as anyone knows that can make or break a property. Recently we got news about just that.

Tom Cruise is not a good choice.

It’s not that I have anything against Cruise per se (despite the fact that this is the second time I’ve picked on him within a week), but I object to what I know his presence will do the property. First, his star status - as well as everything that goes with his Scientology kookiness - means that instead of allowing anyone to appreciate the role as is, it will just turn into “Oh, look at Tom Cruise playing a dark character!” In some ways it’s not his fault, at least in the sense that movie stars of his status (like Will Smith) will never truly immerse themselves in a role, but always be “Tom Cruise/Will Smith playing [insert character].” In other words, the character won’t matter, but the one performing it will. (Remember COLLATERAL?)

On that note, even the darkness of the character (which are wonderfully complex, and above all else f—– up) and property will get de-clawed because Cruise and/or the studio will want it that way for the sake of marketability. Don’t have any doubts, with Tom Cruise attached this is going to be a major potential blockbuster, which in turn means the twisty plot of the comic will also be dumbed down for public consumption. In many ways, if “Sleeper” has to be made into a film, it should be closer to an indie film, or at least one steered by dramatic actors with wider (and darker ranges). After all, it worked for THE DARK KNIGHT.

Having Tom Cruise aboard reeks of stunt-casting and perhaps desperate image reinvention, and that will only spell the doom of any likelihood of getting a “Sleeper” film that would do justice to the source material. Which is too bad, because it could make a great, dark, anti-superhero film. If you need proof to see what Hollywood can do with a dark property, just take a look at Vincent Ngo script “Tonight, He Comes” and then see what Hollywood and the casting of Will Smith did with it when it turned into HANCOCK.