UPDATE: The flurry of speculation yesterday has caused Eric Powell to update his blog with some rumour control. "The Goon film is still on the table," he insists. "David Fincher and Blur still have the option and are still looking for funding. We have not run out of money... because we never had any money to run out of."
Powell yesterday received a heartening missive from David Fincher: "The things that make The Goon so completely unique are, unfortunately, more than mere concerns to corporate Hollywood... But I am undeterred - this atom can be split."
And Powell has also had an email from Paul Giamatti, apologising for being the spark for the whole story in the first place. "He said I could declare him full of crap and a nuisance," says Powell, "which would only make him more suited to play Franky, but is completely untrue..."
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Sad news for all those looking forward to David Fincher's CG slapstick supernatural noir: it looks very much as if The Goon is no longer happening. Fincher always said "adult animation" was a hard sell...
Not to be confused with Seann William Scott's hockey movie (which is still just about playing in cinemas), this Goon, based on the comics by Eric Powell, has been in development for some time, and has been a regular fixture at the last few Comic-Cons. It was to be the story of the titular mob enforcer, his short-arse sidekick Franky (short for Francesca), and the villainous Priest with his army of the undead. Blur Studios were animating, Clancy Brown and Paul Giamatti were on board for the voices, and the test footage was looking awesome.
Last we heard about this time last year, Fincher was hopeful that a studio would shortly step in and stump up the necessary $50m. "Hopefully this is the year that people go 'Wait a minute! We don't all have to be trying to imitate Pixar!'" he said.
Optimistic. Speaking yesterday at Sundance (where he's promoting John Dies At The End, which Clancy Brown is also in), Paul Giamatti opined, "I have no idea what the hell happened. I asked and no one knows. I guess they just ran out of money."
Eric Powell though, has taken to Twitterto insist that, as far as he's aware, there's still hope. "Last I spoke with Fincher and Blur, they were gearing up for more meetings to try and find financing for the film," he said (although he didn't say how recent those meetings were). "It's not dead until Fincher and Blur come to me and say they are done."
Reports of The Goon's death, etc? Watch this space...