Team Behind Spellbound And Rocket Science Assembling Documentary On DC Comics
Given the fact that Marvel and DC Comics characters have proved to be the new mainstays for summer moviegoing, I'm surprised that we haven't seen a new documentary that reaches deep into the history of either company. That might be about to change as Jeffrey Blitz and Sean Welch (who directed and produced Spellbound, Rocket Science and Lucky) are producing a doc about DC. Mac Carter, who worked on Spellbound, is directing the film, which we may see at Comic Con.
Speaking to Collider, Blitz and Welch say that the film is fully authorized by DC, which leads me to wonder on how it will treat various rough patches in the company's history. Welch says:
DC Comics contacted us and asked if we would do this. Jeff and the director are comic book enthusiasts since they were kids and remain comic book enthusiasts. So yes, we have access to their archives, their material, their covers, their panels, the creatives and the executives in the DC world.
Access to DC materials and execs, ok, good stuff that will be useful. But how will the doc treat the rocky period where the comics industry moved away from work for hire agreements? I assume we'll see a laudatory section about how DC helped change the comics landscape by pushing the 'suggested for mature readers' label and launching the Vertigo imprint. But will we hear about Rick Veitch's fight with the company when it refused to run Veitch's script for Swamp Thing #88, when the character met Christ? And how will the conflict between DC and Superman creators Siegel and Shuster be portrayed?
The film has just started to come into shape, but Blitz and Welch are hoping to be able to premiere the project at Comic Con. I'll be curious to see if this really digs deep, or if it becomes merely a puff or promo piece.