Though this isn’t necessarily big news (reputable screenwriters are always being hired on to ghost a few changes in a script during pre-production), it’s strange news. And how appropriate! It concerns Charlie Kaufman. The enigmatic writer took two weeks time to rewrite Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom. [Heat Vision]
One would imagine the man didn’t change much, with only two weeks to do anything and what must be a bunch of studio monitoring, the film being a sequel to continue what will undoubtedly become a franchise. That said, one hopes Kaufman added/adds some flavored dialogue and perhaps a nice little scene or two in his limited time with the material.
Here’s the plot synopsis:
“Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five – Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. But Po’s awesome new life is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. It is up to Po and The Furious Five to journey across China to face this threat and vanquish it. But how can Po stop a weapon that can stop kung fu? He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.” [First Showing]
One can’t imagine much of Kaufman will overtly come out in the sequel, but, as Heat Vision pointed out, with the writer taking long hiatuses between projects (Eternal Sunshine and Synecdoche, New York came out with 4 years between them) it makes one wonder how many clean-up jobs he’s taken.
Do you enjoy Kung Fu Panda? Excited for the sequel?