CMP is dead. It fucking sucks. One of the biggest bummers, at least for me, is that my 'Question' series was left unresolved. I spent a lot of time plotting out the three movies only for the apocalypse to come right after the release of the second. For those of you who are interested in reading how it'd all play out, here is the third movie in its entirety. I suck at photoshop though, so there's no poster. It also has the the unintentionally appropriately title of 'The Question: The End.' Anyway, here's the finale of my trilogy, 'The Question: The End'...

The Question: The End
Genre: Action/Superhero
Based on the DC Comics.

The Director: Duncan Jones
The Screenwriter: D.R. Cobb
The Producer: Zack Snyder

The Cast:
Vic Sage/The Question - Ryan Gosling
Myra Connelly-Fermin - Christina Hendricks
Izzy O’Toole - Kyle Chandler
Richard Dragon - Mads Mikkelsen
Lady Shiva - Lucy Liu
Loosh O’Fry - Joel Kinnaman
Benjy Floper - Kevin Gage
Harry - Anthony LaPaglia

The Plot:

Lady Shiva (Lucy Liu), attracted by the turmoil of Hub City, comes looking for an opportunity to practice her trade. She gives a local gang leader, Loosh O'Fry (Joel Kinnaman), a chance to hire her. He responds by sending four of his men to kill her.

Vic Sage (Ryan Gosling) stops by the hospital to visit Mayor Myra Connelly-Fermin (Christina Hendricks). Feeling better, she decides to check herself out of the hospital. Sage gives her a ride as he apprises her of the state of the city. Hub City is in shambles, many areas remain unrepaired from the tornado, crime is through the roof, drugs and homelessness are on the rise, two gangs have taken over much of the city, the Grinning Ghosts and the Savage Huns, and the police are seemingly powerless to do anything about it. Sage's car is stopped by angry citizens looking for food. Myra talks them into calming down. She asks Sage to bring her the leaders of Hub City’s two most powerful gangs for a meeting.

Sage starts with Loosh O'Fry, leader of the Savage Huns. A combination of bluffing and fighting gets him access to Loosh, who he then knocks out. He then sneaks the unconscious thug out. Along the way, Loosh wakes up. As they make their way to Myra, they encounter Lady Shiva. Loosh hires her on the spot to kill Sage. Meanwhile, Benjy Floper (Kevin Gage), leader of the rival Grinning Ghosts, commandeers the KBEL station and announces that his gang will offer the city protection for a very high price.

Lady Shiva welcomes the chance to match skills with the Question, but she is disappointed. She tells him that he has forgotten all that Richard Dragon taught him. Their fight gets delayed when Loosh's gang catches up with them. Shiva and the Question fight side by side against the gang.

Sage delays the culmination of his fight with Shiva to keep his promise to Myra. Shiva tags along as Sage delivers Loosh to Myra and heads out to get Benjy Floper. Meeting in the back room of Harry's Pizza while Harry (Anthony LaPaglia) keeps order, Myra offers to deputize the rival gangs, and she and Sage leave the leaders alone to discuss their options.

When they return, however, they find that Floper has fled and Loosh has been stabbed in the chest. As they rush him to the hospital they are surrounded by his gang. Vic, Myra and Harry take to the sewers when the gang discovers that their leader has been stabbed in the chest. They convince the gang that if they help there is a chance he might survive. Harry blames it on Benjy Floper. The gang takes Myra hostage at the hospital. O'Fry dies on the way, but Sage and Harry keep the fact a secret from the gang. The gang demands that Sage bring them Floper within three hours or they will kill the Mayor.

The Question asks Lady Shiva for help. She decides to lend a hand. Sage finds himself caught in a dilemma: He doesn't believe that Floper killed Loosh. If he turns Floper over, he will be responsible for murder. If he doesn't, Myra will be killed.

Myra tricks her captures into inhaling ether, and escapes the hospital. While they are knocked out, she has the body of Loosh buried as a John Doe. Sage takes Harry to the grave to confront him with his murder, having deduced that it was Harry who killed Loosh in revenge for raping his sister. Sage then knocks him out, ties him to a tree, and calls the new police chief Izzy O’Toole (Kyle Chandler) from a payphone telling him that a murderer is tied up in the cemetery.

Myra makes a decision to demolish Hell's Acres, a housing project that she feels epitomizes all that is wrong with Hub City. Sage, on the other hand, still has memories of Hell's Acres as the place where he spent his childhood. A handful of drug dealers take exception to their home and place of business being destroyed, so they kidnap the mayor and shoot her full of drugs. They hold her hostage in the condemned building, but their plan backfires when their ransom note messenger is killed by the National Guard that Myra recently called in to help in the city.

Izzy O'Toole calls Sage asking him if he's seen the mayor. Sage goes into the condemned building looking for her and runs into her captures. He loses consciousness in the struggle with them before they tell him where they are keeping Myra. He comes to just minutes before the building is scheduled to blow. Sage finds Myra and carries her out through a tunnel mere moments before the building blows up. Myra and Sage make love by the river as Lady Shiva watches from a distance.

A week later, tormented by nightmares, Myra calls Sage. He's not home and she assumes he's out with another woman. In the meantime, the Question rams his car into a pole while trying to avoid a homeless person who ran out into the street. As he lays unconscious, a group of degenerates strip his body and kick him furiously, and leave him to die. When he comes to, he staggers through the streets naked.

Myra makes a late night appointment with a psychiatrist she met at a party. But the psychiatrist is not interested in healing her mind. He tries to get her stoned and take advantage of her, but she smashes a lamp over his head. She then returns home to find Richard Dragon (Mads Mikkelsen) waiting for her. He has recently flown into Hub City, and is looking for his former pupil, Vic Sage. He tells her that he wants to help Sage past a crossroads in his life.

While Myra and Richard Dragon search for Sage, Izzy O'Toole pursues an armed robber who fits the Question's description. He catches up to the perp and shoots the masked killer in the chest and takes a bullet in the arm himself. Izzy pursues the wounded man until the perp drops. O'Toole loses faith in being an honest cop when he believes that the vigilante has crossed the line. He is even more disappointed when he unmasks the dead killer and recognizes him as a repeat offender.

Meanwhile, Sage stumbles to the church where he was abandoned as a child. He passes out and has a dream where his faceless mother tells him to leave Hub City, that it rests on poisoned ground, and is beyond saving.

Myra and Richard find Sage's wrecked car and blood on the seat. They follow Richard's instincts to the church where they find their naked and battered friend. Sage tells Myra that his mother told them to leave Hub City. Myra helps the wounded Sage out of the church only to find street thugs are in the process of dismantling Myra's car. When Sage makes a motion to stop them he passes out again. Richard surprises Myra when he gets out of his wheel chair to put Sage in.

They meet O'Toole and the dead false Question. O'Toole explains what happened, and Richard cryptically tells O’Toole that he doesn’t believe the man he killed is the real Question. Richard and Myra begin to head toward Sage’s apartment, pushing the unconscious Sage along in the wheelchair. Along the way, they encounter a man with a baby begging for money. When they point out that the infant is dead the man callously discards it in the street, much to the shock of Myra.

That night at Sage's apartment, Myra joins the resting Sage in bed. Believing him to be asleep, she finally tells him that she loves him. The next day, Sage convinces Myra to leave Hub City. She arranges for a helicopter to pick up her, her daughter Jackie, Sage, and Richard.

When Myra goes by the special school where Jackie is enrolled, the nun asks her to take the other children with her because the school is out of money. Myra regretfully refuses.

At the helicopter landing site, they are all surprised when Lady Shiva throws the pilot out. It seems the pilot had decided to renege on his agreement to pick up his passengers until Shiva painfully reminded him of his promise. At the last moment, Myra changes her mind about leaving. She remembers the plaintive looks on the faces of the other children at the school and the dead baby. She remembers that she took a vow to serve the city. Sage is now left with a decision to make. He can leave Hub City, or he can stay and be near the woman he loves. Myra and Jackie watch as the helicopter takes off. Myra goes back to City Hall, where she finds the Question waiting for her. He then pulls off his featureless mask and reveals himself as Sage. He tells her that there are still people in Hub City worth saving. She says that she secretly always wished it was him, and they embrace.

?

I really thought that 'The Question: Dark Tomorrow' was going to make more than $100 million at the box office. Oh well, it did a little better in theaters than the first and it's still a profitable series. Maybe the third will do slightly better. As long as there is forward momentum in the box office results I'll be happy. I as kind of hoping that it would pull a 'Dark Knight' and make a shit load. 'The Dark Knight' grossed about three times as much as 'Batman Begins' did, so I was hoping for something like that. But it didn't happen.

I also must agree with the critics about one thing. 'Dark Tomorrow' definitely lacked the great villain that the first had with Ray Winstone's Reverend Hatch. I just couldn't come up with an villain that would be as interesting as Hatch so I went a different route and made the city (Hub City) the real villain. This will continue into the third movie which will deal with the aftermath of the second. The city is in shambles both figuratively and literally. I want to explore what Myra does now that she's become Mayor of the cesspool that is Hub City. In the third we'll see the gangs take over the city following the tornado. Can The Question save Hub City, or will he choose to save himself? That's what will be explored in the third movie.

Will there be a fourth Question movie? I'm not sure yet. I don't have a clear idea for one at this point. A lot depends on the box office results of the third. If it manages to do as well or better than 'Dark Tomorrow,' then probably. If not, I don't know. I have designed the third movie so that it could serve as the end of the series just in case. But before I can really even think about a fourth Question movie I really have got to turn my focus onto other series and finally finish writing sequels to 'Tarzan' and 'Green Arrow: Year One'. That's my priority right now.

It's been awhile. The past couple months I've become a busy person, but I have decided to take a moment to give a quick update on things:

- I haven't written anything new for a while now. I have one original story that I haven't submitted yet, and then I have an entire series of 'Splinter Cell' movies written up (making a total of five).

- Two projects I really need to get working on are a sequel to 'Green Arrow: Year One' and a sequel to 'Tarzan' since both did pretty well at the box office. Thankfully the holidays are coming up which should loosen up my schedule a little bit and give me little time to write up those two important projects along with finishing up the third film in 'The Question' series (which has a middle and ending, but no beginning right now).

- 'Survivor' is about to come out, which I find incredibly exciting as I am a huge fan of Chuck Palahniuk's novel. The project has had something of a troubled history within Hollywood with Francis Lawrence set to direct at one point, but ultimately the events of 9/11 scared away studios from the content (which includes a plane hijacking) and continue to do so to this day. However, in CMP the project has been smooth-sailing, and should easily bring Ryan Gosling another Best Actor nomination for his duel role as Tender and Adam Branson. I am also happy that Mark Pellington is making his CMP debut with the project. He made what I feel is one of the great under-appreciated thrillers in 'Arlington Road' and I think that he's perfect for the material.

- I have another horror remake coming out. But don't worry, 'Suspiria' is much more in the vain of 'Midnight' than 'Prince of Darkness.' Blake Lively is making her CMP debut with the project (which as usual for one of my movies will also see the debut of a few more actors). She brings an audience and she was great in Ben Affleck's 'The Town', but ultimately what put her over the edge and got her the role is that she was almost cast in 'Black Swan' in the role filled by Mila Kunis. To play it safe I originally planned on teaming her up with a young actress who is quite a big name within CMP, but she ended up turning the project down so another young British actress will make her debut instead.

- As for the blog. Don't expect weekly or twice a week updates like I had been doing. I will try to post something at least every other week though, but don't hold your breath.

David Slade has decided to jump ship and team up with Tom Cruise instead of directing a sequel to 'The Question.' I'm certainly not happy with the situation. I think that this movie could be something special and Slade's abandonment of the project complicates things. I'm pretty pissed at Cruise for poaching my director, making him an offer he can't refuse. Damn. To replace Slade, I have narrowed it down to a short list of directors: John Dahl (Joy Ride, The Last Seduction, You Kill Me, The Great Raid, and my film 'Short on Time'), Mikael Hafstrom (Derailed, The Rite, 1408), Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code), and Dennis Iliades (The Last House on the Left). One of those guys has officially been offered the job.

I recently re-read 'Skin Tight' which has made me even more excited for the release. I'm also a little disappointed though with my script. A lot of great characters had to be removed. If I had to do it over again I would definitely make some changes to the adaptation, make it longer and more complex.

'Oedipus Rex' is another week closer to release. I'm happy that Robert De Niro has accepted the role in this film. If he wasn't friends with Scorsese I don't think he would have taken the role. Also, Mel Gibson will have a small role in the film. I decided to ignore Gibson's personal problems and just try and cast the best actor I could think of for the role. No matter what allegations have been made against Gibson over the past few years, he is still a top talent as evidenced in his most recent film 'The Beaver'. I believe there is only one small role left to be cast, so the film will probably be released in two weeks.

One of my first scripts has finally been greenlit, 'Jonestown'. I think that Josh Brolin is absolutely going to knock it out of the park with this role. In fact, I'm going to call it right now - before the movie is even done shooting - Josh Brolin will be nominated for a Best Actor GMA. I couldn't be happier with him accepting the role and what he is doing with it, but believe it or not someone else was almost cast in the role. I thankfully came to my senses when watching 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'. Giving me the idea of casting Brolin as Jones is probably the best thing to come from that movie. Brolin is of course joined by the great David Strathairn, who is playing U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan. Strathairn's role is pretty much the co-lead, but it is a far less showy role. It's probably the least showy role in the movie.

With the summer break from CMP I have taken something of a break from posting anything here. But with the break soon to end in a week or so I decided to go ahead and give an update on some projects that have been filling my time...

- First up is a biographical film based on the life of a somewhat controversial filmmaker. I plan to produce and direct this project myself. I don't want to say exactly who the movie is out until I finish writing it, but I am willing to say that whoever they are, they will be portrayed as something of a tragic figure.

- I'm developing a few more Green Arrow films. The villains and basic plot are already set for the second and third films, with just a villain set for a fourth film. It seems to me that the main thing that didn't really work in 'Green Arrow: Year One' were the villains, so I have carefully selected who Garrett Hedlund will square off against in the rest of the series.

- A slightly-fictionalized account of the life of Lee Harvey Oswald. I'm going to produce this movie but won't direct as I feel it will require a special talent in order for the audience to care for the character. I plan on offering the director's chair to an A-List director who may or may not have a movie coming out soon in CMP.

- I'm just about done writing the finale of my 'Y: The Last Man' trilogy. The first two scripts have been done for some time now, but I've had trouble with the third. I'll probably submit it to Harry Stark any day now.

- I've already written a sequel to 'The Question' and have been developing a third film that would potentially put an end to the franchise, but then again it could lead to an entirely new trilogy. 'Green Arrow' might have made a shit-ton of money, but 'The Question' is my baby. My goal for the second 'Question' movie isn't so much for it to be a box office hit, instead I want it to not only be nominated for Best Picture - but win. Same goes for Ryan Gosling as Best Actor.

- I have also recently begun co-writing a story with Yuri Redding called 'Hometown Hero'. The plot is still being fleshed out but the main character returns to his hometown after several years away.

- And last but not least, a sequel to my upcoming film 'Tarzan'. With the origin out of the way you can expect to see a lot more action in the sequel, with Tarzan squaring off against a tribe of cannibals. Right now I'm calling it 'Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle', but that is still subject to change.

A box office hit (my first) sure is a nice way to lead into the summer hiatus. It's especially nice since I'm pretty convinced that 'Oedipus Rex' is not going to work at the box office - at all. I'm just not sure there's a real large audience for a classic Greek myth with no big action scenes and a main character in a situation that is definitely difficult to relate to.

The numbers for 'Green Arrow: Year One' are so good that I am going to go ahead and make AT LEAST another two Green Arrow movies, maybe more. Green Arrow may not have Batman or Superman's rogues gallery, but I think that the Green Arrow film series can be one in which the hero is the most interesting character instead of the villain. That's definitely the case with 'The Question'. I've already written the second 'Question' film (which finally has a title), which has a decent/realistic villain (a corrupt politician). I have since started working on a third 'Question' film, but I have run into the problem of not having a real villain propelling the plot along. So instead of a main villain, I'm thinking of having Vic Sage square off against one real villain and then the rest of the time he'll just be fighting thugs and gangs.

This week sees the release of 'Green Arrow: Year One', which is exciting. I have a really good idea for a sequel just in case this one does well. Hell, as long as it doesn't lose money I'll write it up. Garrett Hedlund has already moved on to filming 'Oedipus Rex' which should give him a shot at some critical notice. Speaking of 'Oedipus Rex,' Anjelica Huston, Timothy Olyphant, and the great Ian McShane have joined the cast. All great actors. If Bob Felton's article is any indication, expect to Anjelica Huston in an upcoming movie featuring a young first-time leading lady.

Felton mentioned that I have planned a trilogy based on 'Y: The Last Man'. It's one of my all-time favorite comic book series. The first two films are all written, but that third one has given me a lot of trouble. The problem is that the last twenty or so issues of the series is mostly just wrapping up the storylines, and I really don't want to have like 20 endings like 'The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.'

I'm excited for 'Skin Tight' to be entering production as it is one of my favorite books and it will be one of my only attempts at a comedic film. I'm one of the few big fans of the film 'The Ice Harvest' which was also directed by Harold Ramis and also starred John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. I really liked the chemistry between Cusack and Thornton so I cast them in this. Expect to see one more actor from 'The Ice Harvest' make an appearance. I created a really lazy teaser poster for the film awhile back.