Hey, when you first heard about Michael Eisner developing a movie based around Bazooka Joe, the character featured for years in the tiny comic strops accompanying Bazooka Bubble Gum, did you worry that it might never happen? Well, the dream has taken one step further to becoming a reality: Bazooka Joe has a screenwriter, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Want details? He's a young film student who hasn't even graduated yet:
Hammer, who this weekend is attending the graduation ceremony at Orange County's Chapman University, where he studied film, wrote a spec titled "Sonny Takes to Peru," which made the studio rounds but ultimately did not sell.
That spec, however, turned into a strong writing sample that got him into meetings as well as representation at management outfit the Safran Co. Execs at Tornante, seeking to fill their open writing assignment,liked the spec and brought in Hammer, who gave them his winning take.
Can the timeless tales of Joe, Toughy, Hungry Herman and others be trusted in such inexperienced hands? Only time will tell.