Carnahan Asks Readers to Weigh In on Scripts

By Katey Rich

When Joe Carnahan walked away from his duties directing Mission: Impossible: III back in 2004, it was a pretty clear sign he wasn't beholden to the normal rules of Hollywood. Yesterday, though, he made what might be an even bigger faux pas: posting the scripts to his two upcoming projects on his website.

After George Clooney dropped out of Carnahan's upcoming White Jazz over the weekend, Carnahan was left deciding whether to begin production on that film or Killing Pablo, about the assassination of Colombian gangster Javier Bardem. To help him make his decision, he posted the scripts for both films on his website and invited his readers to weigh in. Carnahan apparently has some pretty opinionated readers coming to his site, as indicated by this vitriolic post aimed at one commenter. There's no telling what Carnahan's fans thought, though, since some clear-eyed publicist or studio rep forced Carnahan to yank the scripts from his site.

Slashfilm thought ahead, though, and has active links to both screenplays. Carnahan posted later that "I still might be able to put them back up in the next few days," but also noted that his poor publicist has been going through hell thanks to his "liberal blogging habits," so  "I've been asked to curtail it in the interest of both projects and not release any information that might do damage down the line."

For a director plagued by cast dropouts-- Reese Witherspoon bailed on Bunny Lake is Missing earlier this year-- and development issues, Carnahan is awfully outspoken. I don't have it in me to read either screenplay at the moment, but something about his candor makes me hope they're good. Carnahan wrote on Thursday from his White Jazz office, just days before Clooney's departure, "Maybe it lasts a year, five, ten, impossible to tell but I defintely [sic] feel as though I'm about to hit a stride." I, at least, will be keeping my fingers crossed on his behalf.