Chuck Dixon

On the hit man comic book Alias, which he created for NOW Comics in the late 1980s: "... Actually the title and entire property still belong to Universal Studios who bought all rights from NOW Comics during the bankruptcy... They were very close to filming it 10 years ago. It had a screenplay by Frank Darabont and was to be directed by Joe Dante with Nicolas Cage and Gene Hackman to star. As I said, 'very close' to filming. The project was axed two months before principal photography was to start. The story I was told was that the producers lacked faith in Cage's box office. Guess the joke's on them." Show less «

My stuff is all seat-of-the-pants writing; maybe I should pretend to be like other writers, say "Oh, yes, I've got two years of continuity in mind and more," but I don't. It's hit or miss. Sometimes it really works, sometimes not, but it all remains fresh. Show less «

"The Joker re-invents himself everyday." Scott Peterson told me that and I don't think it originates with him. I used it as a guideline when I wrote the character and it allowed me a great deal of freedom in dealing with his mania. He could be as unpredictable as I needed him to be. The Joker was never stuck with one schtick like the Riddler or Two-Face are. And he's a character you have to think a lot about before approaching him. You can write a forgettable Penguin story and get away with it. Writing a lame Joker story is unforgivable. And one of my favorite aspects of writing the Joker was having him tell stories of his youth and then contradict them a few pages later. Show less «

[on working with Sylvester Stallone] He read my Expendables prequel and called me on the phone to tell me how much he liked the dialogue and how closely I caught that characters. He invited me to come on board and do a re-write on the sequel script. That didn't work out. The money guys just wouldn't pony up for a "first time writer." But Stallone was great to work with. As easy a collaboration as I've had with Beau [Smith] or Scott Beatty. We've talked a few times since then and he got me the gig of writing dialogue for the Expendables video game. Show less «

I think of Charles Schulz. People asked him all the time why he worked so hard and why he didn't take vacations. He would tell them that he worked so long and so hard to get the job he had that he didn't ever want to have a time when he *wasn't* doing it. I can't stop writing. And the opportunity ebooks offer to write without the interference and expense and delays of traditional publishing is irresistible. Show less «