The story of Hollywood one film at a time. Details provided in our making of stories are direct from cast/crew or 3+ sources. For everything ATRM, click below.
When Alejandro Jodorovsky’s ill-fated Dune project collapsed in 1976, effects supervisor Dan O’Bannon was left homeless. Living with his writing pal, Ronald Shusett, they came up with the idea for a science fiction/horror film. One which would change their lives forever.
George Lucas' first film was THX-1138 in 1971. It was a box office bomb but did pique studios' interests. UA offered Lucas a two-film deal. The first was American Graffiti. The second was what Lucas called “a space opera that’s a bit like a western, a bit like James Bond.” 
Two weeks after the release (and success) of the first Indiana Jones film - Raiders of the Lost Ark - director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas discussed a sequel. Lucas had told Spielberg he had three parts planned. As it turned out, there was no plan at all.
Even before the original trilogy became a huge success, George Lucas had always planned for the Star Wars saga to be told across multiple movies. Having negotiated a studio deal allowing him to retain sequel rights when making the first film, he planned for a total of nine.
In 1983, California Magazine published an article detailing the life of U.S. Airforce pilots at the Miramar base. Hollywood producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson thought it had the basis for a great movie, and Paramount Pictures agreed to fund the film.
In the 1970s, aspiring screenwriter David Franzoni travelled across Europe and the Middle East. Coming across many ancient arenas, he read Daniel P. Mannix’s 1958 book Those About to Die. It was about Roman Gladiators, and Franzoni thought it would make a great movie.
The first serious talk of an Avengers movie preceded the MCU. In 2005, Marvel Studios and Paramount struck a deal to make a series of Marvel Comics-based movies, one of which was The Avengers. Zak Penn (co-screenwriter of two X-men films) was hired to write the script. 
In 1982, E.T. beat Star Wars' record and Lucas returned the favour and took out the below ad for Spielberg.
Following Avengers: Age of Ultron, the MCU was moving into Phase 3 of its overarching story and two Avengers movies were planned. Joss Whedon had written-directed both Avengers films to that point but, citing exhaustion (and with rumours of on-set unrest), he stepped aside.
The story of Thanos collecting the Infinity Stones to wipe out half the universe was so epic, Marvel Studios knew they needed two films to do it. Infinity War and Endgame were filmed in one 200-day production. With Infinity War making $2bn, the pressure was on for Endgame.
In 1991, Brett Easton Ellis’ American Psycho was published. An 80s-set satire about a serial killer, film studios were interested almost immediately. Within on year, producer Edward Pressman had bought the rights.
In the late 1970s, amateur filmmakers George Miller and Byron Kennedy we’re looking to break into the professional industry. Working as a Doctor in a Sydney hospital at the time, Miller fleshed out an idea with Kenndy for a film set in a post-apocalyptic future.
In the early 1960s, successful French author Pierre Boulle was working on his latest novel. A science fiction story set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future, it was called La Planète des singes, translated as Planet of the Apes.
After releasing his classic satire Dr Strangelove in 1964, Kubrick knew he wanted his next project to be a groundbreaking science fiction film. He got in touch with acclaimed sci fi author and futurist Arthur C. Clarke by letter, asking if he wanted to collaborate on a script.
In 1995, Lana and Lily Wachowski had written Assassins. The producer of that film was Joel Silver, and the Wachowskis showed him their new screenplay called The Matrix. Silver loved the script, but not the Wachowskis’ insistence that they direct it themselves. 
In 1967, struggling writer Mario Puzo started penning a new book – an epic crime thriller he called Mafia. Paramount literary scouts came across the manuscript when it was just a 20-page outline and took it to Paramount Vice President of Production, Peter Bart.
The idea of a filming revolving around the two DC icons at loggerheads was first discussed by Warner Bros in 2000. Andrew Kevin Walker then Akiva Goldsman wrote scripts, with Wolfgang Petersen mooted to direct. The project was cancelled by WB in 2004.
2/25 - E.T. 
7 years after the success – and film adaptation of – his 1981 novel Red Dragon, author Thomas Harris published a sequel. It followed an enigmatic character from the first – Hannibal Lecter – and was called The Silence of the Lambs.
The Warriors is based on Sol Yurick's 1965 novel of the same name, which was inspired by the classic ancient Greek story Anabasis by Xenophon. Yurick drew on his experiences working in the Department of Welfare in New York City for a gritty portrayal of gang life.
The concept originated from Andrew Bergman's 1971 treatment Tex X, purchased by Warner Bros. for $50,000. It was bought as a vehicle for blacklisted comedian Dick Gregory to lead, but plans soon changed.
