Will Jac Schaeffer Do Marvel's "Black Widow" Justice?
If TiMER is any indication of Jac Schneider's abilities, then Black Widow is in serious trouble.
If Wonder Woman's success is any indication, the world is ready for more women-led superhero films. WW broke records and barriers, becoming the first successful, woman-led superhero film. WW is something we've been asking for for years but film industry execs didn't think that a woman-led superhero film could bring in the big bucks. Boy were they wrong! Now, that Hollywood has gotten the message, Black Widow has gotten the green light. But there's cause for worry.
Jac Schaeffer is rumored to have been selected to pen Black Widow's solo film debut. But who the heck is Jac Schaeffer? What has she done? Why is she the right woman for the job?
Schaeffer made her screenwriting debut in 2009 film TiMER, an unconventional romantic comedy about timer implants being able to predict and countdown to the day the wearer will meet their soulmate, provided their soulmate also has the timer implant. The humor was a bit dry. I struggled to sit through the entire film, but I had to. I was hoping against all hope that the film would turn into something magical. It didn't. Granted, the film wasn't horrible. It was just not very memorable, exciting or funny-not entertaining.
Schaeffer also wrote The Shower, a Black List script (film and television scripts that were not selected for production, so a group of professionals offer to do readings of the script). The Shower is about a baby shower that is abruptly interrupted by a meteor shower that turns all of the men into blood-thirsty zombies. It's not a film premise I'd get excited about. It sounds like a film I'd maybe check out if it were on network television and I couldn't find anything to watch. The celebrities who read for The Shower raved about its unexpected and fresh writing. Maybe that says something. But the humor was just flat or nonexistent. Not even the talented Anne Hathaway reading could spruce it up. Schaeffer also wrote Frozen's Olaf's Adventures. Kids like Frozen, so there's that.
This isn't looking all that great for Black Widow and she deserves better. Now is not the time to take a gamble on one of the most anticipated female superhero characters--someone fans been dying to see in a solo film since her first film appearance in Iron Man 2. What about about Ryan Coogler? Everything he's written has been beyond beautiful, especially Black Panther. How about Nicole Perlman who wrote Guardians of the Galaxy? Or Jane Goldman who wrote Kick-Ass and Kingsman: The Secret Service?
