Looney Tunes: Back in Action began as part of a more ambitious plan to bring back Looney Tunes shorts to the theaters. While overseeing the shorts program, Doyle wrote an early draft based on his own story that got the movie greenlit and sent it barreling into production. The script looked considerably different two months later. Doyle and many other writers wrote many, many subsequent drafts, including several while the movie was shooting -- and more after it was done.
Things Which Became Movies and Which Did Not
Duplex was inspired by the Park Slope, Brooklyn apartment Larry Doyle bought with his wife in 1995. After Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore signed on, the idea was sold to Miramax in the fall of 2001. The first draft was delivered in January, followed by a second, and so on. The sixth or so draft was delivered the following January, at which point Danny DeVito was brought in to direct, and the original writer was no longer required. The writer subsequently worked on reshoots, some of which were incorporated in the final film.
Larry Doyle has written too many other screenplays. Of those not in active development, two remain favorites which Doyle hopes will be produced some day.
Shooting Stewart, based on a character created by Dave Sheridan, was written for Mike Judge and Rick Linklater in 1997.
Life Without Leann, based on Doyle’s first New Yorker story, was written for Miramax in 2002.
Doyle continues to seek work in Hollywood, which he loves like a Brother.
I Love You, Beth Cooper began as an idea for a movie, which Doyle then wrote as a book, which then became a movie. Doyle wrote about this at length in the introduction to the expanded movie tie-in edition. After writing the first draft of the movie, Fox requested an annotation detailing anything possibly based on real life. The final shooting draft is a bit different than the first, and there was also several alternative endings Doyle wrote but which was never shot. Here’s two: 1, 2.
Doyle recently finished the second draft of his screenplay for Go, Mutants!, his latest novel. Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment is producing for Universal. No release date, or casting news, or anything, but so far everything couldn’t be more swell. In the meantime, you may enjoy the story in word form, or on the book’s needlessly wonderful website.
