The Illustrated Man

Book cover used as placeholder

***The Illustrated Man*** is a canceled project that was once set to be directed by Zack Snyder. Alex Tse would have written the adaptation of Ray Bradbury's 1951 collection of short stories of the same name for Warner Bros. *The Illustrated Man* was similarly adapted into a film under director Jack Smight, though the selection of adapted stories differ between the 1969 film and the one Snyder would have directed.

## Synopsis

In the distant future, humanity has expanded technology to the point that they've become dependent on the cold, lifeless grasp it has over their lives. Six different stories would have been told throughout the movie, including "The Illustrated Man", "The Veldt", and "The Concrete Mixer". The other three were never revealed.

"**The Illustrated Man**": A man is tattooed by a strange woman. One of his tattoos depicts him killing his wife, and the other depicts his fellow carnival workers beating him for the murder. Both of these events come to pass.

"**The Veldt**": Displeased at how technology has taken their role as caregivers to their children, parents deactivate their automated home to raise their children in a better manner. The children revolt, unwittingly killing their parents with the virtual reality nursery their parents had deactivated.

"**The Concrete Mixer**": A Martian invading force begins to attack Earth, but finds Earth to welcome their arrival. The protagonist realizes the humans are more nefarious than they seem, but is struck by a car and killed before he can escape.

## Production

This adaptation of *The Illustrated Man* was originally part of Zack Snyder's first-look deal with Warner Bros. after the success of *300*. Alex Tse, who had also just co-written Snyder's *Watchmen*, was brought in to write the script. The film was set to be comprised of six short stories from Ray Bradbury's original work, including "The Illustrated Man", "The Veldt", and "The Concrete Mixer". Tse revealed this portion of the list in an interview with Steve Weintraub, also mentioning that he had personally pushed for the inclusion of "The Concrete Mixer". The other three stories were never revealed, and the project quickly faded into obscurity for unknown reasons. Snyder continued working on other projects for Warner Bros., becoming quite busy during the time *The Illustrated Man* would have gone into production.

Announced on August 28, 2007, through *Variety*, Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller were set to produce and executive produce, respectively, through Cruel & Unusual Films, Inc. Denise Di Novi and Frank Darabont would also have produced and the late Alison Greenspan would have executive produced, all through Di Novi Pictures.

## Crew

Zack Snyder
DirectorDenise Di Novi
ProducerDeborah Snyder
ProducerFrank Darabont
ProducerWesley Coller
Executive producerAlison Greenspan
Executive producerAlex Tse
Writer
## Studios

Cruel & Unusual Films, Inc.
ProductionDi Novi Pictures
ProductionWarner Bros.
Distribution

## References

1. ↑ Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. July 21, 2009. *300: The Complete Experience* (p.30)
2. ↑ Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub. "Exclusive: Screenwriter Alex Tse talks ILLUSTRATED MAN and FRANKIE MACHINE". *Collider*. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved on February 19, 2009. “He also told me 3 of the 6 stories that are going to be in the movie and they're the 'Illustrated Man' story (obviously), the 'Veldt', and the 'Concrete Mixer'!”
3. ↑ Diane Garrett. "Zack Snyder to direct 'Illustrated'". *Variety*. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved on August 28, 2007. “Di Novi Pictures and Snyder's shingle, Cruel and Unusual Films, are producing the remake.”