Screenwriter Ben Trebilcook has been relatively known of late for his efforts toward scripting a new installment of the Die Hard franchise. His longest struggle, however, lies with his latest prospective original novel IP, Daisy Scarlett, which has seen an evolution that dates back as far as 1994.
“Though it has a couple of big set pieces, it’s a lot more raw than Bond.” says Trebilcook who also describes the project as once in the vein of a female Indiana Jones, later taking on several names before landing on the more preferred female James Bond-type.
That progression, he tells me, led to a few legal wranglings and pub conversations while maintaining at least one other Daisy concept for which his agent once sought after the likes of actresses Sharon Stone and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
The aspiring film scribe and South London educator had been pursuant of a screenwriting for as long as the existence of such franchises as Die Hard and even Mission: Impossible, having continually met with industry figures during their respective development processes – including the latter for the third installment which went to J.J. Abrams and writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.
“I was cut down and actually told by one producer ‘you have to change these female characters to become male! Action is always about the guys!'” he says. “That was the point! It’s always guys!”
Daisy Scarlett, in her current incarnation, is described as an MI-6 agent with a bit of drinking problem. Nowadays, she’s torn between serving her King and country and not disappointing her boss – her father, or her ex-spy-cum-conspiracy theorist mother who even has her own webcast.
Trebilcook’s development trajectory has so far shared a path with a number of hopeful potential directors, including close friend and stunt coordinator Peter Pedrero whose credits as such include Dave Bautista’s race-against-time thriller Final Score, and Gareth Evans’ seething period thriller, Apostle.
The director’s position remains empty at the moment. In the meantime, Trebilcook is now introducing the project to hopeful prosepcts in the Far East, welcoming on board his longtime friend and legendary film producer, Mario Kassar, who has since listed the project on his own website.
“I’ve known him a long time.” says Trebilcook who serves as executive producer of Randy Korompis’s latest, Foxtrot Six. “I could never ignore his continuous advice and guidance. I did a different draft of ‘Daisy’, an ‘Indonesian draft’, and that’s where I’m roughly at.”
A movie is still a long ways from happening, although I’m told the wheels can start turning as soon as around Fall or Winter. Trebilcook’s independently-published Daisy Scarlett novel is still on Amazon along with other books he’s written, including “My Name Is Not Jacob Ramsay”, the Die Hard-inspired “Old Habits”, and more.
