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Poor Frank Darabont. The much-loved(ish) writer/director of The Shawshank Redemption has had a rough few days. First, in a stroke of George Clooney-esqe fate, he found that he would not be getting screenplay credit on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. As he says, "I know there are some common elements to what I gave Steven [Spielberg] and what was eventually shot, but I guess not enough to warrant credit. It's clearly a disappointment, especially after Steven loved my script." Notice that Darabont goes out of his way to not mention George Lucas. Apparently there's some tension between the two. When asked if he'd ever work with Lucas again, Darabont coldly replied:

"Honestly, our storytelling sensibilities have diverged to the point where that would be a pointless exercise."

So, Darabont won't get credit on what will surely be one of the summer's biggest movies, and he burned a bridge with one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. Surely nothing else could go wrong...

Oh wait, Tom Hanks just pulled out of his latest movie. Darabont had long wanted to direct an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and everything was going smoothly with Hanks signed on to be his leading man. But now, Darabont says:

Mr. Hanks sadly and regretfully had to back out. I was really looking forward to working with him again but his other commitments just precluded it. He had to take a step back.


Man, when it rains it pours. Maybe Darabont should get his hands on some dank Tom Cruise Purple and chill out for the weekend.