Goldman Says "Shazam!"
By Beth Hannan Rimmels
New Line Cinema has hired two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter William Goldman to author the script for its feature film version of DC Comics' Shazam! The title is a revival of the 1940s Fawcett Comics character Captain Marvel, in which mild-mannered boy Billy Batson discovers that he can call on the powers of an ancient Egyptian wizard. The name "Shazam" is an acronym for six ancient figures who gift Captain Marvel with the wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, power of Zeus, courage of Achilles and speed of Mercury. "Shazam!" is being executive produced by "Batman" executive producer Michael Uslan and is being overseen at New Line by production execs Chris Godsick and Mark Kaufman. Goldman won Oscars for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men. He most recently adapted the Stephen King novel Dreamcatcher which opened March 21. DC Comics recently announced that writer/artist Jeff Smith (Bone) would work on a new release of Shazam for the comic book company.