When screenwriting team Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick auditioned to write Deadpool, they were coming off the success of their previous film, Zombieland. It was the summer of 2009, and neither had even heard of the Marvel superhero Deadpool, much less read one of the comic books about the character. But when their agent told them that 20th Century Fox was searching for writers, they dove into the material and spent a week learning all about the character.
Reese and Wernick auditioned for actor Ryan Reynolds, who had been championing the making of the film, and then for the studio. They got the job, and wrote the script.
“And then we spent the next five-and-a-half years being told, ‘No,’” says Wernick.
Obviously, this story has a happy ending, as Deadpool was a blockbuster hit. But Wernick admits that getting it to the screen was tough. The character of Deadpool isn’t exactly the typical superhero—he’s got a wicked sense of humor and is really off-beat. As a result, Deadpool wasn’t considered a “safe” studio movie. So it kept getting put on the back burner.
“It was a long, long, long, long road and a very depressing one,” admits Wernick. “We had the best script we’d ever written—in our eyes—and it was sitting on a shelf. People just didn’t really embrace it or get the character or tone.”
How did they keep themselves going through this tough time?
“Antidepressants,” quips Wernick.
Reese explains that they were working on other projects during that time, and they kept hoping the film would get the green light. “I think when you love something that much, you don’t let the flame die. It’s like an Olympic torch burning somewhere inside you; you just keep it burning in the hope,” explains Reese.
When they were finally given the green light, the writers couldn’t believe it. “We called each other, and we didn’t think it was real. Until the cameras started rolling, we still didn’t believe that this was coming to fruition,” says Wernick. “Then to see it become the massive success that it became, it was overwhelming because we knew it was something special.”
Reese and Wernick have worked together for well over a decade, but they actually met back in high school in Phoenix, Arizona. Reese was close friends with Wernick’s older brother; Reese was a senior when Wernick was a freshman.
The two reconnected in Los Angeles. Reese was a feature screenwriter and Wernick was a new producer for KCAL. They were watching an episode of Big Brother Two when Wernick said they should come up with an idea for a reality show. That led to The Joe Schmo Show, a reality show in which one guy thought he was coming on a reality show called “The Lap of Luxury” but was instead living in a mansion with nine actors pretending to be stereotypes from reality TV.
“To this date, it was our fondest Hollywood memory,” Reese says. “It was a blast to make, and I think it turned out very nicely.”
That’s not to say that they haven’t been happy with Deadpool. In fact, on the day I spoke with them, the guys were in Wernick’s living room staring at a big board with all the plots laid out in front of them, actively working on the movie’s sequel.
Is there any pressure to create a movie as great as the first one?
“No. None whatsoever. Pressure free,” jokes Wernick.
“Yeah, we eat pressure for breakfast. It causes stomach trouble, actually,” replies Reese.
“It actually eats us for breakfast,” says Wernick.
The writers recently confirmed that they are working on Zombieland 2, as well as the Deadpool sequel. But, as they’ve said, things weren’t always easy.
“The tough part about Hollywood is that so many people want to do it…The only advice I would ever give young people is if you love it, be relentless. Have a willingness to hear ‘no’ and keep on going. It’s not a sufficient condition to success, but it’s definitely necessary,” says Reese. “I think Deadpool, Zombieland, and Joe Schmo—all three of those things we’re most proud of—had to be willed into existence by just sheer imperviousness to rejection. None of those took an easy path to being made.”
Fun facts about Deadpool
- The scene in the movie where Deadpool forgets his guns? Reese says, “The reason we had him forget his guns was budgetary. We actually had a sequence in the third act where he fought with guns, and it became too expensive to shoot it, so we thought, ‘Well, why not have that come from the character—like he forgot his guns, like he left them in the cab.”
- The joke about David Beckham (which we can’t print here) is followed by Deadpool making a crack on Ryan Reynolds (who plays Deadpool). Reynolds thought it would be mean spirited if he just made fun of Beckham, so he threw in a joke about himself.
- There’s actually one thing that Ryan Reynolds is not good at. “Ryan is brilliant and funny and smart and makes us hate ourselves because he’s better at everything than we are—except darts,” says Wernick. “We actually beat Ryan Reynolds in a game of dates,” says Reese. “Ryan is the guy on the set who could immediately do what anyone else is doing on the entire set better than that person. So darts is the one thing we have. That’s our calling card now.”