Stop the presses; a screenwriter says he's sorry

(Courtesy:  Warner Bros.)

I remember interviewing John Travolta when the Scientology-based sci-fi thriller "Battlefield Earth" was about to launch at movie houses in May 2000.

It was a difficult interview because I hated the movie and dreaded the moment that might come when Travolta, a personal favorite and one of the cinema's most personable stars, might ask, "So, what did you think about the movie?"

Travolta was too smart for that, of course.  He said all the right things about the movie, but I got the feeling at the time that Travolta might not have his full heart in touting the not-exactly-epic film based on the novel by L. Ron Hubbard, the Scientology founder.

Fast-forward to 2010 and an amazing thing has happened.  J.D. Shapiro, who wrote the "Battlefield Earth" screenplay, took out an ad in the New York Post to basically say he was sorry and that his script is not the one that earned the film the Razzie Award dishonors as "Worst Movie of the Decade," according to CNN's blog The Marquee.

“My script was very, VERY different than what ended up on the screen,” Shapiro said. “My screenplay was darker, grittier and had a very compelling story with rich characters.”