Ninja Turtles Script Leak Is Called Terrible and Gets Compared to Transformers

Back in June, it was announced that producer Michael Bay and Paramount Pictures were delaying the production of Ninja Turtles, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
big screen reboot that has a lot of fans in an uproar, because they
hated the script. Soon after, the PR police swooped in and said that it
wasn't actually the script causing the delay, which bumped the movie
from Christmas 2013 to the summer of 2014, but the fact that they needed
to improve upon certain special effects, and that they also wanted the
movie to arrive in time for the Turtles' 30th Anniversary.

But now, the original script by André Nemec and Josh Appelbaum
has leaked, and in turn was hurriedly pulled off the Internet by
Paramount Pictures, helping to prove the legitimacy of it. Those that
read it and reviewed it before it was "disappeared" confirmed that fans
worst fears about the movie were true, and that the script played like a
retooled version of Michael Bay's own Transformers.


Apparently, Paramount Pictures had a lot to be concerned about with
this draft. The script, which is out there floating in the ether, and
available if you know how to find it (you may not want to), is being
described as "terrible", both in style and content.

Here are some of the key problem points with the script (as pointed out by screenrant).

• The
  script includes a character named Colonel Schrader, the head of a
  secret military operation run by an army nicknamed "The Foot" (get it?).
• Casey
  Jones and April O'Neil are now dating and in high school. The two have
  reached a crossroads, as Casey is an unambitious slacker, while April is
  becoming an intern for CBS. Casey is also described as being the
  protagonist of the film - not the turtles.
• The Turtles crack a
  variety of "updated" pop-culture jokes, making references to Kermit the
  Frog, cell phones, and the Kung Fu Panda movies (among other things).
• Casey
  and the Turtles eventually travel to Dimension X, where the four
  reptilian warriors discover they are members of a Turtle-like
  extraterrestrial race (and not mutants, as they previously believed).

Each page of the script is being called a misstep, as the story is
chock full of inane juvenile humor, it turns April into a nagging poster
girl ala Megan Fox, and it makes the turtles a secondary component to the teenage Casey. This new Ninja Turtles
sets out to build a unqiue mythology unknown to fans, and its possible
that some of these elements may be retained in future drafts.

Peter Laird, original co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, actually commented about this version of the script. This is what he had to say.



The original script review and leak came from TMNTnotTANT, and its authenticity has not been confirmed by Paramount Pictures, but is certainly smelling like the real deal.

And now I leave you with this line of dialogue from the script.




At least you can sigh a quick breath of relief. This isn't the script
going before cameras early next year. The question now is, "How much can
they fix before its too late?"

Ninja Turtles comes to theaters May 16th, 2014. The film is directed by Jonathan Liebesman.