Okay, try and stay with me on this: it's a movie about six children who are genetically engineered to fly. Now, what if said kids escaped from those experimenting on them and were subsequently pursued by a pack of human-wolf hybrids?

I know what you're thinking -- that this could either be the best movie ever made or anything but. Variety has reason to think that Columbia is tipping towards the former, as they've picked up the rights to James Patterson's young adult book series, Maximum Ride. It seems like quite the change of pace for Patterson, he of Alex Cross mystery fame, but as far as the adaptation is concerned, perhaps Don Payne can rein things in, what with two straight-up superhero scripts already under his belt. Oh, and did I mention that frequent Marvel movie producer Avi Arad is also on board?

(Dare I make a suggestion, though: the title makes me think of a guide to Jean-Claude Van Damme's all-time favorite rollercoasters more than a mutants-on-the-lam saga. Just sayin'.)

Can any of our trusty readers vouch for the novels, or at least for their offspring who might have picked up at least one of the four published to date? Are those as new to the concept as I am game for this potential franchise in the making? Goodness knows that we'll need something to fill that supernatural-teen gap post-Twilight...

The last time we spoke with Don Payne, it was just before his screenwriting debut (My Super Ex-Girlfriend) hit the multiplexes. Since that time he's been hard at work as a writer/producer on The Simpsons, finishing up his screenplay for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and bracing himself for a powerful barrage of fanboy nitpickery. So when I spoke with Mr. Payne about spilling some Fantastic beans for the Cinematical readers, he said "Hey, why not open the floor to some questions from everyone?" And so we did. Several readers followed the instructions carefully and sent in some very solid questions. So here they are!


Q: Will Victor Von Doom / Doctor Doom be more like the comic book version this time? Two major shortcomings of the movie version was the tepid romantic triangle with Sue (which never occurs in the comics) and the business mogul backstory that was almost exactly like Norman Osborn's from the first Spider-Man movie. Will Latveria at least be mentioned?

A: Doom is going to be less like the Norman Osborn-esque billionaire and more like the Dr. Doom we all know and love -- with a scientific mind that rivals Reed's. While you can't just ignore how the character was set up in the first film, I think we're getting much closer here to the Doom in the comics. Personally, I would love to see him stride into the U.N. in full armor as ruler of Latveria in a future film.

I don't want to spoil anything Latverian, but we DID see his body being shipped there at the end of the first film. As far as the romantic triangle from the first film goes, that storyline is over. There is no reference to it in this movie.

Q: The trailer seems to indicate Galactus' energies were responsible for the storm that gave the Four their powers. Is this the case? Was this inspired by the Heroes Reborn run, or just something that seemed natural?

A: In my mind, there is mysterious, matter-altering, cosmic "stuff" in the universe which was present in both the storm which hit the FF in the first film and the energy that Galactus wields. However, that's not explicitly stated in the movie -- other than a line where Reed says the cosmic radiation causing anomalies around the world is "not unlike" that which gave the FF their powers. But the cosmic event in the first film and Galactus are otherwise completely unrelated. It was not inspired by the Heroes Reborn run. (But that was a fun run.)

Yes, that's right: You could co-(co-co-co-etc.) interview Mr. Don Payne, Emmy-winning writer-producer on The Simpsons and non-Oscar-winning screenwriter of last summer's My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Mr. Payne, who doesn't need to change his name if he decides to take up pro wrestling, also co-wrote this summer's highly-anticipated Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer ... and Cinematical's got the access to get your questions answered! Got a query regarding Fantastic Four 2 that you need answered? Then you've come to the correct movie blog, my friends, because Don wants to answer it!

All you have to do is jot your question(s) down in an email, send the email to this address, and then wait patiently until I can turn the questions and answers into something approximating legible articles. I could have cobbled together 12 or 15 interview questions on my own, but we decided to spread the wealth for a bunch of reasons: A) I already interviewed the man last year -- but that was way too early for us to start discussing FF2, B) I'm really very lazy, and C) We want serious questions from hardcore Fantastic freaks as well as fans of Payne's other work. So if there's something you want to know about Silver Surfer, Dr. Doom, Galactus, The Thing, The Flame Kid, The Stretchy Dude or Inviso-hottie -- now's your chance! It's queryin' time! (Note: Mr. Payne may opt to skip questions that are A) silly, B) redundant or C) spoileriffic. Don't take it personally.)

Fans of the screenwriting trade might be unfamiliar with Mr. Don Payne -- but that's about to change. After slaving away on a variety of ill-fated sitcoms, Don got his big break when he landed a sweet gig on the writing staff of The Simpsons. While hard at work helping to concoct new scenarios for everyone's favorite Springfieldians, Don still found the time to bang out a screenplay that attracted a lot of interested glances throughout Hollywood. That screenplay was called Super Ex (which has since been lengthened to My Super Ex-Girlfriend), and it not only attracted interest from Regency Enterprises, but also the attention of stars Luke Wilson and Uma Thurman -- in addition to veteran comedy expert Ivan Reitman. And with his very first movie poised to hit the screens (on July 21), Don landed an assignment to pen next summer's Fantastic Four 2, a project that the Marvel maniacs are keeping a very close eye on.

Don was kind enough to sit down and have a lengthy chat with yours truly (and on his birthday, no less!) to share some info on how The Simpsons gets made, how he penned the world's first superheroine rom-com, and how he hopes to be part of a reinvigorated Fantastic Four franchise. And here's how the conversation went down.