The final McCall?
EQUALIZER 3WRITER RICHARD WENK ON THE PAST — AND POSSIBLE FUTURE — OF THE ACTION FRANCHISE
WORDS CHRIS HEWITT
JUST LIKE XABI Alonso in the Champions League final in 2005, snatching up the rebound after his penalty had been saved by AC Milan goalie Dida, Richard Wenk got two bites at The Equalizer. The first time he was offered the chance to write a big-screen reboot of the ’80s Edward Woodward vigilante show came around the year 2000. “I said, ‘It’s a TV show, thanks a lot’, and that was the end of that,” laughs Wenk. He then went about his business as an in-demand writer of solid, character-based action with the likes of 16 Blocks and The Mechanic, but it came his way again, courtesy of producers Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal. This time, before he could say no, they dropped a name that is the Hollywood equivalent of an open goal. “They said, ‘We have Denzel Washington, who will read it without an offer,’” recalls Wenk. “I was like, ‘Oh, hold on…’” Back of the net.