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The Woman Behind 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' -- Nicole Perlman

This article is more than 9 years old.

The millions of people who will pack theaters this weekend to watch Marvel’s latest comic book blockbuster, Guardians Of The Galaxy, likely won’t care who wrote the movie. They’ll plop down their ticket money for a fun ride complete with comedy, action and a talking raccoon.

But whether they know it or not, the film is groundbreaking. Guardians is the first Marvel movie to be written by a woman.

That woman is 33-year-old Nicole Perlman. Historically, action movies have been a pretty tight guy’s club. The films are made for teenage boys and who knows teenage boys better than men? Women screenwriters tell personal, domestic tales. Male screenwriters create action.

But kudos to Marvel for ignoring that old fashioned thinking, at least for this one movie.

Perlman got her start writing scripts about the people behind the science. A life-long sci-fi fan, Perlman became fascinated early on by physicists and astronauts. Her childhood hero was Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman who is best known for his work on quantum mechanics. One of Perlman’s first screenplays was about Feynman’s role investigating the Challenger shuttle disaster.

“I’m a big fan of scientists as characters and real fleshed out people in films,” said Perlman during a rare quiet moment at the most recent Comic Con. “But I wanted to put it into a larger sphere.”

Perlman’s work caught the eyes of the folks at Marvel in 2009. The studio had a rare opportunity. It wanted to hire 4-6 writers to work in house developing comic book properties. The writers could have a go at any character in the vast Marvel Universe and they were given the time and space to work solely on that project.

Studio deals like this used to be a given in Hollywood but in today’s more frugal world, they’re seen as an indulgent expense. Most screenwriters must work on several projects at once in order to make enough money to get by (and to ensure that when most of their projects fall through there’s at least one that’s viable).

Marvel had plenty of more high profile characters to choose from but Perlman was drawn to the Guardians of the Galaxy universe. Started in 1969, the series is the most sci-fi of the Marvel world because it takes place in space. Guardians consists of dozens of heroes in several different incarnations. The scope of the world gave Perlman plenty of room to play with the characters.

“Everything in the screenplay is original in the sense that it’s not based on any particular comic book,” says Perlman.

Perlman was able to move characters around, create new relationships and even change the backstory of the film’s hero Peter Quill (played by Chris Pratt).

“There were five or six other scripts being developed so I was thrilled when mine was chosen,” says Perlman. “I felt like I could make a lot of bold choices because I didn’t have the burden of worrying about disappointing the fans. I was able to write what I want to write.”

Perlman’s version of the world is now taking off. Comic books reflect the new mythology and it will be the basis for not just the masses of merchandise hitting shelves but the sequel which has already been greenlit by Marvel’s home studio, Disney. (Perlman won’t be writing the second film. Director-writer James Gunn will tackle the next script.)

Marvel ended their in-house screenwriter program in 2011 but called Perlman back in to do some work on the film, which is getting stellar reviews. It currently scores a 96 out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes. Her career is now set to blossom. Her Challenger script has been re-optioned (which means someone has the exclusive right to try and make the picture) and she’s at work on several other projects including a Pandora’s Box story with Cirque Du Soliel which won’t be a circus but rather will use the company’s physicality and look for an original movie.

Perlman is also working hard to keep the science in movies honest. She’s heavily involved in the Science and Entertainment Exchange which offers up scientists to filmmakers who want to make sure that things like the flesh-eating bacteria they’ve dreamed up could really exist. But she’s had to make concession in her own film.

“I didn’t want there to be any explosions in space,” laughs Perlman. “But I understand the need for spectacle. I do my best but I know it has to be a ride.”

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