I'm eagerly awaiting an order of a few issues of Hellblazer written by Warren Ellis. I figured it would be wise to read one of his runs before I write him and ask him to comment on the upcoming movie. Here's hoping he doesn't just tell me to fuck off, although I'd surely print that email out for the scrapbook.

IGN Filmforce has some news about the movie, casting and filming (thanks keanuweb and club-k)

FilmForce has seen twenty pages from the screenplay for Constantine, Warner Brothers' upcoming feature film adaptation of the Vertigo comic book John Constantine: Hellblazer. Keanu Reeves has been cast in the lead role of occult investigator John Constantine.

The news is fairly spoilerific so if you want to know more about the plot and the characters that they are currently casting, click the Filmforce quote there.

Likewise, purists shouldn't click the extended entry link, either.

OK, so I've seen these script pages* and while you don't get a whole lot of info on the John Constantine character or anything, it does give you a feel for things.
But there's no telling how close they are to what will eventually be the final script. They are basically audition tools for the other roles in the film.

Of course, there's the female lead, Angela. I believe this character was written for the movie and not based on any of the existing comic characters. In my mind I picture Linda Fiorentino, mainly just because she looks like an Angela to me.

Then there is Beeman, who the source describes as "sort of the "Q" to Constantine's James Bond." I have no idea of the age of the character or if he is based on anyone from the comic. They just say he's "diminutive". I wouldn't be at all suprised if the put someone like Seth Green as Beeman, the role basically being the occult equivalent of a gadget geek.

Then there is Chaz, who is apparently based on a major character in the comic, Frank "Chas" Chandler (the comic fans are a little miffy about the whole "z" thing). I'm going to have to re-read some of the Hellblazer issues I have to get reaquainted with Chas. It seems like he's somewhat of a "sidekick" in the movie, so here's hoping they can find someone witch that good chemistry and timing like John Hawkes did in Hardball.

One good thing is that I've read some reactions to these pages by fans of the Hellblazer comic and a few of them have some hope that Constantine will have enough Hellblazer elements to not completely depress them. They're still not terribly enthusiastic about Keanu playing the beloved bastard, but hopefully his performance will prove them wrong.

*No, I will not post the pages or how to get them, so don't even ask. I will say that you already have enough information to find them yourself. It may not be staring you right in the face, but you have it.