Movies I'd Like to See: Part II

A week or so ago I posted a piece about the feature projects in development that I'd most like to see. These are my personal picks and the movies that I also feel will do the best at the box office. The trend towards comedy, action, sci-fi and fantasy continues - which does not come as a surprise. You could say, it's what the world needs now.

But there's also strong evidence of even more Gothic Horror in a modern setting going into development and production thanks to the wild success of The Twilight Saga, the True Blood episodic franchise on HBO, the coming Tim Burton adaptation of gothic 70s soap Dark Shadows and the literary classics turned comedy/horror mashups (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) by the upcoming film's writer Seth Grahame-Smith and too many more to mention. It helps to look at projects in terms of their trending topics/genres, don't you think? And also a lot of fun.

Tink

Disney has put a live-action romantic comedy into development based on the mischievous pixie, Tinkerbell, from that studio's animated feature Peter Pan. If you recall, Tinkerbell had thing for Peter but had a funny way of showing it. Now Elizabeth Banks will star as that meddling romantic in a script by Elizabeth Wright Shapiro. This should be a lot of fun and you can be sure that Disney (who is SO careful about their characters) will shepherd it in the right direction. Adam Shankman, Jenifer Gibgot and McG are set as the producing team.

At The Mountains of Madness

Universal has set up this adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft novel with Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins writing the script. Here's the story. A science expedition to the South Pole goes haywire when they stumble on (and awaken) the elder gods from another planet who came here to change the trajectory of mankind. Complications ensue. To date, no-one has found the key to adapting Lovecraft's clthonic creatures to the screen with success but with Guillermo del Toro involved, that's about to change - especially now that James Cameron has also signed on as the 3D producer.

Del Toro has a busy slate. Since exiting The Hobbit(due to MGM financial issues) after writing both films, he's signed up to produce for Disney's "Double Dare You" label. Just this week he announced at Comic Con that he's co-writing and producing three more movies I'd like to see: Haunted Mansion (the story behind the Disney theme park ride) Frankenstein(I'm not sure if this is a remake of the classic film based on the book by Mary Shelley or what) and Slaughterhouse Five (an adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut classic).

The Exes

CBS Studio Films has optioned the rights to The Ex Files - a best-selling novel by Jane Moore. Though not a feature, I love the idea of brides and grooms confronting or coming into contact with their former loves before they tie the marriage knot. Long ago, when I first graduated college and went to work for Len Hill Films, we made a movie for television called The Last Fling. The premise is very similar - a beautiful bride-to-be has one last fling and feels more than she's supposed to with the new guy. I think I actually have screen credit on that for being assistant to the producers. Pre-nuptial romps (like My Best Friend's Wedding, Enchanted, The Proposal and 27 Dresses, to name a few) have proven very popular with audiences of all ages, but resonnate especially well with the female audience - as you'd expect.

Trixie

Dean Koontz' beloved golden retriever Trixie may have passed away but she'll be coming to life on a screen near you in a new family comedy, being developed at 1019 Entertainment. Trixie is the star of Koontz' memoir A Big Little Life, she "wrote" Bliss to You and is featured in a series of children's picture books, which became the banner for last summer's PetSmart campaign. Stephanie Fitch Groff is writing the screenplay. For anyone who loves animals (and there's an old saw that says you can't compete with a dog), this is a sure fire hit for general audiences with a worldwide appeal. If you watch this short story about how Trixie inspired the writer, you'll want to see the movie too.



Dean Koontz has his own Frankenstein in the works as a possible feature franchise. He and a pair of writing partners have written two books and he has written two more by himself in a series of best-sellers about a modern day doctor/businessman, living in New Orleans with his creature Deucalion. The doctor moonlights as the creator of "engineered" humans, who (apparently) are something of an abomination, as the title of book 4, Lost Souls, suggests. 1019 CEO Terry Botwick and producer Ralph Winter are behind this one too.

The Woman in Black

Hammer Films has purchased the rights to this gothic thriller to be shot in 3D. Based on the classic novel by Susan Hill, The Woman in Black was adapted as a TV movie in 1989 and stage play, which continues its run in London's West End. It's a ghost story, about young solicitor Arthur Kipps, who goes to investigate the estate of the recently deceased widow, Mrs. Drablow, and after a series of hauntings (and much to his own peril), uncovers an old family secret involving the death of a woman and her illegitimate son. The setting itself is enough to get your imagination going - Eel Marsh House is one of those quaint coastal properties on a causeway that's completely cut off from the mainland at high tide. The American version is being adapted to the screen by Jane Goldman with the former Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe in the title role. James Watkins will direct the film. Production starts later this year.

Before I Fall

Fox 2000 has optioned the rights to the best-selling teen novel, Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver. It's an original story but uses the Groundhog Day hook of a character reliving the same day over and over again. In this case, the character is a teenaged student who is involved in a fatal accident and relives the day of the tragedy seven times to learn what happened. Jon Shestack and Ginny Pennekamp are producing with Maria Maggenti adapting the novel to the big screen.

Hawkwood

Fox Features is developing this swashbuckling action-comedy (based on a real, though morally challenged Sir John Hawkwood)a rakish swordsman who worked as a mercenary during the Renaissance Wars and had a habit of switching sides. In the midst of one papal campaign, Hawkwood sided with the people he was sent to decimate and topped things off by marrying the Duke of Milan's illegitimate daughter. Hah! A true buccaneer.

That's all I have on the story but John Hawkwood was a real "character", which makes the project pretty appealing, especially coming on the heels of the delightfully naughty Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Jared Stern is writing the script for sexy comedy star Russell Brand (who will also be producing) along with Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark and Nicky Weinstock of Chernin Entertainment.

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Because all but one of these new movie projects are based on books, I've included a clip from a NY Times interview with John Irving, one of the master novelists of our time, on how he writes backwards and about how long it takes him to write a book. He also said in a different interview that "when I want to direct a movie, I write a novel" - great advice for screenwriters! This was recorded last summer, in anticipation of Irving's latest book Last Night, in Twisted River (which came out in November 2009 and is said to be somewhat autobiographical in details).