Swift Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Columbia to Bring 'Tom Swift' to the Big Screen
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Scripts »
It's been almost two years since Nickelodeon exec Albert Hecht nabbed the rights to Tom Swift, primed to guide the long-time adventurer's first trip to the big screen. And it sounded like a good plan -- kid adventurers are all the rage these days, and there are few notable icons left that haven't gotten the feature treatment. But that development never went anywhere, and now there's a new spin on the horizon (one that will still have him involved as producer). Variety reports that Columbia Pictures has picked up a pitch by veteran Barry Sonnenfeld and newcomer BenDavid Grabinski called Swift, which the Men in Black director plans to helm.As is usually the case during the early stages of a production, they're not saying much about what this first trip to the screen will entail, other than this "version would feature Swift as one-half of a father-son team who are among the greatest inventors of all time." In other words, a version that basically follows the classic story started in 1910, with a bigger father-son kick.
It's not every day that a project gets its first movie 100 years after first hitting the stands, and I have a feeling that this little project will look anything but dated. Considering the wildness of Men in Black, I'm expecting some pretty impressive inventor mania. But is this the right time? Has Swift avoided cinema for good reason, or was he just waiting for a 21st century reveal? Are you ready for big-screen Swift?
Gulliver is Traveling Back to the Big Screen with Jack Black
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Scripts », Remakes and Sequels »
Move over, Ted Danson and Richard Harris -- there's a new Lemuel Gulliver in town! I guess going all the way back to Year One wasn't enough for Jack Black, because Variety reports that Twentieth Century Fox has grabbed the actor to star in a remake of the classic Gulliver's Travels, getting all tall in Lilliput. Rob Letterman (Shark Tale) is directing the film, from a script by Nicholas Stoller and Joe Stillman.This incarnation is said to be a "contemporary reimagining," which means -- Lemuel will be "a free-spirited travel writer" rather than a surgeon, who goes on assignment to the Bermuda Triangle, only to wash ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput. There, as we all know, he comes across "a population of industrius, yet tiny, people."
With Black on board, and being all "modernized," I think it's safe to assume that this will be more slapstick and silly than Swiftian social commentary. But really, I don't get the appeal. Is the material really asking for a reimagining, and when did old-school stories better left in the past suddenly become such hot property? (Three Stooges)
I'm not so sure about all of this, but what do you think? Will Black make a good, modern, Lemuel Gulliver? And moreover, if they're reimagining this sucker, shouldn't he get a more modern name?
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