There are a lot of crazy ideas that get thrown around Hollywood, but this one has to take the cake... at least for this week. Paul Thomas Anderson has been hired to write a Pinocchio remake that Robert Downey Jr. is working on at Warner Bros.
This bizarre bit of news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter and was also reported by Variety. Both sites note that Anderson was only hired to write a new draft. However, since he has never written a movie that he didn’t direct, it seems like he would decide to work in that capacity if the draft goes well.
A previous draft was written by Michael Mitnick (The Giver). Downey will produce with his wife, Susan Downey, and Dan Jinks.
Downey has been trying to make this film for years, but he started working in earnest on it as Disney has had hit after hit with live action adaptations of fairy tales. Plus in April, Disney reportedly hired Peter Hedges to write a Pinocchio script.
Pinocchio was written by Carlo Collodi and is in the public domain. The story centers on a wooden puppet who wants to be a real boy. The puppet was built by Geppetto, which is the role Downey wants to play.
Coincidentally, Downey was supposed to star in Anderson’s previous film, Inherent Vice, which was made at Warner Bros. However, the obligation to Marvel and Disney to make Avengers: Age of Ultron prevented the two friends from working together.
Anderson has never made a film that even comes close to being family friendly. He’s been nominated for screenplays four times and picked up Best Picture and Best Director nods for 2007’s There Will Be Blood.
image courtesy of Famous/ACE/INFphoto.com