Over the summer, there were some really weird ideas going around Hollywood and one of them was Paul Thomas Anderson, the filmmaker behind serious dramas like There Will Be Blood and Inherent Vice, writing a Pinocchio movie. There hadn’t been any news on that until last night, when it was confirmed that he will not direct.
Back in July, it was reported that Anderson was hired to write the film, which has been a passion project for Robert Downey Jr. for years. The Iron Man actor is even producing the movie with his wife, Susan Downey, and Dan Jinks. It is set up at Warner Bros.
Since Anderson has never written a screenplay that he didn’t end up directing, many speculated that he would also direct this film. But Jeff Sneider of TheWrap reports that Anderson definitely won’t direct it. Unfortunately, Sneider offered no other details.
Pinocchio will be based on the 1883 Carlo Collodi book, which was also the basis for Disney’s famous 1940 version that included the song “When You Wish Upon A Star.” Of course, Disney is also developing a live action film and Guillermo Del Toro has wanted to make his own stop-motion adaptation for awhile.
It seems a bit bizarre that Warner Bros. would even still be working on this, especially after Pan was a complete disaster at the box office, even with Hugh Jackman starring.
As for Anderson, his most recent film was Inherent Vice. He recently directed two videos for singer Joanna Newsom, who starred in Inherent Vice. Anderson also made a documentary called Junun.