You had me at Paul Thomas Anderson!
With the success for Disney’s live-action adaptations of their [animated adaptations of] children’s stories, usually with well-known filmmakers (i.e. Tim Burton) and/or actors, other studios are starting to get in on it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, The Master, ok, I’ll stop) joins the ranks of these filmmakers as he is taking a stab at Robert Downey Jr’s live-action adaptation of Pinocchio – writing a draft of the script and possibly directing, likely depending on how well the draft goes.
Downey is going to play Geppetto, the lonely man that accidentally creates a living puppet, but he is also the lead producer on the film alongside his wife Susan Downey. And they’ve had quite a time trying to find the right writer/director. Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) and Jane Goldman (Kick-ass, X-Men: Days Of Future Past) have both written drafts, but it seems it might all fall on Paul Thomas Anderson, hot off Inherent Vice, which was one of 2014’s best films. Pinocchio certainly seems in PTA’s wheelhouse in terms of complexity, and I’d be interested to see how he channels a children’s story through his own aesthetic. I’d love to see what him and Downey could create together. It’s strange thinking of PTA doing a blockbuster (though he admits to liking them a lot!) but if Downey Jr. could secure him the freedom he needs to make the film his own I see no issue here at all. Bring on Pinocchio.
What do you guys make of this?