Caruso and the Beanstalk and McG Goes '20,000 Leagues'
Some strange features taking shape...
I have tried to shy away from these casting and directorial announcements, but sometimes they are just a bit too interesting to completely ignore as Variety has announced a pair of potentially intriguing features.
The first is called Jack the Giant Killer, which is described as an adult look at the Jack and the Beanstalk legend with D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye and Disturbia) directing. The synopsis reads as:
When a princess is kidnapped, a long-standing peace between men and giants becomes threatened, and a young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giant kingdom to rescue her.
Darren Lemke wrote the script; Mark Bomback did a rewrite.
The other film is apparently where McG will be heading after Terminator Salvation as Disney has lured him into their clutches for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo, an origin story of Nemo as he creates his warship, the Nautilus, based on the characters from the Jules Verne novel. Disney hopes to make the film this year and here is a 'graph from the report:
The 1954 original "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" was the first live-action film made by Walt Disney, who famously bet his studio on a movie best remembered for the giant squid scene. It became the second-highest grossing film that year and won three Oscars. The film has also been the basis for various rides at the Disney theme park over the years.
I have actually never seen the '54 original, but it is in my Netflix queue and was actually part of my Instant queue before it expired. Oh well…










