Monday, July 30, 2007

Forgotten Mouse Tales 5...


Time for another look at what the Mouse has bought and forgotten. Sometimes stories get snapped up almost because there's a "I've got to have it first" mentality in Hollywood. This affects practcally every studio in Southern California and even Disney is not immune from this behavior...

The Greatest American Hero
 

Walt Disney Pictures had Stephen J. Cannell ready to produce this pitch, writen by Paul Hernandez, a super-hero fantasy based on the 80's televison series about a mild mannered teacher that finds a suit left by some form of aliens. He looses the instruction manual for how to operate the suit and the hilarity begins. Didn't they do this with "Condorman" already? Oh right, it was bad... wasn't it? Actually, I was a fan of this show as a little kid. With the right script and cast it could be a gem... just a suggestion to the casting agents, Steve Carell anyone?


The Three Pigs 

Walt Disney Feature Animation was supposed to make this retelling of the classic story that features the Pigs who take their book apart to confuse and keep the wolf away, build a paper airplane and fly off on a fairy tale adventure of their own. On their journey, they meet up with the cat and the fiddle and a dragon, cutting across many different levels of culture. The story was base on David Wiesner's best-selling children's book.


Modern Day Pirate Project

Not satisfied with rulling the seas of a period film, Walt Disney Pictures paid Daniel Taylor a mid-six figures for this modern-day story about pirates in the South China Sea. Jack Sparrow's great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandson perhaps? Andrew Gunn and Ann Marie Fanderlin were to produce.


Untitled Danny Cannon Pitch

Jerry Bruckheimer was to produce this film, to be written and directed by Danny Cannon about a man is hired to protect a woman, during which time something goes wrong and the duo find themselves on the run. That sounds like something I've never seen before... where oh where did they come up with that original plot I wonder? Hmmm...

Bartimaeus Trilogy 

This story by Jonathan Stroud, to be made by Miramax, was the first installment of a book deal he made called "The Amulet of Samarkand" is about an ancient djinni(a genie) named Bartimaeus who is summoned by a disobedient young wizard to steal a magical amulet from a powerful magician. If the book was a success there was going to a trilogy of books... and if the movie was a success then a trilogy of film as well. Obviously.


Providence


A comedey written by Jeff Nathanson about two young filmmakers given $3 million by a mysterious benefactor to make a film in Providence, Rhode Island. When they go to shoot their movie they discover that they have been unwitting players in an FBI sting operation. Based loosely on a true story. Nathanson would direct the film. David Permut and Larry Brezner were attached to produce for the Mouse.


Sweet Hush 

Disney paid a mid-six figures for this tale of a widowed, female head of an Appalachian apple-growing empire who is pitted against the White House when her only son comes home from Harvard after having secretly married the president's daughter.  Disney bought the film rights to this novel by Deborah Smith. Deborah Martin Chase was to produce this for Walt Disney Pictures.


Tripod

Walt Disney Pictures paid 1 million dollars for the rights to this film, based on a sci-fi series of young adult books by John Christopher is about a young boy who resists aliens' attempts to brainwash him after the earth's apocalypse. Don Murphy is producing for Disney through his Angry Films production company.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Disney made Providence. It was retitled The Last Shot and released in 2004.

Anonymous said...

I have read Deborah Smith's sweet Hush and the follow up to the story a few times.. it is a laugh out loud, comedy, love story, action adventure book.. I have been looking foward to seeing this movie that is what brought me to this page to check when it will be released.. I hope Disney put's this movie back on the filming list...