'Pinocchio' Remake: Sam Mendes in Talks for Disney's New Live Action Project
Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes is reportedly in talks to direct the planned live action adaptation of the animated film "Pinocchio" for Disney.
According to a report by Variety, sources close to Mendes say that the award-winning director has yet to fully commit to helming the upcoming movie. He also has not been able to meet with the studio executives yet since he is currently preoccupied with his commitment to the West End play "The Ferryman," which is presently in production.
Chris Weitz and Andrew Miano will be producing the "Pinocchio" film from script written by Weitz.
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With news of Mendes' involvement in the "Pinocchio" live-action adaptation, it was also recently revealed that he will no longer be the one to direct the remake of "James and the Giant Peach" for Disney, to which he was attached several months ago.
Mendes is known for directing the 1999 movie "American Beauty," for which he earned an Oscar for Best Director. He also worked on films like "The Road to Perdition," which starred Tom Hanks and the "James Bond" film installments "Spectre" and "Skyfall."
The famous director also worked on musicals such as "Cabaret," "Oliver!," "Company" and "Gypsy." He also served as the executive producer for the television series "The Hollow Crown" and "Penny Dreadful."
The planned film from Walt Disney Studios will center on the wooden puppet that hopes to one day become a real human boy, and will tell the story of a loving relationship between father and son as well as the consequences of lying, creating stories and living in a fantasy world.
The original "Pinocchio" movie from Disney was based on the 1883 novel "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by Carlo Collodi. It first debuted in theaters back in 1940, and though it was not a commercial hit, it went on to win two Academy Awards.
There is currently no release date set for the live action adaptation of "Pinocchio."
