Okay, maybe the wild things will be animated, but Universal’s upcoming big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are will now be mostly live-action. The pic was originally slated to be done entirely in CG by Tom Hanks’ Playtone Pictures. Now that Being John Malkovich and Adatation director Spike Jonze has taken over the helm, he is reportedly changing the film’s vision significantly.
The Emperor’s New Groove and Finding Nemo scribe David Reynolds has penned a script for the feature, but there is speculation that a new script, one more befitting a live-action production, may surface. Jonze’s usual accomplice, Oscar winner Charlie Kaufman, may even be brought in to hammer out a re-write.
Universal originally floated a Thanksgiving 2004 or summer 2005 release date for Wild Things, which it might actually be able to meet on a live-action production timetable. There is no word yet as to whether the movie’s title creatures will be computer-animated or actors in suits and make-up. Conventional wisdom says CG, but then again Jonze isn’t exactly a conventional kind of director. This is one for the "wait and see" file.
