Walden Media, Fox 2000 and the Jim Henson Co. are working to bring late children’s author Edward Gorey’s The Doubtful Guest to the big screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Jim Henson Creature Shop is handling creature effects for the live-action adaptation, augmenting animatronics with CG animation.
The Doubtful Guest was first published in 1957, introducing young readers to a mysterious creature who causes a lot of trouble for one family when he shows up uninvited. The movie version will be directed by Brad Peyton, who recently caught the attention of Hollywood with the horror/comdey short Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl. He’ll be working from a script by Matthew Huffman, who is also writing Warner Bros.’ big-screen adaptation of the Philip Ardagh novel Eddie Dickens and the Awful End.
Known for his gothic flair, Gorey has inspired the work of Tim Burton and other top Hollywood talent, but his own works have never been given the cinematic treatment until now. The closest he came to seeing his work on screen was the animated opening credits of the PBS series Mystery!, which featured animation based on his artwork. The author, who won a Tony for his Broadway stage production Edward Gorey’s Dracula, died in 2000 at the age of 75.
Jim Henson Co. co-CEOs Lisa Henson and Brian Henson are producing Doubtful Guest with the company’s senior VP of feature films, Jason Lust. Distribution will be handled by 20th Century Fox’s and Walden Media’s Fox Walden. Overseeing for Walden is exec VP of production Alex Schwartz and senior VP of production Jackie Levine. Fox 2000 exec VP of production Carla Hacken will shepherd the production for the studio.
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