Universal Pictures is reportedly moving forward with plans to produce a $100 million big-screen adaptation of Sid & Marty Krofft’s classic kids’ adventure show, Land of the Lost. According to Daily Variety, Brad Silberling (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Casper) has been hired to direct the pic, which will star Will Ferrell. Production is slated to begin in March.
Sid and Marty Krofft will serve as producers on the feature update of their ’70s series, which was part of their Krofft Superstars kids programming lineup. Former Saturday Night Live contributor Adam McKay, who directed Ferrell in the hit comedy, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, was originally attached to direct from a script by Chris Henchy (TV’s Entourage) and Dennis McNicholas (Saturday Night Live). Mosaic Media Group’s Jimmy Miller and Julie Wixon-Darmody will produce along with the Kroffts.
The original Land of the Lost series centered on a forest ranger and his two children as they struggle to survive in a prehistoric world after their river raft gets sucked into time warp. The show is perhaps best loved for its dinosaurs, which were animated with stop-motion.
There is no word yet on how the terrible lizards will be animated for the movie, but CG seems likely. The new script has apparently cut the kids out of the picture as Ferrell plays a disgraced paleontologist who enters a strange world with his assistant and a macho tour guide.
