Hidden in the report from Nikki Finke’s Deadline about screenwriter Adam Cozad just signing with CAA (arguably the best of all the agencies out there), it briefly mentions his involvement in a Tarzan project at Warner Bros.
Then it starts to get juicy, because apparently, there are 2 top-level guys and one (albeit skilled) underdog to in line to take the chair and megaphone.
- David Yates, director of the last 4 movies in the Harry Potters franchise
- Gary Ross, who is coming off the success ofThe Hunger Games earlier this year
- Susanna White, a lesser known director of TV shows such as Bleak House, Generation Kill, Boardwalk Empire, and ventured into movies with Nanny McPhee Returns
Honestly, THG was grittier and more grounded then most director’s would have made it, considering the source material is out there. So I was pleasantly surprised at the trailers and footage we got, Ross really brought that wonderful and surreal place into reality for me. So, he’s my first choice to see a tough-as-nails, brooding, batman-esque Tarzan, in a jungle where things are very dangerous in deed, and gorillas and big cats might very seriously kill you as soon as look at you.
Yates seems to be the most sound choice, with his pedigree there’s just no way Tarzan’s falling flat, and plus he made Girl In The Cafe’, have you seen that one? So good. And to be honest, this material’s kind of a gimmie anyway, while lending itself openly to interpretation, which is great for any property with as much potential as this one has.
Guy with dread-like hair lives in the jungle, speaks no language capable of being understood, poops in the grass, hangs with gorillas and fights off assholes animals and poachers; falls in love with a beauty, and lives his life as a man in England (US probably now) or the jungle in a damn tree house. Period.
White is my least favorite choice for this, because Kill and Empire are really slow-boiling shows, and coming from a TV show, any of them, and then stepping onto the set of a major motion picture is quite the experience for any filmmaker. But that itself begs the question: with two guarantees on the table, do you give the risk a chance?
Not to mention there’s a laughable motion-capture verison being prepped with Kellen Lutz as the titular hero and Craig Brewer (of Footloose remake fame, woopy) also has a live-action trilogy in mind. Is this material deep enough for three? I’m certain it is, the thought of another story beyond the classic, monkey-boy-beats-up-animals-falls-in-love-then-beats-up-poachers-loves-happily-ever-after is an intriguing thought. I’m game for that.
I’m putting my two-cents in for this being a Nolanized version of the story. That’s what I’d happily pay to see.
