After the fairly disastrous box-office summer so far, there were reports that desperate studio executives were calling agencies, clamoring for original material. Had the era of turning any old recognizable property, from “Monopoly” to “The Smurfs,” into half-assed movies come to an end? Yeah, right.
Warner Bros have been developing a “Lego” movie for some time now; it even made our list of the Dumbest Movie Projects Announced In 2009 (placing above “Stretch Armstrong,” but below “View-Master”). But it looks like it’s now got some major forward momentum, as Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the creators of cult animated show “Clone High,” and directors of last year’s animated hit “Cloudy With Chance of Meatballs” are signing on to bring this bring those plastic bricks to the big screen.
The pair gave a presentation to both Warners and Lego executives, and won them over with an idea that mixes live-action and animation. The plot, assuming there’ll be one, is currently under wraps. So, sign of the end times, right? They’re making Lego into a movie!
But, hold up there. Calm your storm. While we missed it on first run, we were delighted with “Cloudy With Chance Of Meatballs” when we caught up with it; it was basically the funniest movie we saw last year, visually ingenious and heartwarming to boot. And that was based on a 32-page picture book; Lord & Miller essentially invented an entirely new plot. While we rag on this kind of lazy source material a lot, it is theoretically possible for a good movie to be made out of anything — the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” was obviously based on a theme park ride, and was better than 98% of most modern blockbusters, “The Godfather” came from Mario Puzo’s not-particularly-good airport thriller, and Abbas Kiarostami’s “Taste Of Cherry” was, of course, inspired by a popular Iranian soft drink.
The important thing is, ultimately, about the talent that’s attached, and, if a “Lego” movie is going to be made, these guys seem like a very smart pick. It’s still a ways off yet; the pair are tackling “21 Jump Street,” with Jonah Hill, first — that’s likely to shoot later in the year, once the star is wrapped on “Moneyball.” [Heat Vision]