In case you're too immersed in the all-too-random minute breadcrumbs that possibly point to Thanos being the villain in "The Avengers 2," Patrick Stewart potentially nodding in the affirmative that he'll be Professor X again one day, or that webshooters are being retroactively retrofitted into old "Spider-Man" trailers, you may have missed that there's a regime change over at 20th Century Fox. Tom Rothman is out, and when Chairman and CEOs "step down" (euphemism), companies tend to take stock of their wares and decide what they can let go or kick to the curb.
And so there's one casualty already. Fox has put the adaptation of Judith Viorst's children’s book "Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," into turnaround. As reported earlier in the year Steve Carell is attached to star and "The Kids Are All Right" filmmaker Lisa Cholodenko is planning to direct, based on a screenplay she penned with Rob Lieber. But like "Watchmen," which started as a Fox project and got picked up by Warner Bros. when it was in turnaround, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
A project set up at Shawn Levy's 21 Laps shingle, apparently the property is far into development and will be shopped around to other studios shortly. A live-action project, Carell will play the young boy’s father in the celebrated kids' book about a boy having the worst day of his life, who after increasing difficulties, threatens to pack it all in and move to Australia. The books have already spawned two sequels, "Alexander, Who's Not (Do Your Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going To Move" and "Alexander Who Used To Be Rich Last Sunday" which could mean a lucrative children's franchise if it takes off. Considering Levy's history with commercially successful children's projects, one would assume other studios will quickly take a look, run the numbers and see if this is one they want to add to their slate. Don't be surprised if you hear of other major moves or shifts at Fox in the next few weeks regarding various projects that may or may not be deemed suitable for the studio's new direction. [Deadline]
