Hollywood has spent years trying to figure out a way to mount a live action “Pinocchio” movie. Guillermo del Toro, Stanley Kubrick, and Tim Burton have tried at various points to bring the fairy tale to life, while most recently, Paul Thomas Anderson penned a script for a movie Robert Downey Jr. has been shepherding for years (and at one time Ben Stiller was attached to direct). But it looks like the Italian film industry has again bested Hollywood at its own game again (you might have forgotten, rightfully, about Roberto Begnini‘s 2002 “Pinocchio“).
An unlikely duo is gearing up their take on the fable, with director Mateo Garrone and star Toni Servillo, who previously worked together on the acclaimed but very grim gangster drama “Gomorrah,” set to reteam on this new effort. Described as having an “artisanal approach” (bleh), the movie will blend CGI, live action and special prosthetics to conjure the world of the puppet who wants to be a real boy, with Servillo slated to play Geppetto.
Garrone’s last movie was the fantastical “Tale Of Tales,” and he seems to be chasing that spirit again. Production will begin next spring, and being that he’s a Cannes regular, I would expect the director’s effort will hit the Croisette in 2018. [Variety]
