If at first you don’t succeed, pitch it again. Hollywood has been trying forever to make a big screen version of your favorite library book series when you were a kid; “Encyclopedia Brown.” Talent as wide-ranging, diverse and bizarre as Robert Luketic, Ridley Scott, Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn have all toyed with it at various points in different capacities. Well, the white board was been wiped clean and execs are ready for some new ideas as it’s making the rounds again.
THR reports that the Donald J. Sobol books will now start a journey to the big screen over at Warner Bros. with powerhouse Roy Lee (“The Departed,” “The Woman In Black,” “Bates Motel“) and Howard David Deutsch producing. In case you missed it when you were a kid, the books followed the adventures of Leroy Brown — nickname “Encyclopedia” because he was so smart — who sets up a neighborhood detective agency, charging 25 cents per day, “plus expenses.” His main antagonist is the neighborhood bully Bugs Meaney, his cop Dad keeps his sleuthing skills honed and it’s all very innocent and charming in its own way.
Of course, lord know how Hollywood wants to juice it up — if we hear the phrase ” ‘Sherlock Holmes‘ for kids!” we might lose it — but we’re not holding our breath that this won’t be swiss cheesed into something barely resembling the books we grew up with. Until we know more, and what writer eventually wins the pitch to tackle this, here’s an episode from HBO‘s short-lived “Encyclopedia Brown” series.