Sam Mendes has been spending his time post “Skyfall,” peeking in at various projects, but not quite committing to anything yet. Well, that’s not entirely fair as “The Voyeur’s Motel” essentially fell apart over potential issues with the source material and a competing project, but though the filmmaker has eyeballed “Beautiful Ruins,” “My Favorite Thing Is Monsters,” and “James And The Giant Peach,” nothing has really stuck. However, he does seem to want to do something at Disney.
Variety reports that Mendes has exited ‘Giant Peach,’ but is now in early talks to helm the live-action adaptation of “Pinocchio.” Chris Weitz (“Rogue One,” “Cinderella“) is penning the screenplay, that will tell the story of a woodcarver, and his puppet that dreams of being a real boy. Moreover, it would give Mendes an opportunity to step into Disney’s highly lucrative remake machine, and play with all the bells and whistles that kind of gig entails.
Frankly, I’d rather see Mendes put his talents elsewhere, but the classic story might be hard to resist. That being said, the director seems to be particular about what he makes next, so who knows if these talks will actually coalesce into a contract. Rival projects still abound, including Robert Downey Jr.’s effort which as a script by Paul Thomas Anderson, and Matteo Garrone‘s brewing movie that was supposed to shoot this spring but appears to have been delayed. If Disney gets the ball rolling before them, it will likely put those projects to bed for good.
