Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Gulliver’s Travels
12/7/09 – SCIFI Wire reported that the 2010 movie based on Jonathan Swift's 1726 story stars Jack Black as a travel writer who visits these lands after getting lost in the Bermuda Triangle, and while the modern update might have English professors reeling, the film's co-star, Emily Blunt, says it's still a smart comedy.  "It's not fart jokes," Blunt said. "There's not a fart joke in sight. Don't worry. It's very smart and witty."  Nicholas Stoller and Joe Stillman wrote the remake. Rob Letterman directs. Blunt says their Gulliver is aimed at kids but is still smart enough for their parents. "It's great for kids and adults," she said. "There are the in-jokes for adults."  Blunt plays the Princess of Lilliput, where the people are one-12th the size of Gulliver (Black). "I play a princess who's not very bright," she said. "I have a really good time with that."  Gulliver's Travels opens Dec. 22, 2010.

4/28/09 - Amanda Peet has joined the cast of Fox's adventure Gulliver's Travels opposite Jack Black, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The film, derived from Jonathan Swift's classic story, also stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt.  Rob Letterman will direct the picture, which was written by Nicholas Stoller and Joe Stillman.  The modern retelling follows travel writer Lemuel Gulliver, who heads to an assignment in the Bermuda Triangle only to end up on the secret island of Lilliput, home to a population of industrious tiny people. Peet will play Black's editor and potential romantic interest. The project began filming last month.

1/30/09 - Twentieth Century Fox is negotiating with Emily Blunt and Jason Segel to join Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels, the Rob Letterman-directed re-imagining of the classic Jonathan Swift tale, Variety reported. John Davis and Ben Cooley are producing.  Blunt had already been offered the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2, but that may not be an option because of Gulliver's Travels. Fox holds an option on the actress that was part of her deal when she co-starred in The Devil Wears Prada, and the studio may invoke it to see that she takes part in the giant tale. Blunt may not be able to do both because of scheduling conflicts.  Gulliver's Travels will shoot in the United Kingdom in late March; Iron Man 2 is expected to begin in early April in Manhattan Beach, Calif.  Earlier this week it seemed that Marvel Entertainment would have to go back to the drawing board to find an actress to play Natasha Romanoff, the Soviet superspy who moonlights as Black Widow, a beauty in a skintight black costume enhanced by high-tech weaponry. But by late Thursday, it looked like Fox and Blunt's reps were feeling more optimistic that she could do both projects.  Black was set late last year to play Lemuel Gulliver, a travel writer who takes an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle and washes up on the island of Lilliput, where he's a giant among the tiny population. Blunt will play a Lilliputian princess and Black's love interest. Segel will play Horatio, Gulliver's best friend from Lilliput, who helps rescue Gulliver when he's captured.

12/4/08 – SCI FI Wire reported that writer Nicholas Stoller said Gulliver's Travels is a modern interpretation of the Jonathan Swift novel. Stoller's script begins in present day before entering the lands of Swift's fantasy.  "Basically it's with Jack Black, and he's a modern day Gulliver who gets transported to Lilliput," Stoller said. "He starts in modern time. It starts in present-day New York. Then he kind of falls into Lilliput, which is more fantasy. I think the original novel took place in the 17th century in England. So this is more of a fantasy universe he falls into."  Lilliput is the most well known of Gulliver's travels, where Gulliver finds himself a giant in a miniature world. Swift's book has three other lesser-known worlds: Brobdingnag, where Gulliver is tiny in a world of giants; Laputa, a flying island; and the country of Houyhnhnms, where intelligent horses rule over Yahoos. Stoller suggested his version may touch on these adventures, too.  Gulliver's Travels is in development at 20th Century Fox, tentatively scheduled for a 2010 release.

11/6/08 - Twentieth Century Fox is moving forward with a big-screen adaptation of Gulliver's Travels, with Jack Black taking on the title role as his next project, Variety reported.  Rob Letterman has signed on to direct the contemporary reimagining of the classic Jonathan Swift tale.  The story centers on Lemuel Gulliver, a free-spirited travel writer who, on an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle, suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput, home to a population of industrious, yet tiny, people.  Nicholas Stoller and Joe Stillman penned the screenplay.

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