Adaptations

John Boorman will direct a CGI adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Written by Boorman, Ron Mita, and Jim McClain, it’s currently in preproduction and is slated for summer 2010. It won’t be a musical.

Fox is going forward on a movie adaptation of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. The “contemporary reimagining” will star Jack Black and be directed by Rob Letterman. A free spirited travel writer finds himself amongst the tiny people of Lilliput while on assignment in the Bermuda Triangle. Filming starts March.

Michael Winterbottom will direct the second adaptation (the first was in 1976) of Jim Thompson’s novel The Killer Inside Me. Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba will star in the story of a West Texas sheriff’s downward spiral from small town cop to sociopathic murderer. They are looking for a mid January production date.

Universal Pictures won the bidding war for Electronic Arts’ upcoming game Dante’s Inferno. Both the game (Dante’s Inferno is an unconfirmed title) and the movie are about a journey through the depths of Hell.

Universal has bought the rights to Tony winner In The Heights. Quiara Alegria Hudes, who wrote the multi-generational, mulit-ethnic musical, will also adapt. “Set over three days in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, In The Heights is an exhilarating musical journey into one of New York's most vibrant communities, where the lives of three generations come together in an unforgettable story of hope and self-discovery.” The music and lyrics were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda who will also be a producer on the movie.