Goodnight Moon, Hello Movie
I’m happy to finally be able to announce the next thing I’m writing after Shazam!/Captain Marvel — an adaptation of one of the best-selling children’s books ever: Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown.
Anyone who’s ever had a baby has probably read this book, so it’s no surprise that Hollywood’s been trying to adapt it for years. Robert Bolt wrote a draft, as have Waldo Salt and Andrew Kevin Walker (his version had Tom Tykwer attached.) So will this new incarnation be the one that finally gets it made? Hard to say.
There are certainly plenty of heavy-hitters involved: Gore Verbinski is directing, Joel Silver is producing, and Lucasfilm has signed on to handle the visual effects. The movie will be shot largely greenscreen, like 300, with extensive motion capture to handle the Little Bunny and the Kittens.1
Probably the most innovative and challenging aspect is the casting of the Quiet Old Lady: Jessica Tandy, who passed away in 1994. Using reference photos and forensic measurement (obtained with permission of her estate), she’ll be digitally recreated, a pixel-perfect reproduction.2 The hope is that the R&D involved in building her for this movie will enable her to be re-used in future movies.3 They’re talking about doing it in digital 3D, but it’s unclear whether that’s really going to happen. The infrastructure might not be there, and I’d question whether little kids are going to be willing to wear special glasses. No matter what the format, count on a great Danny Elfman soundtrack to accompany the visuals.
The movie is set up at Walden (who did Narnia) for 20th Century Fox. Given the number of zeroes in the budget, one would expect it to be a summer or Christmas release, but it’s obviously a long ways off.
Before you ask, I have no who we’re casting for the other roles. Right now, I’m focusing on how to turn an 18-page board book into a 100-minute family-friendly blockbuster.
UPDATE (4/2/07): For future readers looking through the archives, please make sure to check the date: April 1, 2007. Which is also known as April Fools’ Day.
- I fully recognize the irony in using greenscreen to create the Great Green Room. ↩
- Tandy’s voice won’t be a particular challenge. True to the book, the Quiet Old Lady only whispers one line: “Hush.” ↩
- I’ve actually read a script for a sequel to Driving Miss Daisy, which was obviously never shot. ↩
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April 1st, 2007 at 6:44 am
Congrats on your new project, sounds like a challenge! Though, when you are given a project like this, when there has been other drafts – are you hesitant on reading the earlier drafts (to get a fresh take on the story)? or are you more than happy to see where they left off and improve on that? But I guess with the latter, there may be some ‘credit’ issues to tackle.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:17 am
Hey John, what’s today’s date? ;)
Good try, though. You sort of had me until the whole Jessica Tandy digital recreation thing.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:05 am
Yeah, I’m with Dave, although I was on to this at the beginning, when I realized that “Goodnight Moon” has no plot. All of the sentences are “Goodnight (blank).”
April 1st, 2007 at 8:45 am
Shame on you John. Shame.
Now that you’ve said it someone will think it’s a good idea.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:11 am
“…Andrew Kevin Walker…” made me spit milk out my nose. And I wasn’t even drinking milk at the time.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:51 am
I laughed out loud at the title. Noble attempt, sir. Do I get a cookie?
April 1st, 2007 at 10:00 am
This sounds amazing. Are the rumours true – is Jake Gyllenhaal going to play the rabbit?
April 1st, 2007 at 10:07 am
That’s great, John, congratulations . . . altho according to Craig (and mini-me Kevin) are you not too old to understand what children feel is relevant? ;)!
April 1st, 2007 at 10:45 am
This summer . . .the lights. Go. Out.
April 1st, 2007 at 12:16 pm
The Jessica part raises so many ethical issues….I´m not touching any of them with a ten-foot pole.
I´m also hopping mad for not having realised this post was written in sarcasm untill I looked at the comments. I feel small, and stupid. So small and stupid I´m actually tempted to call you names that belittle you with reference to your sexual orientation.
Alas, english is not my first language and therefore I have no such names in my limited vocabulary. If anyone knows any demeaning names for necrophiliacs please let me know.
Love and respect, Einar
April 1st, 2007 at 12:17 pm
I don’t understand: why does it HAVE to be Jessica Tandy?
April 1st, 2007 at 12:39 pm
lol, nice; this one was almost believable!
April 1st, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Not for nothing, an Andrew Kevin Walker-scripted, Tom Tykwer-directed Goodnight Moon would be unbelievably kick ass.
April 1st, 2007 at 1:55 pm
And you got through this whole post without mentioning Christopher Walken as the narrator?
“Goodnight… … … moon. Good… night… … … moon.”
April 1st, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Upon further consideration, I must say. Robert Bolt? Goodnight Moon? Fuck yes.
April 1st, 2007 at 2:33 pm
I particularly liked the bit about obtaining permission from the actress’ estate to use ‘forensic measurement’ for her digital recreation!
April 1st, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Variety is reporting today that the Moon is considering filing suit because proper clearances were not made…
Film at 11.
April 1st, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Congrats on the new gig John. I don’t want mean to rain on your parade or anything like that, but I wondered whether you might find it conflicting to work for a comapny that tries to promote pro-conservative Christian family values, and that probably condones more liberal or less traditional ones. Sorry if this is an inappropriate question, but for someone from Ireland (a country still finding its feet after many decades of opressive control from the Catholic Church and just now embracing more contemporary issues such as racial and sexual diversity) I find it intriguing.
I really enjoy the site, keep up the good work.
April 1st, 2007 at 5:15 pm
ok i just realised what day it is and that mite have been an April Fool’s day joke of yours. So if I’m right in hearing thousands of sniggers at my expense I’ll just say I don’t get it!
April 1st, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Very funny, John.
You said anybody who is a parent would have read this book. When I was a kid, my parents read this to me. Am I younger(22) than the average aspiring screenwriter or something?
April 1st, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Ah shit. I’m so gullible.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Hee. Ditto.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Very nice! But after seeing CAT IN THE HAT made into a movie, I wouldn’t put it past some one to try.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Good luck with the adaptation. This is actually great news for me, since I’ve been working on a star vehicle for a VIKINGS era Ernest Borgnine for the past six months. Thank God for Lucas and ILM, we’re no longer constrained to contemporary actors for casting. Talk about taking some power back to the writers.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Now, see I read this post right after seeing this video, and so I totally bought it.
http://blog.wired.com/tableofmalcontents/2007/03/amorphablemod.html
Someone will be doing this soon, for sure.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:36 pm
If you could have a choice though, which children’s book would you most like to do an adaptation of?
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:29 am
Between you and google it would seem that I believed gullible wasn’t in the dictionary. Honestly, it’s been about 10 years since I’ve fallen for a an April Fool’s Joke, and this year I fell for three… all on the internet. Ridiculous.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:40 am
Ha.. Ha.. (walks into his shame closet), for commenting 1st – would that make me the ultimate April fool? I guess it does! Booyeah!
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:58 am
I still think the Kevin Smith’s crack at the adaptation was the strongest.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:00 pm
If it wasn’t for the Tom Tykwer bit, I would’ve almost bought it.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Wait a minute…since when did I become a mini Joshua James?
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Oh, wait a minute. You meant a mini Craig Mazin.
How dare you sir?!
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I’ve been hearing Ray Romano as the bowl of mush, with the Olsen twins as the mittens. True?
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:32 pm
I came to this late but hope the Tandy thing would have made me suspect something was not quite right. That and the fact a mate of mine has already pulled a brilliant April Fools stunt on me.
I don’t have kids and am not familiar with this book, but if Spike Jonze can get a full-length feature out of Where The Wild Things Are, I wouldn’t rule out making a film of any children’s book.
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:12 pm
I’m gullible. But really, the Tandy recreation is not a far fetched idea at all (despite being a really BAD one) considering the recent Orville Reden-Zombie debacle.
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:12 am
Not a hoax… Four fugitives escaped from a prison in Arizona! How did they get out? Through the ventilation shafts.
April 4th, 2007 at 2:32 am
Well, anon, thank you for ruining my day of writing. All I can see now are the Olsen twins. Wearing nothing but mittens.
Good attempt John, and whilst I nearly fell for a Fool at a UK TV torrent site (which had an official form asking me to prove I had a fully paid TV Licence before it would allow me to download anything) I didn’t quite buy yours…Joel Silver and Walden Media – never! Thanks for a laugh.
April 4th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Goodnight, box office.
April 4th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
I am so gullible…I just got this.
April 5th, 2007 at 7:32 am
Hi John… your RSS reed appears to be broken, and when I tried to resubscribe, I got a 404. Thanks, Oli.
April 5th, 2007 at 7:34 am
My spelling is also broken. RSS Feed. Again, the lack of an artificially intelligent spell checker is my curse…
April 5th, 2007 at 7:46 am
Next we need an adaptation of “Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb” about monkeys drumming on drums. A digitally recreated Hervé Villechaize could play all of the monkeys.
If you know the book then you know it is only slightly more feasible then Goodnight, Moon.
April 5th, 2007 at 10:41 am
I am so gullible. It took me … 5 (FIVE) days to get this was a joke. My attention must be fading. Just reading and thinking aha … right. Though he is supposed to be working on the Marvel adaptation, he does something else now … Whatever … Slamms hand to forehead Really! But why have you not posted since? Working so hard? Happy Easter, anyway.
April 5th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
John, Having problems with your feed, both rss and atom the past few days. Both through netvibes and directly from you site (404 message). Just wanted to give you a heads up. Congrats on all your recent success.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:28 am
You’re adapting the tale of a young rabbit who bids goodnight to every object in a room into a 100min film…..Hmmmm, good luck….
April 18th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I loved getting fooled by old April fools! Sweet :)