I don't know if it's best to call Hollywood's sudden interest in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist "respectful", as they seem intent on taking his classic story and ripping it to smithereens. First there was CBS Films picking up Olivia Twisted, which obviously has a female lead. And now Sony is turning to Ahmet Zappa(!!!!) to turn it into a heist movie.
Zappa and The Amazing Spider-Man's Matt Tolmach are producing the film, horribly-titled Dodge and Twist, based on a script by Cole Haddon. Set 20 years down the road, the story has rival pickpockets Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger now on opposite sides of the law and in the midst of a scheme to steal the Crown Jewels. I can only assume that Twist is the cop. Either way, this sounds pretty terrible, and we have Zappa to thank since it was his idea.
I'm guessing Sony hopes to update the 19th century tale similar to Sherlock Holmes and make it a franchise. They're apparently fast-tracking it, so expect to hear some news on a director soon. [THR]
