Dr. Seuss Biopic In The Works With Stephen Chbosky Directing

It's surprising that with all of the Dr. Seuss adaptations out there that the man himself has yet to have a biopic. Back in 2011 it looked as if Johnny Depp would take on the role in a film he was producing, but that project quietly vanished and isn't coming back to the best of our knowledge. But now we're going to find out about the good doctor in a new biopic titled Seuss, that has The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wonder director Stephen Chbosky attached to direct.

Chbosky will direct Seuss, which will be about more than his career authoring children's books with clever rhymes and sayings in them. Personally I'd like a movie that explains how The Cat in the Hat's hat stays on top of his head.  Anyway, the film will have a script by Jonathan Stewart and Eyal Podell, and follows Theodore Seuss Geisel in the 1920s as he meets his future wife Helen, who helps him find his artistic voice and would later inspire him to write The Cat in the Hat.

No clue where this fits into Chbosky's schedule. He's got a Prince Charming movie in the works at Disney that might come first. Meanwhile, you can check out the next Seuss adaptation when The Grinch opens in November. [Deadline]

Read More

CG animated 'The Cat in the Hat' on the way from the folks behind 'The Lorax'

The film rights to the the works of Dr. Seuss are basically a license to print money, right? Whether good or bad, every feature bearing his name has scored at the box office. The Lorax is currently kicking butt in theaters to the tune of over $133M in just a couple weeks. Actually, the only Seuss film to not do well was the live-action version of The Cat in the Hat, which barely covered its production budget. Fortunately, the talented folks at Illumination are looking to help us forget Mike Myers in that ridiculous outfit with their own  3D CG animated version of The Cat in the Hat.

Read More

Tops at the Box Office: 'The Lorax' shuts the 'Project X' party down early

1. The Lorax- $70.7M
The Lorax was by no means a sure thing for Universal or Illumination Entertainment. While there was little in the way of family entertainment this season, we're still talking about one of Dr. Seuss' more message heavy novels, which may have turned some parents off who...I guess don't want their kids to learn a thing or two? Whatever, the fact remains the gamble paid off big time, as The Lorax became the biggest opener this year, crushing the $41M debut of The Vow. It also became the highest opening film yet for Universal's animated division, surpassing Despicable Me's $56M. This was probably the best possible time to release the film, as it should have many weeks without any direct competition.While some of these numbers can be attributed to IMAX and 3D screenings, this is a huge win for Universal and it's probably gonna make some right wing idiots cry with fear over children becoming eco-terrorists or something.

Read More

The Sunday Drive: 3/4/12

3. The Secret World of Arrietty
You're running out of time to catch up with the latest visual, heartwarming masterpiece from Studio Ghibli. Following a family of inch-high "Borrowers" who live in the homes of regular sized people, their lives are turned upside down with the arrival of a curious new human boy looking for a taste of adventure.

Read More

Review: 'The Lorax', featuring Zac Efron and Taylor Swift

Adapting the timeless works of Dr. Seuss into feature films has proven to be a lucrative, if not always creatively successful venture. The problem has always been in finding a style that can adequately capture the author's unique style. Live-action movies like How the Grinch Stole Christmas were hamstrung by leaving the animated format, and The Cat in the Hat suffered a similar fate made worse by Mike Meyers' inability to be funny. A CGI version of Horton Hears a Who! better interpreted Seuss' daffy visual style, and that model is employed yet again with equal vibrancy in The Lorax, a film that shows the author's cautionary tale is as vital today as ever.

Read More

Trailer Time: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

Even though the live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat may have earned their share of coin, it was pretty clear to me that Dr. Seuss' works are best presented in animated form. The cartoons are beloved, and even Horton Hears a Who! turned out to be pretty good. Somebody finally figured that out, and was smart enough to get the talented folks at Illumination(Despicable Me, Hop) to beautifully adapt Seuss' environmental fable, The Lorax.

Directed by Chris Renaud, based on a script by Ken Daurio, the story takes place in a world where industrialism has completely taken over. A boy(voiced by Zac Efron) seeks to impress the girl of his dreams(Taylor Swift) by finding her one of the last remaining trees. To do so he must learn the story of the Lorax(Danny Devito), a grumpy creature who serves as nature's protector, and also the Once-Ler(Ed Helms) who may be the cause of the way things are. Check out the gorgeous, and kinda sweet, trailer for The Lorax below...

Read More

1st look at the Once-ler in Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

Illumination Entertainment has decided to do things a little differently with their animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss' "controversial" children's tale, The Lorax. Considered the author's most political story, it's basically a fable detailing the dangerous effects of industry on nature. The Lorax is a creature of indeterminate origin whose sole purpose is to protect the wildlife, the forests, and to essentially speak for nature. His "nemesis" was The Once-Ler, a basic personification of the super industry, needlessly chopping down the trees and leaving disaster in his wake. In Seuss' book, the Once-Ler is never actually seen except for his arms and legs, so his shape was unclear. Was he a monster? A rather friendly looking creature like The Lorax? Not according to this new image courtesy of EW...

Read More

Johnny Depp to produce and maybe star in Dr. Seuss biopic

Johnny Depp has a thing about playing world renowned writers. Whether they be Hunter S. Thompson, John Wilmot, or in my personal favorite Depp film, Finding Neverland where he played J.M. Barrie. But he may be about to add probably the most beloved writer in American history, Dr. Seuss.

Read More

An early look at the trailer for The Lorax

Who knows how long this'll stay up, so best check it out now while it's still around. What appears to be a leaked trailer for the unfinished film version of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax has hit the 'net, and it looks pretty good, which should be expected considering it's from Illumination, the folks behind the beautiful Despicable Me, and terribly unfunny but gorgeous Hop.

Directed by Chris Renaud(Despicable Me) and co-writer Ken Daurio, the film centers on a boy named Ted who becomes friends with The Lorax, a creature dedicated to the protection of the environment. The book has sparked debate, with some claiming the book presents too political of a message for kids to understand. They just don't like having those evil corporations portrayed as...well, evil.  Zac Efron, Rob Riggle, Betty White, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, and Danny DeVito lend their voices to the film. I haven't really enjoyed any of the other Dr. Seuss adaptations we've seen because they seem to lack the author's spirit. Here's hoping The Lorax is different....

Read More

Sure Shots: David O. Russell; Taylor Swift; Anna Karenina

* David O. Russell(The Fighter) has enough on his plate already, but Deadline reports the director's pitch to make a biopic on the life of sexploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer is about to be picked up. Fox Searchlight are said to be closing in on a deal, which would see O. Russell directing, based on a script by Merritt Johnson(Temple Grandin). Meyer became famous(or infamous?) for his tendency to cast buxom, big breasted women in virtually of his movies. His best in my opinion? Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is probably the most gratuitous, and thus the most awesome!

* Taylor Swift will be lending her voice to Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, written and directed by the team behind Despicable Me. She'll be joing Zac Efron, Danny Devito, Betty White, Rob Riggle, and Ed Helms in the animated feature, which adapts Seuss's controversial story about a creature's attempts to save the environment from a greedy industrialist.

* Jude Law and Aaron Johnson(Kick-Ass) are in talks to join Joe Wright's latest period piece, Anna Karenina, based on the Leo Tolstoy classic which was so dull I couldn't come close to finishing it in school. This marks the third pairing of Wright and star Keira Knightley, after Pride & Prejudice and Atonement.

Read More