via twitpic from @Horse_Head
More movie news from the Brothers Krofft. Over at Collider.com Frosty reports on a quick interview with Sid and Marty.
About an hour ago I was at a Subway restaurant in Santa Monica on Pico Blvd. The reason I was there is Universal has transformed the location into a special “Land of the Lost” themed location – complete with themed tables, chairs, and they even had some Sleestaks walking around. If you live in the area, you might want to stop by and see if you can get in.
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As you can see in the video interview after the jump, they told me “H.R. Pufnstuf” is being developed at Sony and it’s being written by Dennis McNicholas – who wrote the “Land of the Lost” movie. And the big news is they want Johnny Depp to play Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo!They also said “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters” is being developed by Dana Gould at Universal. I’d imagine a big opening for “Land of the Lost” is going to help move these properties forward.
I won’t pass judgement on Depp as Witchiepoo. Does he fit in the original Pufnstuf concept? No, but neither did Anna Friel as Holly. I trust that Sid and Marty have a vision for a new Pufnstuf that Depp would fit nicely into.
I’m more interested in Sigmund. I believe his story would make for an awesome retelling. Pufnstuf may be the symbol of Krofft, but Sigmund is the heart.
The site is down right now, but head on over and check out the video later.
What about Pufnstuf or Sigmund are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.
A few years ago I would have had huge enthusiasm for a Pufnstuf movie. (I remember biking with my friends to see the Saturday afternoon show of the original, barely putting a dent in $5.00 to do so, popcorn and pop included.) Now, to judge from the promotional clips of LOTL, I wonder if it wouldn’t actually be better to leave it as the marvelous product of its time that it was. Where would you find, today, the particular talents and personal chemistry of a Billie Hayes and a Jack Wild, much less the complete buy-in they both committed to everything that was unfolding around them? I can’t think of anyone out there today who could demonstrate enough belief in that Krofft-iest of Krofft environments that they could transfer it to the audience in the same way. A CGI Mayor Pufnstuf? Shudders. I could barely stomach a CGI Yoda. And what happens when the studio machine inevitably pushes that it’s not edgy enough for modern viewers, it has to be more Toy Story, more Harry Potter, more derivative of something else? Then you get the abysmal results of something like “The Dark Is Rising” of a couple years ago, butchering Susan Cooper’s story and replacing it in all but name with a “tween-discovers-he-has-special-powers” formula, a story-in-a-can.
I’m delighted for the brothers’ renewed attention and success, especially the overdue recognition of their lasting contributions to American pop culture and to so many of our (and now our own kids’) childhoods. But lately I’m thinking there is a reason we haven’t seen a big-screen remake (yet) of the MGM “The Wizard of Oz.” Because there’s something about the original – visible wires and special-effects limitations and 1939 sound systems notwithstanding – that gives it a heart and soul that make it the *right* interpretation, the one that can’t really be recreated or bettered.
Maybe I’ll be surprised. But lately I’m leaning toward those classic episodes I love vs. what I worry they might become in Hollywood’s hands, no matter how much Sid and Marty remain involved.
I think if the Kroffts are going to make a new Pufnstuf movie, they should get Seymor Spider or Stupid Bat to write the script, becuase they would do a much better job than Dennis McNicholas who completely butchered Land Of the Lost. But thats just my opinion!