by Sebastian Suchecki, Aug 11 2011 // 8:00 AM
Just when you thought things couldn’t go much further past films like Battleship, The Smurfs, or a third Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, one more film gets thrown into the mix that has everyone asking one question: Why?
That’s the first and only question we asked when news came through that the classic cartoon Hong Kong Phooey was getting a new animated film (likely in 3D). We didn’t bother asking “Who?”, as we were still stuck on the first question. As it turns out, star of such classics as Norbit and Meet Dave, Eddie Murphy will be stepping into the recording studio to give Hong Kong a shot. Here’s what Deadline had to say:
Eddie Murphy will give voice to the animated lead character in Alcon Entertainment’s live action/animated big screen adaptation of the of the 1970s Hanna-Barbera animated TV series HONG KONG PHOOEY, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.
Alex Zamm (“Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts,” “Tooth Fairy 2”) will direct. Kosove and Johnson will produce with Jay Stern and Brett Ratner. Steven P. Wegner will executive produce.
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Posted in: 3-D · Action · Animation · Announcements · Casting · Classics · Comedy · Movies · News
Tagged: Alex Zamm, Andrew Kosove, Brett Ratner, Broderick Johnson, Eddie Murphy, Hanna-Barbera, Hong Kong Phooey, Steven P. Wegner
by Matt Raub, Jun 9 2009 // 3:00 PM
Yes, you read that right. Directly from the “please don’t ruin my childhood. . . again” department comes word, via MTV Movies Blog, that director Robert Rodriguez will begin filming a live action adaptation of the classic 60′s Hanna-Barbara cartoon The Jetsons sometime next year.
According to Rodriguez, he will be pushing forward on his sequel to 2007′s Grindhouse with Danny Trejo in Machete and he’s also working on the sci-fi thriller Nervrackers for the Weinstein Company set for release next April. No word on where this fits in with Rodriguez’s reboot of the Predator franchise or what this could mean for a sequel to Sin City, but the Texas native says that filming for Jetsons could start as soon as 2010.
The director has already stated that he’s dropped a remake of Barbarella due to the amount of time he’d be away from his family, so doing a remake/reboot of the classic 60′s cartoon family from space may just fill that sci-fi void that the scantily clad vixen could have.
Given Rodriguez’s track record with both kid-friendly adventures (Spy Kids, The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl) and adult-friendly horrors (Planet Terror, From Dusk til Dawn), what could this mean for our favorite childhood cartoon? Will his on-again off-again partner and friend Quinten Tarantino come aboard in any way, and will this be under the helm of Rodriguez’s long-term distributors, the Weinsteins? With production starting before 2011, these answers probably aren’t far behind.
Posted in: Filmmaking · Movies · News · Reboots and Remakes · Sci-Fi · TV to Movies
Tagged: Cartoon, Hanna-Barbera, Jetsons, Predator, Robert Rodriguez, Sin City