'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' - Directed and Starring Ben Stiller

[Walts Ghost]

First Image from THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY Starring and Directed by Ben Stiller

A remake of 1947′s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has been in development since 1996, but Ben Stiller is the one who finally made it a reality. In addition to directing, Stiller stars as the eponymous LIFE Magazine proofreader who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite. On his quests, he seeks to find a missing image taken by a photographer played by Sean Penn. The first image from the film has been released, and we see a haggard Mr. Mitty holding a skateboard on terrain that doesn’t seem particularly suited to skateboarding.

Hit the jump to check out the image. 20th Century Fox will be showing 15 minutes from the film at CinemaCon, so we’ll be on the lookout for reaction to the footage. The movie also stars Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, and Kathryn Hahn. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opens December 25th.


Image via L.A. Times.

Source

[MikeScott]

Very good cast. I'm definitely interested.

[Walts Ghost]

Stiller's best films are the ones that he directs. Hope we see a trailer soon.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

Stiller's best films are the ones that he directs. Hope we see a trailer soon.

Same, heard overwhelmingly good things around it, here's hoping the word of mouth is right!

[esteban²]

A few years ago Steven Spielberg and Jim Carrey were going to do this together. That would have been a great combination. Now I will have to get over the fact it's Ben Stiller instead doing it all. Might be good after all, but when I imagine Stiller, I go "meh".

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by esteban²

A few years ago Steven Spielberg and Jim Carrey were going to do this together. That would have been a great combination. Now I will have to get over the fact it's Ben Stiller instead doing it all. Might be good after all, but when I imagine Stiller, I go "meh".

Jim Carrey still gets 90's-style hi-concept comedies (like Yes Man, Bruce Almighty and Mr. Popper's Penguins) thrown at him in the hopes they'll get another Liar, Liar, but he always turns them down for quirkier indie and dress-up projects.
(That Incredible Mr. Limpet remake is still floating around studio limbo ether, and three guesses how it'll eventually resurface.)

This studio-made Carrey project's been around since the 90's, but after the Night at the Museum and Meet the Parents movies, Ben Stiller has become the new default paycheck go-to guy for hi-concept studio comedies, when studios don't know who else to cast and don't want to use Eddie Murphy...Just that half the time, Stiller usually wants to direct them himself.
As for Ben Stiller directing studio Jim Carrey material (Cable Guy), that, um, didn't quite work out so well the last time, did it?

[Walts Ghost]

Reaction: ‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty’ Footage Sparks Early Oscar Buzz

Last year at CinemaCon, 20th Century Fox previewed very early footage for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. Attendees at the presentation were floored, and the buzz on all the blogs was that Pi was an Oscar contender. Some argued that April was too early to be calling for possible Oscar contenders, and they were probably right. We all know how that turned out.

This year Fox arrived in Vegas bearing another special preview: between fifteen and twenty minutes of the Ben Stiller-directed The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. (Stiller also stars.) Again, it’s April, it’s too early to make such claims, but the Oscar buzz has begun.

After the jump you can read my thoughts on the footage screened from Mitty, or watch a video blog I recorded with Alex from Firstshowing talking about presentations of footage from The Wolverine, Epic, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Walking With Dinosaurs: The Movie.



I must admit, I have never seen the old Danny Kaye movie or read the book The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is based on, so pardon my ignorance to this film. I had seen Mitty on upcoming schedules and written it off as another broad comedy starring Stiller. I’m not sure why, as I was a huge fan of Stiller’s directorial efforts Cable Guy and, to a lesser extent, Zoolander.

The film feels like a mixture of the loneliness of Eternal Sunshine, the hopeful comedy of (500) Days of Summer, and the epic bigger-than-life moments of Forrest Gump. The always-lovable Kristen Wiig co-stars as a woman Walter has a crush on. He fantasizes about her in various moments of his life. These fantastical daydream sequences are what bring this film to a completely different level than the character-based comedies we’ve seen in the past.

I could attempt to explain the film’s story (we try poorly in the video blog reaction), but it’s not easy to put into a one sentence logline. Even if I could give the story a proper paragraph set-up, I don’t think it’s something that will immediately grab you and make you say “I need to see that.” In at respect, Fox has some challenges marketing this film to the masses, but if they can show you what we saw, they will buy tickets.

Walter Mitty feels like it could be a really special film, one that doesn’t come along every year. Heartfelt, funny, but with fantastical moments that are meant to be seen on the big screen in an audience full of strangers.

Here’s our video reaction:

[EDIT: Hit the source link to watch the video, I can't embed it here]

Source

[MikeScott]

Sounds great. I'm a huge Wiig fan and she's the main reason I'm interested. Also love Adam Scott. Can't wait to see footage from it. Could easily be one of the year's best.

Some more reactions:

@SteveNashLA 14m
Footage of Secret Life Of Walter Mitty looks amazing. Incredible.

@slashfilm 18m
Last year Fox screened footage for Life of Pi, the Oscar buzz began here. This year it was Walter Mitty. It’s early, but the buzz starts now. Seriously, write this down on your calendar, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Christmas.

@katpf 25m
Secret Life of Walter Mitty looks beautiful, even unfinished. Had no idea Fox was looking for it to bring Life of Pi caliber visuals.

‏@colliderfrosty 33m
Wasn't sure about Ben Stiller's THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY. Now I am. The footage Fox premiered looked fantastic. Totally unique film. Def Ben Stiller's most adult work 2 date. Footage showed heart, humor, and restraint. Def Oscar possibilities

‏@IMDbKeith 34m
Just saw Ben Stller's "Walter Mitty" footage. Emotionally resonant & looks like a holiday winner.

‏@silaslesnick 40m
Wow, THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY looks good. exquisitely beautiful with a real Sam Mendes vibe. Oscar contender for sure.

@akstanwyck 42m
Secret life of walter Mitty looks like Oscar contender for fox, which showed footage from life of pi here last year.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by esteban²

A few years ago Steven Spielberg and Jim Carrey were going to do this together. That would have been a great combination. Now I will have to get over the fact it's Ben Stiller instead doing it all. Might be good after all, but when I imagine Stiller, I go "meh".

Spielberg was toying with making it a musical...it's one of the few genres he hasn't explored yet (along with Westerns and Gangster films).

[jamesdevil]

Trailer before The Wolverine. My 2nd favorite this year.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by jamesdevil

Trailer before The Wolverine. My 2nd favorite this year.

Glad to see we're finally getting a trailer. My second favorite movie of the year as well...But I'm not talking about 'The Wolverine'...

[jamesdevil]

I meant Walter Mitty has my 2nd favorite trailer.

[MikeScott]

Originally Posted by jamesdevil

Trailer before The Wolverine. My 2nd favorite this year.

No way! Nice.

[jamesdevil]

It's really well done. Vague and beautiful. Very much on my radar now. Kristen Wiig is a great choice for a romantic interest.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by jamesdevil

I meant Walter Mitty has my 2nd favorite trailer.

Originally Posted by jamesdevil

It's really well done. Vague and beautiful. Very much on my radar now. Kristen Wiig is a great choice for a romantic interest.

Ah, got it. Well, my point still stands...It very much deserves to be on everyone's radar.

[MikeScott]

I wish it would be attached to The Way, Way Back tomorrow. Otherwise it better be online soon.

[Walts Ghost]

Hopefully they keep a solid advertising campaign for this one leading up to its December release. It has a lot of competition, and I REALLY want this one to do well...

[jamesdevil]

Originally Posted by MikeScott

I wish it would be attached to The Way, Way Back tomorrow. Otherwise it better be online soon.

I'm sure it will be.

Steve Conrad wrote The Weather Man which I really, really like but also The Pursuit of Happyness which I dislike.

IMDB says Sean Penn is 'rumored'. lol, put that 'rumor' to rest.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by jamesdevil

I'm sure it will be.

Steve Conrad wrote The Weather Man which I really, really like but also The Pursuit of Happyness which I dislike.

IMDB says Sean Penn is 'rumored'. lol, put that 'rumor' to rest.

He's definitely a major part of the film. But it's almost better not to know...

[jamesdevil]

He's prominent in the trailer and obviously seems incredibly important (you'd know!). Just thought it was funny that IMDB still has him listed as 'rumored'.