Jack Black To Star in remake of “Gulliver's Travels”

[GreenScar]

It looks like Jonathan Swift’s classic book, Gulliver’s Travels, is going to have another run at the big screen. Twentieth Century Fox is moving forward with a film version of the book, this time with Jack Black playing the titular character. Shark Tale director Rob Letterman will be taking up directorial duties. Shooting will begin in March, with a screenplay by Nicholas Stoller and Joe Stillman. It should be noted that Variety describes this as a “contemporary re-imagining,” and that Gulliver will play a travel writer going to the Bermuda Triangle, presumably in modern times. In the original book, Gulliver went on to encounter societies that were dramatically different than our own, including a civilization of horses and a land of tiny humans.

Travels has been made into many films (several of them animated) over the years. Most recently, Ted Danson took up Gulliver duties in the 1996 NBC Miniseries. I was really fond of this series, as I thought it struck a great balance between the fantastic and the serious (not to mention the inventive framing of the story using Gulliver’s trial). It looks like this time around, with a comedic lead and a director/writer team who are known for their comedies, they may jettison the more serious and darker elements of the story in favor of a madcap style adventure.

Source

[EricJ]

Only All-Purpose Crankmeister Ted Danson could bring off the snarky book-version Gulliver as Swift intended...Consider the jersey retired.

Nowadays, if I hear "Jack Black" in a movie, 3 to 1 it's a "wacky" CGI film.

[GreenScar]

Poster is out. Will this be any good?

Found on the poster site IMPAwards (via SlashFilm) was this first teaser poster for Jack Black's Gulliver's Travels, that Fox is releasing in glorious 3D (ugh!) this December. Between this poster, where Black is tied up by the Liliputians, and the one we saw at Cannes, I'm guessing the story in this does not span beyond the island of Liliput. As most of you may remember, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels takes Gulliver to more places than just the island of Liliput, but I'm sure Fox is hoping for a franchise with sequels where we'll see more of those stories. Anyway, a new poster usually means a trailer is coming soon, so stick around for that!

Gulliver's Travels is directed by Rob Letterman, who is making his live-action debut after co-directing both Shark Tale and Monsters vs Aliens for DreamWorks Animation. The screenplay for this was written by Joe Stillman (Shrek, Shrek 2, Planet 51) and Nick Stoller (director/writer of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek). This is based on Jonathan Swift's classic story Gulliver's Travels first published in 1726. 20th Century Fox
is bringing Gulliver's Travels to theaters in 3D and 2D on December 22nd this holiday.

[Jezza]

So it's been directed by the same perosn who directed Shark Tale and Monsters Vs. Aliens?

*Thinks very breifly*

I think that sums it up basically. So no, it won't be any good, and it's hardly going to get rave reviews anyway.

The trouble with Jack Black films is that they have nothing about them that make you want to see them in the theatre. Take Year One for example (I've yet to see it by the way) it looks vaguely funny, but I didn't want to see it on the big-screen, only King Kong did that.

[OrlandoEastwood]

They photoshopped that poster funny. Jack Black's face looks odd. Not a fan of 3D and given who the director is, he's done a film in 3D before. I want to see a trailer before I judge.

[LordCrumb]

That poster looks crap! Has he been completely CGI'd ?

[OrlandoEastwood]

Yeah, he looks weird.

[P@t_Mtl]

Weird....I suppose it will be in the same flavor as Land Of The Lost

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by GreenScar

Poster is out. Will this be any good?

Meh, could be alright, his mouth looks strange.

And out of all the defending of 3-D I've been doing, did this really need to be 3-D

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Meh, could be alright, his mouth looks strange.

I think I figure out what is wrong, we see no teeth

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I think I figure out what is wrong, we see no teeth

It's like a Black Hole

[Jezza]

Originally Posted by Foggy

It's like a Black Hole

Let's just hope we don't get sucked into it, come December.

[Ferris]

I liked the Swift novel as well (I liked all of his novels, really). I can't think Jack Black can possibly do the title character justice. I have liked Jack Black in 2 roles:
Enemy of the State
The Jackal

The thing they have in common? Bit parts for Jack Black. . . I just can't take this guys seriously anymore.

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

Here comes another remake:sigh: Mankind keeps repeating themselves.

[Monkey]

Ugh, Jack Black is just horrible. He was good in the Jackal because he gets blown away

Emily Blunt on the other hand, while delicious is not enough to pull me in.

[Septimus Prime]

I can't stand Jack Black. Even if this ends up being good (which I highly doubt will happen), I won't be seeing it.

[EricJ]

Looking at the IMDB credits, I'm rather puzzled by Justin Brett's credit as "Paul Stanley of KISS".

[LordCrumb]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Ugh, Jack Black is just horrible. He was good in the Jackal because he gets blown away

Spall!!

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Foggy

And out of all the defending of 3-D I've been doing, did this really need to be 3-D

Well, if we're getting the Monsters vs. Aliens director who knows how to USE it in production (instead of doing some cheap crappy Tim Burton post-conversion ), then yes, I suppose.
Otherwise.........nnnno.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Well, if we're getting the Monsters vs. Aliens director who knows how to USE it in production (instead of doing some cheap crappy Tim Burton post-conversion ), then yes, I suppose.
Otherwise.........nnnno.

Well I'm there with you on that one.