'Teddy Bear' - Dwayne Johnson

[Walts Ghost]

Dwayne Johnson Attached to Produce and Possibly Star in TEDDY BEAR

No doubt the success of Seth MacFarlane’s Ted has contributed to the continuing climb of R-rated comedies, but it also seems to have kicked off another minor trend: movies about teddy bears. The next film to feature the classic kids’ toy will be the tentatively titled Teddy Bear, which has Dwayne Johnson on board to produce and possibly star.

This particular stuffed animal seems to be less of an inappropriate rascal and more of a courageous hero, however. The picture will be based on, of all things, a DeviantArt drawing. More details after the jump.

THR reports that has New Line acquired the rights to the illustration “Sweet Halloween Dreams,” which depicts a small brown teddy bear wielding a tiny wooden sword and shield to protect a sleeping girl from a fearsome dragon-like monster. (Scroll to the bottom to see the full image.) The artist is software engineer Alex Panagopoulos, whose works you can see at his DeviantArt page.

A different variation on the image has it framed in black, motivational poster-style, with the caption “Teddy Bears: Protecting innocent children from monsters-under-the-bed since 1902.” Interestingly, the original teddy bear was itself inspired by a drawing — in this case, that of a 1902 political cartoon depicting president Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot a particular bear.

Teddy Bear reunites Johnson with producer Beau Flynn, with whom he worked on Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. The project originated when Johnson’s former assistant Hiram Garcia came across Panagopolous’ illustration and brought it to Flynn’s FlynnPictureCo and New Line. Garcia will also produce, along with New Line’s Michael Disco and FlynnPictureCo’s Adam Yoelin.

No writer or director is attached at this point, and the plot specifics are being kept hush-hush. What we do know is that New Line has high hopes that Teddy Bear will kick off a four-quadrant franchise. The film’s roots are certainly unusual, but I can see the picture taking off under the right circumstances and with the right talent. The premise has plenty of room for action, heart, and humor, which should in theory help it appeal to a very wide audience. Would you watch this movie?

Source

[Scottie]

Hmm...this could be interesting if done properly.

Especially if it's nothing like Ted.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Hmm...this could be interesting if done properly.

Especially if it's nothing like Ted.

I completely agree. I actually think this could be really, really awesome if done correctly. I want it to be a great family film, but not one that talks down to kids. Kind of something along the lines of 'Toy Story' where it's a smart film, with funny moments.

[Blu-Benny]

could be cool.

[AmrlKJaneway]

Sounds like the opposite of Monsters Inc., where this time the cute furry creatures keep bad things away at night.

Anyway, sounds great. I wanna see it. Live action with CGI would be nice. And yeah, family based. My kids did like Ted, especially Flash Gordon, but some jokes were a bit silly.

[UncleBob]

aka Tooth Fairy 2

[Monterey Jack]

You know Hollywood is running out of ideas when they're basing a movie off of a piece of DeviantArt artwork.

[remake]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

You know Hollywood is running out of ideas when they're basing a movie off of a piece of DeviantArt artwork.

My first thought. Why can't they buy scripts from unknown writers?

[UncleBob]

Originally Posted by undiscovered

My first thought. Why can't they buy scripts from unknown writers?

I have a huge pile of them so I agree.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

You know Hollywood is running out of ideas when they're basing a movie off of a piece of DeviantArt artwork.

You can't tell me you don't look at that picture and get tons of crazy and cool ideas from it. It's the same thing as buying a movie based on concept art and an outline.

[Blu Ian]

I love Dwayne
I love Teddy Bears

So sign me up

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

You know Hollywood is running out of ideas when they're basing a movie off of a piece of DeviantArt artwork.

Originally Posted by undiscovered

My first thought. Why can't they buy scripts from unknown writers?

The article says "based on" an piece of artwork, when I think they meant "Inspired by".

I can pretty much see the final film having zero resemblance to the art.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

You know Hollywood is running out of ideas when they're basing a movie off of a piece of DeviantArt artwork.

Not at all. There's no telling where ideas for certain movies came from that you loved... so you can't really judge.

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by Snicket

The article says "based on" an piece of artwork, when I think they meant "Inspired by".

I can pretty much see the final film having zero resemblance to the art.

Meaning that the illustrator who created the art will no doubt see not a penny from the studio.

[See u at da party!]

Just when I thought rock was Finally... doing something good with his carer and making some rated R action, he goes and does this

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by See u at da party!

Just when I thought rock was Finally... doing something good with his carer and making some rated R action, he goes and does this

Well, it's not definite he's starring, so don't count him out yet. I get he has kids, and wants to cater to family audiences as well, and this seems like something good he could produce for them to enjoy. We'll have to wait and see. For all we know, he may just voice a character in it. That doesn't hurt his credibility at all as an action star. In the end though, be it kids movies or not, Dwayne has proven he's a definite action star, while also being an excellent family entertainer. Nothing wrong with him doing both. Hell, Arnold and Bruce have both done this as well, and it didn't hurt them at all.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by See u at da party!

Just when I thought rock was Finally... doing something good with his carer and making some rated R action, he goes and does this

Please, grow up, he's not trying to cater to you

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

You can't tell me you don't look at that picture and get tons of crazy and cool ideas from it. It's the same thing as buying a movie based on concept art and an outline.

It's a good idea for an illustration, and I'd originally thought it came from a complete picture book.
(And there have been many an overbearing big-studio movie, with or without Dwayne, that have been based on ideas "inspired" by an isolated children's-book illustration without actually reading the other 24 pages.)

Think the article hit it, though: Hollywood has no idea--NONE--as to why Ted made all that danged much money last summer (the Pixar movie sucked on opening, Family Guy fanboys are a zombie cult, fratboy comedies are dumped in June, and we were getting antsy because Batman hadn't opened yet)
Which means, like Tim Burton's Alice, we now have studios treating it with holy awe, reverence and occult superstition, trying, like alchemist wizards, to treat it with their potion chemicals and seeing whether they can delve its secrets and discover its magical golden properties to mysteriously summon those unpredictable audiences. The Oscar ceremony is only the tip of a Titanic-threatening iceberg.
And which should last until about, oh....until Seth MacFarlane ever gets his second non-FG movie. Which could be a long haul.

[Pounder]

Originally Posted by See u at da party!

Just when I thought rock was Finally... doing something good with his carer and making some rated R action, he goes and does this

Lol he gotta eat

[Snicket]

I beat on the "Hollwood is a creative wasteland" drum more than others, but I don't see the problem with drafting a film based on a drawing. As long as it fuels your creative process and is not a commercial machine at heart, I say go for it. If the right artists with at least some artistic integrity are involved, I definitely see the charm of this idea.

The problem really is are you comfortable using The Rock, and creative process in the same sentence.

If the studio thinks this is a sure thing because of Ted, it just goes to show why Hollywood really is dying off.