Am I the only one excited for David Fincher’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea? Mostly because it’s a combination of the director of Seven with Jules Verne and Disney? Really? Well, whether you’re excited or not, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is inching ever closer to production, for Australia has offered itself as a potential site for production once Disney greenlights the picture.
Australia has reportedly offered Disney a flat $22.5m to shoot the Jules Verne underwater epic. Quite a big incentive for Disney producers to get in gear and actually give the project the green light. In fact, it’s the biggest incentive Australia has ever offered to a film production. They really want this one.
And so do I. With Fincher working on a really stellar cast list – Channing Tatum has been mentioned in the role of seafaring hero Ned Land – the project sounds like a gimme. But Disney has yet to give Fincher the green light, reportedly waiting for a cast before giving the go-ahead. One of the big questions is who will play Captain Nemo – the original Ahab-type once played by James Mason, not the clown fish – and that casting choice, I have a feeling, will determine what Disney does.
C’mon, guys, let’s get on this. We have a chance to see David Fincher make a Disney movie! About undersea adventure and betrayal and treasure and … sea monsters, if memory serves. Australia wants it, Fincher wants it, and your humble correspondent wants it. Cast Russell Crowe or Liam Neeson as Captain Nemo and get this thing going! We’re not getting any younger.
Are you looking forward to Fincher taking on Captain Nemo and Co., very probably from someplace down under? How does a new 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea sound to you? Let us know in the comments section.
