David Heyman made a name for himself in the movie industry when he bought the rights to a then little know book series known as Harry Potter, which ended up being turned into a massive film franchise. Now, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Heyman will be producing a feature film adaptation of another book series, Paddington Bear.
Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear has been a popular series since its publication in 1958, resulting in 20 books being published in 40 languages and selling 35 million copies worldwide. He has also made it onto the screen twice, the first time being the BBC’s stop-motion animated/traditionally animated series in 1975 and the second in Hanna-Barbera’s 1989 animated series.
The adventures of Paddington starts when he’s discovered on Paddington Station. The bear was then adopted and armed with his duffle coat, batted briefcase, his polite demeanour and a love for marmalade sandwiches. The series follows Paddington as he causes trouble around England.
Peter King, the director of the cult British comedy series The Mighty Boosh, is set to make a CGI-live action hybrid with a modern twist. If you’re worried that Heyman and King are going to make a patronizing ‘down with the kids’ take of the beloved children’s character, fear not because Heyman is quoted as saying the following.
“Paddington Bear is a universally loved character, treasured for his optimism, his sense of fair play and his perfect manners – and of course for his unintentional talent for comic chaos.”
Heyman did well with the Harry Potter series so I don’t think we have anything to worry about with Paddington Brown.
Published: May 10, 2012 07:32 pm