Just when you thought the pirate subgenre was all played out, back it comes in a big way and from a rather surprising source. The Fugitive director Andrew Davis has revealed that he’s working on a contemporary adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic pirate novel Treasure Island.
Doing the rounds for the 20th Anniversary Blu-Ray and DVD of The Fugitive, Davis has had a chance to begin discussing some of his new projects. The adaptation of Treasure Island will be called Thieves Fortune and will take place in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The hunt will be on for pirate Jean Lafitte’s treasure, presumably melding the original concerns of the novel (a young boy who puts his trust in men that turn out to be pirates) with contemporary concerns. It’s intended to be family-friendly, moving further and further from the more violent films that Davis originally made his name on.
Davis has had an interesting career post–Fugitive, directing both the Schwartzenegger vehicle Collateral Damage and Dial M For Murder remake A Perfect Murder. Then he did an about-face and went in for Holes, based on the Louis Sachar novel (and starring Shia LaBeouf before he went all creepy). His most recent film was The Guardian, starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, about the Coast Guard. Now he’s returning to the family-friendly genre with Thieves Fortune.
Here’s what Davis had to say about his desires to move more into ‘four quadrant’ films:
I’ve turned down a lot of violent action movies which I don’t want to do. I don’t want to make a film where violence is the entertainment. I had a great time with Holes. I’m interested in doing family movies or four quadrant movies that are based upon quality literature or books.
The script for Thieves Fortune is being written by Davis and George Gallo (Midnight Run, Bad Boys), so we can expect some comedy and adventure in the mix. Sounds like an interesting idea, if done well.
What do you think of Davis’s plans for Thieves Fortune? Will you be willing to go on the adventure with a contemporary Long John Silver? Let us know in the comments.
