Today we’re sharing our final portion of Steve’s wide-ranging interview with director Shawn Levy.  Steve recently got the chance to sit down with Levy in order to talk a bit about the visual effects work in Real Steel in lieu of the film’s Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.  Over the past few days, we’ve been bringing you various portions of the interview in which Levy gave updates on the many, many projects he currently has in development as:

In our final portion of the interview, we’ve got updates from Levy on Night at the Museum 3, The Fight Before Christmas (which is being rewritten by Jeremy Garelick), The Cannonball Run and The Three Misfortunes of Geppetto (which Levy may not direct after all). Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

shawn-levy-night-at-the-museum

Levy provided a brief update on the possibility of him directing a third installment of the Night at the Museum franchise:

“Very possibly. Got a script. Very possibly. It’s really funny, it’s very poignant, and it’s not just ‘Oh what museum are they going to this time?’ it’s a much meatier story than that.”

It’s not much to go on, and with so many other things on Levy’s radar I’m unsure how possible Night at the Museum 3 is with Levy at the helm. Personally, I’d rather see him tackle something else like Frankenstein or Fantastic Voyage and hand the Museum franchise off to another director.

Another high-profile project that Levy recently attached himself to is a prequel to Pinocchio called The Three Misfortunes of Geppetto:

“Geppetto is a really beautiful fable of the Edward Scissorhands ilk. It’s a fable, it’s a kind of ‘our world but pushed’ universe. I bought it as a spec here at Fox. I don’t know if I’m gonna direct that one myself, in fact I’ve had some conversations with other directors. My barometer for that one is if I can get a filmmaker who I think would do as good or probably better [than I would] at that kind of material, I’m not gonna be possessive about it. So I’m talking with directors who would be interested in making that.”

I was actually quite intrigued by the prospect of Levy taking the project on, but it sounds like he’s leaning towards setting it up with another director. The Edward Scissorhands comparisons are promising, and the project sounds like it’ll be one hell of a visual treat: the story chronicles Geppetto’s quest through misfortune, war, and adventure to be with his true love.

Levy also took a moment to clue us in on what happened with a planned remake of The Cannonball Run that he was reportedly involved with:

“I did have talks with Al Ruddy who’s the producer of the original films about maybe [doing] it with all my comedy friends. My dream was do it with Ben [Stiller] and Owen [Wilson] and basically all the comedy guys I now know… There were conversations with me and Al and Fox, but I think it’s ended up with Warner Bros. for Guy Ritchie maybe, so no I don’t have anything to do with that but it was something I looked into once about two years ago.”

It appears the project is Ritchie’s for the taking, but he was most recently mentioned in connection with the Man from U.N.C.L.E. gig, so we may be a ways off from a Cannonball Run update.

Finally, Levy talked briefly about the family comedy The Fight Before Christmas, giving us an idea of what to expect plot-wise:

“This script is really about the pressure cooker of the holidays and the conflict between family of origin and family of choice, and how do any of us who are in a relationship reconcile the person we become when our families are around and the person we’re trying to be with the person we choose? It’s going through a rewrite with Jeremy Garelick and if he does what I think he’s gonna do we’ll be casting it shortly.”

The Proposal director Anne Fletcher is attached to direct and Garelick previously scripted The Break-Up, so I assume the tone of the pic will be along the lines of those films. I think it’s a solid idea, but the similarly themed Four Christmases was rather painful to sit through so hopefully they steer clear of that pic. You can watch the portion of the interview where Levy talks about Night at the Museum 3, Cannonball Run, The Three Misfortunes of Gepetto, and The Fight Before Christmas below, followed by a time index and transcript of the conversation. If you missed any of our previous interview coverage, click here to catch up.

geppetto-pinocchio-image

Here's the time index/transcript:

  • :21 Talks about Night at the Museum 3: “Very possibly. Got a script. Very possibly. It’s really funny. It’s very poignant and it’s not just, ‘Oh what museum are they going to this time?’ it’s a much meatier story than that.”
  • :53 Addresses Cannonball Run rumors: “I did have talks with Al Ruddy who’s the producer of the original films about maybe [doing] it with all my comedy friends. My dream was to do it with Ben [Stiller] and Owen [Wilson] and basically all the comedy guys I now know… There was conversations with me and Al and Fox, but I think it’s ended up with Warner Bros. for Guy Ritchie maybe, so no I don’t have anything to do with that but it was something I looked into once about two years ago.”
  • 1:36 Update on The Three Misfortunes of Geppetto: “Geppetto is a really beautiful fable of the Edward Scissorhands ilk. It’s a fable, it’s a kind of ‘our world but pushed’ universe. I bought it as a spec here at Fox. I don’t know if I’m gonna direct that one myself, in fact I’ve had some conversations with other directors. My barometer for that one is if I can get a filmmaker who I think would do as good or probably better [than I would] at that kind of material, I’m not gonna be possessive about it. So I’m talking with directors who would be interested in making that.”
  • 2:17 The Fight Before Christmas: “Anne Fletcher is our director, she did The Proposal, she’s doing a movie with Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand right now that I think is now called Guilt Trip. Anne did the choreography on Real Steel and we became friends. This script is really about the pressure cooker of the holidays and the conflict between family of origin and family of choice, and how do any of us who are in a relationship reconcile? Kind of the person we become when our families are around and the person we’re trying to be with the person we choose. It’s going through a rewrite with Jeremy Garelick... and if he does what I think he’s gonna do we’ll be casting it shortly."