Today weâre sharing our final portion of Steveâs 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 filmâs Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects. Over the past few days, weâve been bringing you various portions of the interview in which Levy gave updates on the many, many projects he currently has in development as:
- The visual effects of Real Steel and the status of a Real Steel sequel.
- Updates on Interns starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, Fantastic Voyage, and Frankenstein.
- The adaptation of The Ten Best Days of My Life starring Amy Adams and the time travel pic Home Movies.
- Animated King Kong re-imagining Kong and adaptations of the childrens books The Devil You Know and Fancy Nancy with Tina Fey.
- Table 19 with Jeffrey Blitz, Kodachrome, and the hold-up on the Mr. Men movie.
- A mysterious project from Lostâs Carlton Cuse starring Hugh Jackman, How to Talk to Girls, Deadliest Warrior, Henchman, Neighborhoord Watch, and why Interns is probably his next project.
In our final portion of the interview, weâve 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.
Levy provided a brief update on the possibility of him directing a third installment of the Night at the Museum franchise:
âVery possibly. Got a script. Very possibly. Itâs really funny, itâs very poignant, and itâs not just âOh what museum are they going to this time?â itâs a much meatier story than that.â
Itâs not much to go on, and with so many other things on Levyâs radar Iâm unsure how possible Night at the Museum 3 is with Levy at the helm. Personally, Iâd 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:
âGeppetto is a really beautiful fable of the Edward Scissorhands ilk. Itâs a fable, itâs a kind of âour world but pushedâ universe. I bought it as a spec here at Fox. I donât know if Iâm gonna direct that one myself, in fact Iâve 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, Iâm not gonna be possessive about it. So Iâm talking with directors who would be interested in making that.â
I was actually quite intrigued by the prospect of Levy taking the project on, but it sounds like heâs leaning towards setting it up with another director. The Edward Scissorhands comparisons are promising, and the project sounds like itâll be one hell of a visual treat: the story chronicles Geppettoâs 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:
âI did have talks with Al Ruddy whoâs 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 itâs ended up with Warner Bros. for Guy Ritchie maybe, so no I donât have anything to do with that but it was something I looked into once about two years ago.â
It appears the project is Ritchieâs 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:
âThis 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 weâre trying to be with the person we choose? Itâs going through a rewrite with Jeremy Garelick and if he does what I think heâs gonna do weâll be casting it shortly.â
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 itâs 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.
Here's the time index/transcript:
- :21 Talks about Night at the Museum 3: âVery possibly. Got a script. Very possibly. Itâs really funny. Itâs very poignant and itâs not just, âOh what museum are they going to this time?â itâs a much meatier story than that.â
- :53 Addresses Cannonball Run rumors: âI did have talks with Al Ruddy whoâs 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 itâs ended up with Warner Bros. for Guy Ritchie maybe, so no I donât have anything to do with that but it was something I looked into once about two years ago.â
- 1:36 Update on The Three Misfortunes of Geppetto: âGeppetto is a really beautiful fable of the Edward Scissorhands ilk. Itâs a fable, itâs a kind of âour world but pushedâ universe. I bought it as a spec here at Fox. I donât know if Iâm gonna direct that one myself, in fact Iâve 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, Iâm not gonna be possessive about it. So Iâm talking with directors who would be interested in making that.â
- 2:17 The Fight Before Christmas: âAnne Fletcher is our director, she did The Proposal, sheâs 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 weâre trying to be with the person we choose. Itâs going through a rewrite with Jeremy Garelick... and if he does what I think heâs gonna do weâll be casting it shortly."