Ever wonder what happened to that “Stretch Armstrong” movie that was tossed from Universal in their great purge of 2011? Well, Relativity picked it up, dropped the long-attached Taylor Lautner and set it up with an April 11, 2014 release date. And now it's time to get a script.
Variety has word that Relativity and Hasbro have pulled the arm of “The Manchurian Candidate” remake scribe Dean Georgaris to make their 'Stretch' a more “plausible, action-oriented family pic.” That’s a bit of a stretch (ha!), but then again they are making a movie out of a toy that’s had only occasional popularity since its release in 1976, and really seems to hold no interest for kids today.
Speaking of films based on established properties, THR reports that “The Smurfs” screenwriting team of David Stem and David Weiss have been tasked with writing “The Ringling Brothers,” a film based on the popular circus for Paramount. Plot details are being kept under the big tent, probably because there are currently none to speak of, but apparently they’re aiming for it to be a “Night at the Museum” meets “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”-style family adventure. The only other detail is that the film will be set in present day, and will seemingly have nothing to do with the lore of the seven brothers who started the circus and then acquired Barnum & Bailey to form “The Greatest Show on Earth.” Exciting?
Looks like 'Stretch' is sticking with its April 2014 release, while we’d guess that “The Ringling Brothers” is still a way off, staying locked in its cage until Paramount lets it out.
Dudes, it's Dean Georgaris, not Dan Pyne. Might want to read the Variety story you link to. Proof proof proof proof proof. No one's gonna care if this story is filed two minutes later.
I know this may sound self-serving, but this is the best story The Playlist has ever written. Also, glad Lautner won't be playing me, I've been personally rooting for Logan Lerman myself.