The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Variety - February 22, 2007 Scorsese gets inventive at WB Director may take on 'Hugo' By MICHAEL FLEMING The heat generated by "The Departed" has put Martin Scorsese in high demand.Warner Bros. and Graham King's Initial Entertainment Group -- which produced "The Departed" for Warners -- have acquired screen rights to bestselling Brian Selznick children's novel "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" as a potential directing vehicle for Scorsese.Pic reteams the creatives behind 2004's "The Aviator": screenwriter John Logan, Scorsese and producer King. Logan will immediately begin penning the script.Published last month by Scholastic, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" concerns a 12-year-old orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station in 1930 and a mystery involving the boy, his late father and a robot. Scorsese recently inked a lucrative first-look deal with Paramount. Under the terms of the pact, Par has the right to own half of any project Scorsese directs or produces elsewhere."Hugo Cabret" joins several projects on Scorsese's to-do list.While the director hasn't declared his next film, helming projects on his front burner include "Silence," the Initial-produced WB adaptation of the Shusaku Endo novel about two 17th century Jesuit priests who witness the hardships of spreading Christianity in Japan. (Project predates the first-look deal with Par.)A sequel to "The Departed" is being mulled based on an idea by scripter William Monahan. Both Scorsese and King head into the weekend in contention for Oscars for "Departed."At Paramount, Scorsese is developing with an eye to direct the bigscreen adaptation of Eric Jager's historical tome "Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal and Trial by Combat in Medieval France." Kevin Misher's Par-based Misher Films is producing.Logan most recently scripted "Sweeney Todd," the DreamWorks/Warner Bros. feature version of the Stephen Sondheim musical, with Tim Burton directing Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.Separately at Warner, King is partnered with Depp on "Shantaram"for director Mira Nair. Initial and Depp's Infinitum Nihil are also developing a drama that will focus on Alexander Litvinenko, the ex-KGB spy who was fatally poisoned. More about the book's style can be found here. Filmmaker George Méliès was apparently an inspiration for some of the artwork and there's even a scene where the hero and heroine attempt to sneak into a movie theater.

Thanks, Arnzilla :) Since it's not a project coming from the Paramount deal, I imagine he must want to do it. The illustrations may have played a part in his decision. We're getting closer to the summer and no announcement yet. And I read that Bardem will do a Woody Allen film this summer.

Woody works fast, though. BTW, Méliès is a major character in the book and it has lotsa cinematic references. Sounds like a fantasy incarnation of a Méliès biopic. http://reporter.blogs.com/risky/2007/02/scorsese_turns_.html http://tigersread.blogspot.com/2006/12/invention-of-hugo-cabret-by-brian.html

Thanks Arnzilla This sounds like a match made in heaven. :D I do hope we hear something definite about his next project once the Oscars are over.

A bit more on the book and its author: http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/.... .................... Last month, the movie rights to Hugo Cabret were bought by Warner Bros. and Initial Entertainment Group, which produced The Departed, with the possibility that Martin Scorsese will direct. "I'm pretty OK with that," Selznick says with a smile. "He's a film historian, and this is a book about the history and magic of movies. I'd love to see what he could do with it as a movie." Selznick hopes it isn't turned into "one of those sweet, condescending kids' movies. I hope it's a movie that kids can reach up to, not something that rises down to them." And this website has the initial 42-pages of illustrations that the article mentions: http://theinventionofhugocabret.com/flash/ (click on "The Invention" on the book cover)

Thanks Will The drawings are lovely. Something to drool over while we wait............................. :wink:

Merci Will... trying to catch the train with Marty's supposed projects but it goes as fast as he speaks... Great link to a great book and website, thankssss !

From Hollywood Reporter... Graham King will still produce, but under his new production company, GK Films: Three titles will mark the birth of GK Films. "Shantaram" will be produced for Warner Bros. in conjunction with Infinitum and Brad Pitt's Paramount-based Plan B. A starring vehicle for Depp from a script by Eric Roth for director Mira Nair, "Shantaram" is based on the novel by Gregory David Roberts. Martin Scorsese's "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" will be produced by King for Warner Bros. Based on the New York Times best-selling book by Brian Selznick, the film will have a script penned by Oscar nominee John Logan. First up for GK Films is Jean Marc Vallee's "The Young Victoria," which stars Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt. Detailing the early life and rise to power of Britain's Queen Victoria, the film is skedded to lens in August on location in the U.K. And from Variety: Among the titles being produced by King through GK Films is the epic "Shantaram," produced with Warner Bros. in conjunction with Depp's Infinitum Nihil and Plan B. Pic is a starring vehicle for Depp, from a script by Eric Roth for helmer Mira Nair. The GK Films slate also includes "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" to be directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by King for Warner Bros. Based on the bestseller by Brian Selznick, the script is written by John Logan. A start date for the Depp and the Scorsese pics would become clear in a couple of weeks, King said. First to go before the cameras, however, is "The Young Victoria," starring Emily Blunt and directed by Jean Marc Vallee. Pic begins lensing in August in the U.K. and will be sold by Initial.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is nominated for a Quill award in the category of "Children's Chapter/Middle Grade". I was wondering if anyone has read it yet...

Thanks, leela Hoping to read it this summer... :)

Thanks, arnzilla. So much for a Scorsese children's film. And another WB film that is not going ahead.

Merci Arnzi.