Tarzan swings again!!

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September 2, 2008


Stephen Sommers is in negotiations to direct a bigscreen version of "Tarzan" for Warner Bros. and producer Jerry Weintraub.

Sommers will also co-write the "Tarzan" script with Stuart Beattie.

Sommers directed the recently wrapped "G.I. Joe" for Paramount, with Beattie penning the final draft of the screenplay.

Warner Bros. and Weintraub have been developing "Tarzan" since 2003, when John August was hired to pen a new take on the Edgar Rice Burroughs-created character. Two years ago, the studio was negotiating with Guillermo del Toro to direct.

Burroughs’ "Tarzan of the Apes" was written in 1912. Onscreen, the ape-man character became strongly identified with Johnny Weismuller during the 1930s in MGM’s series of features.

Warner Bros. put the character back on the bigscreen with its 1984 pic "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes," starring Christopher Lambert. Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow also made 1998’s "Tarzan and the Lost City," starring Casper Van Dien. In 2003, Warner Bros. TV produced a short-lived "Tarzan" skein for the WB Network.

Beattie’s other credits include "Collateral," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise and Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming "Australia."

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December 04, 2008


When Warner Bros. announced in September that The Mummy helmer Stephen Sommers was eyeing a big-screen version of Tarzan at Warner Bros., fans new they should expect a fresh take on the character created in the early 1900s by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

But how fresh is too fresh?

It's being reported by Entertainment Weekly that Sommers and Pirates of the Caribbean writer Stuart Beattie are planning an action-adventure take on the story that will ditch the archetypal origin concept of a feral child raised in the African jungle by apes.

The new version, EW says, will be a "1930's-set romp with a hefty helping of romance." The tone of the flick is expected to be along the same lines as Pirates, but with the jungle replacing the high seas.

While the mag doesn't cite a source for their news, they appear assured of its factualness. Just how such a sweeping change will sit with fans remains to be seen.

Recent big-screen takes on the character include Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan with Christopher Lambert, and the 1999 Disney animation, featuring a scandalously Oscar-winning soundtrack from Phil Collins.