the tracking-board reports that
The Three Misfortunes of Gepetto scribe Michael
Vukadinovich has been signed on to write a fresh take on the beloved children’s
classic THE
PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH for Sony's Tristar Pictures. The book, first published in 1961,
was written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer.
The book tells the story of a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly
received a magic tollbooth one afternoon and, having nothing better to do,
decides to drive through it in his toy car. The tollbooth transports him to a
land called the Kingdom of Wisdom, where he acquires two faithful companions,
has many adventures, and goes on a quest to rescue the princesses of the kingdom
from a castle in the air.
Donald De Line is producing through his De Line Pictures with Ed McDonnell of
Maple Shade Films. Nicole Brown is the studio exec for Tristar.
The project has been in development for several years with various producers
and only recently moved to Tristar from Warner Bros., where Gary Ross was
previously attached to direct a script from
Watchmen scribe Alex Tse.
It’s no wonder that attempts to adapt the book to the big screen endure, as fans
and critics alike favorably compare it to
A Wrinkle in Time, Alice in
Wonderland, and
The Wizard of Oz.
Vukadinovich, who landed on the 2011 Hit
List and Black
List with his spec The Three Misfortunes of Gepetto and later made
his way to the 2014
Young & Hungry List, seems like an appropriate choice to adapt the book.
He recently tackled drafts of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride for Disney and
the The Wind and the Willows remake starring Ricky Gervais. He is
currently adapting Matthew Quick’s YA novel Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
for Channing Tatum and TWC.
The 30-song soundtrack for Edgar Wright’s heavily anticipated, music laden film from Sony's TriStar Baby Driver (#2 film in the USA) in Music From The Motion Picture Baby Driver is available now via B&T from Award-winning producer and artist Danger Mouse’s Columbia Records imprint 30th Century Records.