"Pushing Daisies" Producer Resurrecting "The Munsters"

According to reports, executive producer Bryan Fuller ("Pushing Daisies") is developing a new NBC pilot, rebooting the cult classic TV series "The Munsters". Fuller describes the fresh take as "...'Modern Family' meets 'True Blood'..."

The original 1960's sitcom depicting the home life of a family of Universal Studio monsters, was created by Allan Burns and Chris Hayward, starring actor Fred Gwynne as 'Herman Munster' and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, 'Lily'.

The idea of a family of comical monsters was first suggested to Universal Studios in the late 1940's by animator Bob Clampett ("Merrie Melodies", "Beany and Cecil") who wanted to produce a series of cartoons.

The project didn't see development until the early 1960's, when a treatment for a similar idea was submitted to Universal Studios by "Rocky & Bullwinkle" writers Burns and Hayward. This format was later handed to writers Norm Liebman and Ed Haas, who wrote the pilot script, "Love Thy Monster", retitled as "My Fair Munster".

A live-action presentation was filmed by MCA Television for CBS and the new series, was greenlit for 70 episodes, airing once a week in black-and-white on CBS, from September 24, 1964 to May 12, 1966. "The Munsters" grew in popularity during decades of syndication, warranting a spin-off series, several TV films and a theatrical release.

The twist to the series was that The Munsters family, consisting of Frankenstein Herman, vampire Lily, Wolfman son 'Eddie' (Butch Patrick), 'Dracula Grandpa' (Al Lewis) and normal 'Marilyn' (Beverley Owen and Pat Priest), considered themselves typical working-class Americans of the era, with nothing unusual about their look or gothic house, situated at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek the unaired 1960's TV pilot for "The Munsters"...

"Red- New Edition"- October 6

Sneak Peek the cover and interior art to DC Comics' "Red- New Edition", written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Cully Hamner, supporting the upcoming Summit Entertainment Toronto-lensed feature :

"...Warren Ellis's fast-paced tale of intrigue and revenge is back in a new edition collecting the 3-issue miniseries under a new cover by Cully Hamner that also includes the script to issue #1 and never-before-seen developmental art by Hamner!

"As a C.I.A. operative, the 'talent' that 'Paul Moses' has, took him around the world from one hotspot to another, carrying out the deadly orders of his superiors. When he retired, he wanted to put his bloody past behind him. But when a new administration takes over the White House, the powers that be decide that Moses knows too much, forcing him back into the game against the agency that trained him..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Red"...

"Gulliver's Travels": Something Big Is Going Down

20th Century Fox' "Gulliver's Travels" is director Rob Letterman's upcoming, 3D live-action family adventure, based on the 18th-century novel of the same name by author Jonathan Swift.

Set in the modern era, the feature stars Jack Black as title character 'Lemuel Gulliver' with Catherine Tate as the 'Queen of Lilliput', Emily Blunt as the 'Princess of Lilliput', Jason Segel as 'Horatio', Amanda Peet as 'Darcy', T.J. Miller as 'Dan', Billy Connolly as the 'King of Lilliput', Chris O'Dowd as 'Edward' and Romany Malco as 'Young Hank'.

Premise follows Gulliver, a free-spirited travel writer who, on an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle, suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput, home to a population of industrious, yet tiny, people.

The Davis Entertainment production will be released December 22, 2010.

In 1939, the story was produced as a cel-animated Technicolor feature, directed by Dave Fleischer and produced by Max Fleischer, released by Paramount.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Gulliver's Travels"...

The Dickens You Say: "Buffy" Producer Rings "The Chimes"

Producer Alex Ross ("The List") reports that producer Howard Rosenman ("Buffy The Vampire Slayer") has joined the feature project "The Chimes", a $20 million movie focusing on the 'cataclysmic' love affair experienced by 'beloved' 19th century author Charles Dickens, whose creation of 'Fagin' in the novel "Oliver Twist" , ranks alongside Shakespeare's 'Shylock' from the 'comedy' "The Merchant Of Venice" as one of the most grotesque characterizations of Jews in popular literature.

"...When 'Dickens' falls in love with ethereal, mysterious 'Isabella' he is drawn into her dark, dangerous world and risks everything to be with her: his career, his family, his sanity and even his life..."

The film will lense in London and Genoa with principal photography starting Summer 2011. Rosenman is currently producing "Betsy and The Emperor", starring Al Pacino and Dakota Fanning.

"I am very excited Howard Rosenman is working alongside us to bring this almost devastating aspect of Dickens life to the big screen," said Ross. "We're currently out to directors and hope to announce on this within the coming weeks."

Domestic and International distribution/sales will be handled by Patrick Ewald CEO of Epic Pictures, Beverly Hills.

"The Chimes" was written by British screenwriter Callie Lane, who will also adapt the story as a stage musical, expected to debut in London, Fall 2011...

"The Tourist": It All Started When He Met A Woman

Sneak Peek the newest poster supporting the Columbia feature "The Tourist", a comedy-drama thriller, directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, remaking the French-language feature "Anthony Zimmer".

Premise of the new film, follows an American tourist, used by an English woman in an attempt to flush out a criminal with whom she once had an affair.

"It's a love story, that's for sure", said director Henckel von Donnersmarck.

"Imagine a woman who is just so elegant and sophisticated and educated and has lived in that world and now, through a whole set of circumstances, suddenly falls in love with a guy who is not any of those things, and it just somehow confuses her whole world because that was not meant to happen. She had it all worked out, she had this grand master plan, and neither he nor she had thought it possible that they would fall in love with each other..."

"...'Frank' (Depp) is a tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart. 'Elise' (Jolie) is an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path in order to mislead all those following her former lover, 'Alexander Pearce', a criminal wanted in fourteen countries who has stolen money from a gangster and is being pursued by an agent (Paul Bettany). Against the breathtaking backdrop of Venice, Frank attempts to forge a potential romance but soon finds himself a target as he and Elise are caught in a whirlwind of intrigue and danger..."

"The Tourist" opens December 10, 2010.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Tourist"...