By Sarah Sluis
Jack Black has signed on to star in Gulliver's Travels, a modern-day update of the 1726 Jonathan Swift
tale. Because the material is part of the public domain, the studio has kept much of the storyline secret. Black will play a travel writer stranded on the island of Lilliput--home to the tiny people who capture him and tie him up. Gulliver went on four voyages, so it is unknown whether the adaptation will focus on his first voyage or incorporate some of the latter, less frequently adapted episodes. Can they do an accompanying short of A Modest Proposal, with Black starring as a baby roaster?
While the original Gulliver's Travels satirized England's political and religious situation, I doubt the Black version will include much political or social commentary--but I would love it if they could take a few softball swipes. Far from being uncharted waters, Black's project marks the second adaptation of a famous adventure tale announced in recent weeks.
Last week, Brad Pitt announced that he plans to star and produce a futuristic version of The Odyssey, to be helmed by George Miller (Mad Max). While the Black-Gulliver's Travels project will have to perfectly pitch the comedy in order to convince viewers of the plausibility of an undiscovered island populated by Lilliputians, outer space is a perfect backdrop for an update of The Odyssey. I see the mysterious extraterrestrial territory--with strange planets replacing remote islands, and a black hole standing in for a trip to the underworld-- as a logical place for the Cyclops, Lotus Eaters, and Calypso to reside. Two thousand years later, the minimally explored outer reaches of space are our version of uncharted Greek Islands.
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