Cracktastic: Wanted’s Timur Bekmambetov Directing Moby Dick
In what the trades are dryly referring to as a “reimagining” and “splashy,“Universal Pictureshas hiredTimur Bekmambetov(Night Watch) to direct a new version of the literary classic,Moby Dick, that will “apply the visual flourish he displayed on the [studio’s] summer hitWanted.” So, 360 flips and Angelina Jolie’s ass? It’s pointless to feign outrage about this announcement (books, meh), but note that screenwriters,Adam CooperandBill Collage, have taken liberty withHerman Melville’s opus, exercising the first-person narration ofIshmaelso “the whale can f*** up way more s***, dudes.” They previously pennedAcceptedand the Olsen Twins’New York Minute.
Also,Captain Ahab"will be depicted more as a charismatic leader than a brooding obsessive.” I’m no longer paraphrasing and you have to wonder if this choice was made due to the tepid fanboy reception of Peter Parker inSpider-Man 3. If you recall, Ahab’s Biblical emo-ness was a focal point…
All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick.
No longer. As someone whoenjoyedWantedand anticipates the cinematic giant shark mind-fryer that isMEG, I guess I should propose an upside to blowing off dusty works of literature like NES cartridges and inserting them into Hollywood’s puckering slot. So be it. If the filmmakers rig Ahab’s peg leg into a 3D harpoon, that could be schweeet.
Discuss: The producers are the writers of bothNational Treasures andI Spy.
