Every time a fantasy film comes out, it does so with much fanfare, much anticipation. This is so because after the triplet successes of LOTR, HARRY POTTER, and NARNIA studios are looking for a quick fix, a sure thing. So these movies come out, with already-established fan bases—think A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, THE GOLDEN COMPASS—and they never match up. At least not success-wise and certainly not quality-wise. But, studio execs are a resilient species, so they continue to try.
The latest attempt at kiddie-fantasy adaptation is THE SPOOK’S APPRENTICE, and Kevin Lima, who could become a name director if this hits, will direct it. And why’s that? Since his last film was the mega-hit ENCHANTED, studios have hunted him down. Not a bad feeling, I’d imagine. It’s based on the first book in Joseph Delaney’s THE WARDSTONE CHRONICLES (again) and is about a young farm boy named Tom, in a made-up Ireland known as the County, where he learns about ghosts and goblins and wizardry from an old ‘spook,’ whatever that means to you. This project was originally planned for Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, which means that it’s either really good, or wasn’t good enough. Has anyone read the books? What can we expect?
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