The Smashing Machine duo, Benny Safdie and Dwayne Johnson, are reteaming for a curious concept called Lizard Music, based on Daniel Pinkwater’s novel. The adaptation finds Safdie directing Johnson in the role of Chicken Man, which could be the muscle-bound entertainer’s most bizarre character yet. According to Deadline, studios should expect Safdie to shop Lizard Music to possible buyers soon.
Deadline‘s description of Pinkwater’s story paints a strange picture: “When a boy left to his own devices stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open. His search for answers leads him to the eccentric and whimsical Chicken Man and his beloved companion, a seventy-year-old chicken named Claudia—two kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible. United by this shared vision, they set off on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but blossoms into something far greater: a voyage through invisible worlds, unexpected harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they find, but in each other.”
Wow! Alrighty then. Benny Safdie will produce Lizard Music for Down For The Count Productions, with Johnson through Sven Bucks Productions, and David Koplan, who produced The Smashing Machine.
Safdie won the Silver Lion at Venice for The Smashing Machine, and the first reactions to the MMA drama are glowing! The film received a 15-minute standing ovation, with critics describing the project as a “sincerely raw sports biopic” that’s “gritty, brutal, real, and emotional.” Reviewer Ren Geekness also said Dwayne Johnson “bleeds vulnerability onto the screen in an undisputed knockout performance worth every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears.” That’s an incredible compliment for Johnson, who has been fairly one-note in one role to the next. Does Safdie have the secret sauce to unlock Johnson’s potential as a dramatic actor? It would appear so!
What do you think about the concept for Lizard Music? Would you follow a character named Chicken Man into the unknown? Will Johnson ever go back to starring in flops like Red One after bringing the house down with The Smashing Machine? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
