Sacha Baron Cohen could be set to take the lead role in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a new remake of the comic tale of a small-town fantasist and the elaborate daydreams he concocts. The British comedian is currently in talks with the film's backers, 20th Century Fox, according to the movie website Pajiba.com.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a short story by the US humourist James Thurber, first published in the New Yorker magazine in 1939. This formed the basis for a 1947 Hollywood outing starring Danny Kaye, although Thurber disapproved of the ways in which the film deviated from his original tale.
A remake has been stalled at various stages of development since 1994. Numerous directors, including Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard, were tipped to oversee the update, with the lead role shuttling between the likes of Mike Myers, Owen Wilson and Jim Carrey. The script was recently rewritten by Peter Morgan, of The Queen and Frost/Nixon fame.
Having cut his teeth on British TV, Baron Cohen scored a worldwide hit with his 2006 feature Borat. He is now poised to play a supporting role in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a magic-realist drama to be directed by Martin Scorsese.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a short story by the US humourist James Thurber, first published in the New Yorker magazine in 1939. This formed the basis for a 1947 Hollywood outing starring Danny Kaye, although Thurber disapproved of the ways in which the film deviated from his original tale.
A remake has been stalled at various stages of development since 1994. Numerous directors, including Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard, were tipped to oversee the update, with the lead role shuttling between the likes of Mike Myers, Owen Wilson and Jim Carrey. The script was recently rewritten by Peter Morgan, of The Queen and Frost/Nixon fame.
Having cut his teeth on British TV, Baron Cohen scored a worldwide hit with his 2006 feature Borat. He is now poised to play a supporting role in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a magic-realist drama to be directed by Martin Scorsese.
-guardian.co.uk
