SHORT CIRCUIT remake gets a director
I have a weird confession to make. As a child, SHORT CIRCUIT's Johnny 5 terrified me. This is not truly shocking, as my track record with iconic 80s non-human heroes was poor. Gremlins? My God, the horror. E.T.? An E.T. poster alone drove me to tears in a Blockbuster, tears of fear. But what could terrify me more than a rebooted Johnny 5 for the 21st century? A SHORT CIRCUIT remake helmed by the man who brought us PAUL BLART: MALL COP. That's right, Steve Carr is moving on up, right out of the mall and straight into military intelligence. Well, sort of.
The SHORT CIRCUIT remake is actually a reboot that brings us a Johnny 5 "built by the military to be a highly sophisticated weapon." Sticking to the original story, he ends up being hit by lightning, leading to his forming his own conscience and personality. Instead of kicking it with a new school Ally Sheedy, however, Johnny 5 "befriends a lonely boy and his fractured family." This plotline might sound familiar to anyone who has ever seen a film for lonely kids - Cinematical rightly points out that it smacks of IRON GIANT. Despite that, the script is still being called "subversive." Sure.
Before Carr brought the world the Blart, he also directed DR. DOOLITTLE 2, DADDY DAY CARE, and ARE WE DONE YET? Family-friendly titles. So will our new SHORT CIRCUIT carry on Carr's tradition of family-based fare? "Subversive" or not, I'm willing to bet heck yes.
The script has been penned by Dan Milano ("Robot Chicken"). Dimension Films is heading up production, and is clearly eying this new SHORT CIRCUIT for franchise opportunities, one of Dimension's tentpole priorities (think the soon-to-be-revamped SCREAM franchise and SPY KIDS).
The film is set to hit theaters in 2011.
Source Variety
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