It was the super-secret holiday movie that you weren't supposed to know about. Until Bob Hoskins — in a July 4th interview with EmpireOnline — revealed that …
"… (Robert Zemeckis) is going to make A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey. He wants me to play Mr Fezziwig. He's doing in that way he did Polar Express. You stand in a box with that funny suit on and it reads everything you do … Am I going to do it? Of course I am!"
And once that story broke … Well, the folks at Disney had no choice but to admit that they did in fact have a brand-new big screen version of Charles Dickens' holiday favorite in the works. Not only that, but this "Christmas Carol" would be the very first project produced by ImageMoversDigital, that performance capture company that the Mouse had just set up with Mr. Zemeckis.
Which — in and of itself — already makes this picture sound pretty intriguing. But then came word that Disney & Zemeckis were really piling on the gimmicks when it came to this Holiday 2009 release. First of all, this new CG-and-live-action feature would be shot in Disney Digital 3D. Secondly, Carrey (Working off of a screenplay that Zemeckis had deliberately wrote with this "Mask" star in mind) would not only play Ebenezer Scrooge but the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet-to-Be as well.
Then — of course — there's Mr. Hoskins as Fezziwig. But if the rumors that are now coming off the Disney lot prove to be true, this "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" alumnus may not be the only actor who previously worked with Robert Zemeckis that will possibly be making an appearance in this brand-new version of "A Christmas Carol."
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As I hear it, Robert has reportedly written roles in this film for three of his other favorite actors. And if all goes according to plan (More importantly, if Disney can actually meet each of these actors' salary demands), Tom Hanks will play Bob Cratchit, Christopher Lloyd will portray Marley's Ghost and Michael J. Fox will voice Tiny Tim.
Now I know that that last casting idea may sound really off-the-wall. But let's remember that this version of "A Christmas Carol" is going to be a performance capture picture. And given that — in theaters all over America today — John Travolta is appearing in a movie where he plays a 300-pound woman … Well, in Hollywood, anything's possible.
Getting back to "A Christmas Carol" now … It's important to keep in mind that Hanks, Lloyd & Fox (as well as Mr. Hoskins) are allegedly just on Zemeckis' casting "Wish List." So while he's already supposedly spoken informally with all of these performers about possibly appearing in this project, it's still up to Disney & the actors' agents to work out all of the necessary details before Tom, Christopher, Michael J. & Bob can all officially come on board this film.
Meantime, the suits back in Burbank would obviously love it if they could have all of this star power behind ImageMoversDigital's premiere production. But that said, some Mouse House managers are reportedly already grumbling about this proposed casting stunt. Suggesting that it will unnecessarily drive up the production cost of this already sure-to-be-expensive project. More to the point, particularly when it comes to Mr. Fox … Well, there are those at the studio who — due to his long courageous struggle with Parkinson's Disease — are wondering aloud if Michael J. will really be up for the rigors of production.
Mind you, Mr. Fox isn't the only "Christmas Carol" cast member that Disney execs are reportedly worried about. Given Mr. Carrey's somewhat difficult reputation (As well as his bailing out on voicing the role of R.J. in DreamWorks Animation's "Over the Hedge" back in 2004. Supposedly because Jim really didn't enjoy the piecemeal approach that actors have to take when recording dialogue for an animated film), Mouse House officials are just hoping that they can keep Carrey on board this project long enough to get all the vocals & performance capture work that they need to finish the picture.
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Of course, it should be noted here that — for almost a year now — Mr. Carrey has been diligently doing voice work on Blue Sky Studios' next animated feature, "Horton Hears a Who." And from what the folks who work at this White Plains, NY-based CG studio have been telling me, Jim is doing a bang-up job with the title character of their newest picture. Which — FYI — hits theaters next year on March 14th.
Speaking of release dates … I guess I should mention here that are some folks at Disney who weren't all that thrilled when they learned that this new version of "A Christmas Carol" was supposed to be the studio's big holiday release for 2009. And that would be the "The Princess and the Frog" 's development team.
"And what's their problem with this project?," you ask. Well, according to the Walt Disney Animation Studios' current production schedule, this new John Musker & Ron Clements movie is supposed to be released in November of 2009. Which led everyone who is currently working on this yet-to-officially-begin-production picture to believe that "The Princess and the Frog" would bow in theaters just before the start of Thanksgiving and then have the entire holiday season to rake in some very serious dough.
But now … What with ImageMoversDigital's "A Christmas Carol" supposedly slated to come out in the Holiday 2009 slot … Well, people on this new Ron'n'John production are wondering what this all means for their movie. Particularly given that "The Princess and the Frog" is supposed to be the film that would help bring about the revival of traditional animation at Walt Disney Studios.
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I mean, given what's supposedly at stake here (i.e. WDAS will only allegedly get back into traditional animation full-time if "The Princess and the Frog" is an enormous success), the folks working on this new animated feature were really hoping for some sort of preferential treatment. With the Mouse putting all of its marketing might behind Musker & Clements' new movie. Not with the studio trying to put two different animated features out in theaters during the exact same holiday season.
From what I've been hearing, this whole "The Princess and the Frog" / "A Christmas Carol" release date situation is very much in flux as of this moment. And given that the story of this new Ron'n'John picture actually takes place during Mardi Gras in New Orleans … Well, it's now being suggested that a March 2010 release date might be a much better fit for this movie.
Beyond that … I'm told that production of "A Christmas Carol" is now slated to get underway in 2008 at ImageMoversDigital's new Hamilton Field studio. By the way, if you'd like to learn more about this new performance capture company (Or perhaps even apply for a job with Zemeckis' new CG operation), I suggest you click on this link.
Your thoughts?