Magicians really are a popular subject in the cinema these days, with films like THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE, NOW YOU SEE ME and OZ: THE GREAT AND THE POWERFUL all featuring magicians as their main characters. Now we might soon add another one to that list, as British SKINS and THIS IS ENGLAND ’86 writer Jack Thorne has been hired to pen a screenplay loosely based on the book, The Magic Hat of Mortimer Wintergreen. The film will be directed by Susanna White, who’s mainly known for TV work such as GENERATION KILL and an episode of BOARDWALK EMPIRE, and it is – perhaps more tantalizing – going to be produced by Johnny Depp (who might also star in it if his schedule allows it). The synopsis of the book is as follows:
Set in the 1890s, the book follows a brother and sister who run away from their mean aunt and cross paths with a traveling magician named Mortimer Wintergreen. The man possesses a magical hat with a mind of its own, and the three find themselves on a series of wild adventures.
It is unclear how much of this story they will actually follow, as a previous draft apparently only kept the part with the magical hat and changed everything else. It will definitely be aimed at a younger audience, although I do love magicians and usually the films concerning magicians are quite good (THE PRESTIGE is one of my favourite films). This sounds promising, but with a lot of the elements still unknown we’ll still have to wait and see at what level this will land. We’ll keep you posted on any developments right here on the website.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
