Fairy tales seem to be an endlessly attractive proposition for studios and filmmakers to feed into the mighty maw of development. And the Grimm brothers' Hansel & Gretel are fast becoming favourites. Earlier this year it was announced that _Will Ferrell and Adam McKay were producing **Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters_as a horror comedy, and now Michael Bay is getting in on the action via his production company The Institute. His vision? A 3D live-action adventure.
Bay won’t be directing this one (at least, the press release from The Institute doesn’t say that he will, nor does it indicate if anyone has been picked yet). Oh, and there’s no mention of a script in place, just the fact that it’s scheduled for a spring 2011 shoot and that lots of things will blow up.
Okay, not so much with the last bit, but the film will aim for plenty of creature spectacle, hiring Avatar designer Joseph C. Pepe to create monsters based on “the legendary creatures of German mythology.” Plus, of course, the witch with the iconic gingerbread house.
According to the release, The Institute’s motto is “Where Brand Science Meets Great Storytelling”, and while Bay’s career to date has been chock full of the former, we’re not so convinced by the latter.