Hoskins, Carrey in Christmas Carol
Dickens Classic Could Be Zemeckis' First Mo-Cap Feature for Disney
Actor Bob Hoskins revealed that he will act in a motion capture version of A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey and directed by Robert Zemeckis.
(Source: www.empireonline.com)
Character actor Bob Hoskins (Unleashed, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) said that he will be performing in a motion-capture version of Charles Dickens' evergreen A Christmas Carol, along with comedian Jim Carrey. Robert Zemeckis (Polar Express, Beowulf) is directing the flick for an as-yet unannounced production company.
"(Robert Zemeckis is) going to make A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey," Hoskins recently told Empire magazine. "He wants me to play Mr Fezziwig (Ebenezer Scrooge's scatter-brained but philanthopic mentor). 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!"
Zemeckis has directed Hoskins before, most notably in the 1988 hit live-action/animated movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? for the Walt Disney Company. Hoskins starred as the disgruntled private eye Eddie Valiant, who must protect hyperactive toon star Roger Rabbit.
This past February, Zemeckis announced that he would be putting together a motion-capture studio, to make feature films for the Walt Disney Company. Considering that this version of A Christmas Carol will be in mo-cap, it's very likely that this movie will be the first project for his Mouse House collaboration.
An adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic is also a safe bet at the box office, something Mouse House executives would like to see now that the animated brain trust of John Lasseter and Ed Catmull are in risk-taking mode.
No guesses as to which character the Oscar-hungry Jim Carrey will be playing . . . of course it will be Bob Cratchit!
Fun Fact 1: Bob Hoskins has won 20 awards for his work over the past 21 years, including his starring role in 1986's Mona Lisa. That movie won him virtually every acting award (including Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival) except the Oscar. On the other end of the scale, he was nominated for Worst Supporting Actor at the 2005 Razzie Awards, for his work in Son of the Mask.
Fun Fact 2: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol was originally published on December 19, 1843, with illustrations by John Leech. The story has been adapted, folded, spindled, bent, mutilated and otherwise mashed a grand total of 55 times for film, television and stage. Some would also include Frank Capra's classic It's a Wonderful Life on that list, since it shares many elements with A Christmas Carol.
