Some of Johnny Depp‘s best roles have involved him playing authors: Hunter S. Thompson (twice), Mort Rainey in Secret Window, and of course, J.M. Barrie in his Oscar-nominated role in Finding Neverland. It seems like Depp is on the verge on becoming yet another famous author, as The Hollywood Reporter says that Depp is set to produce and likely star as beloved children’s author Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Seuss.
The screenplay will be written by Keith Bunin (TV’s In Treatment) and produced by Depp along with Christi Dembrowski, Christopher Meledandri and David Kennedy. It’s not clear exactly what the film will focus on, but it seems likely it will have significant focus on Seuss’ less-known World War II era work as a political cartoonist and pieces he produced for the War Department. Seuss had a long history of political involvement that is often ignored by the public.
Despite dying in 1991, Seuss’ work has had an incredible life in film with movie versions of his books How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), The Cat in the Hat (2003), Horton Hears a Who! (2008), and the upcoming The Lorax. The books by the well-loved author still sell thousands of copies a year, so it’s likely that this film could be a major hit if done right (and Depp starring will probably go a long way in “doing it right”). As long as the screenwriter doesn’t try to rhyme the whole film, I think we’re in for a winner.
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