The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (film)
Encyclopedia
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a 1947
comedy film
, loosely based on the short story of the same name
by James Thurber
. It stars Danny Kaye
as a young daydreaming editor for a book publishing firm. The film was adapted
for the screen by Ken Englund, Everett Freeman, and Philip Rapp, and directed
by Norman Z. McLeod
. It was filmed in Technicolor
, a rarity at the time.
is an "inconsequential guy from Perth Amboy, New Jersey
", henpecked and harassed by everyone in his life: his bossy mother (Fay Bainter
), his overbearing, idea-stealing boss (Thurston Hall
), his childishly dimwitted fiancée (Ann Rutherford
), her obnoxious would-be suitor (Gordon Jones) and her loud mother (Florence Bates
).
His escape from their incessant needling is to imagine all sorts of exciting and impossible lives for himself, fueled perhaps by the pulp magazines he reads every day as an editor
at the Pierce Publishing Company. But his dreams only seem to land him in more trouble.
In one scene, while stoking the heating boiler, he dreams what it would be like to be an RAF fighter pilot
. He is awakened from this daydream by his mother, who orders him to come to dinner. Believing he is still a British fighter pilot, he salutes, and places a red-hot poker under his arm -- only to burn a hole in his suit jacket.
The film includes many of Kaye's trademark patter-songs and one of his best remembered dream characters, "Anatole of Paris", a fey women's milliner whose inspiration for the ridiculous chapeaux he creates is in actuality his loathing of women. The Anatole character is based on "Antoine de Paris," a women's hair-salon professional of the era, known for creating preposterous hairstyles. The lyrics to the song Anatole of Paris were written by Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine
.
Things become much more complicated when he runs into a mysterious woman, Rosalind van Hoorn (Virginia Mayo
), who just so happens to perfectly resemble the girl of his dreams. Rosalind is working with her uncle, Peter van Hoorn (Konstantin Shayne), to help secure some Dutch crown jewels hidden from the Nazis
during World War II
.
Caught up in a real-life adventure that seems unbelievable even to him, Walter attempts to hide his double life
from his mundane family and friends. Eventually, he acquires the courage to stand up to those who kick him around.
rejected the Englund and Freeman script in December 1945, and sent Englund to consult with Thurber, who worked with him for ten days. Thurber later complained that at one time the psychiatrist scene contained "a bathing girl incident which will haunt me all the days of my life." He was repeatedly consulted by Goldwyn, but his suggestions were largely ignored. In a letter to Life Magazine
, Thurber expressed his considerable dissatisfaction with the script, even as Goldwyn insisted in another letter that Thurber approved of it. Thurber also mentioned that Goldwyn asked him not to read part of the script, because it was "too blood and thirsty." Thurber said that he read the entire script anyway, and was "horror and struck".
In moving away from Thurber's material, Goldwyn instead had the writers customize the film to showcase Kaye's talents, altering the original story so much that Thurber called the film "The Public Life of Danny Kaye".
Goldwyn also briefly changed the film's title to I Wake Up Dreaming in response to a Gallup poll he had commissioned. However, he soon changed it back to Thurber's title in response to the angry protests of Thurber fans, as reporting in a May 1947 article in Collier's Weekly
.
with Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo in their original film roles.
, whose father produced the 1947 film adaptation, conceived the idea of doing a remake in 1994 with Jim Carrey
in mind for the title role. Walt Disney Pictures
was enthusiastic to purchase the remake rights
, but Goldwyn instead chose New Line Cinema
, who held a positive working relationship with Carrey on Dumb and Dumber and The Mask
. The studio bought the rights in 1995 with the understanding that The Samuel Goldwyn Company
would be involved in creative decisions. Babaloo Mandel
and Lowell Ganz
turned in the first draft of the screenplay in July 1997. Ron Howard
entered negotiations to direct that same month, as well as cover producing duties with Brian Grazer
and Imagine Entertainment
. Howard and Imagine Entertainment eventually left the project in favor of EDtv
, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty languished in development hell
over the challenges of using a contemporary storyline.
In May 1999 New Line hired Mask director Chuck Russell
to rewrite the script and serve as Howard's replacement. Filming was set to begin in early-2000, but was pushed back. Around this time, Peter Tolan
worked on rewrites. In May 2001 Goldwyn filed a lawsuit against New Line over breach of contract purposes. Goldwyn claimed that the studio extended their 1995 deal until May 2001, but then announced that it wanted to transfer the rights for the remake to another company and have Goldwyn surrender his creative input. In November 2002 New Line was forced to revert the film rights back to Goldwyn, who won his lawsuit and took the property to Paramount Pictures
. During pre-production discussions between Paramount and DreamWorks
on Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
(which starred Carrey), Steven Spielberg
, head of DreamWorks, rekindled interest in working with Carrey; the duo previously considered Meet the Parents
, but the outing fell apart. In May 2003 Spielberg agreed to direct, and brought in DreamWorks to co-finance The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Paramount (who would acquire DreamWorks in 2006).
By November, Zach Helm
was rewriting the script, but Spielberg and DreamWorks vacated the film in April 2004 in favor of War of the Worlds
and Munich
. "The goal is to go back to the short story and capture not only the content but the original spirit," producer John Goldwyn
(son of Samuel) told The Hollywood Reporter
. Richard LaGravenese
entered discussion to write a new script following Spielberg's departure. Sam Goldwyn commented that LaGravenese's script had a momentous and unique approach compared to others. "I'd always felt that unless we got a great script, the movie disintegrates into a series of wonderful gags," Goldwyn explained. "Writers always fixated on that. ... (Richard) worked for 10 months on umpteen drafts, and he solved it." In March 2005 Paramount hired Mark Waters to direct LaGravenese's script for Walter Mitty, but Carrey had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. He was replaced by Owen Wilson
.
Despite not having a final budget, Paramount scheduled a December 12, 2005 start date
because their option on the remake rights was to end one week later; they would lose the rights if they did not start filming before December 20. However, Wilson dropped out in October 2005 over creative differences. The Hollywood Reporter also speculated that Walter Mitty began to falter after Paramount failed to cast a female lead to star opposite Wilson. Scarlett Johansson
had reportedly emerged as the front-runner after screen testing with Wilson earlier in October, but a deal was never signed with the actress. Paramount executives Brad Grey
and Gail Berman
decided to put Walter Mitty in turnaround in November 2005. Goldwyn found favor at 20th Century Fox
and, in May 2007, it was announced that Mike Myers
was attached to star in the title role. Jay Kogen
was hired to write a new script that will be specifically tailored for Myers.
In April 2010, Sacha Baron Cohen
was offered and attached to star in the lead role. Later that month, The Pursuit of Happyness
writer Steven Conrad
was hired to pen the screenplay, with Gore Verbinski
announced as director in June 2010.
In April 2011, it was announced that Ben Stiller
had landed the lead role, and in July 2011, it was announced that he was also due to direct the film.
1947 in film
The year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, loosely based on the short story of the same name
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It...
by James Thurber
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
. It stars Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
as a young daydreaming editor for a book publishing firm. The film was adapted
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
for the screen by Ken Englund, Everett Freeman, and Philip Rapp, and directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Norman Z. McLeod
Norman Z. McLeod
Norman Zenos McLeod was an American film director, cartoonist and writer...
. It was filmed in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, a rarity at the time.
Synopsis
Walter MittyWalter Mitty
Walter Mitty is a fictional character in James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", first published in the New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World and Welcome to It in 1942...
is an "inconsequential guy from Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The City of Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 50,814. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", referring to Raritan Bay.-Name:The Lenape...
", henpecked and harassed by everyone in his life: his bossy mother (Fay Bainter
Fay Bainter
Fay Okell Bainter was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Charles F. Bainter and Mary Okell. In 1910, she was a traveling stage actress...
), his overbearing, idea-stealing boss (Thurston Hall
Thurston Hall
Thurston Hall was an American film actor. He appeared in 250 films between 1915 and 1957 and is probably best remembered for his portrayal, during the later stages of his career, of often pompous or blustering authority figures.Hall's best-known television role was as Mr. Schuyler, the boss of...
), his childishly dimwitted fiancée (Ann Rutherford
Ann Rutherford
Ann Rutherford is a Canadian-American actress in film, radio, and television. She has had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict on the big screen of the 1930s and 1940s in the Andy Hardy series, and on The Bob Newhart Show as Newhart's character's...
), her obnoxious would-be suitor (Gordon Jones) and her loud mother (Florence Bates
Florence Bates
Florence Bates was an American character actress who often played grande dame characters in her films.Born Florence Rabe in San Antonio, Texas, the second child of Jewish immigrants, Bates showed musical talent as a child, but a hand injury inhibited her from continuing her piano studies...
).
His escape from their incessant needling is to imagine all sorts of exciting and impossible lives for himself, fueled perhaps by the pulp magazines he reads every day as an editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
at the Pierce Publishing Company. But his dreams only seem to land him in more trouble.
In one scene, while stoking the heating boiler, he dreams what it would be like to be an RAF fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
. He is awakened from this daydream by his mother, who orders him to come to dinner. Believing he is still a British fighter pilot, he salutes, and places a red-hot poker under his arm -- only to burn a hole in his suit jacket.
The film includes many of Kaye's trademark patter-songs and one of his best remembered dream characters, "Anatole of Paris", a fey women's milliner whose inspiration for the ridiculous chapeaux he creates is in actuality his loathing of women. The Anatole character is based on "Antoine de Paris," a women's hair-salon professional of the era, known for creating preposterous hairstyles. The lyrics to the song Anatole of Paris were written by Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine
Sylvia Fine
Sylvia Fine was an American lyricist, composer, producer and the wife of the comedian Danny Kaye...
.
Things become much more complicated when he runs into a mysterious woman, Rosalind van Hoorn (Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...
), who just so happens to perfectly resemble the girl of his dreams. Rosalind is working with her uncle, Peter van Hoorn (Konstantin Shayne), to help secure some Dutch crown jewels hidden from the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Caught up in a real-life adventure that seems unbelievable even to him, Walter attempts to hide his double life
Double Life
Double Life is a 2-CD compilation album of songs by Värttinä. It includes the entire 6.12 live album, and songs from studio albums Seleniko, Aitara and Ilmatar...
from his mundane family and friends. Eventually, he acquires the courage to stand up to those who kick him around.
Cast
- Danny KayeDanny KayeDanny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
as Walter Mitty - Virginia MayoVirginia MayoVirginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...
as Rosalind van Hoorn - Boris KarloffBoris KarloffWilliam Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
as Dr. Hollingshead - Fay BainterFay BainterFay Okell Bainter was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Charles F. Bainter and Mary Okell. In 1910, she was a traveling stage actress...
as Mrs. Eunice Mitty - Thurston HallThurston HallThurston Hall was an American film actor. He appeared in 250 films between 1915 and 1957 and is probably best remembered for his portrayal, during the later stages of his career, of often pompous or blustering authority figures.Hall's best-known television role was as Mr. Schuyler, the boss of...
as Bruce Pierce - Ann RutherfordAnn RutherfordAnn Rutherford is a Canadian-American actress in film, radio, and television. She has had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict on the big screen of the 1930s and 1940s in the Andy Hardy series, and on The Bob Newhart Show as Newhart's character's...
as Gertrude Griswald - Gordon Jones as Tubby Wadsworth
Production
Ken Englund and Everett Freeman reportedly began work adapting James Thurber's story in January 1945. According to Thurber, producer Samuel GoldwynSamuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
rejected the Englund and Freeman script in December 1945, and sent Englund to consult with Thurber, who worked with him for ten days. Thurber later complained that at one time the psychiatrist scene contained "a bathing girl incident which will haunt me all the days of my life." He was repeatedly consulted by Goldwyn, but his suggestions were largely ignored. In a letter to Life Magazine
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
, Thurber expressed his considerable dissatisfaction with the script, even as Goldwyn insisted in another letter that Thurber approved of it. Thurber also mentioned that Goldwyn asked him not to read part of the script, because it was "too blood and thirsty." Thurber said that he read the entire script anyway, and was "horror and struck".
In moving away from Thurber's material, Goldwyn instead had the writers customize the film to showcase Kaye's talents, altering the original story so much that Thurber called the film "The Public Life of Danny Kaye".
Goldwyn also briefly changed the film's title to I Wake Up Dreaming in response to a Gallup poll he had commissioned. However, he soon changed it back to Thurber's title in response to the angry protests of Thurber fans, as reporting in a May 1947 article in Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
.
Reception
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty ranks 479th on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.Adaptations to other media
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was dramatized as a half-hour radio play on the November 3, 1947 broadcast of The Screen Guild TheaterThe Screen Guild Theater
The Screen Guild Theater was a popular radio anthology series during the Golden Age of Radio, broadcast from 1939 until 1952, with leading Hollywood actors performing in adaptations of popular motion pictures such as Going My Way and The Postman Always Rings Twice.The show had a long run, lasting...
with Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo in their original film roles.
Remake
Producer Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.
Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. is an American film producer.Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of actress Frances Howard and the pioneer motion picture mogul Samuel Goldwyn...
, whose father produced the 1947 film adaptation, conceived the idea of doing a remake in 1994 with Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
in mind for the title role. Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
was enthusiastic to purchase the remake rights
Film rights
Film rights are the rights under copyright law to make a derivative work—in this case, a film—derived from an item of intellectual property. Under U.S...
, but Goldwyn instead chose New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
, who held a positive working relationship with Carrey on Dumb and Dumber and The Mask
The Mask (film)
The Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film based on a series of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. This film was directed by Chuck Russell, and produced by Dark Horse Entertainment and New Line Cinema, and originally released to movie theatres on July 29, 1994 through New Line...
. The studio bought the rights in 1995 with the understanding that The Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1979.-Background:...
would be involved in creative decisions. Babaloo Mandel
Babaloo Mandel
Marc "Babaloo" Mandel is an American writer. His writing credits include the television series Happy Days and the movie Night Shift. He is the long-time writing partner of Lowell Ganz. Mandel was born in New York City, the son of a taxi driver...
and Lowell Ganz
Lowell Ganz
Lowell Ganz is an American screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is the long-time writing partner of Babaloo Mandel.-Life and career:...
turned in the first draft of the screenplay in July 1997. Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
entered negotiations to direct that same month, as well as cover producing duties with Brian Grazer
Brian Grazer
Brian Thomas Grazer is an Academy Award-winning American film and television producer who co-founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. Together they have produced many acclaimed films, including Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind .- Career :Brian Grazer began his career as a producer...
and Imagine Entertainment
Imagine Entertainment
Imagine Entertainment is a film and television production company founded in 1986 by director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer.Its productions include the television series 24 and Arrested Development and the films Apollo 13 , A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code .-Organization:Karen...
. Howard and Imagine Entertainment eventually left the project in favor of EDtv
EdTV
EDtv is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Ron Howard. An adaptation of the Quebec film Louis 19, le roi des ondes , it stars Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, Ellen DeGeneres, Martin Landau, Rob Reiner, Sally Kirkland, Elizabeth Hurley, Clint Howard, and Dennis Hopper.The...
, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty languished in development hell
Development hell
In the jargon of the media-industry, "development hell" is a period during which a film or other project is trapped in development...
over the challenges of using a contemporary storyline.
In May 1999 New Line hired Mask director Chuck Russell
Chuck Russell
Charles "Chuck" Russell is an American motion picture director, producer and actor.-Filmography:*The Hearse *Hell Night *The Seduction...
to rewrite the script and serve as Howard's replacement. Filming was set to begin in early-2000, but was pushed back. Around this time, Peter Tolan
Peter Tolan
Peter James Tolan III is an American television producer, director, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Tolan was born in Scituate, Massachusetts where he was a perrenial favorite in the high school's dramatic productions. Before leaving to pursue a career in Hollywood, Tolan founded a theater...
worked on rewrites. In May 2001 Goldwyn filed a lawsuit against New Line over breach of contract purposes. Goldwyn claimed that the studio extended their 1995 deal until May 2001, but then announced that it wanted to transfer the rights for the remake to another company and have Goldwyn surrender his creative input. In November 2002 New Line was forced to revert the film rights back to Goldwyn, who won his lawsuit and took the property to Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. During pre-production discussions between Paramount and DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
on Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a 2004 black comedy film directed by Brad Silberling. It is an adaptation of the The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window, being the first three books in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket...
(which starred Carrey), Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, head of DreamWorks, rekindled interest in working with Carrey; the duo previously considered Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless male nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents...
, but the outing fell apart. In May 2003 Spielberg agreed to direct, and brought in DreamWorks to co-finance The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Paramount (who would acquire DreamWorks in 2006).
By November, Zach Helm
Zach Helm
Zachariah "Zach" Helm is an American writer and film director. He is an alumnus of DePaul University.As a playwright Helm has had two plays produced; Last Chance for a Slow Dance and Good Canary, the latter having its 2007 world premiere in Paris under the direction of John Malkovich...
was rewriting the script, but Spielberg and DreamWorks vacated the film in April 2004 in favor of War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (2005 film)
War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
and Munich
Munich (film)
Munich is a 2005 historical fiction film about the Israeli government's secret retaliation attacks after the massacre of Israeli athletes by the Black September terrorist group during the 1972 Summer Olympics. The film stars Eric Bana and was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg...
. "The goal is to go back to the short story and capture not only the content but the original spirit," producer John Goldwyn
John Goldwyn
John Howard Goldwyn is an American film producer.John Goldwyn was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. and his wife Jennifer Howard. He has two brothers: film director and actor Tony Goldwyn and Francis Goldwyn. John has produced a total of eight films, according to the...
(son of Samuel) told The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
. Richard LaGravenese
Richard LaGravenese
Richard LaGravenese is an American screenwriter and occasional film director. He is best known as the writer of The Fisher King.-Personal life:...
entered discussion to write a new script following Spielberg's departure. Sam Goldwyn commented that LaGravenese's script had a momentous and unique approach compared to others. "I'd always felt that unless we got a great script, the movie disintegrates into a series of wonderful gags," Goldwyn explained. "Writers always fixated on that. ... (Richard) worked for 10 months on umpteen drafts, and he solved it." In March 2005 Paramount hired Mark Waters to direct LaGravenese's script for Walter Mitty, but Carrey had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. He was replaced by Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
.
Despite not having a final budget, Paramount scheduled a December 12, 2005 start date
Start date
The start date of a film refers to the first day of principal photography.A film project which has been green-lit does not typically enter pre-production until it has been assigned a start date, and for this reason a film with a start date is generally regarded as more likely to proceed to...
because their option on the remake rights was to end one week later; they would lose the rights if they did not start filming before December 20. However, Wilson dropped out in October 2005 over creative differences. The Hollywood Reporter also speculated that Walter Mitty began to falter after Paramount failed to cast a female lead to star opposite Wilson. Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
had reportedly emerged as the front-runner after screen testing with Wilson earlier in October, but a deal was never signed with the actress. Paramount executives Brad Grey
Brad Grey
Brad Alan Grey is the Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, a position he has held since 2005. Under Grey’s leadership, Paramount has finished No.2 in market share in 2008, 2009 and 2010 despite releasing significantly fewer films than its competitors.Since arriving at Paramount in 2005,...
and Gail Berman
Gail Berman
Gail Berman is the former president of entertainment at Fox Broadcasting Company and the former president of Viacom's Paramount Pictures.She graduated from the University of Maryland in 1978...
decided to put Walter Mitty in turnaround in November 2005. Goldwyn found favor at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
and, in May 2007, it was announced that Mike Myers
Mike Myers (actor)
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
was attached to star in the title role. Jay Kogen
Jay Kogen
-Early life:Jay Steven Kogen was born on May 3rd, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Mad writer Arnie Kogen, and Sue Kogen . His paternal grandparents, Samuel Kogen and Pauline Gorin, were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire , while his maternal grandparents, Harold Hirsch and Ida...
was hired to write a new script that will be specifically tailored for Myers.
In April 2010, Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
was offered and attached to star in the lead role. Later that month, The Pursuit of Happyness
The Pursuit of Happyness
Varèse Sarabande released the soundtrack on January 9, 2007, which included sixteen tracks.-Box office:The film debuted first at the North American box office, earning $27 million during its opening weekend and beating out heavily promoted films such as Eragon and Charlotte's Web...
writer Steven Conrad
Steven Conrad
Steven Conrad is an American screenwriter, film producer and director.Born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Conrad briefly attended Florida State University before transferring to Northwestern University, where he majored in English...
was hired to pen the screenplay, with Gore Verbinski
Gore Verbinski
Gregor "Gore" Verbinski is an American film director, writer and musician. He is best known for directing the films The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Rango.-Early life:...
announced as director in June 2010.
In April 2011, it was announced that Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
had landed the lead role, and in July 2011, it was announced that he was also due to direct the film.