Ben Stiller Ready To Dip Into 'The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty'

by Kevin Jagernauth
April 8, 2011 3:23 AM
2 Comments

Gore Verbiniski No Longer Directing

Twentieth Century Fox's remake of the Danny Kaye-starrer "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," is a project that's been in development for literally decades. Over the years Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg and more recently, Gore Verbinski were attached to direct the likes of Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Sacha Baron Cohen, Will Ferrell and Owen Wilson in the lead role, about a timid daydreamer and his many fantasy lives. None of those incarnations ever got off the ground but now the film has fresh life once again as another top tier comic actor has linked up with the headlining part.

Deadline reports that Ben Stiller is now set to make 'Walter Mitty' his next project. Steve Conrad ("The Weather Man," "The Pursuit Of Happyness") has penned a screenplay that apparently hit the mark with the studio and the star and things are once again moving full steam ahead but it may be a while yet.

A director still needs to be found and Stiller is presumably tied up for the next little. He hits the stage at the end of the month in "House Of Blue Leaves" and provided replacements are found for James Franco and Cate Blanchett, he will shoot Noah Baumbach's "When We Were Young" this summer. But if everything pans out the way it should, 'Walter Mitty' will shoot this fall.

More: Films, Actors, Ben Stiller, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

2 Comments

| Reply
Margaret | April 8, 2011 8:55 AMReply

Carrey at least would have brought something to it - Stiller would ruin it. Danny Kaye was sublime.
hard core mitty fan | April 8, 2011 4:00 AMReply

please no, i love this movie, it is my favorite movie of all time, if you HAVE to remake it, it should be someone people can belive in the part, cause he is suppose to be timid, i don't get him as mitty,paul rudd would work, i think,thank you