'Kick-Ass' Writer Jane Goldman To Pen Tim Burton's 'Pinocchio'; Jez Butterworth Rewrites 'Asteroids'

Warner Bros has hired “Kick-Ass” and “X-Men: First Class” screenwriter Jane Goldman to rewrite the live-action take on “Pinocchio” that Tim Burton and Robert Downey Jr. have been circling since the beginning of the year. Goldman is taking over scripting duties -- and “incorporating Downey’s notes” -- from “Wonderfalls” and “Pushing Daisies” creator Bryan Fuller who wrote the first draft. Should it all come together -- Burton and RDJ aren't officially committed yet -- it will follow Geppetto as he goes on a journey to find Pinochhio after he goes missing. He'll probably encounter lots of wacky things along the way. Hopefully the end result is more “Frankenweenie” and less “Alice In Wonderland.”

Despite the “Resident Evil” films being the only successful -- financially if not creatively -- video game adaptations, Hollywood studios will be damned if they don’t try cash in on these lucrative properties. Universal, not learning a damn thing from the “Battleship” fiasco, is pushing on ahead on an “Asteroids” adaptation with the recent hire of “Fair Game” screenwriter Jez Butterworth. “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” writer Matt Lopez and “Battle for Terra” writer Evan Spiliotopoulos wrote earlier drafts, but there’s no word on whether Butterworth will utilize any of their material, or even what the story wil entail except asteroids being blown up... [THR/Variety]