Twenty-TWO Thousand Leagues?

So you know that "phenomenon" of two film houses making the same movie? Such as the two upcoming Treasure Island flicks? Well, it's happened again.

It seems that both Disney and Fox are having a go at the Jules Verne classic
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

The low down on Disney's:
It's actually been in development hell for a while. You know the drill, bouncing around directors and stars attached, budget concerns, script rewrites/polishing, etc. Word had been that they wanted to take a spin on it (imagine!) and present more of a backstory for Captain Nemo. Reportedly at one time played by Will Smith. Well, none of that (it would seem) is true now. It's on track again with an adjusted budget, new director David Fincher and a new script to be written by Scott J. Burns. I'm hoping for more of a straightforward approach.

The low down on Fox's:
How about a semi-straightforward approach? That's how Fox will plunging the Nautilus. Though said to follow the story's structure, it may take place in the future. I'm neither keen on this idea nor soured by it. Depends, naturally, on how it turns out. No director has been set, but the script is by Travis Beacham, co-writer of the remake of Clash of the Titans. Let's hope he's the one who wrote the few good bits scattered around that movie.

Looks like I'll have to read it again. If memory serves, I think I read an abridged copy as a kid. I've got plenty of time... neither have even begun filming.

And for the record, I have fond memories of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride at Walt Disney World. I'd been there at age 13. I'll tell ya'... what a genuine thrill to enter the Nautilus, see the Lost City of Atlantis, mermaids and be crushed by a giant squid for "real!" Bravo to the Disney Imagineers who came up with that one! Sadly, though, that ride has been replaced with a Finding Nemo attraction. Don't get me wrong. I loved Finding Nemo. Granted, I have not been on its ride, but I somehow suspect that I'd much perfer the Jules Verne adaptation. And I sincerely hope that people note the twisted appropriateness of the replacement. Indeed, the Captain has left those waters.

Just trickled into a website devoted to the lost ride: Submerge!