Actor is trying to push through a biopic of Dr. Seuss, the legendary children's author behind The Cat in the Hat, How The Grinch Stole Christmas & Horton Hears A Who!
Johnny Depp loves biopics, especially those that allow him to play authors (Hunter S. Thompson twice in Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, The Rum Diary... but also Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland and John Wilmot in The Libertine... plus he played a fictional writer in Secret Window) and The Hollywood Reporter revealed yesterday he is looking to play another famous writer on the big screen. It's said Depp is trying to push through a biopic of Dr. Seuss, the legendary children's author whose little known real name was Theodor Geisel. His works The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Horton Hears A Who are staple childhood books for youngsters learning to read and have sold over 200 million copies worldwide. With Hollywood having bled dry all the tales above with flicks to mixed degrees of sucess (in regards to The Lorax, an animated movie from Despicable Me's Universal/Illumination Entertainment is coming out in March), usually what then happens is a biopic is always just around the corner. Setup at Depp's Infinitum Nihil company who is teaming up with Illumination Entertainment, the untitled film (probably called Dr Seuss) will be written by Keith Bunin (In Treatment) and although Geisel's life story doesn't sound as compelling as some authors, his journey from World War II cartoonist, to working for the Treasury and the Army's Animation Department.... to an affair he had that forced his wife into depression and ultimately suicide... and how he became the famous Dr. Seuss by his love for educating children, is more than worthy of a narrative. Born in 1904, Geisel lived until 1991 when he lost his battle with throat cancer. Depp isn't committed to star just yet and as the movie deal has just been announced, the likelihood of him starring will depend entirely on how the script shapes up and what else he has on his plate when it comes to game time. The actor is currently filming Tim Burton's Dark Shadows before he will then shoot The Lone Ranger early next year and then is likely to move onto The Thin Man (which Billy Ray has recently been brought on board to replace David Koepp on writing duties and Rob Marshall will direct) next year. Then obviously we can't rule out another Pirates of the Caribbean movie after that, so there's definitely no guarantee's Dr. Seuss will actually be made by Depp. But in an ideal world he clearly wants to make it and his track record shows it's the kind of film he will push through to be made. I could certainly see The Lone Ranger, The Thin Man, Dr. Seuss and Pirates of the Caribbean 5 being his next career trajectory...