Movies about gnomes with souls have suddenly become in-vogue after the animated romance Gnomeo & Juliet became a hit comedy earlier this year - however the gnomes in Sony's latest rights acquirement, might not prove to be as friendly.
Variety say
Robert Zemeckis, who once successfully blended Warner Bros cartoons with live action actors in
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,
will now produce an R-Rated, live-action/animation hybrid adaptation of Chuck Sambuchino's book
How To Survive A Garden Gnome Attack: Defend Yourself When The Lawn Warriors Strike (And They Will) at Sony Animation. Sambuchino's book is a farcical and humours survival guide detailing what to do if your neighbour's gnomes rise from the lawn and take over the world. It's an essential guide to have around your home, as vital I'd say as 'What To Do In Case of A Nucleaur Outbreak' and when it happens to you and those evil miniatures have their sights on you, don't tell me I didn't warn you. Zemeckis, presumably, is thinking something along the lines of Gnomes Of The Dead and Sony have slapped a $20-30 million price tag on the production. Despite the cancellation of his Beatles animated movie
Yellow Submarine earlier this year and finding himself without a go-project right now, Zemeckis is not yet attached to direct and we aren't sure he will. For starters, there is no script yet or even a writer hired. Honestly, a kind of a weird movie deal considering the Zemeckis produced Mars Needs Moms has become such a gigantic flop, one of the biggest in film history at Sony and this book doesn't exactly sound like an instant money-winner, especially with the R-Rated tag. But it's a unique project - an unknown quantity - and sometimes these brave greenlights, as Gnomeo and Juliet clearly was, can turn into gold. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3zpOLIsAkY Book synopsis below;
Theres a new threat in townand its only twelve inches tall. How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack is the only comprehensive survival guide that will help you prevent, prepare for, and ward off an imminent home invasion by the common garden gnome. Once thought of as harmless yard decorations, evidence is mounting that these smiling lawn statues are poised and ready to wreck havoc. The danger is real. And its here. Class 1 gnome-slayer and gnome defense expert Chuck Sambuchino has developed a proven systemAssess, Protect, Defend, Applyfor safeguarding property, possessions, and loved ones. Strategies include step-by-step instructions for gnome-proofing the average dwelling, recognizing and interpreting the signs of a gathering hoard, andin the event that a secured perimeter is breachedconfronting and combating the attackers at close range.