Variety is reporting that Fox has just acquired the rights to give the big-screen adaptation treatment the classic kids’ book “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” by Richard and Florence Atwater in 1938, about a house painter who comes into possession of a dozen penguins.
The film will be produced by John Davis, and Sean Anders and John Morris have been set to write the screenplay about Mr. Popper and his Adelie penguin Captain Cook, who he gets in the mail after writing a letter to Antarctic explorer Admiral Drake. After finding a female penguin for himself, she and Captain Cook produce a nest of 10 more penguins and this prompts Mr. Popper to form his own traveling penguin performance show. The penguins proceed to cause mayhem wherever they go. The book is often included in the reading curriculum in American grade schools, particularly for the first through fourth grade. It won the prestigious Newberry Award in 1939.
Davis will be producing the “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” adaptation through his Davis Entertainment company, and Joel Gotler of IPG will be the executive producer. The two last worked together on the teen road trip comedy “Sex Drive,” which Sean Anders directed.
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By Costa Koutsoutis (Source: Variety.com)
