There are a few monster / ghost oriented projects circling around in pre-production right now. Universal has R.I.P.D. with Ryan Reynolds as a dead beat cop (roll snare drum), DreamWorks has Seth Rogen’s voice in Boo U, Hugh Jackman has Ghostopolis, Brad Pitt’s got Battling Boy. Everyone wants to be a ghost hunter or monster slayer, especially if they’re handsome.
If I can sense a trend, then a studio like Disney is undoubtedly ten steps ahead, which may be why they’ve snapped up Ahmet Zappa’s Monster Witness Relocation Program. According to Variety, the logline is being kept a tight secret, but that unwieldy title might contain a clue or two.
This is the second monster script Zappa has sold to Disney. His debut novel, Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless was snapped up by Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney before it was even published. The story — which centers on a family of monster hunters in a vaguely Harry Potterish world — remains in development. As Memoirs was meant to be the first in a series, I suspect this Relocation Program story might be stuck in the same universe.
Further proof that Disney might be shaping a Zappa-penned monster universe is Variety’s oh-so-casual mention that Monster Witness Relocation Program is being eyed as a vehicle for Jaden Smith. He’s not yet signed, but it’s being developed by Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, so it’s only a matter of time. It’s never too early to follow in your dad’s footsteps, after all, and he’s had very good luck with the supernatural.
Ahmet Zappa. Jaden Smith. Millions of dollars. Star vehicles. Now here’s where I’ll stop so that you aspiring players can start crying nepotism.