2010 was the year of strong young women. Hit Girl in Kick-Ass, Alice in Alice in Wonderland, Mattie Ross in True Grit, and the strongest of them all, Ree Dolly in Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone. Well, it looks like Granik has determined that Ree just wasn’t strong enough for her tastes. Ree was undeniably a badass, but you know what she couldn’t do? Pick up a horse with one arm.
The Los Angeles Times has an article about 2010’s crop of plucky heroines, and in it is a completely tossed aside scoop on Granik’s potential next film – a Pippi Longstocking update.
No other information is given about the potential project, other than Granik is working on a treatment with writing partner Anne Rosellini.
Longstocking, for those unfamiliar, was a rambunctious and pigtailled tomboy character (and horrifying ginger) created by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren in the 1940’s. Longstocking is essentially an orphan who has her own house, which she shares with a monkey and horse. For some reason, Longstocking has superhuman strength too. The character has spawned numerous books and adaptations in both film and TV. The most iconic adaptation of Longstocking was probably the late 60’s Swedish TV series (dubbed and re-edited as four different movies for US distribution) starring Inger Nilsson. I recall watching these films on VHS as a wee lad and actually being frightened by Nilsson’s appearance, which made liking the character a struggle for me – despite her awesome super strength and pet monkey.
The idea of what Granik would do with the character is extremely interesting, and I think a great career move for the filmmaker. A solid Pippi Longstocking movie could be a huge hit and put Granik in a position to do whatever the fuck she wants.