So A Worzel Gummidge Film Is In The Works... But With Peter Jackson? And Russell Brand?

[Brendon Connelly]

There seems to be real, actual movement on a possible Worzel Gummidge movie, bringing the turnip-headed scarecrow of 1970-80s family TV to Hollywood. Whether or not it ever has anything to do with Russell Brand and Peter Jackson remains to be seen, but... anyhow. Here's the story.

Patrick Pidgeon is a producer on the in-development version of Rentaghost, which currently has Ben Stiller attached to star, but his interests in the children's TV of my youth don't end there. He's also planning to reboot Worzel Gummidge, the scarecrow of Scatterbrook.

Pidgeon has been speaking to The Daily Star, a British tabloid. Seeing as they have actual quotes, this seems a touch more believable than most of their stories. Here's what he apparently told them:

It?s had zero exposure here [in Hollywood]. You?re pitching it and they have a blank look on their faces. But I?m talking to writers and trying to reboot it. I want to completely re-imagine the story.

The actor who plays Worzel doesn?t have to look like the late Jon Pertwee. I want to come up with a totally new way of how the character became Worzel. And maybe we could take him out of a rural setting into a Victorian town.

Er... okay. But why? I'm not saying it shouldn't be changed, and I'm not saying that Pidgeon doesn't have reasons, but whatever his thinking is, these quotes entirely fail to relate it. This just sounds like change for the sake of it, and that's not very encouraging.

And note: no direct quote regarding Brand or Peter Jackson, but the Star do bring both of those names up, outside of the quote marks. They say that "efforts are under way" to get Jackson to sign on, and that Pidgeon thinks Brand "would be ideal for the role."

I can believe that he might think that. Just check out this clip of Jon Pertwee in the TV version and tell me if you've ever seen another role so Russell Brand-ready:



Gummidge started life in a series of children's books by Barbara Euphan Todd, but I'll bet you anything this adaptation would draw more on the TV show, with it's sexy-prim Aunt Sally rather than the actually-an-Aunt variant of the original stories.

Now... does anybody else remember how to speak Worzelese?

[ScotiaNova]

I can believe that he might think that. Just check out this clip of Jon Pertwee in the TV version and tell me if you've ever seen another role so Russell Brand-ready:

Well Mr Claypole (obviously), but seems that boat has sailed . . . can't believe they'd had Brand attached and not playing the jester . . .

[Vbartilucci]

"how the character became Worzel"

BECAME? As in, other than "he was built by the Crow Man"? Oh god, please don't tell me he's planning Worzel to have been human or summat.

And do you think they'll have a problem finding a wodden enough actress to play Aunt Sally?

[Hannah Shaw-Williams]

I don't want to be cynical, but ... no no no no no no no no no no no no no...

[Ian Coke]

Gummidge as a harmless eccentric burned to death by concerned parents during a pedophile scare in a sleepy Somerset village, now returned to wreak his bloody revenge?

I know it's been done many. many times, but it's the only way I can see this working. The character's far too disturbing for a modern family audience.

[thekeith82]

I can see it now. Russell Brand as Worzel and Zooey Deschanel as Aunt Sally. Makes me feel a bit queasy, to be honest, but that might be the hotdog I just ate.

If there's one character from my childhood I wouldn't mind seeing rebooted, it'd probably be Pob. Imagine him spitting all over the screen, but in 3D...

Either that or Dangermouse.