The Hollywood Reporter brings news of a new partnership that should please all the Clive Barker fans out there: Seems that "Shrek 2" co-director Kelly Asbury will head over to live-action territory and direct a long-awaited adaptation of Mr. Barker’s "The Thief of Always."
"Shrek 2" co-helmer Kelly Asbury is the latest computer-animation director to make the leap into live action. Asbury has written and is set to direct the live-action screenplay adaptation of Clive Barker’s "The Thief of Always" for 20th Century Fox and Seraphim Films.
The story centers on a 10-year-old boy who is bored with his ordinary life and ventures into a supernatural house in which all four seasons pass in one day. The fantasy elements of the movie will be enhanced with CGI effects.
Barker has looked to make "Thief" into a feature since the late 1990s. It most recently was in development at Universal Pictures with Bernard Rose ("Candyman") directing and adapting the script. Previously, "Thief" was in development as an animated movie with Kennedy Marshall at Paramount Pictures before rights reverted back to Barker."
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Mr. Asbury has quite the colorfully impressive resumé, I might add. As a writer, director, story editor, or artist he’s worked on "Toy Story," "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Chicken Run," "Beauty and the Beast," "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," "James and the Giant Peach," "The Prince of Egypt," "The Black Cauldron," "The Little Mermaid," and both "Shrek" flicks.
