Adapting Land of the Lost for the Big Screen
Posted 04.22.09 by reelz
The challenge facing filmmakers, Will Ferrell explains in an interview with MTV, was how to update the story and special effects without losing the campy charm of the '70s Saturday morning live-action TV series. With a much bigger budget and access to CGI special effects, they could afford to populate their world with all manner of scary critters beyond the reach of the original. No longer dependent on rubber-suited monsters and hand puppets, they also decided to make the dinosaurs scary, not cute. Ferrell says "we wanted to get away from the kitsch value and make the action and adventure part look real and then have the comedy play off that."
The characters have changed a bit, as well:
In the new version, Ferrell plays Rick Marshall, a celebrity paleontologist who is ostracized from the scientific community for his wild theories about time travel. Holly (Anna Friel) is no longer his daughter but a woman who convinces Marshall to keep pursuing his research. And Will (Danny McBride) has shifted from being Rick's son to being a scummy survivalist who gets pulled along for the ride.
The over-all result, however, remains true to the spirit of the original, Ferrell insists. And it even keeps the trademark theme song.
Next Showing: Land of the Lost stomps into theaters June 5, 2009