Director Mike Newell is in something that's described as an “advanced negotiations” to direct a new film adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic Great Expectations.
David Nicholls, the man responsible for One Day project, adapted the script so this would be Newell's next project with shooting to kick off further into the year.
Dickens classis story follows: “…reared in the marshes of Kent by his disagreeable sister and her sweet-natured husband, the blacksmith Joe Gargery, the young Pip one day helps a convict to escape.
Later he is sent to live with Miss Havisham, a woman driven half-mad years earlier by her lover's departure on their wedding day. Her other ward is the orphaned Estella, whom she is teaching to torment men with her beauty. Pip, at first cautious, later falls in love with Estella, to his misfortune.
When an anonymous benefactor makes it possible for Pip to go to London for an education, he credits Miss Havisham. He begins to look down on his humble roots, but nonetheless Estella spurns him again and marries instead the ill-tempered Bentley Drummle.
Pip's benefactor turns out to have been Abel Magwitch, the convict he once aided, who dies awaiting trial after Pip is unable to help him a second time. Joe rescues Pip from despair and nurses him back to health.”
When it comes to Great Expectations, we all remember that there have been a lot of film and TV adaptations, but David Lean's classic 1946 version generally considered the definitive one thus far.
Still, David Nicholls had something to say about this upcoming collaboration with director Newell:
“Needless to say David Lean's classic version casts a long shadow, but I'm confident that we've come up with a new take on the wonderful material, something that feels fresh and new while still being largely faithful to the book.”
Anyone interested in this fresh adaptation of well-known story?
