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Encyclopedia Brown's Detective Adventures To Hit The Big Screen
Remember Encyclopedia Brown? After several failed attempts, the famous boy detective is headed for the big screen at long last.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is in final negotiations to pick up the movie rights to the popular book series for an adaptation to be produced by Roy Lee and Howard David Deutsch. (Not to be confused with Pretty In Pink director Howard Deutch.)
As generations of kids know, Encyclopedia Brown is the nickname of Leroy Brown, the son of a local police chief, who runs his own detective agency out of the garage. The books—and a short-lived HBO TV series—featured Brown solving various petty crimes, often committed by the local bully Bugs Meany.
The books were written by Donald J. Sobol, starting in 1963, up until his death in 2012. He also wrote a syndicated comic strip that ran from 1978 to 1980.
Deutsch has controlled the screen rights since 1979 and produced the 1989 HBO series, which starred Scott Bremner as the know-it-all junior sleuth. Savage Steve Holland, best known for One Crazy Summer and Better Off Dead with John Cusack, directed those.
Legally Blonde director Robert Luketic was attached to a version being developed in the early 2000s, while a few years later Ridley Scott(!) was briefly attached. There was even reportedly an attempt to put together a version starring Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn in the 80s.
Of course, everyone is thinking franchise on this one and (no doubt) anticipating the massive merchandising opportunities. Brainy little boys have probably already started queuing up at casting agents' offices.
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According to THR, Lee is also working on a big-screen version of the Archie comic books, with Pitch Perfect's Jason Moore set to direct.
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