Paddington Bear Stories to Become Live-Action Film
First Ramona and now Paddington Bear! The stories of my youth are flocking to the screen. Harry Potter producer David Heyman is teaming up with Warner Bros. to make a live-action film version of the Paddington Bear series. Apparently, Heyman is attracted to Paddington's story not just because he's such an adorable bear, but also because it's an inspirational immigrant story. Variety has more:
Hamish McColl (Mr. Bean's Holiday) is writing the screenplay for a live-action movie based on Michael Bond's series of books for young children about a talking bear who's adopted by a London family when they find him lost at Paddington Station.
Heyman, who is producing through his London-based shingle Heyday Films, commented, "Paddington Bear is a universally loved character, and I have wanted to bring him to screen for some years. Michael Bond's Paddington books have such wit, wonder and charm. Essentially, Paddington's story is that of an immigrant arriving in London and trying to find a home and a family. Above all, I love Paddington's unique style of comedy."
Thankfully, the bear himself won't be some kind of puppet or animatronic thing, it will be a CGI creation while everything else is live-action, a la Stuart Little. Hurray for Paddington Bear!
