Interest

(Updated) Another Borrowers Adaptation Announced

Stephen Fry is among the cast is an upcoming live-action version of The Borrowers, the same book which inspired Studio Ghibli's film Arrietty, soon to be screened in Britain.

According to the Digital Spy website:

Stephen Fry has joined the cast of a new adaptation of children's classic The Borrowers.

Fry revealed the existence of the project during an appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live's Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode show on Friday evening, and also confirmed that it will begin production very soon.

"Before [The Hobbit,], in fact I go to South Africa. Working Title are doing The Borrowers," Fry said. "I was surprised to get this script because I remember they did The Borrowers not that long ago.

"I thought, 'Oh, that's odd', but I read the script and thought it was delightful and I had a really funny part," he continued. "That starts in a few weeks."

Although Fry refused to clarify any further details about the project, it is believed that former Shameless writer Danny Brocklehurst has penned the film's script.

As of writing, the interview can be heard on the BBC website, with Fry's interview starting around 22 minutes into the programme. The Bleeding Cool website notes that Brocklehurst's resume refers to this version as a single film.

Working Title's previous film of The Borrowers was released in 1997. It featured Flora Newbigin as Arrietty, along with John Goodman, Jim Broadbent, Celia Imrie and Tom Felton.

Earlier live-action versions of The Borrowers included a a 1973 American television film, a 1992 BBC serial, and a follow-up serial in 1993,

Published in Britain in 1952, Norton's source book involves a race of people a few inches high, who 'borrow' what they need from human beings. The Borrowers was very popular in postwar Japan (see this story) and won Britain's Carnegie Medal for children's writing.

Meanwhile, Ghibli's Arrietty was shown in Sheffield in May, and will play at the Edinburgh film festival this month (see here) and London's Barbican on July 6 (see here). A general release is scheduled for July 29 from Optimum Releasing.

Update: According to a June 18 article on the Guardian newspaper website, Stephen Fry will appear in a 90-minute television version of The Borrowers, produced by Working Title. It will be broadcast on BBC1 over the Christmas season.

Fry plays a human scientist, while Sharon Horgan plays Arrietty. The cast also includes Christopher Eccelston, Victoria Wood and Robert Sheehan. The writer is named as Ben Vanstone.