While we realize that there’s a lot driving the decision making process in Hollywood that we’re not privy to — people taking on projects because they owe someone a favor or they need a quick paycheck — today’s news that David Gordon Green is in talks to direct Sony’s big-screen adaptation of Little House on the Prairie is a real head-scratcher. Yes, Green’s first two features, George Washington and All the Real Girls, were both lovely, unaffected dramas set in quiet, rural North Carolina towns. But that was almost 10 years ago. Stop for a moment, and consider that this is a man who is now known as “the director of Pineapple Express.” Weird, right?
The Playlist points out that Sony has Abi Morgan (Shame, The Iron Lady, and Brick Lane) on board to write the script, suggesting that it will be quite good (if a little darker than Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 1930s book series), and that Green was previously developing The Secret Life Of Bees, so it’s not completely out of left field. Odd choice or not, if making a movie about pioneer life helps Green tap into the magic of his early career, we’re all for it — as long as he promises not to cast James Franco, Seth Rogen, or Danny McBride. And no scenes involving weed, because that would totally ruin our childhoods/disappoint Pa. What do you think?