Land of the Lost movie with Will Ferrell.Last of the Lost movie images with Anna Friel & Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, and Danny McBride star as, respectively, has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, research assistant Holly, and redneck survivalist Will in the big-screen reboot of the 1970s television series Land of the Lost, a campy delight after all these years – e.g., spunky Cha-Ka to Holly after she messes things up: “Cha-Ka half-monkey. You whole monkey!”
Whether the Brad Silberling-directed Land of the Lost movie will be half-monkey or whole monkey remains to be seen. Silberling is best known for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events; featuring Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep among others, the fantasy adventure was greeted by mixed reviews in late 2004.
Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas penned the screenplay of the big-screen Land of the Lost, which apparently will feature more “true to life” special effects than the outrageously cheesy stuff found in the TV series.
Arthur Conan Doyle influence
The original TV series (1974–1977) – clearly influenced by Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World[1] – starred Spencer Milligan, Wesley Eure, Kathy Coleman, and Philip Paley as the humanoid “half-monkey” Cha-Ka. Ron Harper took over from Milligan in the series’ third season.
A short-lived 1991 TV remake starred Timothy Bottoms (The Last Picture Show, The Paper Chase), Jennifer Drugan and Robert Gavin as his children, and Bobby Porter as Stink (the Chaka-ish character), in addition to featuring Ed Gale and Shannon Day.
In the movie, Jorma Taccone (Hot Rod, Role Models) plays Chaka – one word – while Star Trek veteran Leonard Nimoy provides the voice of The Zarn.
Land of the Lost opens in North America on June 5, ’09.
Below are several images from Universal’s Land of the Lost movie.
‘Land of the Lost’ movie images
Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, Danny McBride and pterodactyl: ‘Land of the Lost’ revisited.
Chaka (Jorma Taccone): ‘Land of the Lost’ half-monkey with manicured hands.
Will Ferrell and T-Rex: Shades of the Steven Spielberg blockbuster ‘Jurassic Park.’
Sleestak attack about to happen in ‘Land of the Lost.’The Lost World movies
[1] There have been several film versions of and variations on The Lost World. Here are a couple of straight cinematic adaptations of Conan Doyle’s novel:
- The Lost World (1925).
Director: Harry O. Hoyt.
Cast: Bessie Love. Lloyd Hughes. Wallace Beery. Lewis Stone. Alma Bennett. Arthur Hoyt. Bull Montana as Ape-Man (a sort of larger Chaka). Margaret McWade. - The Lost World (1960).
Director: Irwin Allen.
Cast: Claude Rains. Jill St. John. Michael Rennie. David Hedison. Richard Haydn. Ray Stricklyn. Jay Novello. Ian Wolfe.
Based on the Michael Crichton novel The Lost World (itself a sequel to his bestseller Jurassic Park), Steven Spielberg’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) starred Julianne Moore, Jeff Goldblum, Pete Postlethwaite, Arliss Howard, Richard Attenborough, and Vince Vaughn. In the film, a mightily pissed off tyrannosaurus roams the streets of San Diego.
And then there is King Kong (1933) and its 1976 and 2005 remakes (plus variations).
- Directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, the original classic starred Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and Bruce Cabot.
- Directed by John Guillermin, the widely panned 1976 remake starred Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges, and Charles Grodin.
- Directed by Peter Jackson, the overblown 2005 remake starred Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, and Jack Black.
Sleestak, Jorma Taccone a.k.a. Chaka, Danny McBride, Anna Friel, and Will Ferrell Last of the Lost movie images: Universal Pictures.