Live-Action Pinocchio is coming to the U.S. through Roadside Attractions for theatrical release rights to the film. The live-action take on the classic tale of Pinocchio starring Roberto Benigni from director Matteo Garrone. The contract was made with HanWay Films.
There is no official release date in the U.S., but it was released in December 2019 in Italy and other overseas territories and had a gross worldwide value of $20.31 million.
Oscar-winning Benigni (directed, wrote, and played Pinocchio in his version of the film in 2002) now played Geppetto, a woodcarver whose puppet he created magically comes to life dreaming of becoming a real boy like all the others. Easily influenced to fall astray, Pinocchio (Federico lelapi) tumbles through one mishap to another as he is tricked, abducted, and pursued by robbers through a world full of imaginative creatures traveling all over from the belly of a giant fish to the Land of Toys and the Field of Miracles.
“Pinocchio is one of the most cherished tales, loved by families worldwide,” Roadside co-president Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff said Thursday. “We were knocked out by the otherworldly beauty, and the ingenious storytelling of Matteo’s film and are thrilled to bring audiences old and new such a fresh, mischievous, and thrilling adventure.”
This live-action version of Pinocchio is not the only one in the works right now. There is a stop-motion animated musical at Netflix from Guillermo del Toro and, of course, a live-action from Disney that Robert Zemeckis is directing and co-writing.