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Myers Suits Up for Seuss
The Austin Powers actor has agreed to star in the Universal-DreamWorks live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic children's story.
Following in the hairy paw steps of Jim Carrey, who played The Grinch in Universal's successful big-screen version of that other famous Seuss character, Myers will suit up as the stovetop hat-wearing feisty feline. He's replacing Tim Allen, who dropped out of the project to film The Santa Clause 2.
First published in 1957, The Cat in the Hat, currently ranks among the top 10 best-selling children's books of all time and is considered one of Theodore Geisel's (aka Dr. Seuss) most beloved characters. The book focuses on two bored tykes stuck inside on a rainy day. They invite the cat into their house while their mom is away, only to find unexpected trouble when his antics wreak havoc.
Like The Grinch movie, the film version of Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat will expand on the original story and characters.
The Cat in the Hat also puts Myers back on the mat with Universal, DreamWorks and Imagine Entertainment, which produced The Grinch.
The parties got into a nasty spat a year and a half ago when Myers said auf Wiedersehen to Dieter--a big-screen version of his Saturday Night Live "Sprockets" skit about an existentialist German talk show host and his pet monkey--because he wasn't happy with the script.
Universal sued Myers in June of 2000 for walking off the comedy, claiming the studio had already sunk $3.8 million into the project. But Myers, arguing he had final say over the script, said it needed reworking. A month later he filed a countersuit against Universal and Imagine naming them "coconspirators" and claiming the companies committed fraud, defamation and even hired someone to stalk and intimidate him into making the movie.
Things got so bad that Steven Spielberg stepped in and mediated an out-of-court settlement between the parties.
Now, Imagine chairman Brian Grazer tells Daily Variety that both sides have put the, um, catfight behind them and agreed that Myers would be purrfect for the role.
"After we made How the Grinch Stole Christmas, we were contemplating Cat in the Hat at the time we were going through this whole Dieter mess, and I remember saying to one of his CAA agents that Mike would be really good as the cat," Grazer tells the trade paper. "They said, 'But you're in this thing with him,' and I said, 'Sure, but he'd still be great, the best creative choice.' Mike heard about that, and we started talking. I think both of us were flattered with the idea of putting art before all that other stuff. A creative bridge happened in an organic way."
The deal is also good news for famed production designer Bo Welch, who was supposed to make his directorial debut with Dieter and will now take the reins on The Cat in the Hat.
For his part, Myers released a statement expressing his enthusiasm for the project.
"It's great fun to be in a children's movie, and it's an honor to be asked to be part of the world of Dr. Seuss," he said.
Myers, who recently signed to reprise the voice of the lead ogre in the sequel to Shrek, is currently putting the finishes touches on the third installment of Austin Powers, which is slated for release on July 26.
Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat is scheduled to begin shooting in the fall for a tentative summer 2003 release.
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