A Q&A with Jonny Quest producer Adrian Askariah about the project!
[dropcap size=small]E[/dropcap]xcitement is all around Robert Rodriguez’s variation of Jonny Quest, even though none of the characters have been cast. Rodriguez recently turned in a script with Terry Rossio, who both wrote an earlier draft with Dan Mazeau. An official script is expected to be turned in soon to the studio, which would fall right into the next step to finding the cast members to play those roles. Collider’s Steve Weintraub caught up with producer Adrian Askariah for a Q&A on the movie. Check it out below!
Collider: What’s the status of this project, and where are you in the scripting phase?
Adrian Askarieh: Dan Lin and I have been developing Jonny Quest for eight years. Lot of starts and stops. Speed Racer hurt us big time. I don’t subscribe to the notion that … they were completely different movies, but that’s the reality of the studio world. But everywhere I go around the world, when people find out I’m involved with Jonny Quest, it doesn’t matter how old they are, 40, 50, 12, 18, all walks of life, they love the character, they love that show, they want to see the movie. It’s extraordinary. I don’t think any of my projects have that ‘want to see it’, that fan fervor that Jonny Quest does.
So Dan and I are now working with Robert Rodriguez, who’s directing and co-writing with Terry Rossio, and they’ve turned in a draft which is phenomenal. We’re doing a little more work on it; we hope to turn it in after Labor Day to the studio. And I really feel the timing might finally be upon us that we’re going to make the Jonny Quest movie. It really is an extraordinary script. A lot of the credit actually goes to Dan Mazeau because we’re re-writing his original draft, but Terry and Robert have brought a zing to it. I think Robert is going to really, really hit it out of the ballpark. He’s very passionate about it.
How does the movie you guys envision compare to the animated show? Does it feel like it’s the same universe? What’s your basis that you’re working with?
Askarieh: We’re working based on the original 1960s Jonny Quest prime time animated show. That is our source of, not only inspiration, but the pool that we’re culling our inspirations from. I know a lot of people like The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, and that’s fine, but we are now focusing on the original 60s animated show. Robert, Dan Lin, Terry Rossio, myself, big fans, and look, there’s nothing wrong with it, so if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. That thing is a work of genius. We’re lucky to have it to reference.
Can you confirm the same character names and the same kind of archetypes? Are you mixing it up a little bit?
Askarieh: No, Jonny Quest is in it. Race Bannon, Benton Quest, Hadji is in the movie, even Bandit.
You’re going old school.
Askarieh: Jezebel Jade. If you love Jonny Quest, the potential that this movie has to honor that show, I think you’ll be thrilled by it.
I would imagine that’s a PG-13.
Askarieh: Yes. We want to make a PG-13. Again, I never want to be presumptuous to stamp a rating before the studio gets involved; that’s ultimately their decision. This is not going to be a kiddie action-adventure movie; this will be an action-adventure that happens to have a 12-year-old in it.
Robert said something along the lines of an Indiana Jones, something like that. An action-adventure that happens to have a kid.
Askarieh: Exactly. That’s, all of us, that’s what we want. That’s our M.O. for this movie. Indiana Jones meets James Bond.
Jonny Quest does not have a release date yet!
