WALDEN MEDIA, FOX 2000 AND THE JIM HENSON COMPANY BRING THE WORLD OF EDWARD GOREY TO THE BIG SCREEN FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH “THE DOUBTFUL GUEST”

Live-action adaptation of Gorey’s beloved classic to be directed by Brad Peyton and written by Matthew Huffman
 
LOS ANGELES (April 5, 2007) – Walden Media, Fox 2000 and The Jim Henson Company have joined forces to develop and produce a live-action feature film adaptation of Edward Gorey’s whimsical classic book “The Doubtful Guest”, marking the first time a Gorey work has been made into a feature film.  The story revolves around a quirky family whose life is turned upside down when a mysterious and mischievous creature arrives unannounced and unwelcome, bringing trouble with him and wreaking havoc. Ultimately, no one’s life will be the same once they’ve met The Doubtful Guest.
 
The film will be released by Twentieth Century Fox and Walden Media through their Fox
Walden banner. Brad Peyton (“Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl”) is attached to direct and Matthew Huffman will write the screenplay.  Producing duties will be handled by The Jim Henson Company’s co-CEOs Lisa Henson and Brian Henson, and Jason Lust, the company’s Senior Vice President of Feature Films. Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the company’s visual and special effects division, will bring the film’s title creature to life using a blend of CGI and animatronics.
 
Currently published by Harcourt, “The Doubtful Guest” has been a favorite worldwide since its debut in 1957. Described by The New York Times as “a grand master of the comic macabre”, Edward Gorey wrote more than 100 books in his lifetime and illustrated books for such writers as T.S. Eliot and Samuel Becket.   He was also a very successful set and costume designer, earning a Tony Award for his Broadway production of Edward Gorey’s Dracula. Animated sequences of his work have introduced the PBS series Mystery! since 1980.  Gorey died in 2000.