An iconic BBC children's programme, Rentaghost, is set to get the Hollywood treatment. And Mr Ben Stiller is now involved...
“If your mansion house needs haunting, just call Rentaghost”
Well, crikey. Here’s a story we never saw coming. For us Brits, Rentaghost is a bit of an iconic children’s television show, one that brought us the antics of Timothy Claypole, Nadia Popov, and the Meakers.
The premise behind the show, which ran for nine series, was a company that rented out ghosts. And there had been some chatter about a possible film version, when Warner Bros picked up the rights with Russell Brand in mind for the project. Given the relatively weak performance of his Arthur remake, though, the idea of a Brand-headlined Rentaghost movie, in the style of Beetlejuice, appeared to have been dropped.
The rights have now gone instead to 20th Century Fox, and it’s put together a package that sees Ben Stiller working with Night At The Museum scribes Tom Lennon and Robert Ben Garant on a new screenplay. Where Ben Stiller fits into the project isn’t yet clear. It’s probable that he’d be interested in an acting role in a Rentaghost film, but would he direct it as well?
His immediate attention is on projects such as Neighborhood Watch, which is soon to start shooting, and Zoolander 2. But we’ll keep you posted as we hear more. We’ll also let you know if Stiller picks up the rights to Byker Grove at any point.
Hopefully, the Rentaghost theme tune will survive going through the Hollywood sausage machine. How can you replace something like this, after all…?
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