“I’m Finally Making Something That My Kids Would Actually Watch”: Nicolas Winding Refn Talks Adapting Enid Blyton’s ‘The Famous Five’ For TV – Mipcom Cannes Special
16.10.2023 - 06:43
/ deadline.com
There is a little-discussed Hollywood rumor, explains Nicolas Winding Refn and his long-time collaborator Matthew Read, that Scooby Doo only came to be because Warners failed to land the rights to adapt The Famous Five.
And when you look at the two properties and their uncanny similarities, this argument does begin to hold some weight. Both have daring female characters from a bygone era, ridiculous story-of-the-week capers that always end neatly, and, of course, those lovable pooches — in the former case Scooby and in the latter, Timmy.
If the rumor is true, Winding Refn is thankful for how things played out, as he credits both generation-traversing works with influencing his career and driving his love for the screen. Now, more than 50 years on from when Warner Bros. allegedly failed to land the rights, the Denmark-born director has become the latest to take on best-selling English children’s writer Enid Blyton’s iconic novel series, pairing with The Pursuit of Love producer Read.
Speaking exclusively to Deadline as BBC Studios readies to launch sales on the BBC/ZDF series at Mipcom, Winding Refn, who is creator and executive producer on the project, casts his mind back to his moving to the U.S. as a scared, dyslexic child who spoke little English.
“I didn’t read until I was 13 so TV was a big thing for me as an eight-year-old coming to the States,” explains the Drive and Bronson director. “Scooby Doo had something that just magically transported me into this adventure land, so this feels like a very full circle that’s coming to completion. And I’m finally making something that my kids would actually watch.”
Through watching Scooby Doo, which has spawned more than 300 episodes that continue to air as well as movies