This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Robert Redford may soon be seeing dragons.
The movie-industry trade paper The Hollywood Reporter writes that the actor-director and Sundance Institute founder is in early talks to take a role in "Pete's Dragon," a live-action/CGI remake of the 1977 Disney movie.
The original was set in a fishing village in the early 1900s, about an orphan boy who's cared for by a dragon who turns invisible — and, therefore, few other people in the village believe is real.
The remake, according to The Hollywood Reporter, would move the action to a logging town — and have Pete (Oakes Fegley, from "Boardwalk Empire") trying to protect his dragon's forest home from being felled. Redford would play a local who tells tall tales about dragons.
The remake will be directed by David Lowery, whose debut, the crime drama "Ain't Them Bodies Saints," premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Shooting may begin in New Zealand as early as this fall. Oona Laurence, who played the title role of "Matilda" on Broadway, is also in the cast.
Redford is now in Australia, filming "Truth" with Cate Blanchett. Redford is portraying CBS news anchor Dan Rather, in the story of how Rather and producer Mary Mapes (played by Blanchett) were hung out to dry after reporting on George W. Bush's spotty National Guard record.
The original "Pete's Dragon" starred singer Helen Reddy, along with characters Jim Dale, Mickey Rooney, Red Buttons and Shelley Winters.