Depp Wants to be the Thin Man

The Thin Man is one of those delightful film series that was true to the years in which they and the book that inspired them (written by Dashell Hammett) were made. Screwball comedy at its best all soaked liberally in booze.  Word has come in that Johnny Depp is itching to remake them…  or at least the first one, with the help of his Pirates of the Caribbean director, Rob Marshal, according to Vulture.

There is no one on board to pen the script as of yet, Depp is very eager to develop the property through his Warner Brothers based Infinitum Nihil production company, with Kevin McCormick (Sweeney Todd) producing.

“The Thin Man has long been a favorite of mine and with Rob at the helm, I know we’re in great hands,” Depp said.

According to Deadline, the studio has put together a shortlist of screenwriters for the project, some of whom have worked with Depp previously: Terry Rosio (the Pirates of the Caribbean series), Christopher McQuarrie (The Tourist) and Jerry Stahl.

For those out there who don’t know of The Thin man series, it centers on a former gumshoe Nick Charles (played expertly by William Powell) who marries wealthy socialite Nora (Myrna Loy, who was definitely Powell’s match), who wishes to just settle down, become somewhat of a trophy husband and drink himself into a stupor with his faithful (and mildly inebriated) dog Asta by their sides. Unfortunately for him (though very fortunately for the viewing audience) things always go awry.. and he is always forced to use his deft skills at solving the murder at hand, all the way while trying to stay completely “lubricated”.

Supposedly, Depp and company want the piece to be true to period, and will be given a “Sherlock Holmes style treatment.” One can only hope that they won’t make Nick politically correct for our times.. since so much of his time and energy went into his drinking and where he was going to get his next drink, as well as solving the crime at hand.

Though no word on when this remake might go in front of cameras, Depp has plenty to keep himself busy until then.  He’s set to star in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, is hoping toteam up again with Gore Verbinski  in The Lone Ranger and, along with Tom Hanks, is in talks to star in Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow’s Triple Frontier. Stay tuned as more Thin Man news seeps in…