“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “Nightbitch” filmmaker Marielle Heller is set to write and direct a live-action adaptation of “FernGully,” which is in development at Amazon MGM Studios.
The 1992 animated classic “FernGully: The Last Rainforest,” followed the magical inhabitants of an Australian rainforest as they fight to save their home, which is threatened by logging and a polluting force of destruction called Hexxus. The movie featured an all-star voice cast, including Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis, and songs from Elton John and Jimmy Buffett.
Heller will also produce the “Ferngully” remake under her Defiant By Nature banner with Leah Holzer. The film is also produced by Academy Award nominee Stacey Sher for Shiny Penny and Susan Ursitti‑Sheinberg, Jon Sheinberg, and Matt Feige through their Sheinberg Feige Organization (SFO Entertainment). Moonheart Entertainment CEO Moonli Singha will executive produce.
The new movie reteams Heller with the studio following 2024’s “Nightbitch,” starring Amy Adams and based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Yoder about a woman navigating becoming a stay-at-home mom who eventually embraces the feral power of motherhood. Likewise, Sher (“Pulp Fiction,” “Django Unchained,” “Erin Brokovich”) recently produced Amazon MGM’s “Verity,” starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, in theaters Oct. 2.
Shout! Factory continues to distribute the original FernGully film. The Amazon MGM Studios deal was negotiated by Verve Talent and Fischbach, Perlstein, Lieberman & Almond LLP. Heller and Defiant By Nature are represented by UTA, P.J. Shapiro and Erin Einstein of Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Koleand and 42West.
