Raja Gosnell To Direct ‘Smurf’ Epic

Variety is reporting that Raja Gosnellwill direct Sony’s live-action/animated “Smurfs” which is slated for a Dec. 17, 2010 release.

“Smurfs” will be produced by Jordan Kerner (“Charlotte’s Web”). J. David Stem and David N. Weiss (“Shrek 2,” “Jimmy Neutron”) penned the script and Audrey Wells (“George of the Jungle”) is polishing; the logline’s being kept under wraps.

Stakes are pretty high for Sony on this one as the movie is their first hybrid film and was the first project to go into development since Hannah Minghella was named president of production. meanwhile, this won’t be the first hybrid film for Gosnell who recently scored a hit with “Beverly Hills Chihuahua.”

I’m just hoping that all the rumors are true. For a long time they’ve been talking about Smurfs in terms of a three-part epic with a similar feel to LOTR… That might just be crazy enough to work!