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Mandrake Conjures Director
Friday, April 27, 2007
by Scott Collura The long-gestating big-screen version of Mandrake has finally found a director. Chuck Russell (The Scorpion King, The Mask) has reportedly been tapped to direct the film adaptation of the Hearst comic strip character Mandrake the Magician created by Lee Falk. According to Variety, Russell has signed to helm the action-adventure movie for Baldwin Entertainment Group. Russell's other directing credits include Eraser, Bless the Child, the remake of The Blob and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Producers Howard and Karen Baldwin (Ray) have been developing a Mandrake movie since they ran Crusader Entertainment. The Baldwins sealed a three-year multipicture distribution pact in February with MGM, which The Hollywood Reporter said would include Mandrake. THR reported earlier this week that Omega Entertainment signed a two-year, first-look financing deal with BEG for a slate of films set to include Mandrake. The trade added that the film would be a contemporary take on the comic strip legend. As KingFeatures.com reminds us, "The dapper, mustached magician remains one of the most famous characters in the comic strip medium, his adventures appearing in newspapers worldwide. Mandrake uses his legendary powers of hypnotism and illusion to combat crime, and has worked his debonair magic to find a place in the hearts of comic strip fans everywhere." "Mandrake the Magician is also the first comic strip with a racially integrated cast of crime-fighters. Mandrake's partner in adventure is the gigantic Lothar, and the two of them have been fighting evildoers for decades! Mandrake is also aided by his girlfriend, the lovely and exotic Princess Narda." 
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