Chris Wedge might still be best known for kick-starting the **Ice Age **franchise and has usually been found making animated movies. But now he’s got a deal at Fox,the writer/director and slapped down the cash to buy the rights to Kristen Bakis’ novel Lives of the Monster Dogs.
Unsurprisingly, the plot follows several soldier dogs who were genetically engineered by crazed Prussian scientists in a secret base in Canada. The pooches, who walk upright and can talk via voice boxes, end up destroying their Dr Frankenstein-like creators and head to New York, causing a sensation by dressing in period garb and, thanks to their novelty, attaining glamorous lives.
Sadly, they soon discover that the veneer of civilization painted over their true animal natures isn’t quite as solid as it could be, and as they revert to their canine natures for longer periods, the tale turns tragic.
Wedge’s production company WedgeWorks is developing the project and the director plans to make it his live action debut (albeit one heaving with effects to bring the dogs to life). The company has already hired Adam Kline to write the script, which has time to cook since Wedge is still busy making The Legend of the Leaf Men, based on a William Joyce novel.