Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Eric Brevig has been set to direct Brendan Fraser in William Tell: 3D, the historical family action adventure that will be shot next spring in Romania. Brevig replaces Nick Hurran. Brevig previously directed Fraser in the 3D hit Journey to the Center of the Earth, and also helmed Yogi Bear. Brevig is more than capable of shooting the splitting of an apple in 3D; he graduated to director from the position of visual effects supervisor on such films as Total Recall, Pearl Harbor, Men in Black and The Day After Tomorrow. Producer Todd Moyer said that he sparked to the idea of reteaming Fraser and Brevig. “Family action adventure is exactly what Brendan and Eric do best,” he said. “Eric’s skills and experience will make this film compete with any studio film.” Because Hurran dropped out, the film is now eyeing a mid-March 2012 start in Castel Studios in Romania and on location in Switzerland. The budget is upped to $27 million and Chad and Evan Law are tweaking their script. The film will be sold in Toronto by Gary Hamilton’s Arclight Pictures. According to the producers, Tell is a revered historical figure in Europe. Hermann Gessler, the local potentate of the Hapsburg monarch, forces Tell to shoot the apple off his son’s head because he refused to bow before Gessler’s hat. Tell drills the apple cleanly and wins both his and his son’s freedom. When Gessler asked Tell why he had two arrows in his quiver, Tell informed him that the second was for Gessler, had Tell missed with the first arrow. His defiance ignited an uprising against the Austrian government that led to the formation of Switzerland.