Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale of a young boy’s fight for survival in the jungle is brought to life in Director Jon Favreau’s new fantasy feature, The Jungle Book.
The Jungle Book retells the story of Mowgli (Neel Sethi), a young “mancub” raised by wolves in an Indian jungle. His carefree days of running with the pack are curtailed when the homicidal tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba) demands that Mowgli be turned over to him or he will decimate the clan. In order to avoid the deaths of his loved ones, Mowgli attempts to leave his home guided by his panther guardian Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) and his new friend, the jolly con artist bear Baloo (Bill Murray). But a treacherous act by Shere Khan makes Mowgli determined to face his tormentor, even though it could mean his end.
Following the DGA screening in Los Angeles on April 17 in a conversation moderated by Director Donald Petrie (Atlantic Gold), Favreau spoke about the multiplicity of challenges he had to overcome to bring this well-loved-story to the screen with a cast of photo-realistic CG characters in a 3D setting.
In addition to The Jungle Book, Favreau’s work includes the feature films Made, Elf, Zathura: A Space Adventure, Iron Man and Chef; the movies for television Smog, Bad Cop, Bad Cop and Life on Parole; and the pilots for the series In Case of Emergency, Revolution and About a Boy. Favreau, who also serves as the Fifth Vice President of the DGA, has been a member of the Guild since 1997.