On Friday Variety reported that screenwriter John August, the high-profile writer of Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, has been hired (for a substantial seven-figure fee) to write the screenplay for a big-budget feature version of Tarzan for Warner Brothers.  Oceans 11 producer Jerry Weintraub will produce along with Alan Riche, Tony Ludwig, and Dark Horse Entertainment's Mike Richardson (Dark Horse has published Tarzan comics).  August told Variety that the picture would be a big summer blockbuster, and would have no relation to the Warner Brothers Tarzan and Jane TV series debuting next fall (see 'Teen Tarzan Swinging To The WB').

The intent of the producers and Warner Brothers is to create a new live action 'franchise' featuring the classic characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912.  August told Variety that he was not a fan of previous movie Tarzans: 'The movie versions of Tarzan always portray him as a sort of jungle hippie.  Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan is a much different character.  He's more ferocious and wild, like Wolverine without the claws.  That's the version we want to use.' 

While it is no guarantee that the film will be made, the hiring of a high profile (and high priced) writer like August certainly indicates that Warner Brothers is serious about reviving Tarzan in a big way.