Checking In With Vin Diesel And His Animated Elephants

Mark — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 20:38:28 EDT

When last we encountered erstwhile action star Vin Diesel, whose most memorable on-screen clashes of the past two years have been with scene-stealing ducks, poop-laden diapers, and unconvincing hairpieces, it was following the deflating announcement that Diesel was scaling back his vision for an eleventy billion dollar epic based on the military exploits of Carthiginian strongman Hannibal to fit the constraints of BET's animation production budget. Since then, the still-promising project had completely fallen off our radar—that is, until today, when we received a press release touting an upcoming ComicCon panel on the network's burgeoning cartoon lineup, which will include a discussion of:

HANNIBAL A show produced by Vin Diesel: He was an African King that conquered the world. He's the greatest military strategist in the history of warfare and for the first time, we see his story, from his birth, to training to be a warrior and a king, to crossing the Alps with a herd of elephants and a multi-national army to fight back against Rome.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Diesel will either be on the panel or making the trip to ComicCon to promote the series. As disappointing as that is, it's probably for the best, as the actor/producer will be spared the indignity of having to sit in a Hannibal booth, explaining over and over again to fans how the project fell to BET after every film executive in Hollywood passed on the project, refusing to be impressed by the fact that he rode in to each meeting atop a rented circus elephant to demonstrate his commitment to the general's legacy.

Previously; Vin Diesel's Elephant Dreams Not Dead, Just Getting Smaller [Defamer]

Vin Diesel's Elephant Dreams Not Dead, Just Getting Smaller

Mark — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 15:06:46 EDT

Carthaginian history buff/marble-mouthed action star Vin Diesel, once briefly discouraged by a studio executive's refusal to commit the eleventy billion dollars necessary to realize his epic passion project based on the life of legendary mountain-crossing, Italian-besieging general Hannibal, refuses to abandon his crazy, elephant-chasing dreams. While a Hannibal feature film is still in development (primarily in the form of a stunningly detailed shoebox diorama in the obsessed actor's garage), today's THR reports that Diesel will bring a scaled-down realization of his vision to BET in a "groundbreaking" animated series. Hopefully, the TV project will ultimately satisfy Diesel's need to tell this story, saving him from yet another round of frustrating pitches in which shortsighted suits dismiss his plan to march two hundred animatronic elephants across the Alps in a sneak-attack against a real Italian village.

Diesel in deal for "Hannibal" cartoon at BET [THR/Reuters]
Previously: Vin Diesel Watching His Elephant Dreams Slip Away [Defamer]

Gawker: defamer, hannibal

Checking In With Vin Diesel And His Animated Elephants

Vin Diesel's Elephant Dreams Not Dead, Just Getting Smaller