New live-action movie of Popeye is in production, release date to be determined

Variety magazine reported today (March 20) that a live-action adaptation of the classic animated work "Popeye" is in production, with Michael Calleo ("Sexy Beast," "The Sopranos") as the screenwriter and Chernin Entertainment and King Features as the producers.

This is not the first live-action film of Popeye, the first time Popeye appeared in a real persona was in 1980, played by the famous actor Robin Williams, directed by Robert Altman, and starring Shelly Duvall as Popeye's love interest Olive Orr. The film was initially panned, but later gained cult status and critical reappraisal, and Paramount Pictures released it on a budget of $20 million, grossing an estimated $60 million worldwide.