From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Peter Pan faithful to novel
November 27 2002

Australian director P J Hogan's $US100 million ($A177.81 million) Peter Pan will be the closest Hollywood has come to a faithful version of the children's classic, says British actor Jason Isaacs.

A tight lid has been kept on the movie, now being filmed on the Gold Coast.

But Isaacs, who will play the dual roles of Captain Hook and Mr Darling, revealed that shooting was going well with the new child stars.

"It's fantastic," said Isaacs.

"There's a lot of flying so that's complicated but what's great is to see are these kids who haven't acted before and have arrived from England raw, untutored and completely unskilled, and to watch them blossom has been wonderful."

There have been at least 15 versions of Peter Pan including movies, cartoons, musicals and television series. The most recent was Steven Spielberg's Hook, made in 1991.

P J Hogan, who was at the helm of the 1997 hit My Best Friend's Wedding and won international acclaim for Muriel's Wedding in 1994, will follow J M Barrie's story closer than ever before.

"We've got a 12-year-old girl, a 12-year-old boy and all the things that J M Barrie wanted," said Isaacs.

"I think it will surprise people because he wrote a story that stood the test of time and I think it is going to be a sensational film."

"You will see the first proper film of Peter Pan that's ever been made," he added.

Isaacs also stars as the villainous Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which opens on Thursday.

Peter Pan is scheduled for release around Christmas 2003.