For many people, P.T. Anderson is one of the few big name American directors who can still be called a true artist as he continues to write and direct all of his own movies with little regard for commercial potential. None of his movies have been particularly huge hits but his last two films definitely lost money, which may or may not explain why he is suddenly turning to a family-friendly adaptation of a popular fairy tale for his next project. Anderson will reportedly be teaming up with Robert Downey Jr. for a new take on Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio. The project is one of three competing Pinocchio movies currently in development in Hollywood. Hit the jump for more details.

According to THR, Warner Brothers have hired Paul Thomas Anderson to write a new draft of the script for their upcoming live-action Pinocchio film with “an eye toward” possibly directing it as well. Robert Downey Jr. is attached to play Geppetto and the most recent version of the script was written by Michael Mitnick (The Giver) although Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Hannibal) and Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) also wrote previous drafts. Tim Burton was previously in talks to direct but he eventually dropped out.

The project has been in development for a few years now but has become a high priority in the wake of the many other successful live-action fairy tales, particularly Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent and Cinderella. P.T. Anderson and Robert Downey Jr. are said to be good friends and had hoped to work together on Inherent Vice, but scheduling issues got in the way. Disney also has their own Pinocchio movie in development and Guillermo del Toro has been working on a stop-motion animated Pinocchio film for a few years now. Are you interested in seeing P.T. Anderson’s version of Pinocchio?