Simon Farnaby's Magic Faraway Tree Solo Debut Hits Aug 21
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- Simon Farnaby has co-written movies including all three Paddington films and Wonka that have collectively earned more than $1 billion at the box office, per Variety
- Farnaby plays a character named Barry in all three Paddington films and The Magic Faraway Tree — he credits director Paul King with the name but says it was also inspired by his 'funny cousin Barry'
- Hugh Grant's BAFTA-nominated villain Phoenix Buchanan in Paddington 2 was Farnaby's creation — the character was originally written as 'Hugh Grant' in the first draft before being renamed 'because of the whole narcissism thing'
- Farnaby and Paul King spent time developing a Star Wars film for Disney that never materialized because, as King put it, 'they really need it to be a Star Wars movie' — the robot-centered concept is being reworked into a separate project
- Wonka earned $634 million for Warner Bros and the original Paddington earned $324 million globally in 2015, establishing the King-Farnaby partnership as a franchise engine
- The Magic Faraway Tree, based on Enid Blyton's book series, releases in the U.S. on Aug. 21 with a budget exceeding $30 million — the biggest feature Farnaby has penned solo
Why it matters: The Magic Faraway Tree is Farnaby's first major solo screenwriting credit outside his 25-year partnership with Paul King, and its $30M+ budget marks a bet by producers that the Blyton adaptation can match the Paddington/Wonka commercial track record without King directing. With Paddington earning $324M and Wonka $634M globally, the Aug. 21 U.S. release is the first test of whether Farnaby can anchor a family-franchise tentpole entirely on his own pen.
