HOOK's Dante Basco Is Kickstarting a Rufio Origin Film Called BANGARANG
Ru...fi...ooooooooooooo! Steven Spielberg's Peter Pan film Hook introduced us to a lively and wild group of Lost Boys led by a kid named Rufio. I haven't met anyone that grew up with this film in their lives that didn't like the mohawked leader.
The character was played by Dante Basco in the film, and he has such a passion for Rufio that he has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help raise money to make a Rufio origin film called Bangarang! Basco will executive produce the movie, and it will be written and directed by Jonah Feingold, who is also currently working on a new Peter Pan feature film project called Wendy, which will star Pitch Perfect actress Brittany Snow.
They offer up a synopsis for their film and also have a video that you can watch below in which they discuss their plans.
This is the story about Rufio, before the mohawk, before Neverland, before he was The Pan.
Roofus is a 13-year-old kid who is destined to be more than he is. After his mother is forced to put him into a foster home, he and his rag-tag group of best friends - a Jamaican boy named Julani and a bright-eyed latina force of nature named Ella - find a way for Roofus to escape his ill fate, find his happy thought and fulfill his destiny.
The story has been reverse engineered from what was set-up in Hook. We answer all the questions you've ever wondered -- How and why is Rufio the leader of the Lost Boys? Where does "bangarang" come from? And of course, how he gets the mohawk.
I'd actually love to see this get made. I have no doubt that all of the fans of Hook will come out to help back the project. They are looking raise $30,000 for a short film, and they're already more than half way to hitting their goal! If they get to $200,000, they'll make a feature length film.
This sounds like a fun story, and If you want to help it get made into a film, click here.