Filmmaker Taika Waititi is enlisting some famous friends to help bring Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel James and the Giant Peach to life.
Waititi, whose films include Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit, is hosting a 10-part video series featuring celebrities reading Dahl’s beloved 1961 book. Stars slated to participate include Meryl Streep, Lupita Nyong’o, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Kumail Nanjiani, and Chris and Liam Hemsworth.
The series is a collaboration between Waititi and the Roald Dahl Story Company, the business that manages the rights to Dahl’s works. (Waititi is already set to write and direct two animated shows inspired by Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for Netflix.) The James and the Giant Peach videos will benefit Partners in Health, a Boston-based nonprofit that provides health care to vulnerable people. The charity was co-founded by Dahl’s daughter Ophelia.
“Being an adult child myself and having read James and the Giant Peach to my girls multiple times, I’m excited to be able to partner with my friends, the Dahl team and Partners In Health and retell this story to help those most in need right now,” Waititi said in a news release. “This wacky, wonderful tale is about resilience in children, triumph over adversity and dealing with a sense of isolation which couldn’t be more relevant today.”
Two episodes have already been posted on the Roald Dahl HQ channel. The first features the Hemsworth brothers and comedian Nick Kroll; the second boasts Streep and Benedict Cumberbatch. Future installments will be posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
