He’s Flying!

The kiddie classic about the boy who refuses to grow up is finally going to become a live-action feature. After near-missing with Hollywood for years with the likes of Steven Spielberg and Michael Jackson, “Peter Pan” will shoot in the spring for Weintraub Entertainment. Lasse Holstrom (“My Life as a Dog”) will direct.

Said David Kirkpatrick, pres of WEG’s motion-picture division, the film will shoot at Shepperton Studios outside London, where production offices are just being set up. Dodi Fayed (“Chariots of Fire”) will produce on a “moderate” budget.

Based on the James Barrie novel and scripted by Holstrom and Larry Ketron, “Peter Pan” will adhere to the traditional turn-of-the-century storyline, with Wendy and her brothers flying off with Peter to join the Lost Boys in Never-Never Land. But, said Kirkpatrick, “children will look at the film and see one thing, adults will see another. There will be a sophisticated point of view to this script--an adult look at a children’s tale.”

A search is on for a 12-year-old to play Peter.

As for Captain Hook, an Outtakes source snitched that WEG has a “short list” with three intriguing names. Our source put them this way: “First is Jack Nicholson--can you imagine what he’d do with a black eye patch and a hook arm? Next is Robert De Niro--who’d probably cut off his arm if he got the role. Next is Mel Gibson--who’d certainly bring something special to the role, but I’m not sure what, exactly.”

(We do . . . sex appeal!)