Disney's Live-Action Pinocchio Loses Director Sam Mendes

After it was first reported he was in negotiations to direct a live-action take on Pinocchio back in May, Academy Award winner Sam Mendes has departed the project. Pinocchio is another in a long line of classic Disney cartoons that the studio is adapting to live-action, following in the footsteps of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and The Jungle Book.The news comes from The Tracking Board, who reports that his exit is not connected with a possible return for the director to the James Bond fran