Variety reports today a bit of news that I've known for months: TNT is developing a new, TV series version of THE SAINT. The producer is William J. McDonald and even though he was involved in the horrendous movie version with Val Kilmer a few years ago, I'm told by sources in-the-know that this project will be more loyal to the character immortalized in the novels by Leslie Charteris. Jorge Zamacona (HOMICIDE, WANTED) is writing the script.
Variety reports that The Weinstein Company has drafted mystery novelists Terrill Lee Lankford and Michael Connelly to script the feature film version of the TV series THE EQUALIZER, to be directed by Paul McGuigan.
Connelly acknowledged in a statement that "times have certainly changed since the days of the television show" but said he and his co-scribe "plan to build a character that is of these times but to also keep the heart and soul of the show intact."
It's highly unusual for studios to turn to novelists to adapt anything, especially something as tricky as turning a TV series into a feature film...so this is a big deal. Lee and Michael must have made a hell of a pitch and knowing them as I do, you can bet it's going to be a great script.
Meanwhile, ABC has greenlit production on MARLOWE, a pilot that's a "contemporary update" of Raymond Chandler's classic LA private eye. Greg Pruss and Carol Wolper are writing and producing (Anyone remember the last "update" of Marlowe starring Robert Mitchum...and set in London!?)
Variety reports that AMC will air six episodes of the UK's new TV version of the 60s cult classic THE PRISONER...which is not to be confused with the movie verison being done at Universal by director Christopher Nolan from a script by Janet & David Peoples. Universal has the film rights to the Patrick McGoohan series while Granada has the TV rights. The series, which will be written by Bill Gallagher, will begin production in the Spring and will debut here and in the UK in January 2008.
AMC execs were tightlipped regarding details of the updated version but said it will similarly involve themes of paranoia and deal with sociopolitical issues. What the new show won't be is an exact replica of the original.
"The show isn't just a re-creation," said Rob Sorcher, AMC exec veep of programming and production. "What we're doing is an entirely new reinterpretation that stays true to the components of the McGoohan (show)'s vision."
The new series will revolve around a man who awakes in the Village with no memory of how he arrived. Episodes will follow how he tries to make sense of his new environment, in which inhabitants are under constant surveillance, identified by number and sans any recollection of how they got to the island.
Way back in June 2005, it was announced that Ben Stiller and British comic Steve Coogan were teaming up for a feature film revival of the flop 70s TV series THE PERSUADERS. Apparently, that project has dissolved, because this week Variety reports that the project is now being developed by producer Ashok Amritraj and ANGER MANAGEMENT screenwriter David Dorfman. There was no mention of either Stiller or Coogan's involvement. If they are gone, it makes the reasoning behind mounting this TV revival a real head-scratcher.
THE PERSUADERS starred Roger Moore and Tony Curtis as two fun-loving playboys in Europe who were drafted by a retired judge to solve crimes. The series was produced in England and only lasted a season. But the reruns have a cult following in the UK and France which, apparently, Amritraj thinks is enough to prop up a "tent pole action comedy." But does anyone besides me and a handful of other TV geek still remember the show?
One of the exec producers of the reimagined BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is resurrecting another old series from the Universal vaults: THE BIONIC WOMAN, a spin-off from THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. Variety reports that David Eick has hired screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis to tackle his latest reimagining for NBC.
"It's a complete reconceptualization of the title," Eick told Daily Variety. "We're using the title as a starting point, and that's all."
"It's going to be a meaningful departure" from the original, he said, using words such as "nanotechnology" to hint at what's in store.
The Globe (the sleazy tabloid, not the Boston paper) reports that Marlo Thomas is returning as THAT GIRL in a sitcom pilot for ABC. In the revival, she plays a grandmother whose 20-year-old grand-daughter is a struggling actress in New York. This reminds me of the disasterous MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW movie (MARY & RHODA) that ABC did a few years back, which focused on the original sitcom stars' daughters and their laughless struggles. The tabloid also reports that all the actresses, from Farrah Fawcett to Tanya Roberts, whot starred in CHARLIES ANGELS are reuniting for an ABC TV movie.
Kim Masters at Slate Magazine looks at the troubled production of the MIAMI VICE movie.
on Miami Vice things went so wrong that Foxx ended up leaving in the middle of production, after a shooting (and we don't mean the kind with a camera) took place during filming in the Dominican Republic. Foxx refused to return for any more work outside the United States, meaning that Mann had to rewrite the ending, eliminating a version that was to have been shot in Paraguay.
"The whole of making this movie was filled with adversity," Mann says. But he adds that whatever the crew might have endured, it was all in the service of making a great film. "Sometimes folks are going to join this unit and they may have a tough time," he says. "Guess what? They're on the wrong movie."
The New York Times reports today that lots of fans are making their own STAR TREK movies and episodes -- which I hereby dub fan fliction-- and that Paramount has turned a blind corporate eye to it as long as no one tries to make a buck from their work.
Up to two dozen of these fan-made "Star Trek" projects are in various stages of completion, depending what you count as a full-fledged production. Dutch and Belgian fans are filming an episode; there is a Scottish production in the works at www.ussintrepid.org.uk.
There is a group in Los Angeles that has filmed more than 40 episodes, according to its Web site, www.hiddenfrontier.com, and has explored gay themes that the original series never imagined. Episodes by a group in Austin, Tex., at www.starshipexeter.com, feature a ship whose crew had the misfortune of being turned into salt in an episode of the original "Star Trek," but has now been repopulated by Texans.
"I think the networks — Paramount, CBS — I don't think they're giving the fans the 'Trek' they're looking for," said Mr. Sieber, a 40-year-old engineer for a government contractor who likens his "Star Trek" project, at www.starshipfarragut.com, to "online community theater."
"The fans are saying, look, if we can't get what we want on television, the technology is out there for us to do it ourselves," he added.
And viewers are responding. One series, at www.newvoyages.com, and based in Ticonderoga, N.Y., boasts of 30 million downloads. It has become so popular that Walter Koenig, the actor who played Chekov in the original "Star Trek," is guest starring in an episode, and George Takei, who played Sulu, is slated to shoot another one later this year. D. C. Fontana, a writer from the original "Star Trek" series, has written a script.
I've seen "Star Trek: The New Voyages" and, as I posted here in December, I was very impressed:
The acting and writing are cringe-inducing but everything else is amazing. I can't believe what these imaginative and extremely talented film-makers were able to accomplish on a shoe-string budget (though it helps to have the FX pros from STAR TREK ENTERPRISE over-seeing the effects).
[...]Watching the first two episodes of NEW VOYAGES makes you realize what ENTERPRISE should have been: a return to the STAR TREK we all fell in love with. Note to Paramount: It's not too late.
Variety reports that Eminem is planning to star in a big-screen, "contemporary" version of the classic western HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL, which starred Richard Boone as Paladin, a roaming gunfighter-for-hire.
Concept will be updated to contemporary times and see Eminem playing a bounty hunter. Setting could be Eminem's hometown of Detroit, but those details have yet to be worked out.
[Eminem's manager Paul] Rosenberg told Daily Variety that the vehicle will be revamped from the original, with some characters based loosely on ones from the series as well as nods to certain story points.
Oh. My. God. This might be even worse than Rutger Hauer's "contemporary" version of WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE. I can't wait to see the Dixie Chicks in a "contemporary" version of BONANZA.
Variety reports that Warner Brothers is mounting a big screen version of the TV series KUNG FU. This is not the first time the studio has tried to wring more money from the cult hit...they did a KUNG FU returns reunion movie with David Carradine, a busted pilot with Brandon Lee (KUNG FU: THE NEXT GENERATION), and a made-in-Canada syndicated series with Carradine and Chris Potter (KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES). What makes this development noteworthy, however, is that they haven't signed either Owen Wilson or Ben Stiller or Colin Farrell to star in it yet.
The long gestating remake of the cult TV series THE PRISONER is on the fast-track for the UK's Sky One. Zap2it reports that Christopher Eccleston, who starred in the first season of the revived DR. WHO series, is now taking on the role of Number Six, originally portrayed by Patrick McGoohan:
The new series, slated to run for six episodes, would likely premiere sometime next year, 40 years after the original debuted on ITV. Rumors of a new series have been percolating for some time, but Sky One didn't greenlight the project until this week. Bill Gallagher, writer of the BAFTA Award-nominated series "Conviction" (no relation to the NBC show) and "Clocking Off," will pen the scripts for the new "Prisoner."
Today I came across two opposing views on the "re-imagining" of pop culture properties. First, my friend Javi says live with it -- recasting is an inevitable part of an industry that recycles everything:
In a culture where everything is re-made and re-hashed over and over again, i can understand why people would get so mad about daniel craig becoming the new james bond, or brandon routh the new superman or david tennant the new doctor who (any hartnell loyalists out there? c’mon - express yourselves!). People crave stability in their heroes and the values they embody - and re-hashing and re-casting takes that way. I get it. I can even understand the good-natured argument between friends about how the only man ever to really capture the spirit of superman was kirk alyn, and the occasional shocking revelation that someone who’s opinion you respect actually thinks that george lazenby’s work in “on her majesty’s secret service” has been shockingly under-appreciated...
...what i don’t understand is the all-pervasive vitriol - why put up web pages full of heated invective about craig’s perceived shortcomings? why the long angry treatises about how “the character is named ‘starbuck’ - not ‘stardoe!’” why all the keening wails over how some callous money grubbing producer “ruined my childhood?” why the nasty public outcry over michael keaton putting on the mask and cowl? why all the death threats about how michael shanks was no james spader? oh wait - there weren't any, moving on.
...but the fact is we live in a society where everything is re-made, re-hashed and re-packaged endlessly - which means your idols can be frozen in time indefinitely. no need to put up a protest site, i can just curl up in a sofa and watch my dvd of “octopussy...”
John Kenneth Muir doesn't agree. Despite all the accolades that the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has been getting (including a Peabody Award), he thinks they should call it something else.
To reiterate my stance on Galactica: It's well-written and I can enjoy an episode any time in much the same way I enjoy the tense 24. However, my problem begins and ends with the fact that it's called Battlestar Galactica. The original series has been used as a "brand name" by Ron Moore to do something totally new, something unfaithful, something he wanted to do. That's fine, and some people obviously like what he's done very much. But it shouldn't be called Battlestar Galactica
Will Smith is out to unseat Owen Wilson (I SPY, STARSKY & HUTCH) and Colin Farrell (SWAT, MIAMI VICE) as the go-to guy for theatrical remake of TV shows. After ruining THE WILD WILD WEST, Smith is tackling IT TAKES A THIEF, which starred Robert Wagner as a convicted thief who is forced into becoming a spy for the government. Variety reports:
Smith and his Overbrook Entertainment partner James Lassiter have come aboard to produce the film with Kevin Misher, John Davis and Joe Singer. "Four Brothers" scribes David Elliot and Paul Lovett are set to write the script.
Davis and Singer set up the project at Universal nearly a decade ago, when it was envisioned as a potential starring vehicle for Michael Douglas. Studio has had Smith in its sights for several years, but the project just recently gained forward motion with a fresh take and new writers.
First Owen Wilson was in STARSKY AND HUTCH. Then I SPY. Or was it the other
way around? Doesn't matter. Now his brother Luke Wilson has lined up TV redo of his own. Variety reports Luke is up to play Bobby Ewing in the DALLAS movie. Offers have gone out to John Travolta to play J.R., Jennifer Lopez to play his wife Sue Ellen, and Shirley MacLaine to be Miss Ellie. Meanwhile, Ice Cube is remaking WELCOME BACK KOTTER for the big screen with himself in the title role that was originally played by Gabe Kaplan. Really. I'm not making this stuff up.
Now Playing Magazine interviewed GALACTICA executive producer Ron Moore about what he has in mind for season three...
“The end of the season is quite a shake-up,” acknowledges Moore. “The Cylons show up and all hell breaks loose. Essentially, season three is going to deal with the Cylon occupation of the Colonials on New Caprica. The sort of archetype that we’re talking about is like Vichy France: There’s a Colonial government run by President Baltar that is collaborating with the Cylons, while the humans put together an insurgent resistance against the occupation. It’s a pretty big twist.”
“Adama and the Galactica and Pegasus are gone, and they’re sort of trying to get their act together to figure out a way to come back and rescue [the Colonials],” continues Moore. “And season three will start off in that world of the Cylon occupation.”
None of which is to say that Battlestar Galactica should be renamed Occupation New Caprica. No, never fear, for Adama, Roslin, and the rest of the gang will eventually resume their search for Earth. But the Cylons will continue to get plenty of screen time as well.
Whether or not you agree with the creative choices they make on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, you have to admit they aren't afraid to take some real chances. The episode two weeks ago that took place on Caprica, from the POV of the Cylons, was terrific and the last twenty minutes of the season finale tonight completely turned the series inside-out, potentially transforming it into an entirely different TV series than it was before. In a sense, executive producer Ron Moore has reimagined BATTLESTAR GALACTICA anew for a second time. I don't know whether the choices he's made will be the death knell of the series or another new beginning, but I admire him for taking the risk. I wonder if I would be as brave (or foolhardy?) if I was in his position.
On last week’s episode of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, we learned
that one of the heroes has been seeing a hooker and paying for sex. In and of
itself, it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. We’ve seen characters to do
this on TV before…but can you imagine one of the noble heroes of the last four STAR TREK series or the two
STARGATE shows paying for blowjobs, much less admitting they need, want, and
have sex? I just love the way BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is taking a sledgehammer to
the boring cliches, stale formulas and
cardboard heroes that have hobbled TV scifi series for decades.
To be fair, FARSCAPE started the cliché-breaking trend in TV
scifi, but then fell into a blackhole of hopelessly maudlin melodrama and
needlessly confusing story-arcs that
sucked the fun out of the show and actively discouraged new viewers (for a
while, there were two versions of the lead character on two different ships…as
well as two versions of the main villain, one of whom only existed in the mind
of one version of the hero). FARSCAPE became so self-involved and groaningly
angst-ridden that even regular viewers like myself needed healthy doses of
No-Doze and Advil to make it through an episode.
BATTLESTAR manages to sustain involving story arcs, and be
gritty and dark, without losing the exhiliration and the pure fun. And, unlike
FARSCAPE, the show can deal with weighty issues and human drama without taking
itself so damn seriously.
I think BATTLESTAR may be my favorite show on the air right now (at least until DEADWOOD and THE SOPRANOS return).
By the way...how anyone could watch the new BATTLESTAR and still pine for the crappy, corny, campy show from the late 70s is beyond me. This is one case where the remake is far, far, far better than the original in every conceivable way.
The previews for MISSION IMPOSSIBLE III and MIAMI VICE movies are now up on the net -- at least MI-3 has the good sense to use the iconic theme from the TV show. What was Universal thinking?
The movie version of CHiPS is speeding along. Variety reports that Wilmer Valderrama has been cast as Ponch, the role immortalized by Erik Estrada, the Brando of the 80s. So far, no one has been cast as Baker, the role played by Larry Wilcox. Paul Kaplan and Mark Torgove are writing the script, which the studio says will be closer to the STARSKY AND HUTCH spoof than TRAFFIC.
As I first reported back in April, a movie version of THE EQUALIZER is in the works. The latest newsiin Variety is that producer Mace Neufeld has talked The Weinstein Company into picking up the rights and footing the bill for developing the feature.
"The Equalizer was one of my favorite TV series of hte 1980s, because the writing was always smart and very unpredictable," said Harvey Weinstein.
No director, screenwriter or cast have been attached yet -- but wouldn't it be great if Tarantino took a crack at it?
Variety reports that Paramount is launching a big-screen version of the cheesy 70s reality show "Battle of the Network Stars."
Etan Cohen is writing the script, and Jimmy Miller will produce through Mosaic. Barry Frank, who created the show in 1978, will be exec producer.
Pic will revolve around a disgraced network exec who must claw his way back to respectability by winning the contest. Concept was hatched by Cohen.
Original show bowed in the late '70s, with teams of series stars from ABC, NBC and CBS squaring off against one another in athletic events. Howard Cosell presided over the proceedings as soberly as if he were hosting the Olympics.
My friend Javi, the supervising producer of LOST with the impossible-to-spell-right last name, has some interesting thoughts why the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is so damn good.
According to DVD Exclusive Magazine, upcoming TV shows being released on DVD this month include:
ADAM-12: The Complete First Season (we know how much America has been clamoring for that!)
McCLOUD: Seasons One and Two (The McCloud convention-goers will be thrilled)
PROFIT:The Complete Series
UNDECLARED: The Complete Series
BLISS: The Complete First Season Uncut
HOUSE MD: The Complete First Season
THE MIND OF THE MARRIED MAN: The Complete First Season (I couldn't finish the complete first episode)
ROSEANNE: The Complete First Season
LOST: The Complete First Season
I love the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Even with a cheesy story-line like tonight's "body farm" plot, it is redeemed by its total dedication to subverting your expectations...and your sympathies. The Cylons aren't just robots. They might just be more human than, well, the humans. ..and the most terrifying thing about the Cylons is that the humans are realizing that, too. Great stuff. On a side note of true geekiness, I love that fact that the characters on this show sweat, get dirty and bleed, and that their wounds are carried over from episode-to-episode (and on a side-side note...it sure was gutsy to shoot the "star" of your show and keep him unconscious in a hospital bed for six episodes. Makes me wonder if Edward James Olmos was doing a movie or something at the same time...or if showrunner Ron Moore just likes taking big risks).
Who knew there was such a great series to be found in the bones of Glen Larson's original idea? Makes you wonder what someone could do with Irwin Allen's LOST IN SPACE or some other cornball scifi shows from the past.
But hey, this series pales in comparison to the original BATTLESTAR GALACTICA...yeah, the one with the robot dog...just ask the Colonial Fan Force who are still, inexplicably, pining for a continuation with the geriatric cast.
UPDATE: I'm not the only geeky Goldberg who is addicted to the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.
My wife always wants to see something "light" on our date night. So she dragged me to both THE HONEYMOONERS and BEWITCHED. After enduring these two inane, laughless "reimaginings" of TV classics, I think both films should be formally classified as crimes against humanity and the film-makers brought in chains to The Hague. I also think Congress should pass a law making it a crime, from this point forward, to remake a TV series as a feature film ( a law which should have been enacted after the feature versions of THE AVENGERS or SGT. BILKO). It's too late, I'm afraid, to save us from DUKES OF HAZZARD.
Lately, there's been a lot of head-scratching in the trades about why boxoffice revenues are taking a steep dive. There's a simple answer. Because movies these days suck. I don't just mean these TV revivals, but movies in general. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a good Hollywood movie and, sicko that I am, I see just about everything (Yeah, I saw STAR WARS...and found myself rooting for the bad guys and wondering when George Lucas lost his writing talent. And yeah, I saw BATMAN BEGINS, and I couldn't wait for BATMAN ENDS. It was boring and cliche-ridden).
Overall, there's much better stuff on TV these days than there are in the theatres... so why would anybody want to pay a babysitter, endure the traffic, pay exorbinant ticket prices, get gouged for popcorn and soda (it's cheaper to eat at Ruth's Chris than my local Regal Cinema) put up with a noisy crowd and sit on sticky seats?
And the studios wonder why people are staying home?
(PS - I just thought of the last good movie I saw: it was either MILLION DOLLAR BABY or THE INCREDIBLES. How long ago was that??)
Walker is back. Chuck Norris is returning to Dallas next month 
to shoot "Walker Texas Ranger: Ring of Fire," a two-hour movie for CBS that producer/director Aaron Norris hopes will relaunch the franchise, which was cancelled in 2001. Norris tells Variety:
"Reunions are more about one-offs," he said. "I would like to do more of these."
To that end, action in "Ring of Fire" will pretty much pick up "as if we've been doing the show the whole time," with Walker simply doing what he's always done: collar criminals and kick bad-guy butt (and not necessarily in the that order).
Plot of "Ring of Fire" has Walker investigating whether one of his Ranger buddies is a serial killer -- or just being framed. He'll also try to track down a teen on the run from a crime syndicate.
The big question is, will Chuck still sing the theme song?
Following on the heels of SCOOBY-DOO, Variety reports that Disney is developing a live-action version of the TV cartoon UNDERDOG.
"Anything where you have a dog in that superhero context, that's appealing on a global basis," producer Gary Barber said. "Those films do very well, and there's no better brand than Disney for this kind of movie."
...The tongue-in-cheek "Underdog" skein, created by Buck Biggers and Chet Stover, made its debut in 1964 on NBC and ran until 1973. The character was an unlikely superhero: a beagle who sheds his milquetoast identity of Shoeshine Boy to become a caped superdog who speaks in rhymed couplets. Wally Cox provided his voice.
In the feature script, by Joe Piscatella and Craig A. Williams, a diminutive hound named Shoeshine gets superpowers after a lab accident. When he's adopted by a 12-year-old boy, the two form a bond around the shared knowledge that Shoeshine is really Underdog.
Variety reports that Ben Stiller and British comic Steve Coogan are teaming up for a Dreamworks feature film version of the 1971 UK-produced TV series THE PERSUADERS, the one-season bomb that starred Roger Moore and Tony Curtis as ner-do-well playboys drafted by a retired judge to work as detectives in Europe. The series began as a spin-off episode of Moore's THE SAINT, with Stuart Damon in the role that eventually went to Tony Curtis. Despite the immediate failure of THE PERSUADERS here, the John Barry instrumental theme is still a beloved hit in France to this day (where it is known as AMICALEMENT VOTRE) and the show remains unaccountably popular overseas. (Trivia tidbit: Roger Moore also designed the wardrobe on the show. He went from THE PERSUADERS straight into James Bond)
ABC has announced their fall schedule and one of the shows they picked up is Frank Spotnitz's new version of THE NIGHT STALKER. The original starred Darren McGavin as a down-on-his-luck wire service reporter who inevitably stumbled on stories involving the supernatural. It was a very funny series with its share of scares. Think ROCKFORD FILES with ghosts. But Spotnitz is seemingly going in a much, much darker direction...at least according to this report from TVTracker.
Network: ABC
Genre: Drama
Title: NIGHT STALKER
Studio: Touchstone Television
Commitment: Series Pick Up (13 Episodes)
Auspices: Frank Spotnitz (EP, W-Pilot), Daniel Sackheim (D-Pilot, EP N/W)
Cast: Eric Jungmann, Cotter Smith, Stuart Townsend, Gabrielle Union
Logline: There are things in the dark, things adults deny but children are right to fear… When a pregnant woman is snatched from her home, the shocked citizens of L.A. believe it's an act of domestic violence. But crime reporter Carl Kolchak suspects that the truth is far more complicated. That's because 18 months ago, Kolchak's wife was killed in a bizarre fashion and he has been the FBI's #1 suspect ever since. Kolchak's determination to find out the truth behind his wife's mysterious murder has led him to investigate other crimes that seem to have some kind of supernatural component. But he's trying to piece together a puzzle that keeps changing its shape. Who or what is committing these crimes? How are they all related? And why do some victims end up with a strange red mark on their hands in the shape of a snake? With sidekick Perri Reed, a sexy if skeptical fellow reporter in tow, Kolchak will go to any lengths to answer these questions. But when he does discover the truth – will anyone believe him?
This, by the way, is one of two new series on ABC (the other is John Wells THE EVIDENCE) involving heroes haunted by the unsolved murders of their wives. This is a popular theme on series television these days (MONK is another example that comes to mind).
The networks announce their fall schedules in a week or two and, usually, around this time tapes of the various pilots under consideration start floating around town. But this season, that has changed. Variety reports that studios are cracking down on the practice. The studios are getting so tight with tapes, even the producers of the pilots have a hard time getting screeners of their own shows.
"It's unlike anything I've ever seen," said one insider at a major tenpercentery. "You hear rumors of execs telling assistants they could go to jail if they leak something out."
Another said he can't even get his hands on his own network's tapes, at least prior to the pilot's official screening. Studios and nets always make noises about not wanting tapes to be traded with other studios or nets. So why are the rules actually being enforced this year?
Some trace it back to a dictate from top brass at 20th Century Fox TV, who laid down the law last month when early copies of a couple of the studio's pilots started floating around town -- even before the networks where the shows are set up had had a chance to formally screen them. Others speculate that Leslie Moonves' control of Paramount Television has further restricted the free flow of tapes. Moonves insists on a strict cone of silence surrounding the development process at his units.
As frustrating as the crackdown has been for some, one studio exec said it's necessary in a world where "there's a tremendous incentive for agents to try to create a bad buzz" about projects with which they're not associated.
"When you have people who've seen tapes calling network execs and saying, 'Do you really like that?,' it starts to have an impact on your project," the exec said.
One agent admitted he's guilty of spreading bad buzz. "Everyone talks shit about everyone's pilot," he said.
I wonder if the crackdown will be as strongly enforced after the schedules are announced. Usually, tapes of busted pilots start floating around town during the summer and you get a chance to see what didn't make the schedule and why.
Last season, I was eager to get my hands on the Lost in Space pilot directed by John Woo and had a hell of a time tracking down a tape through my usual sources (When you've written a book on unsold pilots, and filmed two TV specials about'em, you have lots of sources). But once I did get the tape and put it in the VCR I could see why WB wanted to bury it. It was horrendous, misguided, and stupid. (I'm still trying to get a copy of The Time Tunnel revival pilot).
Many years ago, I really wanted to see the Stephen J. Cannell-produced Hawaii Five-O pilot starring Gary Busey and Russell Wong. But it was done for CBS, and Moonves is notorious about keeping his busted pilot under lock-and-key. It took me a year or so, but I finally scored a tape from someone who made me promise not to tell anyone where I got it for fear that Moonves would crush him. It wasn't so bad...but it wasn't so good, either.
It's about time STAR TREK was cancelled, or so says bestselling science fiction author Orson Scott Card in the Los Angeles Times. He was no fan of the original series, either.
The original "Star Trek," created by Gene Roddenberry, was, with a few exceptions, bad in every way that a science fiction television show could be bad.
Yikes, is he in for it from "The Fen. " And he takes a shot at them, too.
And then the madness really got underway. They started making costumes and wearing pointy ears. They wrote messages in Klingon, they wrote their own stories about the characters, filling in what was left out — including, in one truly specialized subgenre, the "Kirk-Spock" stories in which their relationship was not as platonic and emotionless as the TV show depicted it.
He's certainly one author who isn't afraid to express a controversial opinion that could, uh, alienate his readers.
Bob Sassone reports over at TV Squad that Rykodisc is releasing the four, made-on-the-cheap-in-Canada SPENSER reunion movies on DVD. Those crappy, flatly-directed, and exceedingly dull MOWs shouldn't be mistaken for the underappreciated SPENSER FOR HIRE series (and I'm not just saying that because I wrote for it).
Robert Urich and Avery Brooks were the perfect Spenser and Hawk, the scripts were literate and intelligent, and the on location filming in Boston added a lot of atmosphere and color. But then the show was cancelled, and they decided to make these rather so-so movies, and they don't include Barbara Stock as Susan Silverman (sorry again: Wendy Crewson and Barbara Williams just aren't the same). The good news? They aren't the lame Joe Mantegna Spenser flicks that A&E produced later, and it's great to see Urich and Avery together again. The bad news? It's not the TV series.
I hope the TV series comes out on DVD soon and not just because I'd like pristine copies of my episodes. It was a very good PI series and seems to have dropped out of syndication a few years ago.
Unlike Bob Sassone, I actually liked Joe Mantegna as Spenser a lot (and I love his readings of the Parker novels on CD) ...but he was teamed with lousy actors as Hawk and, once again, the movies were shot on the cheap in Toronto with bland Canadian actors. The scripts weren't so hot, either. I think if they'd cast Mantegna and Avery Brooks, and shot the movies in Boston, and hired better writers (like Bill Rabkin & me!), the movies might have worked...
Tom Selleck, who did a bang-up job playing Parker's Jesse Stone on TV recently, would make a good Spenser. So would Robert Forster who, incidentally, does a great job reading the Jesse Stone novels on CD.
Variety reports that Will Ferrell will star in a feature film adaptation of the live-action children's series LAND OF THE LOST, about a father and his kids who take a rafting trip and end up going back in time to when dinosaurs walked the earth. The movie will ditch the kids and is being directed by Adam McKay, who also helmed Ferrell's ANCHORMAN. This will be Ferrell's third big-screen, TV series remake -- he's also appeared in STARSKY & HUTCH and the upcoming BEWITCHED. How long before he signs up to star in MR. ED and SHAZAM?
Bob Sassone at TVSquad reports that THE EQUALIZER is the latest TV series up for a big-screen redo. I always felt THE EQUALIZER, about an ex-spy-turned-vigilante, was an under-appreciated series (with a great theme by Stewart Copeland). It was shot on location in NY and, as I recall, was very well written and produced (by James McAdams and Matthew Rapf, fresh off of KOJAK). When star Edward Woodward was sidelined by a heart-attack, Robert Mitchum stepped in for a few episodes to take his place. Mitchum was so good, I was almost sorry when Woodward came back.
Zap2it reports that the SciFi Channel is developing a TV series remake of producer Irwin Allen's TIME TUNNEL... a one-season wonder on ABC decades ago (Fox shot a revival pilot in 2002 but never aired it). Then again, SciFi has had great success reviving another, decades old, one-season wonder on ABC: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.
Since I'm wallowing in my TV geekness today (see my earlier post on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), here's a heads-up on another TV revival to watch for...
The Western Channel is running GUNSMOKE: ONE MAN'S JUSTICE this week... the final GUNSMOKE revival/sequel movie and, to date, James Arness' final performance. It's the only one of the five GUNSMOKE movies that's unavailable on video or DVD and the only one I haven't seen. I'm eagerly looking forward to it... with both Tivos primed to record it (in case there are any screw ups). The previous GUNSMOKE movies are all terrific and the first three are available seperately, or together in a combo pack, on DVD.
(UPDATE 4-8-05: I justed watched ONE MAN'S JUSTICE and it sucked. On the other hand, RETURN TO DODGE, LAST APACHE, TO THE LAST MAN, and THE LONG RIDE are good stuff. THE LONG RIDE is also unavailable on DVD) 
And speaking of GUNSMOKE, Joseph West's latest tie-in novel will be available later this month.
The season finale of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was terrific... hands down the best science fiction show on TV in decades...and easily one of the best dramas of any genre on TV this season. It certainly packs more punch per hour than THE WEST WING or LAW AND ORDER have in years. Watching the show makes me feel like a kid again...it's one of the few programs I look forward to with fannish glee. It's also one of the few shows on TV today that's pure entertainment.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA may also be the first TV remake, on TV or the big screen, that's far superior to the series that inspired it. I wasn't wowed by the initial miniseries, or the first episode or two, but the series got better and better with each episode, ending in a season finale that was exciting, surprising, funny, dramatic and a heck of a lot of fun to watch.
I can't wait for the new episodes in July...
(PS - How can anybody be clamoring for a loyal remake of the original series after watching this show??)
The time has come...the true story behind the making of DIFF'RENT STROKES can finally be told. Variety reports that the stirring drama will unfold as a TV movie that will air as part of NBC's acclaimed "Behind the Camera" series, which some have already compared to the legendary PLAYHOUSE 90.
Stan Brooks, who produced the "Three's Company" and upcoming "Mork and Mindy" editions of the "Behind the Camera" franchise, said "Strokes" promises to be the most dramatic pic of the series "by far." Other pics, he said, deal with careers falling apart. "With this one, what's at stake was people's lives," Brooks said.
"The thesis of this movie is, Where were the parents in all this? The studios, the networks, the managers -- all the people benefiting from the success of this show never looked at the effect it was having (on the young cast). They stole their childhood."
This is truly a star-making, tiffany project. I think I can safely say the actor lucky enough to portray Conrad Bain will be on the short-list for an Emmy statuette next year. This is actually the second attempt to film this epic story. A few years ago, Fox broadcast AFTER DIFF'RENT STROKES: WHEN THE LAUGHTER STOPPED.
Personally, I'm waiting for somebody to film the shocking true story behind HELLO, LARRY
I thought Friday night's episode of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was great fun...the best yet. The show gets better every week and is evolving, after a rocky start, into an entertaining cross between LOST IN SPACE and the original STAR TREK.
Like LOST IN SPACE, the heroes are wandering through the cosmos without a home and no idea where they're going. Dr. Baltar has become an insane, less-cartoony, version of Dr. Zachary Smith...injecting some much needed humor (and, in a strange way, humanity) into the show. The robot from the Jupitor II has been updated into the sexy, imaginary Cylon woman who exists only in Dr. Balter's head...or is she more than that?
Like the original STAR TREK, there's no preaching, no grand space opera, just action, adventure, fun and sex. That's right, sex. This week, we actually saw two characters writhing around and, get this, having orgasms (though one of the characters is a Cylon who's spine glows when she's climaxing, but let's not get into that). Capt Kirk used to get laid every episode...but in the recent incarnations of STAR TREK, the pompous, aren't-we-so-noble-you-could-vomit crewmembers have either been celibate... or dealt with sex like uptight teenagers (when the producers weren't engaged in cringe-worthy leering... like those ridiculous spongebath scenes in early seasons of ENTERPRISE..or the skin-tight uniform that hugged Seven of Nine's enormous Borg Breasts on VOYAGER). After watching STAR TREK for the last 15 years, I was beginning to think "Abstinance" was the new Prime Directive.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is such a refreshing change from the stilted, self-important, sanitized scifi we've been getting over the last few years. Each episode reinforces just how calcified the STAR TREK franchise has become. It's no coincidence UPN finally mercy-killed ENTERPRISE the same season that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is injecting new life into the genre. It's as if showrunner Ron Moore, an ST:NG vet, is intentionally rebelling against all the sanitizing, drama-smothering restrictions and formulas he had to endure while writing for TREK. How anybody could endure ENTERPRISE after watching BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is beyond me.
To be far, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA isn't the first post-STAR TREK show to re-energize the genre. FARSCAPE managed to muddy space up a bit it's first season...but then wallowed in melodrama and overly complicated serial storylines, taking all the fun (and almost all of the humor) out of the show, alienating new viewers and some of the old ones, too.
If the writers of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA continue having this much fun with the stories and the characters, the series has the potential to be the next great scifi franchise... and attract more and more new viewers every week.
(This is one time where the revival is infinitely better than the original series that inspired it)
The new SciFi Channel revival of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA won rave reviews today from the Los Angeles Times and Brian Lowry at Variety.
Those who don't frequent Internet chat rooms have missed much of the off-screen drama surrounding "Galactica's" voyage, with plenty of overheated bleating from fans of the original that has gone a long way toward giving sci-fi nerds a bad name. Fortunately, producers of the new show have mostly tuned out the static and stuck to their guns, crafting a very adult series whose principle shortcoming is being almost unrelentingly grim -- though not inappropriately so, given the subject matter.
Lowry says the producers aren't entirely tuning out the whining from the fans of the original series.
The producers have thrown a bone to die-hard fans by casting Richard Hatch -- Apollo in the earlier version, who has spent years lobbying to revive the franchise -- in the third episode. Hatch plays a political prisoner who leads a rebellion against the fleet, which is doubtless a small inside joke.
I'm sure the producers are expecting calls from Herbert Jefferson, Laurette Spang and all the other Galactica has-beens in the morning.
Nowadays it isnt enough to resurrect old TV shows for revivals (new movies continuing the stories of the characters from the show), reunion specials (actors reminiscing over clips from the old show) and feature film remakes (like STARSKY AND HUTCH, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, CHARLIE'S ANGELS, etc.). Clever network executives have figured out a new way to exploit old hits...
Now they are making TV movies about the making of old TV shows.
There have been TV movies about the making of BATMAN, THE BRADY BUNCH, CHARLIE'S ANGELS, THREE'S COMPANY and now ABC is about to air DYNASTY: BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF A GUILTY PLEASURE.
The movies-about-TV shows try to make the routine power plays, artistic differences, and personality clashes play out like high drama (or low comedy, depending on your POV) instead of what it really is -- insanely stupid squabbling over nothing. What's even more amazing is that people actually tune in to watch the stuff.
If this swill keeps scoring in the ratings, can TV movies about the making of MASH, ALL IN THE FAMILY, STAR TREK, and KNIGHTRIDER be far behind?
To me, movies about the production of classic TV shows is a new low point for television, though not quite as offensive and jaw-droppingly low brow as reality shows like TEMPTATION ISLAND, WIFE SWAP, FEAR FACTOR, and EXTREME MAKE-OVER. But I suppose the television industry's endless fascination with itself shouldn't be a surprise... Showtime just announced it was making a movie out of the battle between Michael Eisner and Mike Ovitz at Disney.
Variety Reports that Warner Brothers is exhuming yet another classic TV series for the big screen... they are mounting a feature film version of THE MAN FROM UNCLE.
The interesting twist here is that the movie is going to be directed by Matthew Vaughn who, for most of his life, believed he was the biol0gical son of UNCLE star Robert Vaughn. It turns out that he wasn't (but is actually the biological son of some minor British aristocrat).
Matthew Vaughn is the long-time producing partner of Guy Ritchie and made his directorial debut with LAYER CAKE, a crime thriller that will be released this spring.
At one time, Quentin Tarantino was rumored to be interested in an UNCLE feature...
The studios must each have an exec who does nothing but troll through old TV guides, looking for series to resurrect. Variety Reports that Dreamworks -- that's Steven Spielberg and company -- are fast-tracking a feature film version of BAYWATCH, a show I worked on (though I don't usually admit it publicly).
The rights package was brought to the marketplace by CAA late last week, and before other studios could get a toe in the water, DreamWorks took the plunge with a guarantee of $1.25 million that had the lawyers finalizing a deal over the weekend.
DreamWorks' John Fox and production president Adam Goodman spearheaded the bid; Fox will supervise the pic.
It is unclear whether any of the series regulars will be involved. The stars included Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra and Yasmine Bleeth. Bolstering them was a batch of buff hunks led by David Hasselhoff, who starred in the series from 1989-2000 and became exec producer after the series became a global sensation. He is not at this point part of the film package.
The deal calls for "Baywatch" creators Michael Berk, Doug Schwartz and Greg Bonann to produce the pic, while Michelle Berk will be exec producer and Eli Roth will co-produce.
Can THREE'S COMPANY: THE MOVIE be far behind?
While movie stars are flocking to primetime...
...primetime shows are flooding the theatres. Variety Reports that the 70s sitcom GOOD TIMES is heading to a multiplex near you.
Management-production company Creative Production Group has secured featurefeature rights to "Good Times," the 1970s Norman Lear sitcom that captured the life of an African-American family living in a Chicago housing project. The rights were secured by CPG's Rodney Omanoff and Graham Kaye, both of whom will produce.
With the film "Speedway Junky""Speedway Junky" atop its resume, CPG didn't have a track record comparable to those of the other suitors who tried to win the rights over the past decade, from Wesley Snipes to Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Earvin "Magic" Johnson and the Wayans clan.
But Omanoff did have one advantage: He ran a collection agency, which enabled him to track down series co-creator Mike Evans. Best remembered for playing Lionel on "The Jeffersons," Evans long ago retired to live in the California desert. While series co-creator Eric Monte put together several possible deals, Evans objected to being an afterthought and declined to sign off on them. Omanoff was the first suitor to visit him, and Evans was persuaded to make the deal.
Also on tap soon...BEWITCHED, THE HONEYMOONERS, FATHER KNOWS BEST, and MY THREE SONS.
Gee, I can remember when it used to be the other way around... and they tried to make TV shows based on movies. I must be getting old.
Not only are HAWAII 5-0, MIAMI VICE, KOLCHAK movies on the way, but now Variety reports that DALLAS is going to the big-screen, too.
Regency Enterprises has struck a deal with "Legally Blonde" helmer Robert Luketic to helm an update of the wildly popular Eye web skein "Dallas," which aired from 1978-91. Set in a post-Enron world, with the conniving J.R. Ewing now the head of the most powerful energy company in the world, the film will feature the plottings and backstabbings of many of the original "Dallas" characters. Script is from Robert Harling ("The First Wives Club," "Steel Magnolias"); series creator David Jacobs is producing the film with former Sony Pictures exec VP of production-turned-producer Michael Costigan.
Speaking of TV shows-turned-to-movies, Variety Reports that Burt Reynolds has just signed to be Boss Hogg in the movie version of DUKES OF HAZARD. Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxvilel play Bo and Luke Duke, Jessica Simpson is Daisy Duke.
Adaptation will be set in the present day but the General Lee, the duo's 1969 Dodge Charger, is expected to be the same iconic orange car seen in the series. Pic is being directed by Jay ChandrasekharJay Chandrasekhar of the Broken Lizards comedy troupe, who co-wrote the script
Movies based on TV shows aren't new... but it's rare when the creative entities behind the show are also in charge of the big-screen version (in fact, I can only think of one recent example, "The X Files").
Variety reports that Miami Vice is the next cult tv series up for a theatrical re-do... with series exec producer/showrunner Michael Mann writing, producing and directing.
Universal is zeroing in on Colin Farrell to star as Det. James "Sonny""Sonny" Crockett, and the studio is in discussions with Jamie Foxx to star as Det. Ricardo Tubbs in the South Beach sizzler.
Farrell, you may recall, also starred in the movie version of SWAT. If this comes to pass, he'll only be matched by Owen Wilson ("Starsky & Hutch," "I Spy") and Matt LeBlanc ("Lost in Space," "Charlies Angels") when it comes to doing the most tv-to-film adaptations.
That's not the only revival news today. Frank Spotnitz, ex-producer of "The X Files," is hoping to craft a new version of "Kolchak: The Night Stalker."
"The first TV movie is burned into my memory," Spotnitz told Daily Variety. "It was a huge event at the time, and it was one of my favorite TV characters of all time. The chance to return to this character and find another great storytelling vehicle for smart, scary television was very appealing."
Still unclear is exactly how closely the new "Night Stalker" will mirror the format and mood of the original, which was based on a novel by Jeff Rice. While the first "Night Stalker" telepictelepic shattered Nielsen longformlongform records at the time, the series lasted just one season.
Spotnitz is staying mum about details regarding the new project, but did say he's learned some lessons from his days on "X-Files" and a recent marathon re-watching of the original series.
"As much as I loved the TV movie, the series was not successful," he said. "I wouldn't expect a religiously faithful adaptation. I don't intend to repeat the same mistakes."
To me, Darren McGavin was 90% of the charm and humor of the movies and the series. I don't know if a new version could be done, and capture any of the flavor of the original, without him. Besides, Spotnitz isn't exactly know for his light touch...
Variety reports today that Fox is mounting at VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM SEA revival...
The original show, as you may recall, was about a giant submarine exploring the sea and starred Richard Basehart and David Hedison. It was basically Star Trek underwater... with giant octopuses and algae monsters and space aliens (and, my favorite toy as a kid, "the flying sub.").
The new version, however, is going to be substantially different.
the world's most advanced submarine is sent on a deep-sea salvage hunt, inadvertently bringing aboard a predatory organism from the ocean floor.
"They got that we wanted to jumpstart Irwin's franchise not only with cutting-edge effects, but an intense story with a fantastic villain," Jashni said. "We were inspired by imagining what would happen if we put 'Alien' underwater."
So it's two old ideas rehashed... ALIEN and VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. But is it really going to capture the camp fun of the old series? Unlikely.
This is the third Irwin Allen TV series revival in recent years. An ABC revival of TIME TUNNEL died in development. The WB's LOST IN SPACE revival, directed by John Woo, was scrapped. The New Line Pictures version of LOST IN SPACE was a critical and financial bomb.
So after a string of Irwin Allen remake failures, why the mad rush to develop another one?
Beyond the Beyond
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I didn't write this book, it's a collection of short stories that includes one of mine: "Bumsickle."
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Remaindered
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February 2009 Left Coast Crime 2009 Hawaii Toastmaster
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