OT: Joe 90

Hi folks,

BBC's Ceefax service today carried this report:

"Puppet series Joe 90 ... is to be revived in a Disney film.

Hoylwood producers have boght the rights... from Carlton TV, Variety
magazine reported.

...

The big screen version of the original puppet TV adventure will be a live action
film, said Varierty."

Let's hope it's not a repeat of the Thunderbirds do, eh. Mind you, Disney...
ugh!

Dave.

Bleah. I wasn't a big Joe 90 fan altho I did watch it when I was a rugrat.
But the idea of Disney making it cutesy is a real vom-fest.....And it just
bear thinking that they might buy the rights to UFO....Pam

> And it just bear thinking that they might buy the rights to
> UFO....Pam

Well, for now, UFO's rights are already taken... now we'll
just have to see if that Charles Bender does anything with
them...

Marc

I actually think that Disney might make quite a good
Joe 90 movie. It may not even be made by Disney but
perhaps by it's Touchstone Pictures subsidiary.
Really, we musn't diss the Thunderbirds movie as it
hasn't been completed yet. I admit, I don't like the
look of the new FAB 1, I think the actress playing
Lady Penelope is too young & I don't think Anthony
Edwards is right for Brains ... BUT! judging by the
look of FAB 1 and Lady Penelope & Parker's costumes,
the film-makers are respecting the production design &
look of the original series - surely this is a good
sign?

Sometimes, the Americans make a good job of making a
film about an English character - look at Bond and
Harry Potter for example. A Joe 90 movie could work
because boy heroes with glasses are very popular at
the moment! Also, let's admit it, Joe 90 wasn't that
brilliant a series - it did have an excellent
template, the BIG RAT & production design need to be
respected - I reckon Disney could do a better movie
than the original series with a really good story too!

What do you think?

Neil

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Sheesh - this is scary - I never thought of it - but the success of Harry
Potter might JUST tweak an interest in Joe 90 - whoever did it. Neil is
right about that. However, if the Americans did it (Disney or some other
production house) - I can bet Joe would suddenly be an American and all the
technology surrounding him would be made in the USA. In many cases, American
producers think American audiences will not go to see a movie if it doesn't
take place within American borders or the main characters aren't American.

In the case of UFO, Straker was obviously an American, with references being
made throughout the series to his American-ness, which should please
American audiences. Foster and Freeman (Brit and Aussie respectively) are
popular character types right now, esp since as Neil pointed out, Bond is a
Brit, and many Aussie actors (like Me Gibson and Russell Crowe plus others)
have been so appreciated. Fancy Paul Hogan as Freeman?

Pam

> In many cases, American producers think American audiences will
> not go to see a movie if it doesn't take place within American
> borders or the main characters aren't American.

Well, for one, does the location of SHADO HQ really matter? Seems like
it could be in London, or Hollywood, or Australia for that matter...

And second, since it's the producer of the film "Solaris" we're talking
about, I don't think a lot of the common concerns about American movie
producers really apply. I mean, I haven't seen "Solaris" (yet), but I
get the impression that it wasn't commercialized to please the
moviegoing public.

Marc

Actually, I suppose not. It's just that it seems all the movies we see are
concentrated in US cities et al and the main characters are always
American - there is a HUGE world out there - and only a small percentage of
the land mass and the world's population are American, so it seems to me
that we should make SHADO more international - as it was in the series.
Certainly the cast should be multi-racial as the series was, and there
should be a variety of locales used - subsidiary HQ's all over the world -
like Interpol or FBI "branches". I do try to write my fan fic using various
geographic locations for the stories, something the original UFO series
couldn't do because of budget restraints of course. I just ask the question:
does the US have to dominate every single movie premise?

Just playing devil's advocate here - Pam

Solaris was done by Lightstorm Entertainment which is a partnership of
James Cameron, Michael Polaire, Rae Sanchini and Charles Bender.
The question is whom will write the screenplay and how long will it
take. Thunderbirds and seemingly Joe 90 have hit the fast track. There has
been no official anouncement of UFO in there trade papers (i.e. Variety,
etc.) It could ended up stuck in development hell(that where interesting
project go to die or be rewritten so many times they no longer are what the
original was).
Sadly casting will be done either one of two ways either casting
whomever is considered hot at the moment as boxoffice insurance or casting
someone who is a fan of the project.(what actors where fans of UFO growing
up?)
Actually Pam that is rather interesting casting idea of Paul Hogan as
Alec Freeman.

James K.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

My suggestion of Paul Hogan as Freeman was a first a larkish comment, but
the more I think of it, the more I like it (shades of that UFO eps with
Straker, Gen. H and the recording pen....). James is right that only a UFO
original fan would probably be able to bother even to do justice to a
remake. I say this because I feel that whoever helms the project is either
going to love doing it and see it as a labour of love, or it's just going to
be another dull asignment for them and they'll not give a s**t. If it turns
out to be the latter, why bother?

Pam

Actually Pam I sort of flinched when I first read the suggestion of
Paul Hogan as Freeman but like you the more I thought about it the more I
could see him in the role.
Like George Sewell his isn't a "pretty boy" type actor. But he has this
charm on screen like George and like Freeman which makes him rather a ladies
man. He can can certainly do tough guy roles which is part of the Freeman
character.
A greater danger than getting someone who as you put it "doesn't give
a sh*t" about it is that we get someone who wants to turn it into one of
those Special Effects Blockbusters. You know the type, that are short on
story and character but you have a major explosion every five minutes that is
bigger than the last one.

James K.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I think the idea of having a centrally located main HQ makes good
sense. But there would have to be other smaller local HQ's around the world.
Rather like the Man from UNCLE with its main HQ in New York or the Bond
Movies with the main office hidden in the Universal Export building but
others in different locations.
I think why I came up with my idea for the UFO movie of having the
people from around the world get the message from SID when the UFO's returned
was to give it a international cast. If they do it the Hollywood way now
days what we will get is a American cast with maybe a token British actor or
and a black actor and that will be as far as the international goes.

James K.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I would expect SHADO to at least have 1 base in Europe, 1 in North
America and 1 in Asia.

Here's a good question, how many Skydivers would there need to be to
adequately cover the entire planet? Wouldn't SHADO's budet have to be
in the trillions rather than billions?

Is some one actually making a UFO movie?

>Is some one actually making a UFO movie?

Not yet -- the movie is "in development", which probably means
they're looking for money to make it (where is that German banker
when we need him?)

Marc

James, you actually hit the nail on the head about why Paul Hogan popped
into my mind for Freeman. He does have a charm that isn't based on good
looks necessarily, and women do like him. Of course.......*SIGH*.......you
know any discussion of a UFO movie is just moot........Pam

SHADO HQ should not be moved somce it is one of the major plot points.Personally I don't care whos in a movie so long as they can handle the role assigned to them. If that means 90% Americanactors, then so be it.The movie Solaris was a dog in my opinion, the original was better by a long shot. However my opinion should not stop you from seeing it and seeing if you like it. As for the group tht put it out, I don't know if they would be any better, or worse, as far as an American group, in putting out a UFO movie.Until this actually gets off the ground, this is all pure speculation anyway.

Marc Martin <[hidden email]> wrote:> In many cases, American producers think American audiences will
> not go to see a movie if it doesn't take place within American
> borders or the main characters aren't American.

Well, for one, does the location of SHADO HQ really matter? Seems like
it could be in London, or Hollywood, or Australia for that matter...

And second, since it's the producer of the film "Solaris" we're talking
about, I don't think a lot of the common concerns about American movie
producers really apply. I mean, I haven't seen "Solaris" (yet), but I
get the impression that it wasn't commercialized to please the
moviegoing public.

Marc



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In Germany?

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Marc Martin [hidden email]
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 10:31:20 -0700
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [SHADO] Re: UFO movie


>Is some one actually making a UFO movie?

Not yet -- the movie is "in development", which probably means
they're looking for money to make it (where is that German banker
when we need him?)

Marc


 

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At 10:31 AM 5/10/2003 -0700, Marc wrote:
> >Is some one actually making a UFO movie?
>
>Not yet -- the movie is "in development", which probably means
>they're looking for money to make it (where is that German banker
>when we need him?)

Didn't Michael Corleone have him whacked in "Godfather 3"? No, wait,
that was a Swiss banker...






"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines!"

Dave Walsh
Harlington-Straker Sound Productions
[hidden email]

Pam,
I thought that might be why you suggested Paul Hogan because he has
that quality that the character calls for. So far you are the only one who
has come up with anyone who meets the standards I set for a current actor to
cast in place of the original one.
As to the disscussion of a UFO movie being "moot"? Moot is defined as
a discussion by the Webster's Dictionary. The discussion of a UFO movie is
a discussion? When someone says something is a moot point they mean its a
discussion point not that there is no point in discussing it.
As to the discussion its self? I was just stating a opinion. I think
a film will be made of UFO at some time. Everything gets remade. If
Hollywood can't come up with new ideas they remake foreign films. Point of
No Return was based on the film La Femme Nikita, Down and Out in Beverly
Hills on Bedo Saved From Drowning, Blame It On Rio on Pardon My Affair,
Sorcerer on Wages of Fear, The Magnificent Seven on The Seven Samurai,
Fistful of Dollars on Yojimbo. So it will get made sooner or later. It's
just a matter of time and money. We hope it will be done by someone who will
respect it and do it with care.

James K.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi all - yes, weird as it may seem, I think Paul Hogan would be a good actor
for Freeman. Neil suggested a new Foster could be black (or even Hispanic)
which is cool by me. I'm leaning in favour of either William Peterson from
CSI (he of the gorgeous silver hair) or David Caruso (CSI: Miami - has great
blue eyes like Ed Bishop) for Straker - maybe even Chris Noth (formerly Law
& Order) for Foster or Carlin. All these guys have the necessay "cool" needd
to play our intrepid heroes - or failing that - let's give Ed Bishop the
chance to reprise Straker as a Gen. H. replacement ( considering the time
frame which has passed), with Cameos from George Sewell and Mike B., with
the other fellows as updated heroes.

Pam