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Believe It Or Not!! Cannell Confirms He Has A Script, A Director And A Plan To Put GREATEST AMERICAN HERO In Cinemas!!
I am – Hercules!!
"We've written a screenplay, and we've hired a director, and we're in the midst of putting this together for the future," “Greatest American Hero” creator Stephen J. Cannell confirmed to a crowd gathered for Sunday’s 25th anniversary panel on the superhero series.
Stephen Herek (“Life Or Something Like It,” “Man of the House”) was reported in July to be the director attached to a big-screen version of series.
Cannell indicated the movie version would contain roles for the 1981-83 series’ stars, which included William Katt, Robert Culp and Connie Sellecca.
The series was about a schoolteacher who loses the instruction manual to the superpower-lending costume given him by extraterrestrials.
Cannell has reportedly been in discussions on the project with Fox, which is preparing a big-screen version of the Cannell-created “A-Team” with John Singleton (“Shaft,” “2 Fast 2 Furious”) attached to direct.
Find all of SciFiWire’s story on the matter here.
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Keep the song, please
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Fuck this
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very weak...show was great if you were 10.
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was "scenario" a deliberate joke? wasnt that the word that put someone in a trace or something on one episode?
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"trance"
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Hinckley or Hanley?
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I thought they would have made this a long time ago. Classic TV show right up there with the A Team and Fall Guy.
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... I'm not home.
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You know it to be true, Laura!
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Bring that shit back too!
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Owen Wilson-Ralph. Jenifer Connelly- Attorney girlfriend. Tommy Lee Jones-Agent Maxwell. That's all you need.
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Man, I wanna see THAT on the Big Screen too!
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has already topped anything they'll be able to come up with using the supersuit concept
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Movie? Come on..Courtney Cox gotta be needed some work about now.
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is up at Yahoo movies. Yet nary a mention on AICN. Way to be on top of things.
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I definitely won't be watching this in the silver screen. The idea for this is as bad as any Eddie Murphy movie.
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...please leave a message after the beep. Believe it or not, George isn't at home. Where could I be?
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As Robert Culp!
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3 dudes and with a big pink Helicopter and a pre-Robosapien robot all living on a boat in Marina Del Ray...Definitely big screen material.
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Not only was it one the most stupid shows ever made, it had the most god awful theme song! This movie won't be made. And if it is, it's totally STV. But just by some chance it does hit the screen, and it becomes the number one movie. I will move to canada and eat my own left nut.
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He loses the instruction manual. This has potential to be entertaining. THIS is the superhero movie Jack Black can star in.
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but suffered from poor execution. It was done as well as it probably could have been for its time.
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Easy. The rest doesn't matter.
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and keep him the fuck away from Green Lantern.
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Yup it was a conscious joke. Like this film is likely to be.
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Now that I have that out the way, I say "why not" to this project. The premise of the show was kind of interesting, and the tv show was really terrible. So it might be nice to see a good incarnation of this idea. No Seth Rogen. In anything. Ever again.
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I can see Jack Black in the role. Will Farell might actually be the best choice. Same hairdo from Semi-Pro. It's gold!
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You're safe then, this was made in the 80's. You must have hated a different show.
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they have set this in the late 70s to accomodate news coverage by San Diego's own Ron Burgundy.
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damn them!
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Or TR2N, whatever.
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Neil Patrick Harris. I don't know. I'm lost.
But I've been wanting this project to happen for years. As much as I loved the show, it hasn't aged well. -
This is such awesome news. If ever there was a TV show that could make a successful jump to the big screen, this is it. Plus, the song is catchy.
Love it!! -
Except this may be "amusing" "entertaining" or "watchable"
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There, its been said.
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with J.K. Simmons in the Robert Culp role.
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But it ran pretty dry rather quickly. I'd love to see a movie version. I'm there.NOTE: Please don't make this an Owen Wilson/Jack Black or any other fill-in-the-blank Saturday Night Live alumni movie, though.
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the alien backstory
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Owen Wilson and Jack Black!
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Hulk Hogan in a speedboat baby
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The theme song is still in my head.
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about *this* movie having "jingoistic" overtones in the title, as this American is a bumbling buffoon! It'll make a fortune in Europe!
Hell, let's put a George W. impersonator in the suit, and it'll get an Oscar! -
Believe it or not.
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Mind you, as with so many really inspired ideas: it's all about the execution.
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I loved that show.
Didn't care for Tenspeed and Brownshoe. -
It must happen
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...should've been somebody else indeed
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wheres my chopper bitches!
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so long as they can get Robert Culp to return as Bill Maxwell, FBI, i'll be happy.
also Connie Selleca, assuming she's still hot.
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How can it not be?
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even though it didn't come on the air until the early 80s. I had a "sick" sense about this. For example it's 2008 and this movie won't be released until 2009/10 and I know hate it already. One smells a bad fish long before he sees it.
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Sep 09, 2008 7:31:39 PM CDT
I burnt a hole in the record of that show's theme song...
by fuckmichaelbay
CANT WAIT!
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Well, they DID make Thunderbirds in 2004, remember?
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and gritty and realistic. and cher and johnny depp.
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One of the worst TV shows. EVER. Hated it even when I was a kid. Always wanted to bang Connie, though. Even when I was a kid.
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Could you imagine what a supersuit with no instruction manual could do to a city's infrastructure? It would be like the Tick, but not funny.
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...how about a re-vision film. Like a Jaws with all the same lines and basically the same shots,but with moder A-listers and better effects. ET would be another good one. Not to try to outdo the original, just re-vision from a different director. That would be a cool trend.
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All he gotta do is grow out the 'fro like William Katt's.
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that just happened..
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Believe it or not!!!!
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Always had the best production company logo in the 80s... you remember: Cannell in his office typing away and then pulling the piece of paper out of the type writer and tossing it in the air while it turns into an animated logo for Stephen J. Cannell Productions (http://tinyurl.com/6aafm2). That and the MTM logo with the kitten are totally nostalgic to me.
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This is a really fantastic idea, though the show was uneven and a TV budget couldn't realize the effects. A movie could really nail this.
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Give him back his curly hair and you've got your new Mr. H.
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Thanks guys! My day wasn't frustrating enough without that infectious melody ringing in my ears.
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Hasn't that been rumored for, like, several years now?
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For Bill Maxwell.
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It's obvious what will happen. Steve Carell will be cast in the lead, they won't know if it's a comedy or a drama, and no one will end up seeing it.
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...I always thought that Tom Green would have made an excellent choice for the lead roll if he would not act like a total jackass.
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...physically I mean. They need to hire some "bean pole" actor to play the role. Then again I could see Jack Black in this role as well. He's finally starting to grow on me.
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and vice-versa.
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Oh please! Please let it be made by some "flash in the pan" rap star with massive bass lines and plenty of foul language! That's what the kids want now a days!
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Just do a feature film of "Heat Vision and Jack".
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Sep 09, 2008 11:23:00 PM CDT
Has anyone gotten the Costanza answering machine right yet?
by thebearovingian
Believe it or not, George isn't at home, Please leave a message at the beep... I must be out or I'd pick up the phone, Where could I be?, Believe it or not, I'm not home!God, I love that show. George is veggin' on his couch, eating popcorn, listenin' to that jingle, shruggin' his shoulders when it asks, "Where could I be?". Seinfeld still owns your ass!
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This show had decent concept and decent actors for the roles, but the individual episodes were pretty much horrible.
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The talkback on the GAH comic book had about 12 responses. Glad to see we have a few more fans here!
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so I'll be giving this a miss.
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not like the a-team, airwolf knight rider etc. it was never shown in the uk, i remember watching it in new zealand growing up though
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Did everyone skip the line "Cannell indicated the movie version would contain roles for the 1981-83 series’ stars, which included William Katt, Robert Culp and Connie Sellecca."
That means you can all stop coming up with actors to play Ralph, Bill and Pam. It's not a remake, a reboot or a re-imagining. It's a continuation. I'm sure the suit will be on a new character, but the old characters will still be played by the original actors. -
They spoke to him via video about the turning on of the Hadron Collider. The guy hasn't aged a day and is still orgasming over science. What a legend. I just felt I had to share that, since I don't have a clue what GREATEST AMERICAN HERO is.
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The Swiss physicist said that if it creates a black hole it will take 50 months to destroy the earth. That would put the end of the world around December 2012 just as the Mayans predicted. Sleep tight.
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... and would be so small that it would just collapse on itself. Still, that's fucking crazy. Never mind the Mayans, I refuse to go out with Roland Emmerich shouting, "I told you so!"
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please leave a message at the beep. I must be out, or I'd pick up the phone, where could I be? Believe it or not, I'm not home!
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Another tragedy of a remake. Herek might've made a good version. He's made a few bad movies in a row, but the guy who directed Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure can always get a shot in my book.
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While they are at it, they should bring back "Manimal", "Max Headroom", and "Automan" with Desi Arnez. God the 80's were truly television's high point.
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A continuation story makes sense. There was an episode in TV show about the previous user of the suit. He used for selfish reasons and became a Howard Hughes type person. We can see who is using the suit now.
Alien backstory is smart and appealing.
And seeing Connie again up close sounds reeaaalll nice. -
Dr. Cox with the scenarios and hating the little green guys FTW!
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Would bitchslap you father and take your mother from behind right in front of you as you cower in the corner... and never even spill his bourbon.
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Yahoo Serious. He's going to split the boring atom.
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The one thing he DOESN'T have yet is a distribution deal. "Talks with FOX" mean nothing until they actually agree to pony up the cash and put this thing out there.
Come back when you actually have some NEWS to report. -
Sep 10, 2008 11:17:04 AM CDT
William Katt to Cameo as the Guy Who First had the Suit
by kevinwillis.net
Remember the episode where Hinkley meets the a guy who had the suit before him, who had the manual and didn't end up using it to do good, and thus the aliens took the suit away from him? I predict the story arc will appear, and it'll be William Katt.
Or, William Katt will be Hinkley again. "You lost the manual too? Jeeze, we're both idiots!" -
That could be simple cameos, it doesn't mean that they'll be playing their original characters. I wonder if Mary Ellen Stuart will get a cameo? After all she did get the suit after Ralph retired in the "Greatest American Heroine".
http://tinyurl.com/6pqdyq
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... on a 45 record. And, yes, I will go ahead and admit to it. Incidentally, this project could work well if they play-up the cross-cultural slapstick (it worked for the 3 Stooges) and don't cast the primary as someone who looks to be older than 25. The younger "looking," the more believable his or her clumsiness would be. Also... some of the other film show ideas suggested by fellow posters might work if the producers combined them into their own film universe (treating the movie as more of a crossover than a film treatment of a single show). Since the origins of some show characters were relatively sketchy, and many didn't have enough episodes to currently justify DVD release, the blended film project could allow for at least 2 potential revenue streams. They'd just need a writing team talented enough to merge the "worlds" together.
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... I missed that episode, but remember the commercial leading up to it. Who could forget that older gentleman laughing at him when he found out the manual had been lost?
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Yes, I remember the theme song on the 45 record. Parents bought it and got tons of play on our record player. Love the song and the show.
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I'll bet 100 Million Internet Dollars that they will try to take the "American" out of the title. They will fuck it up just like G.I. Joe and give him a black leather unitard to wear with no cape.
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The wise decision to retain the original cast will get me to watch this. It also has me wondering what the cast of Heroes and Lost will look like in 20 years when they have their reunion movies.
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I never gave it a second thoughtWasting your time on a TV retreadWould could care less..?Believe it or not it's just me...
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Couldn't=could
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His name is Ralph Hinkley.
I really hope this project works.... -
If you're gonna raid your tv vault for a retread, how about Jim Rockford..? James Garner ain't gettin any younger to pass the torch.
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Sep 10, 2008 12:46:35 PM CDT
The reason that whatever worked about the show worked was...
by dannyocean
the casting of a "serious" actor (Katt had been in "Carrie" and "Big Wednesday" at that point) as Hinkley. It made the comedy play better. The only way this would work is if they do the same. Instead of going for a comedy actor (Although Owen Wilson was great in "The Minus Man"), they should go for Ryan Gosling, Timberlake or maybe Haley Joel Osment if he's sobered up and does okay with the revival of "American Buffalo" in New York this year.
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don't help the suits out by bothering us with 'news' that is not cool.
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Can't wait!
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McGinley as Maxwell works better than the original Maxwell. If Bob Culp puts in an appearance (I don't even know if he is still alive) Dr. Cox can a be a modern version of that type of character.
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And it still is. This will bomb and then the A Team will never get made.
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Said so himself.
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They are really scraping the bottom... Original... Ideas.... Please.......
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Believe it or not, I’m walking on air.
I never thought I could feel so free.
Flying away on a wing and a prayer.
Who could it be?
Believe it or not it’s just me. -
Does seem like it would be. That actor seems a little to low-key to play Maxwell Smart and the actress was way too young.
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... gotta' love those 45 and 33 days, fellow poster. Times change, but those days--- and that theme song--- won't be forgotten too soon. Do you remember the pair of summers (circa' 1990) where a few movies had soundtracks that were actually more profitable than the first-run films, themselves?!?!
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I love that fucking song. I actually think I can admit I watched the show just so I could listen to that song. The needle on my record cut through the vinyl from overuse. I'm fucking crazy.
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... I wasn't too far behind you, fellow poster! A superhero show (albeit one that was somewhat cheesy) and a sweet theme song. That's all they needed to get me to watch. What the heck was that "Little Bits of Us" b-side song about, anyway?
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Green light, kid. We did it.
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WHERE THE HELL IS THE V MOVIE DAMNNIT ONE THE GREATEST MINI-SERIES EVER
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Martin Lawrence or some other idiot who'll keep people from watching this film. Whether it'll be successful or not is almost entirely dependent on who gets cast in the lead role and how annoying they are.
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Believe it or not, I’m really gay. I never thought I could feel so free. Rolling around on the ground and the hay. Who could it be? Believe it or not it’s just me.................in some red tights, silver cape, and blond afro...
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... "V" has trilogy written all over it. Of course, it would take some tricky writing to move the story forward with so few prior cast members likely to participate.
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I agree that it'd make a great trilogy. But I wouldn't even think of "moving it forward" with Marc Singer and the rest of the original actors... just re-make it. Outside of the sci-fi community, I doubt anyone really remembers it 20 years later and for anyone under 25, it'll be pretty much a completely new story!Re-make it, update it and give it the full Hollywood treatment... and make it SERIOUS. I guarantee, it'd be a blockbuster!
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I obvisouly confused your message with Mr_74. Sorry about that... though I hear what you're saying about "V!"
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I can't believe it myself. Suddenly all original thought is gone. Let just go dust off the shelf. Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh Believe or not the fans really care. They're really sick of this remake crap. What do we with the Hollywood hacks? What do we do? Time we give them a dirt nap.
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if Cannell is in charge, it's his baby, and he can do what he wants. It could work out, but who knows.
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one of the greatest ever tv theme songs. Up there with Welcome Back Kotter.
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...for GAH. Maybe you just had to be there when it first aired? I'll admit that I've had zero success in getting my teenagers to watch it on DVD. I have to agree with the one talkbacker who said it looked 'dated'.
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for the Ralph role, at Comicon.
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I'll try to be brief: There's dream casting and real casting. The Dream is people you would like to see, and Reality is who would actually agree to do it. People like George Clooney or Harrison Ford would be great as Maxwell, but they would never do it. Owen Wilson looks the part of Ralph, but after DRILLBIT and DUPREE, he may be wary of another comedy. For Pam, there are a number of talented actresses who could pull it off, such as Bridget Moynahan, Rachael McAdams, Amy Adams, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson even.
But who would actually DO the part?
My votes: PAM= Any of the above. RAPLH= Ryan Reynolds, Steve Zahn, maybe even Sean William Scott if he can keep it simple. MAXWELL= Dennis Quaid or Val Kilmer, Greg Kinnear even.
Oh yeah, and get Ben Folds to re-do the awesome Joey Scarbury theme song. -
By the by, if you hated the show, thought it sucked, etc, I won't change your mind. But consider this: every studio is trying to get their hands on the next big superhero movie, for better or worse. Someone somewhere thinks, "How can I put any kind of original spin on it?" They think, "What if a guy is SUPPOSED to be a hero, but doesn't know how?" Well, the answer is that it's already been done, it was called THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO. Now yes, the show is dated, but HELLO--the show was in the '80s where special effects were not the best, especially on TV. The premise still holds up-maybe not for a long run on TV, but enough for a feature length film.
2 other things, music is subjective, so lay off the theme song. It was a hit in it's day and is great for a TV tune, and there is NO WAY Tommy Lee Jones plays Maxwell after playing a bajillion agents since THE FUGITIVE. If he does, I will be disappointed.
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Another Cannell show that should be made into a movie is WISEGUY where Kevin Spacey first played a "Keyser Soze" type character -- only he was called Mel Profit.
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