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THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN update
Well folks, this here is one hell of a cool project if someone incredibly cool gets their hands on the reins of this film. We haven't had too many issues our of this series yet (It's based on a comic folks) but I've seen enough that I'm hooked. And I mean... how can you not be. It's a true geek's geek project. And I'll tell ya, it seems like it's been taking September's issue waaaaaay too long to get here. (Yeah, I know all about patience) but well... If they nail a script, the right budget and a fantastic atmospheric filmmaker... Well then, this is gold for me. Enjoy...
THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN.
THE STORY:
It is the end of the 1800's. Queen Victoria is concerned that the new century
will bring new threats to the British Empire. Weird, mystical, supernatural
threats. She contacts a high ranked official in the Secret Service, Campion
Bond (somebody's ancestor?) who elects a mysterious figure known as M to gather
a group of special people. With ironic wryness, this League of Gentlemen is
started with a woman, Wilhelmina Murray, a staunch advocate of woman's rights, a
divorcee, and a wearer of strange scarves around her neck. We will learn that
her married name is Harker and that she recently survived a horrible encounter
with a certain Count. She travels to China, to an opium den, to enlist the old,
beaten Allan Quatermain. Together they go to France, near the Rue Morgue, where
a series of killings by an apelike creature are linked to one Henry Jekyll.
Given the choice to join the League or go to prison, he joins. Back in London
an Invisible Guy is causing havoc and then recruited- if they can keep tabs on
him. Finally, off the coast of New Zealand aboard a huge ship sits a powerful
man whose one regret is that, the adventures seem to be over and he is not yet
God. When the group approaches him, not only does he join, but Nemo offers the
Nautilus as base.
Back in London they rendezvous at the British Museum. What to do? Try to find
that Greystoke baby missing in Africa? That mysterious Doctor who fled a dinner
party babbling about time travel?
How about defusing that reactivated ship in Northern England that crashed after
the War of the Worlds? But there is no time - someone is uniting the gangs of
London, and has stolen anti-gravity metal developed by a Professor Cavor. If
this is true, Engloand could be bombed from the sky. Is it Moriarty? Holmes
died last year, but could the strange man M be Moriarty? It is up to the League
to save London, and the world.
Status:
Based upon the comics by Alan Moore (WATCHMEN, FROM HELL) sold this one to
Fox as an unpublished outline. Alex Ayers (MARLOWE, THE HELLFIRE CLUB) is
currently drafting a screenplay for what should be a big franchise. Cool idea,
what if all Victorian Literature actually took place.
On my way to see IRON GIANT, Professor Knowles.
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Cool.
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haven't read the comic but this sounds like a great concept...I remember reading a novel ("Anno Dracula" by Kim Newman) that had fun with the same period in history. Fu Manchu would make a good villain for Victorian era crimefighters....
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I'm sorry, but why doesn't Alan Moore adapt his own comic's to screenplay form? The dude write's for film, yet he's stuck making comics (better for all those comic fans out there, but man, his movie would rock even Detroit.).
I'm not saying the person who's writing the script isn't good for the job, but I think Alan Moore should be writing the script.
The Producer: I'd trust Lloyd Levin. With Boogie Nights, and Mystery Men back to back... I wouldn't trust anyone else.
The Director: I only know of one movie Kinka Usher's done, but Mystery Men was a great comic book adaptation of a VERY obscure comic book about a flaming carrot--a social satire.
For the cast... that's easy.
yo'jimbo
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if done right. But there are about a million ways in which this can go bad. (Will Smith as Henry Jekyll, anyone?) Hopefully they'll let the story tell itself, and not try to be campy with it.
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You've got the respective positions of M and Campion Bond reversed; M is Bond's superior. And M is *not* Professor Moriarty; he's somebody else's smarter brother... Or at least that's Mina's opinion.
In any case, if this actually makes it to the screen, I'll be in line quicker than for TPM. Big Moore fan here... -
Because they think it might be Mycroft, it's probably not him. It would be a large surprise if Moriarty was in charge, maybe because Victoria thinks only an evil genius can stop an even worse evil genius! Once they started speculating that 'M' is Mycroft, I started thinking it definitely wasn't him!
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I've never heared of this comic thing, but it really grabs me. However, I don't think it could be done that well in a movie form. Such a broad melange of diverse character calls for a high level of literacy among viewers - a literacy I fear isn't really there. Combining all those classics into one story is useless if people don't recognize them. Also, even if they manage to pull that off without dombing down, the makers of the film would have to create a world that smoothly mixes all these diverse tales and still stay realistic. Otherwise, we'll just end up with a snide collection of in-jokes, like a Shumacher Batman flick.
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This sounds very cool. Maybe I missed this in the peice, but what what comic is this from? Is it called "League Of Gentelmen" or does it have some other title? The only problem I have with the movie is that when I think about it, images from The Avengers and from Wild Wild West keep popping into my head. Like, that one shot where West parks his horse in front of the White House with sheep grazing the lawn. With all the british secret service stuff and all the historic refrences, it has potential to be crap like the other two. Lets just hope it's more character driven and story driven then crap driven.
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I picked up issue 3, i missed the first two and now sure if the 4th one is out, but I rather like the series, I took a chance on it and found it to be really good, and unlike most comics to film transition, I feel that this concept would better adjust to the film medium. Most of these characters all filled film roles before so now the story is set for them to be brought together. And I agree with whoever said it earlier I thim Moore should be attached to write to get it perfect..
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Extraordinary gentlemen is a wonderfully intelligent and literary comic, and there is no reason the movie can't be the same. while I agree that some viewers wouldn't understand the significance of some of the characters, I don't believe that it would make the movie any less enjoyable. Even looking at the story purely as an adventure it is still very successful. I'm looking forward to this more than anything else right now.
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If the premise is literary. Se7en was rife with references to literature, and the otherwise illiterate masses turned out in droves to see it (and rent it, and worship it). I must say that this is the movie I would most be interested in seeing made if done right. But all too often good concepts get raped en route to celluloid. So I'm not going to hold my breath yet. Wait. That before was an understatement. I WANT TO SEE THIS MADE MORE THAN I WANT TO SEE MY SEED PERPETUATED ON THE PLANET.
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The character of "M" in the story is, as has been stated by Mr. Moore, a play on the"M" in the James Bond films, as is the League character "Campion Bond", an arguable precurser to our friend James. While "M" seems a little shady as portrayed by Mr. Moore, I don't really expect he an Moriarty have any connection, given that there is another reasonable and stated explanation.
I'd love to see this hit the big screen with someone of serious mind and serious skill at the helm. Dave Fincher, I'm talking to you! But I agree with the above poster, the script will be key. If it is there, the quality actors will come out of the woodwork to portray their boyhood heroes. Just look at LOTR! Anyway....
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Riprock: You didn't say what the explanation was in your post. If you don't think it's Prof. Moriarty, who is 'M'? Holmes? Or just some regular person, the 'precursor' to 'M' in the Bond films? Personally, I still think it's Moriarty. *smile*
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As was stated earlier, most of the characters are already familiar to audiences through other films- who isn't going to know who Dr. Jekyll is, and what he can do? Mina would take just one Dracula reference to jog people's memories, and even Nemo isn't that obscure- Disney runs the damn Kirk Douglas version ad nauseum on their station. If done right, this could rock very very hard. Director is a tough choice, though- Mystery Men didn't convince me that Kinka could do anything other than a comic book satire, which LEG certainly isn't. You know who I see? Someone unexpected, with a subtle touch and a period feel- Jane Campion perhaps, or Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth), or even Sally Potter (Orlando.) All are unafraid to be weird when required. Kapur would probably be my first choice, just 'cause Bandit Queen rocked so hard. But knowing Hollywood, the pitch is sitting on Schumacher's desk as we speak...
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Allan Quartermain - John Cleese or John Neville;
Miss Murray - Minnie Driver;
Griffin (Invisible Man) - Jeremy Irons (great voice, plus he'd look great as the greasepainted version);
Nemo - Sean Connery, or Alfred Molina if you want to go that swarthy route;
Dr. Jekyll - Richard Grant;
That's all I have for now, but the director should be the guy who almost did another Moore adaptation - Terry Gilliam. -
I agree with your above choices...but Minnie Driver? JODIE FOSTER would kick ass in that role.
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Great casting thoughts, but you know it's going to be something more like... Richard Chamberlain as Allen Quartermaine ("He's already played the role in two other films, plus we can get him cheap!"), Winona Ryder as Mina ("Ditto!"), Chevy Chase as the Invisible Man ("Double Ditto!"), Tim Daly AND Sean Young as Henry Jeckyll ("This thing is casting itself!"), and... hmm. James Mason is dead. Who to cast as Nemo, the submarine captain. I've got it! Denzel!
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...because, and I'm being picky, it's too close to a favorite British comedy of mine, THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN, a bank heist flick in the tradition of the Alec Guiness comedies like THE LAVENDER HILL MOB and THE LADYKILLERS. It even has a cameo by Oliver Reed as a ballet dancer. Respected guitarist Robert Fripp (King Crimson) even formed a touring group named after this movie.
Obscure, I admit, but I would hate to see this get eclipsed by this "high concept" project. -
Hello all, just a friendly word
from a comic book fanatic....the
first two issues have already been reprinted into a 'trade' edition
which is very widely available.
ALL 'GEEKS' should read this one...it could be the most entertaining and well-written book
to come along all year. It would
be cool if he could work in
Doc Savage or some other swashbuckling type to join the group.
To one of the posters above, how
(and why) would you read the third
book without having read the others first??? It couldn't possibly have made sense!
Everyone read this book!! -
I have some serious casting suggestions:1."Allan Quartermain";Sean Connery,plain and simple.The man carries a sense of worldliness and great ability in damn near every movie he appears in(even the "Avengers",for pete's sake!).2."The Invisible Man";Alan Rickman;this man hasn't been seen(I know it's a pun...) in as many films as he deserves to be,rent "Die Hard" and relish the actor's pure intellectual evil.3."Mr. Hyde";Gary Oldman,HE IS THE MAN!!!The things he could do with this role are mindboggling...4."Captain Nemo";Denzel Washington,baby,I can see him playing an Indian prince with no problem whatsoever,plus,check out "Much Ado Nothing",to see how well he handles period pieces(along with dialects).5."Mina Murray";Minnie Driver,SERIOUSLY.The woman is British,sexy,and can act her voluptuous ass off!!!6."Campion Bond";Alfred Molina...the man is a virtual chameleon,never looking the same or projecting the same energy in any role he's in..."Fu Manchu";John Lone,where is this man?!"Year Of The Dragon" is nearly redeemable by the sheer force of his personality,too bad he couldn't do that for "The Shadow".Well that's my "lil'" two cents' worth...but while we're talking about LOEG,when is some Hollwood bigwig gonna get the idea to adapt the Warren Ellis/Bryan Hitch/Paul Neary creation,"The Authority" to the big screen?
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I've spent many days at Alan's home working on an adaptation of another of his projects for UK TV but we talk about his other stuff as well.
He told me about this project when he first came up with the idea and how he mentioned it in passing to Don Murphy - producer of Natural Born Killers and a real Moore fan. Murphy got it option pretty much straight away. (As a young screenwriter still trying to get stuff made, you can't imagine how jealous this makes me. Alan can literally call anyone with his ideas and they get snapped up.)
Someone asks why he doesn't write his own films. I asked him; he said he started to work with Terry Gilliam on the Watchmen but just couldn't get into re-writing and doing what other people wanted. He's the master of his form and I think can't fit himself into a different role now. Why should he? He's making good money at what he does and he doesn't have to suck up to anyone.
If you;re interested - Alan lives in a little terraced house in in Northampton. Almost never leaves and certainly doesn't own a vacuum cleaner. The days we spent together he got through more dope than anyone I've ever met. He's a fantastically nice bloke and very, very well read.
I hope they don't screw this project up for him. -
...I just wanted to apologize for all the ""s in my earlier post.I thought the talkback could pick up HTML tags.
Mandes,God Bless...
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For those of you who do not read this book, I strongly urge you to do so. It's published by America's Best, an imprint (sorta) of DC Comics. Also, a few things should be clarified. Firsties, Moore does a great job in de-Disney-fying these characters. Nemo is back to his Indian Prince roots, and Alan Quartermain is an opium addict. IMO, ALL of these elements need to be present, to keep this from going the way of The Avengers and WWW. Remember, these elements didn't spring out of nowhere--they were present in the original works by the original authors, so if someone wants to protest some of the unsavory aspects of the characters, then the creators of the film have an iron clad defense. That being said, Connery is, believe it or not, perhaps too YOUNG to play Quartermain. He's portrayed as extremely old (not decrepit, but getting there), and Connery may need to set aside the Grecian Formula for a bit. Come to think of it, Anthony Hopkins wouldn't be too bad as well. Finally, kudos to the man who suggested possible spinoffs. There's a lot of sly asides in the comic, and one of them shows a picture on the wall, with the following individuals -- Lemuel Gulliver, Mr. & Mrs. P. Blakeny, The Reverend Dr. Syn, Mistress Hill, and N. Bumpo.
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- a much underrated genre. Anybody remember "Luther Arkwright"? We in the U of K have still not seen the Sci-Fi channel's "The Secret Adventures Of Jules Verne" so I can't judge how good or otherwise that was. I still miss Dr. Who's secondary control room - I love all that wood and brass! I think Terry Gilliam would be my first choice for "The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - Norrington's a nutter! It's a crying shame that Alan Moore's work hasn't been for the genius that it is. Only the other day, Anthony Minghella was bemoaning the lack of decent British screenwriters! That's because we don't have the money to make the films we want to - most of our visual-oriented writers write comic books (e.g. Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore and Grant Morrison). Also, a lot of their work would probably be considered uncommercial and too intellectual for most. I'm going offline to stick my head in a bucket of cold water, yaaarrrgggghh!!!
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