Cool News
Denis Leary's Company Ramping Up A TV Series Based On GATTACA!! And Writer Gil Grant Talks About It...
Merrick here...
You know, I remember very little about GATTACA
other than I saw it at a shitty theater with a hot date I desperately wanted to bang, but didn't.
Nonetheless, the movie developed quite a following subsequent to it's lackluster theatrical release - so the news that a TV series is being built around the world depicted in the film isn't terribly surprising (revealed HERE).
Gil Grant (a writer/producer on 24 and NCIS) is scripting the spinoff for Denis Leary's Apostle Films (who brought us RESCUE ME). He recently spoke with MTV about how he approached writer/director Andrew Niccol's source material.
"I came up with a world which is populated with Valids and Invalids, the same premise [as the movie], but taken into a police department where we’re… integrating, using the analogy of the ‘60s Civil Rights struggle," Grant explained. In the movie, those born through natural means filled the blue collar ranks while their genetically superior brothers and sisters enjoyed a wealth of opportunities.
"Even though it’s technically illegal to discriminate against Invalids, just like in the ‘60s people did," Grant continued. "So it’s come to pass that [the government has] ordered the police department to hire their first token Invalid into the detective department. What we’re doing is we’re taking an Invalid and teaming him up with a Valid, a seasoned officer. You know, it’s oil and water."
...Grant told MTV HERE.
"Even though it’s technically illegal to discriminate against Invalids, just like in the ‘60s people did," Grant continued. "So it’s come to pass that [the government has] ordered the police department to hire their first token Invalid into the detective department. What we’re doing is we’re taking an Invalid and teaming him up with a Valid, a seasoned officer. You know, it’s oil and water."
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I'm pumped..Gattaca was an incredible film. Hope this works
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As long as Dennis Leary doesn't end up playing the Invalid, it could be a good show. I just hope it doesn't turn into Rescue Me set in the future and with cops instead of fire fighters.
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A TV series would be awesome!
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and Alien Nation?
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Loved it, but didn't dig the style of the future. Why is everyone driving cars from the 1920's and dressing like extras in an Agatha Christy flick? Good film none the less, Jude Law's best performance and the soundtrack is epic.
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When I first saw it I thought, who is this Jude Law fellow? He's quite talented...Now I want to punch myself in the balls when I see him in a film.
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Aren't we preaching to the converted by now? I mean who's FOR discrimination? Aside from Verne Shilliger?
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Aren't we preaching to the converted by now? I mean who's FOR discrimination? Aside from Verne Shilliger?
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..Ethan Hawkes character, famous after dying in space and been discovered to be an Invalid
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never got into 24 or NCIS, but both seem to have large follwings. Gattaca does seem to have a good premise for television
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There are so many directions you could with this premise and they make it a procedural cop drama? Damn you, Law & Order!
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Nov 13, 2009 12:07:00 PM CST
If Gattaca couldn't get you laid, she was never going to put out
by jacksparasites
Great premise for a show. And sadly, cookylamoo, these issues continue to come up (See: Don't Ask Don't Tell) because people are horrible at learning from history.
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A tired concept when Jack Webb was doing it 50 years ago.
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You're right. 'Twas an advance screening, too...damn it.
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Nov 13, 2009 12:31:19 PM CST
Remember when everything was adapted to TV like this?
by asimovdiedofaids
He's a genetically-engineered, disgraced former career officer of a futuristic police force that uses advanced genetic techniques to fight crime... he's an "Invalid" a non-genetically-engineered throwback, considered a second class citizen in the futuristic society in which he is trapped... but now... they're working together as Private Eyes in L.A.!!!
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GATTACA is one of the best films of its decade, but the procedural premise for this series? Not exactly fresh, daring or revolutionary. Plus, the movie worked *because* it was just a movie: we could suspend our disbelief that a "Normal" could ever be superior to a genetically improved human *designed* to have fewer deficiences. Yeah, I know, "strength of the human spirit," yada yada, but still: the feel-good ending was unrealistic. I don't think you can stretch this out for longer than 120 minutes or so without the audience noticing that, hey, the unenhanced people really should be inferior. "We're more than the sum of our parts," sure, and by all means throw in something about the imperfections and unforeseen negative consequences in the process of genome tampering, but if the movie loses its scientific grounding in favour of some bullshit metaphysical ideal, I'll lose interest quickly.
The only way this would work is if they treated this realistically. Explore the moral dilemmas of human engineering and of having two classes of citizens that really *are* different in their capabilities. Layering a half-assed and likely to be extremely unsubtle civil rights theme over the story would kinda ruin the potential the series could have. -
"but if the *series* loses its scientific grounding," obviously. Damn you, AICN and your 20th century Invalid technology sans editing function.
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It's an interesting world to mine stories from. In the right hands, it might actually be good.
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He's a decent actor and he wastes his time and talent on that ridiculous show. What was last week's episode? I missed it. I missed the last 3 seasons. Gavin drank a brew with Jesus, right? *fart*
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the Television Series.
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Am I remembering that show correcty?
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...and turn it into another fucking buddy cop show.
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but like you guys, once I saw the buddy cop angle, I lost interest. Life on Mars, anyone?
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Nov 13, 2009 1:46:47 PM CST
More like Alien Nation, Mazzer, but with GM people instead of al
by margot_tenenbaum
I'm actually surprised no one has revived Alien Nation yet. Maybe the unappealing alien makeup is holding it back.
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argh.
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It's in the wind: http://tinyurl.com/yd4nm67
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in my opinion. quiet, but powerful. But the whole procedural, civil rights element seems to be a pretty limited way to interpret it for the small screen. The film wasn't about civil rights - it was about the ethics of genetic engineering, and it was about identity and striving beyond expectations. I hope it has some more depth and character than just 'civil rights allegory.'
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it will fail. Bad idea. I will kill myself if I am wrong.
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...spank banks involved?
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Sort of out of left field... but intriguing. If this is done right, it may be a really great SF series. I can't wait for more info on this.
Too bad Rescue Me is into its final season, but as enjoyable as that series is, I think it has run its course as the plots and character arcs have gone from improbable to prosperous. It is kinda cool that Apostle is doing something completely new instead of say a spin off of Rescue Me called "Lou: Fire Chief" or something. -
and he fights crime. sounds cool. They should make a bladerunner tv show instead, that would pretty much work, having an old model blade runner replicant teaming up with some new advanced model rookie and fighting japanese strippers/suicide hookers, geisha vampires, sex robots gone berserk, advanced AI infected gorrillas with uzis, religious fanatics who pray to alien gods, sewer mutants and penis monsters etc etc.
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Please leave art you don't understand alone...
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Nov 13, 2009 4:05:08 PM CST
Coming Next: STAR WARS POLICE DEPARTMENT BLUE
by richard_gere_raped_my_gerbil
Detective Obi Wan and Detective Palpatine are mismatched cops on the trail of local drug lord 'The Emperor'. They argue. They bicker. They sleep with each other's wives (surprising everyone who though Old Palpy was gay). The season final features a stunning revelation about the identity of the big bad which nobody saw coming, except those who have seen the movies.
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Leary can make a cop show. In fact I'd go so far to say that most current cop shows could learn a thing or two from The Job. How much involvement will Leary have in this new show. Gil Grant's resume doesn't fill me with confidence.
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and leary is a douche. that is all.
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he's an asshole, he's an asshole-e-o-e-o
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NOW
NAACP
La Raza
Discrimination is fine as long as it is the right kind of discrimination.
Just make sure your hate is politically correct hate.
And remember, according to the law two wrongs do make a right.
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and I thought I was the only one who loved Gattaca. Whatever happened to Andrew Niccol, btw? I always thought it was a crime that he didn't get to direct The Truman Show. Somehow I imagine a much better movie with him directing his own script.
As far as the premise goes...if they turn it into a murder-crime show then it gets old very fast. On the other hand, if these cops work lots of crimes just think of the possibilities. True, procedural crime shows are overdone these days but it is an argument to say that nothing can take us to more corners of a world better than cops investigating those corners in pursuit of justice. Best possible approach is to serialize the season a la 24 or Murder One or The Wire. Have them delve into one huge issue for the future at a time and really explore every angle. Do that and it could be amazing.
Speaking of tired premises: jbs9200, your little harangue re: discrimination is tired. So, so tired. -
Nov 13, 2009 6:45:19 PM CST
jbs9200, sounds like you're a fellow '1979 re-enactor'
by margot_tenenbaum
But for the other side.
MY group usually meets in Kansas every year to hold 'no nukes' reenactment rallys at the old missle sites down there.
I've just joined an Equal Rights Amendment LARP group as a NOW member so maybe I'll see you at the next gig. Keep Abortion Legal! LOL. Cya. -
Nov 13, 2009 8:30:42 PM CST
Gattacca Movie was su-fucking-perb. TV show depends where they t
by g100
To be fair, if you remember part of Gattaca was a pretty straight murder mystery and the Cop brother would be an easy entry point to the TV show.
Worth watching to see how they tackle it for sure.
I always felt that the Movie hinted that there was something strange and unexplained about Titan. Something that could be adapted into the TV show perhaps. -
And Hicks has been in the ground for 15 years. There is no god.
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Genetically enhanced criminal geniuses. They'd have to be too because the forensics are so advanced, one skin cell and you're caught. The procedural aspect of the film seemed pretty forensic heavy, i get more than a little whiff of a futuristic CSI off this project.
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Do the invalids get drunk on sour milk?
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It would really be cool if it was more than just a snob valid and a smart invalid team that comes to reapect each other over time. This has been done a million times already.
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..didn't get warmer reviews. Mostly three star, I would have given it four. Definately one of the more memorable sci-fi movies I've seen (but as I mentioned before, wasn't such a fan of the aesthetic. How the hell were they sitting quite confortably in a rocket in flight wearing designer suits? Looked like they were taking a fucking lift rather than leaving the atmosphere.)
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Nov 13, 2009 10:36:51 PM CST
I think the aesthetic was one of the reasons it worked
by chewbacca_khan
The gold-tone shots, the gorgeous architecture and clothes, even the cars. Everything was as sleek and beautiful as the people.
To be fair, we did see Vincent's childhood home and it wasn't nearly as pretty as Gattaca Corp. There were clear levels of class distinction there, we just didn't spend as much time with the lower castes as we did the upper. That's one area that the show could explore fruitfully: civil rights, class conflict, the ethics of genetic engineering, the near-future of tech. There's a lot to be excited about in this show. Potentially.
Side note: I had typed out a whole, convoluted, Kevin Nealon joke about getting excited, very excited, extremely excited, totally lost interest. But the damn site didn't take the post and I'm not doing it all again. -
..no issue with that. I could see what they were going for but did it have to be basically 1920/30's style? Couldn't they have come up with a more futuristic aesthetic that gave the same sleek and beautiful feel? The taking off of the rocket at the end is especially ridiculous. Surely they would be wearing some kind of space faring uniform
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Not when you are shooting on location in LA. The sets you have in mind would have made it a hugely more expensive film. And besides...it is the "not too distant" future.
The rocket thing was a bit much, I grant. But I was willing to go with it. -
..Logan's Run, but making it look like the roaring twenties is equally unrealistic. If its the not too distant future surely it should be closer to the styles we have now, not 80 or 90 years past of our present. And if almost everyone is engineered, surely there are genius clothing designers also. Why would they recycle past looks when they could blaze new trails of fashion themselves? Also, 1920's clothing is one thing, but the vechicles of the future also?
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Consider this point as well: The art-deco, streamline moderne, or nouveau movements, where a lot of the film comes from were themselves styles based on and inspired by the future as it was seen at the time of those movements. They were based in new materials (chrome, steel, etc) and the lines of airplanes, trains, and even military technology. Not only that but the 20s/30s were a time of wide-spread interest in eugenics as well, not only in Europe but in the US and parts of Asia. The art design in Gattaca is a choice that reinforces these themes rather than an attempt to depict the "future" through the buildings and cars. It's not Bladerunner, or Logan's Run, as you point out where the purpose of the design is to drive home how far ahead in time we are. Instead it represents an intentional choice that isn't just a cop-out or an excuse to use pretty things; it's done with as a point of reference to the ways we have thought about the future, and how the future ultimately ends up a reflection of our past or present.
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Think he was, which is why he was outranked by the much younger police officer, Vincent's brother. Not sure if it is outrightly stated in the movie but if not it is certainly to be assumed. If this is the dynamic of the series, the Invalid being the older of partners, it could be interesting. The valid in theory should be the better detective, but his partner has something you can't engineer, experience and a natural instinct for solving crimes.
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Most interesting aspects of that film for me
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Natural Poh-Leese.
BTW wasn't there a short lived TV Show years ago which featured the 30's aesthetic in cars, had strange suits and ties ? Might have even had something to do with David Lynch ? Or did I dream it ??? -
is working on a film right now and I cant recall the name. the cross got canned. it had vincent cassel and john goodman. the film he is working on right now is Stephenie myeres. the host. which is her first non twilight book. its for adults. not read any of her stuff and dont intend too.
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Gattaca borrows many design and thematic ideas from the film noir genre. The futuristic electric turbine cars are based on 1960s car models like Rover P6, Citroën DS19 and Studebaker Avanti, and futuristic buildings represent postmodern architecture of 1950s.
Gattaca isn't so much meant to look like the future, but an idealised version of the future. It's more likely people would be wearing what has been tried and known to look good, ie. suits, rather than say tin-foil. And considering how far fabrics have come in the last few decades it's possible we could imbue everyday clothes with futuristic properties. -
Joe Sickspack will read InValid as invalid and ask where the wheelchair is
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Yet invalid at times. What a paradox!
:) -
I think it wasn't only Ethan Hawke's spirit that defied the system. The whole system is broken in Gattaca. Spoiler: The man without agressive genes is the brutal murderer, the perfect man can never beat his older brother, the other perfect man is a pathetic failiure, the doctor representing the system hates it and manipulates it... in GATTACA nobody has the life their genes predestine for them. The Invalid Astronaut is just the tip of the iceberg.
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They already did the Blade Runner tV show with exactley that premise just called it Total Recall the series.
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Gattaca was about the possibility to exceed your potential, not about human rights.
Besides, I always thought that Alan Arkins character was an invalid, hence his low rank despite obvious experience and ability. -
Apologies, only just spotted your post. Bang on fella!
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True story though, in 1999 I was working for a big high end department store in a local mall. Every day there was a guy who would come in and walk around every store,just to walk I guess, and he always had on a Gattaca promotional hat and t shirt.Every day he had the hat on and most days the same shirt too. I always thought that was odd.
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One of the best sci-fi flicks from the past decade
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Knew it would be one of those films that build up a loving following. Boggled by all the mediocre and even negative reviews at the time. And Limey_scum, so it wan't actually mentioned in the film, just to be assumed? Thought so, don't remember anybody refering to the fact. As I said if the show has that model (experinced older inValid cop teamed with higher ranking but inexperinced Valid) then the show could also be about exceeding your potential.
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I don't recall that many instances of the system failing outright, but it's been a while since I've seen the movie, so you may be right. But like I said, I'm actually fine with the series exploring how flawed the system is, as long as they don't reduce the theme to a civil rights analogy. There should at least be some obvious advantages to genome engineering, otherwise what's the point?
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It's an interesting idea. Gattaca is one of my all time favourite sci-fi films, it's good pure sci-fi, none of this ray-gun space battle nonsense you often get.
Variety could have bothered to spell Gattaca correctly (the name's derived from the first letters of DNA base pairs). -
Is already (more or less)based on this premise. Law enforcement officer, an outsider, considered intellectually inferior, dealing with citizens with smarts, power and influence and often showing them up.
"street smarts" and all... -
seen it
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the Gattaca universe if they want the show to last.
There are rich story telling possibilities inherent in science fiction but it'd take a showrunner who knows where he wants to take the show as well as a brain capable of dealing with the science and all the complexities of the future society... (note 'deal with' doesn't necessarily mean "write extensively about")... unfortunately there aren't too many of those around.
It'd be easy to fall into a trap of telling generic stories about discrimination of mismatched cops. Those are important themes but coming up with the manner in which they (as well as other themes) manifest in the stories to make the show interesting will take a good deal of skill. -
Nov 14, 2009 7:09:07 PM CST
Alien Nations sounds...er...I mean...Gattac for TV sounds...
by retroactive
nothing like the movie. Another waste. It basically just sounds like another dumb cop show pairing "right side of the tracks" vs. "wrong side of the tracks". Isn't the point of Gattaca the whole sleeper cell angle with the hope of being treated as an equal in an unequal society?
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I guess I'm a little late to the Alien Nation party. Maybe they can add a rotten milk sex scene as an homage?!
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One of the modern sci-fi classics and Merrick, who is in a dead heat with Quint for worst taste on AICN staff, doesn't remember it. Wow. I'm shocked. Really.
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the movie also. but it does seem as if leary has no interest in the questions the movie raised. gattaca the movie came out at a time when dolly the sheep had happened. the movie was controversial for that and there were copius articles in the press about genetics, and gm food. what made the work was that it was topical enough to say this is not pie in the sky stuff and that you could erradicated things through the maniuplation of genetics. it was a great movie. superb
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Valid cop teamed with invalid cop...ya mean like a white man teamed with a black man...or a woman teamed with a man...or an alien teamed with a human...
Creatively bankrupt as usual...
Gattaca may not have been perfect but its concept was interesting and important at least. -
The inner turmoil of Rescue Me will work well in the "I'm InValid" world of the Gattaca series. Can't wait to see the casting. With Leary behind the scenes there will be less vanity criticism that seemed to plague RM. This also looks like a complete departure from comedy for him, or I just don't see how it will be worked in. The movie is in no way a comedy. Will Peter Tolan be involved in this?
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Nov 16, 2009 10:34:36 AM CST
Like the idea of a Gattaca series, don't like the cop angle...
by royston lodge
The "sci-fi cop show" has been done. To death.
I'd rather see this in a corporate environment. Like a scifi Mad Men.
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