Papa Vinyard here, now here's a little somethin' for ya...
They've been trying to reboot POLICE ACADEMY for fucking forever, but for the first time, it sounds like something may actually be coming together. On Adam Greene and Joe Lynch's "The Movie Crypt" podcast a few weeks back, Jordan Peele mentioned there were plans in motion to get a remake off the ground featuring him and his KEY & PEELE partner, Keegan-Michael Key. Now, there's word from The Tracking Board (via Indiewire) that New Line has indeed made a deal with the two comedians to produce and (probably) star in this update, much in the same way Sony assigned Jonah Hill to bring 21 JUMP STREET to the 21st century.
The original POLICE ACADEMYs ran for 7 movies and two season-long TV series (kind of the opposite of what COMMUNITY's shooting for), but has one of the most dismal reputations amongst comedy fans this side of National Lampoon Productions. The original film starred Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall, G.W. Bailey, and a whole host of unknown cadets, some of whom would pop up in the various sequels (eventually sans Guttenberg and PA 2 addition Bobcat Goldthwait). The series dredged on from 1984-1997, but the last feature film (MISSION TO MOSCOW, co-starring Christopher Lee and Ron Perlman) was an across-the-board clunker, making just over $125,000 in theaters. Because the property sunk so low, I'm not sure if there's as much nostalgia towards the POLICE ACADEMYs as there was for 21 JUMP STREET, but if New Line truly wants to inject some life into the franchise, hiring Key and Peele is a great start.
Key and Peele first appeared together on MADTV about a decade back, but only really started surging in popularity once their Comedy Central show started showing off their talents proper (no doubt due to increased creative control over their material). They've been slowly making waves (usually separately) in various projects, including Key's scene-stealing role in HELL BABY (and an upcoming one in LET'S BE COPS), Peele's stunning Jules Winfield at the PULP FICTION LACMA live read, and both of their smallish parts in David Wain's WANDERLUST. It was only a matter of time before a smart producer/production company gave them the keys to the kingdom of Hollywood filmmaking, and it seems like original series producer Paul Malansky and New Line are going to be the ones to make it happen.
I'm a much bigger KEY & PEELE fan than I am of the POLICE ACADEMYs (though the first four have their charms), but I have no doubt that, if this pans out, they can do wonders with the material. After all, this isn't the first time they've tackled the legacy of Michael Winslow before...
-Vincent Kim-Zahedi
”Papa Vinyard”
vincentzahedi@gmail.com
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