Merrick here...

USA Today has some tidbits about the GET SMART movie currently in production (Starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway in roles originated by Don Adams and Barbara Feldon – who I had a huge crush on back in the day), The Rock, Alan Arkin, and Terrence Stamp. Damn cool cast, there.

This from director Peter Segal (THE NAKED GUN 33 1/3, ANGER MANAGEMENT, and the upcoming SHAZAM!):

"We try to show the disconnect between government agencies as we saw right after 9/11 when the CIA and FBI weren't really communicating," Segal says. "We wanted to make sure we were politically satirical."

The article goes onto say:

The film updates the relationship between the two heroes, telling an origin story of how Smart became an agent and met 99. In this version, she is the veteran spy who takes the newcomer under her wing

You can read more about the film’s approach to its source material (as well as a few plot points) in the original article, HERE.

I loved this series as a kid, although I’m not sure it plays so well now. I used to go around saying “Missed it by that much!” all the time, annoying my parents greatly. Of course, nearly everything I said annoyed my parents greatly.

I’ll never forget going to see THE NUDE BOMB (the 1980 GET SMART feature film) with my dad…also a fan of the show. I was so looking forward to the movie, and it simply didn’t deliver. When the lights came up there was that uncomfortable, awkward silence that you get when an audience has been severely let down. The only other time I’ve noted a similar reaction so dramatically was for the (opening midnight) screening of PHANTOM MENACE – when shocked and disappointed fans moped silently from the theater like it was some sort funeral. Which, in a way, I suppose it was.

None of this has anything to do with the new GET SMART movie, which…if handled wisely…could be a lot of fun. I don’t necessarily dislike the overall approach they’re taking at the moment, except for making it an origin story. I don’t think this serves the concept, or the audience, at all. This is the kind of thing works on its own merits…we don’t need to have it spoon fed to us.