In article <bpj5ck$1p9ps0$***@ID-63378.news.uni-berlin.de>, Chris
wrote...
Face it, any Magnum movie is going to aimed at the Magnum fan
audience.
I'm not so sure about that. Any Magnum movie made by you and/or me,
yes, would be aimed at the fan audience. But any Magnum movie made
by a Hollywood studio (with all the requisite econo-political
baggage intact) ought not to be expected to appeal to the fans of
the original TV series. Hollywood marketing, as one example, can
have much to do with how a movie is made...not just with how a
finished movie is marketed. I wouldn't expect Hollywood marketers
to push for this movie to be aimed at fans of the series.
Why not do it with the actor(s) that will have the most people be
able readily identify with?
Because the language is money. "Readily identify with" to TPTB in
Hollywood means "buy a ticket to go see." We on alt.tv.magnum-pi
most readily identify with Selleck, Hillerman, Mosley and Manetti.
But the broader ticket-buying world today, in Hollywood's mind
probably, more readily identifies today with the likes of George
Clooney. In other words, the original cast of MPI, while beloved
by we the fans, doesn't translate to big box office.
As an anecdote, and not necessarily meant to suggest proof of some
larger trend, when I mentioned to my wife today that there was a
new rumor cropping up that the rumored MPI movie might have
Clooney as "Thomas" her main reaction was (and I quote) "Yum!"
She thinks Selleck was a perfectly good "Magnum" but she clearly
would rather go to the movies to see Clooney than Selleck. I
think the studio whould be well aware, or at least of the opinion,
that many people across the general movie-going audience would be
going to this movie to see George Clooney, not "a Thomas Magnum
story." The fact that the story might be sort-of based on some
'80s P.I. show would be almost irrelevant. As a fan of the series,
who wants the movie to be aimed at me, my knowing (strongly
suspecting, at least) that I'm not in the target audience doesn't
make me feel good but, at the same time, I acknowledge it.
Hhhhmmmmm, I'd have to think about this one. I like Clooney, and
think he could do a decent job, and it should go without saying
that I'd prefer TS in the role. Clooney could fit the bill, though
many of the mannerisms that Selleck brought to the role might seem
forced coming through GC.
I agree. But this would be the case only if Clooney chose to let
any of Selleck's portrayal of Magnum influence his own. Clooney,
or any other actor, might come to the role trying to do totally
their own thing with the character; watching MPI episodes, perhaps,
but not trying to capture "Selleck as Magnum." ...Unless (perish
the thought) this movie were trying to be to the MPI series as the
Brady Bunch movies were to that series, with the contemporary
actors trying their darnedest to replicate all the idiosyncracies
of the TV show's actors/characters. In other words, some sort of
allegedly comedic satire of the original series. One would hope
that since MPI wasn't a sit-com it wouldn't inspire a satire movie
treatment. :-|
- DR
@ Mag. Mem.