Way back in November of 2003 we reported the rumblings of a Magnum P.I. movie that could be in the works. However, in the last couple of years there’s been an eerie sort of silence around the whole thing. At one point, George Clooney was even attached as the hero (which I thought would have been a great choice).
But now that silence is broken and it looks like an actual director has been attached to the project, and it’s none other that Dodgeball (a film that I LOVED) director Rawson Marshall Thurber.
Now I know what some of you are thinking… “PLEASE DON’T TURN MAGNUM INTO SOME STUPID WACKY COMEDY LIKE THEY DID WITH STARSKY AND HUTCH!” I totally agree with you. Not that the movie about Magnum shouldn’t be funny (because the show had laughs).
But the good news is that apparently (according to our friends over at Cinema Blend) Thurber has publicly said he wasn’t to make a “Serious” Magnum P.I film. That bodes well for fans of the show. I still haven’t heard about who will play Thomas Magnum… but I sure hope it’s still Clooney (but it probably won’t be).
Arminius,
No, I don’t see where you’re coming from. PERHAPS you could make a case for that if George Clooney was going to appear in a film playing George W. Bush. Or if Tom Selek was going to appear in a film as Micheal Moore. Perhaps at that point some anecdotal comparisions and observations could be made… However…
To take a totally politically neutral (as a matter of fact politically absent) project like Magnum PI and assess some sort of political meaning or inference to the casting thereof… is something only a political extremist (Left or Right) would do.
Magnum PI fans are neither Left nor Right.. They’re just Magnum PI fans. And Magnum PI (the character) was neither Republican or Democrat.
Does how we feel about a particualr actor/actress sometimes effect how we see them professionaly? Sure. I’ve made that point myself many times. However…
To try to draw some sort of line between two actors (great actors by the way) who happen to have differnt political views over an on screen character who is politically indifferent is a severe stretch to say the least.
The director should cast whoever he/she feels would best portray the character in line with their particular vision. I don’t care if that’s Russell Crowe, Tom Selek, George Clooney, Jesse Ventura or Hulk fricking Hogan.
Neither of these guys are jerks, or have beaten children, or have cocaine habbits or kick puppies. How they vote at the ballot box is totally irrelivent to the vast majority of film fans, except for those who are political extremists to the Left or the Right. And I have very little time for either.
Hmmm. Whether you see ideology or not when you look at a star, some people do.
If I say “Jane Fonda” or “Barbara Streisand,” that brings up a particular ideological image to the minds of many people. It might not have in 1965, but it does now. When casting a movie, that needs to be taken into account.
Similarly, if I say “Charlton Heston” or “Tom Selleck” that also brings up similar ideological associations. Since conservatives are far rarer than liberals in Hollywood, those associations stand out. Selleck is particularly prominent because of his widely publicized dustups with people like Rosie O’Donnell and his multi-year TV ads for National Review.
Now add in Clooney’s interviews and TV appearances, and his output this year with Good Night and Good Luck, and Syriana. Clooney is now rapidly approaching the immediate ideological association that people have with his name as Jane Fonda or Barbara Streisand have. All of the things that he has been involved in in the last 12 months have been highly politically-charged.
Now, given that, replace Selleck with Clooney. Can it at least be understood that for many people the immediate association is there? Whether you agree that it should be there or not, it is. And that is regardless of how one sees their individual acting work (and I admire both on that level)….
I’m sorry Arminius… but that is one of the most assinine comments ever left on this site.
Only an extremist (Left or Right) would look at a ROLE IN A MOVIE like Magnim PI and see politics. What a sad sad commentary on North American society.
Get a grip… it’s a MOVIE for fuck sake.
Replacing one of hollywood’s most prominent and outspoken conservatives with one of its most prominent and outspoken leftists wouldn’t go unnoticed by Magnum P.I. fans, many of whom would consider it a slap in the face, whether intended as such or not.
Clooney has made his ideological bed and must now lie in it. He is damaged goods, and nobody in their right mind ought to consider him for a role like this.
That idea must have come from the same people who greenlit Oliver Stone for the first movie depicting 9/11. Yet, nobody can figure out why movie attendance is so down…..brilliant.
AIRWOLF!!
That helicopter was SO 1999. I would love to see a take on a super advanced helicopter from the perspective of mid 2000s.
Also, I think Selleck could do Magnum, but they would have to make it Magnum 20 years later. Might have to address some of the issues like Magnum living in the mansion while the master was away for THAT LONG?
Didn’t it turn out that the butler was actually the property owner posing as a butler?
It hasn’t been the first time,Russell, that Tom Selleck could possibly return as Thomas Magnum. But Selleck has had more favor on the small screen than the big.
John: that Clooney rumor a year or so ago was false. FALSE. He was a consideration but was never “attatched” Not ever. The rumor began due to the following:
1) The USA Today Poll that ran in spring of 2004 which asked ‘if a feature film of ‘Magnum’ were made, who should play Magnum? Clooney came in second. Brad Pitt was third. Guess who was first? Tom Selleck. The idea of Clooney, however, impressed producer Brian Grazer, and has been on the wish list if Selleck says no. Once more: Clooney was only CONSIDERED but never officially or unofficially attatched in any way.
2) There was location scouting in Hawaii for a film ‘based on a TV action series’ in the summer of 2004. People thought it was Magnum. It was later revealed to be ‘Hawaii 5.0″- which a month later got put in turnaround.
Now:
Last year, when A&E ran a new Bio on Tom Selleck:
Selleck says a producer came to him a year or so back and told him “we’ve purchased the rights to Magnum. We want to make a film. We won’t do it with anyone else but you”. Selleck made a joke about keeping fit and well until it happens “before the end of the year”.
There was some humor in the shows, but I too would hope the film is more along the lines of ‘The Fugitive; or the upcoming ‘Miami Vice’.
My my, is “Simon & Simon” not too far behind? “Airwolf”?
Maybe I’m crazy but I think I would like to see the original cast in the movie. Yes they are all old but who cares. Even at 60 years old Tom Selleck still looks like he can kick some ass. I am not saying they would have to pretend to be young. Also I am sure thier is a bunch of reasons why that wouldn’t work like I think Higgins is dead and Magnum died in the last episode but still I would defiantly go see a movie with the original cast. Of course they won’t do that; instead they will have some one new do the role. I kind of think Clooney may be too old if they are going for the fresh young look. Clooney turns 45 this year. But at the same time I don’t want to see Colin Farrell do this either.
By the way IMDB.com is cool oh and other random thoughts congratulations on the Podcast nomination.
Call me crazy, but I think someone who runs a website called “The Movie Blog” should at least spell the word “movie” correctly in the title of this post. Just a suggestion. :)