Clear and Present Danger , The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games were very successful spy movies back in the day and apparently Paramount is looking for more of that sort of success, but they are going about it in a very strange way. Here’s what director Phillip Noyce had to say over at movieweb.com:
Phillip Noyce, who directed Jack Ryan films Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, tells Moviehole that he’s heard that the wheels are in motion to put C.I.A agent Ryan back on the big screen. But no, he won’t be involved and by the sounds of it, neither will the man who invented the popular literary character. Apparently there’s a legal loophole that enables the studio to make a film based on the character – without getting Clancy’s input.
According to Noyce, Paramount is looking to re-launch the Jack Ryan film series that began with 1990’s The Hunt for Red October … only this time, the film would not be based on one of Tom Clancy’s books. The studio has the right to make a film based on the character but not John Clark, a character that appears in his own set of Clancy novels without the permission of author, and so they’re going to come up with their own story for a new Ryan movie.
Wait a second. Ok. A movie studio is trying to make a movie based on a character from a book series but doesn’t take any of stories ever written about him, and may not even use him in the movie? Whaaaaat? Man, that is confusing. It also seems wrong.
I know they are apparently within their legal rights but it just smells a bit sour. If this is true then they are basically stealing a character and making up their own story to go along with it.
Why not hire the author to write something specifically to their requirements? If I was a fan of his books I’d be very excited to see a movie that was about a character I loved but done with a completely different take, if the author was involved. But if that was done without the creator’s permission I wouldn’t trust the product.
I liked The Hunt for Red October series, it was intelligent, well acted and well written. I’d even like it is Harrison Ford came back and reprised his role. But I think in any business ethical behavior should be upheld, and when it is not…well, the venture tends to sink faster than a submarine.
I wasn’t big on Harrison either (although when I heard he was signed back in 1991 I was very excited about it), and Ben was okay, but the script left a lot to be desired.
I wouldn’t mind if they took the character and left the author. Tom Clancy’s writing lately has been terrible lately. Red Rabbit was a bore and Teeth of the Tiger was terrible.
HfRO was a great movie, and was also his top 3 books (Patriot Games and Sum of All Fears being the other two). I even liked Debt of Honor. Things started changing for his writing and storylines at Executive Orders and continued down from there.\
I’ve read an internet rumor that Alec may come back to play Jack Ryan, and (dispite his politics) I think he would do a great job as Ryan again (hope he loses about 30 or 40 pounds first).
Alec came across as the most analytical of all the them. The key would be the script and the storyline.
We get “the right sort, this will work. We get some ‘buckaroo’….” and it would fail.
Maybe they could get Nick Meyer (Star Trek II WOK) along with Joel Surnow (of ’24’) to come up with a story and write the script.
Just some passing thoughts.
You think the American people are ready to see a Jumbo Jet crash into the US Capitol Building, killing the President and most of Congress and a big chunk of top government officials? I’m betting “Debt of Honor” doesn’t see the silver screen intact until well after 2011. Ten years should be enough distance in time.
debt of honor movie. now.
Bill: yes, it is true that there have been Bond films that were not adapted from the books and/or short stories. But that’s also when they were running out of books and short stories to adapt.
Also, there was the sequels to Cocoon and Fletch that ignored the book(s) and they would up becoming horrible sequels in the late 80’s.
get ford back to do the one where ryan is president…..
Um, remember Ian Fleming? James Bond? It’s not like this has not been done before. If that is how the contract was written, then how is it a problem?
To clarify my last comment, before I get passed a smoking gun: I’d rather see a Clark film than a Ryan one. Someone does the non-book Ryan film; someone else does the Clark film.
First, the role of Ryan is recast (and, sorry, Sharon, I liked Alec far, far better than Harrison) then recast again and rebooted (Ben Affleck, “Sum Of All Fears”) and now this bit of news?
I suppose part of it is that Clancy has been known to be critical of some of the creative license Hollywood directors take with his material (evidence of this is heard in the ‘Fears’ audio commentary) … but the novel still exists. But I’m sure that something could be worked out.
I back up xpgeek; in fact, waasn’t Mace Neufeld (producer) attempting to do “Red Rabbit” a few years ago?
And..one more thing…
I give don’t give a rip if Noyce was involved or not. You make it sound tragic, Sharon. Now if you told me John Mcternian was back, that’d be nice, or even Phil Alden Robinson, who directed Fears.
I really don’t see a Jack Ryan film happening without a book tie-in. I just don’t.
In the meantime:
1) Let’s not get Ryan and Clark confused. They said they want to use Ryan, not Clark. So be it. Screw it. Someone go pick up the dormant ‘Without Remorse’ project. It’s around somewhere. Hell, it almost got made at one point, until that HBO’s Savoy went belly up anyway.
2) I agree that Clancy be involved in some capacity. Have him write the story, or contribute to the script. Better yet, if they make peace and there is an olive branch- why bother?! They’ll get Red Rabbit or Cardinal Of The Kremlin or what have you. When the film is done, people will be happy for years; Clancy will be happy for one hour.
much as i like some of Connery & Ford’s past work, i feel that it was their starpower that drew the biggish audiences @ the time of their contributions to this franchise (i refused to watch the Ben Asslick version). in retrospect, i never hear people mention those films with any fond memories or even mention them much as a matter of fact. they all just kinda faded away after their intial releases on video..
I agree, and the studio’s way of doing this sounds kind of shady. Theres plenty of Clancy books that used Ryan as a character left to be made into films too.