Because it was finally proved that the irreplaceable William Shatner can be replaced, the previously untouchable roles of The Shat suddenly surface on the shopping list for studios doing adaptations of old TV shows.
And now TJ Hooker will be getting the big screen treatment.
Producer Heppe is gung-ho about the adaptation saying: “The series was the poster child for cop TV shows in the 1980s with great stunts, so we think there’s a fun movie to be made from it.” Chuck Russell, whose previous work includes The Mask and the less-than-stellar Eraser, is in talks to direct. Writers Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson are handling the script, which reportedly focuses on the relationship between the title character and his father.
I am convninced that adaptations of old TV shows is not a sign of a lack of creativity or originality in Hollywood. People who think that Hollywood has run out of ideas clearly don’t understand that money rules all of Hollywood. Its naive to think they do remakes and adaptations because they have nothing left.
Familiarity breeds interest, which breeds publicity – the lifeblood of film promotion.
I do however think that very often someone in Hollywood looks at an original script and sees the potential to tweak it slightly to tie it to the popularity of a familiar desserted franchise. Take for example, Starsky and Hutch. A very popular cop show. Someone pitches a buddy cop comedy script and then some exec gets a floating lightbulb dinging over their head and says “What if we just took this original script and change it slightly so it could be a Starsky and Hutch adaptation!!”
And lemmings around the board room table say “Yes, now THAT would sell!”
And very possibly, an original script that might never have seen the light of day about a “no-nonsense police sergeant” and his relationship with his father is suddenly applied to an adaptation of TJ Hooker. The TV Show dealt more with TJ demoting himself to Sergeant so that he could track down the men who murdered his partner, and his subsequent mentor role to his younger patrolman staff (Which included Heather Locklear). There never was an issue with his relationship with his father in the show, so this script is clearly something new and original to explore.
The real question is: Will Chris Pine be cast as Thomas James Hooker? Now THAT publicity angle would sell!
