A few days ago I posted a story that stated that John Singleton had just signed on to direct a film version of 1980’s television show The A-Team. I also stated that the last time anyone heard about the project was a couple of years ago when James Bond screenwriter Bruce Feirstein had been hired to write a script.
Now it seems that Feirstein’s script has been tossed, and a new script has been written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, with revisions made by Michael Brandt and Derek Yuma.
According to MovieHole.net the new script begins in Baghdad in 2003, and from what I read in the review it sounds like it has as much to do with The A-Team as a daytime cooking program.
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According to MovieHole, Hannibal, Face and B.A are set-up by some villainous soldiers who stage a heist in a Baghdad museum. Face cuts a deal and is set free, while his two friends are sent to a military prison. However, while in prison Hannibal and B.A meet and befriend Murdock: a crazy Captain with a bipolar disorder. Following a prison break, they set out to get revenge and clear their names.
Now, let’s get one thing straight, I’m no A-Team purist. I watched the show as a kid, and I’ve probably seen it four times in the last twenty years (yes, I’m that old), but this film sounds like it’s just another example of stealing the name of a television show to help marketing the movie.
I can hear you scream about other shows that have been changed, but I feel that a film like Miami Vice stayed true to its television show roots, by keeping key elements and updating the show’s style for a modern audience.
Even Starsky and Hutch stayed true to its origins. In fact, I feel that by making the film a comedy they were able to keep the original appeal of the show, because there have been so many “buddy films” since Starsky and Hutch ended on television.
From what MovleHole says, this film is aimed at The Fast and the Furious market, and they seem to have given no thought at all to fans of the show.
That’s my rant. I’m sure that we’ll find out more (bad) news soon.
What do you guys think?
Source: Moviehole
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22 Comments
NO Tom Cruise please, he has already been part of the wrecking of another iconic TV series (Mission: Impossible).
After thinking about it, I agree with those not interested in a prequel. It would be interesting but a waste of time and resources. Interestingly, I think a continuation of the story line forward into time would not be so good either (remember, many feel that the final season was a lot weaker than the first four, too complicated and character-diluted). IMHO the best approach for a movie would have been yet another escapade set during the best years of the series, sort of a “lost episodes” approach.
Also, as I look at some old taped episodes, I think that the photography (angles, etc) and music had as much to do with the uniqueness of the show as the four main chatacters did. I hope they don’t try to “update” the music to something different from that hard-charging full-band sound (please don’t take the easy way out by using guitar hard rock), and for God’s sake don’t use the “shaky camera” look.
Remember, “The A-Team” was a hit. Frankly, if they sent a cookie-cutter replica of an episode to the theatres, expanded to 100 minutes, and simply tried to outdo the original “The A-Team” but with the exact same formula, I believe they would have a rockin’ winner on their hands.
I truly believe this because “The A-Team” was all about setting and meeting expectations. All the potential viewers who wanted variation and deep nuance departed by the middle of the first season to watch “ER” or something. If you watched “The A-Team”, you knew that during the first 5 minutes the bad guys would assert themselves, then around minute 20 the “A-Team” would make its presence known, then around minute 40 the Team would be in trouble, then after eight minutes or so they would prevail, then say something funny and freeze frame and out. During those days this was one of the few things that some of us could count on to happen correctly and consistently every week.
So just follow the formula, expand the minute marks out to fill a couple hours, and entertain us and take the money to the bank.
Oh and by the way, for The Four use one big star, one crossover celebrity, one medium-successful actor and one relatively unknown actor. Ok I could go on but I will stop now.
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