You knew it was coming: Magnum, PI, the movie
Filed under: Action, Drama, Deals, Universal, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
With the success of Starsky & Hutch, the drooling masses who turned up to ogle Jessica
Simpson's Daisy Dukes-clad ass in The Dukes of
Hazzard, and the imminent arrival of Miami
Vice, it was pretty much inevitable that somebody would eventually decide that Magnum,
P.I. would also be a cash cow. That somebody turned out to be both a wise suit at Universal, who have long held
the rights, and Brian
Grazer, who will be producing the film (through Imagine Entertainment). The screenplay will be written and directed
by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who penned both Dodgeball and the brilliant Terry Tate, Office Linebacker short that was turned into possibly
the best Super Bowl ad of all time.As someone who loved Magnum as a kid and was shocked to discover as an adult that it's often well-acted and surprisingly well-written, I read this news with a bit of trepidation. Since the big screen version of TV shows that have been most successful have been incredibly campy (affectionate, I admit, but still campy), I was worried that the same approach would be taken with this adaptation. Somehow that just seems wrong, not to mention weirdly disrespectful of a pretty complex TV show. But then I got to the good part of the article: according to the Hollywood Reporter, the film will not be a "spoof but rather something akin to the tone of the show, which mixed humor and danger." Excellent. Now I'm officially not completely scared.
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Reader Comments (Page 11 of 11)
1-27-2006 @ 5:45AM
Jon said...
My preferences would be:
Magnum - Clive Owen
Higgins - John Cleese
T.C. - Samuel L. Jackson or Denzel Washington
Rick - George Clooney
Reply
1-27-2006 @ 5:54AM
kathy said...
To mess with perfection will only ruin it...leave it alone and do NOT use Ben Stiller...good grief! There will never be any one as good at Magnum as Tom Selleck.
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1-27-2006 @ 5:58AM
Mitch said...
A Reunion Story would make this Movie a Hit. I'm sure Tom Selleck and the Crew wouldn't mind doing that for 1 Movie? People would pay Money to see these guys in action again, Guaranteed!
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1-27-2006 @ 6:02AM
Mike Sciotto said...
I'll watch the film, but I still say they need to do a story with Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Roger Mosley, and Larry Manetti reprising their roles. The last episode of the series left too many holes that we deserve the answers to. Is Rick married to Cleo, or did he get cold feet? Did T.C. reconcile with his ex-wife? Is Higgins really Robin Masters? And in keeping up with the fact it has been 18 years, is Magnum still in the Navy, and how is his daughter Lily?
The one question I had from the series was how come it took one episode seven seasons in before they wrote in the concept of Magnum suggesting Higgins was Robin Masters, and what caused these Freudian slips by Higgins?
Still a great show! I have all the episodes!
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1-27-2006 @ 6:06AM
Tom 3 Subt said...
The TV show was great. But that was largely due to the believable cast of characters and their special relationships. We came to love the show because of the way we came to know those characters week after week. A 2 hour movie with a new set of actors is not going to build that same kind of character affinity. Magnum IS Tom Selleck--and that's true for the rest of the cast as well. BTW, are they all even still around? I've been waiting for a Magnum movie for years!
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1-27-2006 @ 6:15AM
david french said...
Hawaii 5-0 was a better show. That should be a movie. Book em Danno.
Reply
1-27-2006 @ 6:25AM
terry wickham said...
I would like to see halk hogan in the movie and ! agree the rock ought to play magnam. or myself.thankyou,terry
Reply
1-27-2006 @ 8:26AM
kw said...
I worked on Magnum, There will be no others to play the roles.. leave it alone or do right with somebody like Clancy to write it...As for Magnum if you dont use Selleck, you may as well as put a mustache on Donold Duck...
Reply
1-27-2006 @ 8:27AM
kw said...
I worked on Magnum, There will be no others to play the roles.. leave it alone or do right with somebody like Clancy to write it...As for Magnum if you dont use Selleck, you may as well as put a mustache on Donold Duck...
Reply
1-28-2006 @ 12:58AM
Corey said...
If the original cast does not return, it's essentially a waste in my opinion. The cast is what made the original show such a treat...
Reply
1-28-2006 @ 1:16PM
Kevin said...
Well, after reading a good bit of the responses, it seems as though the consensus is IN, It's Tom Selleck and crew or don't bother. I agree, He IS Thomas Magnum, and always will be. The chemistry between the cast was genuine. I remember when they were going to wrap it up at the end of '87, and Selleck decided to go another year to allow everybody (the people we DON'T see behind the cameras) there on the island time to find work after the show wrapped. Name me a current lead that would think of others like THAT! Tom Selleck is a class act. The Dukes, and Starsky and Hutch, what wastes of film, NEITHER had the feel of the originals. Hollywood, are you LISTENING? DON'T SCREW THIS UP!!! Original cast, or PUNT!
Reply
1-28-2006 @ 9:28PM
GRETCHEN POTTS said...
although MAGNUM PI is sacred, a movie venerating the original series would be great but only Tom Selleck could ever be Magnum. they broke the mold. He is the BEST1!!!
Reply
1-29-2006 @ 6:11PM
Derek said...
Hey, how 'bout Evan Marriott from "Joe Millionaire" as Magnum? Naw, jus' kiddin'. But here's my good faith effort to cast the movie:
Rick: Greg Kinnear; Tom Arnold; Steve Carell; Jake Busey
T.C.: Don Cheadle; or resurrect Eddie Murphy
Higgins: John Hillerman is irreplaceable; but, since someone else must be chosen, Darrell Hammond of Saturday Night Live would be a respectable alternative -- seriously. Yes, Hammond would have to tone himself down and flesh out his take on Higgins beyond his usual SNL comedy sketch requirements. If he could do that, he'd actually be pretty good, because Hammond excels at characters who are stiff/proper, prissy, and slightly sour. He could even dye his hair dark brown and slick it over, Higgins-style!
Thomas Magnum: No well known film or television actor in his 30s or 40s could come close to playing Magnum as well as Tom Selleck. With this in mind, a massive search should be undertaken for an almost-perfect unknown actor to play the part. The only known actor who could maybe, *maybe*, play Magnum with a modicum of success (who I can think of at this moment) is Luke Wilson. And even that would be a serious stretch.
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