No Surprise: Ixnay on the Veronica Arsmay
Filed under: RumorMonger, Fandom
When a show that struggled to make three seasons, with two complete reboots, gets tapped for a feature film, you don't hold your breath in anticipation. Last August, we learned that Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell were meeting to discuss turning Veronica Mars into a feature film. That news was confirmed by Thomas in January, and it sounded like things would work out and actually head into production.But the tide is finally turning to the expected demise. EW's Ausiello talked with Bell at the Saturn Awards, and she said: "I don't think it will ever happen, and here's why: [Series creator] Rob Thomas and I had a powwow, and we were both 100 percent on board. We took our proposal to Warner Bros. and Joel Silver told us that there is no enthusiasm [there] to make a Veronica Mars movie, and that is unfortunately a roadblock we cannot compete with."
Can't say that's a surprise. When I spoke with Silver at TIFF last year, he said he was open to discussion about the idea, but didn't sound exactly keen. And speaking as a big fan who loves Bell's Mars, I can't say I blame him. If the audience wasn't there for the show, they're not going to be there for a feature film, no matter how much we'd wish it so.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-02-2009 @ 10:52AM
StanleyNickels said...
It's disappointing, but not really surprising. Although I do have a special place in my heart for shows that end before their time; they generally don't have much of a chance to get lousy. Maybe a movie would have ruined the whole thing?
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7-02-2009 @ 12:07PM
KXB said...
Re. the last sentence: so WHY do an Arrested Development movie, then?
Reply
7-02-2009 @ 12:00PM
Adam said...
Which had the bigger audience, "Arrested Development" or "Veronica Mars"? I don't have an answer, but if one is getting a movie it would make sense for the other to get one too. Don't get me wrong, I love both of them, but what AD was to comedy VM was a drama, too damn smart for the general public. Just like you can watch a AD episode 3 times and still not get all of the jokes keeping up with all the quipps is just as difficult in VM. The movie should get made so we can see Sheriff Vinny Van Lowe!!
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7-02-2009 @ 12:20PM
Wayne said...
AD has developed a cult following on DVD and TV since it was cancelled. Veronica Mars has not. Hence the AD movie talk and scrapped VM movie.
7-03-2009 @ 2:17AM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Wayne,
I tried hard to get people into AD. Veronica Mars - all it ever takes is the pilot. They watch the pilot and they're hooked. I love AD. Love it. But VM (seasons 1 and 2) appeals on levels AD can never approach.
AD is smart, snarky and very funny. VM was smart, snarky, clever, funny, touching, and very layered. VM was a character totally on the outside - raped, abandoned, ostracized, forced to help her family survive. The people I've introduced to it (7-8 people) were like crack addicts - one taste and they couldn't stop. They all recount the desire to watch episode after episode as they wanted to know the answers (much like the reaction to Freaks n Geeks) and to see more of Veronica, Logan and Keith. To this day when my friends see Amanda Seyfried they all exclaim the same thing - Lily!
But like AD, VM would not be well served as a movie. VM's about a long drawn out mystery that takes months to unravel. Making it into a movie would dumb it down (like Season 3).
7-03-2009 @ 10:08AM
Wayne said...
I never said I didn't enjoy VM. I watched a chunk of season 2 and found it very enjoyable. I'm simply saying that it doesn't have the same following as AD.
7-03-2009 @ 4:22PM
hayson said...
I think both AD and VM have developed quite sizeable cult followings after their DVD releases. I'm a HUGE fan, and I didn't discover the show until the first two seasons were already on DVD. By then, it was too late, and the show was lost in the ridiculousness that became the CW.
Anyway, after I was pulled in by Neptune's gravitational force, I passed the series on to more friends, and though skeptical at first (thanks, crappy marketing!), they too fell in love with the Queen of Snark. It's a smart show that appeals to ages 13-103, that was sadly replaced by the likes of "Farmer Wants a Wife" and "Pussycat Dolls Present". Grr. Following cancellation, the DVD releases allowed more and more people to watch the entire series in the proper order, instead of seeing one episode at random and going "WTF?!" because they had no idea what was going on. AD does have quite a lot of setup to their story as well, but nowhere near what VM has. A "better series" argument could go on endlessly.
I guess my point is that I am hoping for both movies - VM and AD - as I love both shows. It'd be nice to see something quality out in theaters, as opposed to the rehashings of 80's classics and endless remakes. Meh.
7-02-2009 @ 1:25PM
Carina said...
Disappointing news, but realistic.
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7-03-2009 @ 3:45PM
hayson said...
Fans are still fighting, folks. No enthusiasm? PLEASE! DEMAND IT.
Write to: Jeff Robinov; President, Production; Warner Bros. Pictures; 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91522
Go on Twitter: Tell @Warner_Bros & @WarnerBrosEnt how much you want a VERONICA MARS MOVIE! #VeronicaMars
Follow Neptune Rising:
-On Twitter: @neptunerising
-http://neptunerising.freeforums.org
-http://saveveronicamars.tv
-http://myspace.com/neptunerisingonline
VIVA VERONICA!
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7-05-2009 @ 1:31PM
Bill.W.gr said...
It's a shame. I have all 3 seasons of Veronica Mars on video. But the show had a sort of soap opera element. You tuned in to see the big mystery of the season unfold and a movie may not have been able to capture that. The humor and characters would have been good to see again though.
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