Doctor Who: The Movie

[Danger Man]

Doctor Who will be made into a Hollywood blockbuster despite the misgivings of the writers who do not want to rush into making a movie, according to leaked Sony emails published by Wikileaks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11544035/BBC-bosses-at-odds-with-Doctor-Who-writers-over-plans-for-Hollywood-film.html

Danny Cohen, the Director of BBC Television, claimed that the popular TV series will become a film under an eight-year plan to keep the franchise alive.

But the show's team are "very hot under the collar" because they feel "their position on it is not being listened to or accepted."

They want to wait until the time is right and have made their feelings "very clear" on the matter, one Sony email reveals. 

Mr Cohen claims there is "tremendous interest" in a Dr Who film and says there has been "pressure" to make it from BBC Worldwide, the corporation's money-making arm.

Any thoughts about a movie? I hope it gets a 15 certificate and Jenna Coleman takes her top off. I am a man of simple tastes.

[Mister Six]

Classic current-Who pic there: dramatic, atmospheric background; Capaldi getting into the role and doing something interesting; Coleman just sort of blandly staring at the camera.

Here are the specific emails... (don't want to put them directly on here in case Neil gets in trouble). Not a lot more than was in the article as far as I can see.

Email chain about creative team being "hot under the collar"
Email introducing Danny Cohen and mentioning possibility of film
Email: "Need to talk to Cohen"

To be honest, a Doctor Who movie seems redundant to me. The TV series is already doing high-stakes, world/galaxy/universe-threatening stories every week, so it's hard to see how a movie would scale up, conceptually. The Time War stuff has already been done to death now (and would probably be a turn-off for casual viewers anyway) and it's hard to think of much else in the canon that's screaming out for a big-screen adventure.

Obviously a Star Trek-sized budget would allow for fancier green screen work and less rubbery, more convincing aliens, but Who has never been about slickness - it's about the ideas and the stories, and these days the financial and technical restrictions on such things are a lot less troublesome than they used to be.

[Thomas]

Initial gut (and sustained intellectual) response was the word 'no'. I'm hot under the collar too, but that's possibly because of what Danger Man said about Jenna.

It's impractical anyway - I can't think of any actors who look enough like Peter Cushing to take on the role.

[Mister Six]

It feels genuinely creepy, trawling through these emails, all the unread spam crap and the occasional mention of someone's ill son or whatever. It's not stopping me, though, obviously.

Email about actors who haven't been in a superhero movie
Peter Capaldi mentioned in "funny character actors with weight" list as "peter ---guy from doctor who". Other notable names: Seth Rogan and Jonah Hill (in "character actors with weight" - I'll let you take your own cheap shots); "girl from luther" (in "amazing women") and shua ka beouf (in "sexy leading men under 40").

Email about casting for Pixels
Peter Capaldi mentioned as one of the potentials for the role that eventually went to Peter Dinklage (Capaldi one of the "British options" alongside Gervais, Coogan, Corden and Cumberbatch; Yanks include Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Panell and Sean William Scott. Eclectic!)

Email about potential writers for Oliver adaptation
Steven Moffat one of a billion people suggested.

Email about something called Plastic Fantastic
Iannucci suggested as possible writer and director

Amy Pascal has something she wants to talk to "Armando" about...

Iannucci mentioned as possible writer for "fantastic" project about married newsreaders having a breakup on-air

[MuteBanana]

I suppose the purpose would be to bring in new fans so for that they would probably return to the beginning of the story.

[BritishHobo]

Michael B Gordon. Fucking hell. Amazing.

[Norton Canes]

To be honest, a Doctor Who movie seems redundant to me. The TV series is already doing high-stakes, world/galaxy/universe-threatening stories every week, so it's hard to see how a movie would scale up, conceptually. The Time War stuff has already been done to death now (and would probably be a turn-off for casual viewers anyway) and it's hard to think of much else in the canon that's screaming out for a big-screen adventure.

Obviously a Star Trek-sized budget would allow for fancier green screen work and less rubbery, more convincing aliens, but Who has never been about slickness - it's about the ideas and the stories, and these days the financial and technical restrictions on such things are a lot less troublesome than they used to be.

I'm not sure it would get a Star Trek-sized budget anyway. And yeah, what sufficiently epic plot hasn't already been done in the new series? We've had the Time War, thousands of Dalek saucers attacking Earth, thousands of Daleks and Cybermen battling each other on Earth, the Master turning Earth into a huge missile site, the Earth moved across the universe and towed back again, the end of the universe, the death of the Doctor... where do they go?

The 2012 Dredd movie worked because they scaled down rather than up. It would be nice if a Who movie could do the same.

[Norton Canes]

Warriors Of The Deep - The Movie

[daf]

Warriors Of The Deep - The Movie

They were going to do a third Cushing Film based on 'The Chase' before good sense prevailed ("Daleks vs. Morton Dill : The Reckoning!")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=josI9YR45dI

[Uncle TechTip]

Sounds like the perfect time for an origin story to me.

[Attila]

Warriors Of The Deep - The Movie

The Twin Dilemma 2: Electric Boogaloo

Paul Darrow's still around and kicking; team him up with Matt Berry as the Borad for a remake of Time Lash.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

I remember last time we got America involved, in the McGann film, it all got Americanised, save McGann!  Ugh!

[Ignatius_S]

I remember last time we got America involved, in the McGann film, it all got Americanised, save McGann!  Ugh!

That TV movie was made because, at that time, the BBC was aiming for an American series off the back of it - there was no interest in producing a show for the UK market. It's not a like for like comparison.

That aside, when the Beeb eventually did restart the show, there was a clear influence from American TV – IIRC, Davies said Buffy The Vampire Slayer was a big one.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

That TV movie was made because, at that time, the BBC was aiming for an American series off the back of it - there was no interest in producing a show for the UK market.

I didn't know that.  Traitors!

[amnesiac]

I didn't know that.  Traitors!

even I knew that and I HATE Doctor Who! Just passing through this thread looking for Karen Gillingham n00ds

[mothman]

I'm struggling to think of one "franchise" (for want of a better word) that's been able to produce a film during (or even shortly after) its run, that was any good (or didn't feel like just an extended-length episode)...

For the "during's" you have the first X-Files movie, the Simpsons movie, various children's TV shows (Rugrats? Spongebob?)... X-Files (Fight The Future it was called I think, at one point anyway) came close but maybe it was because it was shown in the UK a full year before the eps preceding (and following) it would be shown on the BBC, I always struggled to reconcile its place in the show.

As for "After's," these are often better (yes, even Star Trek: Generations) but this category would require Who to end and I don't imagine that's being considered. Serenity worked very well in my opinion, but anyone who likes that would probably have preferred to see more longevity in the TV show in the first instance. I personally liked the Twin Peaks film, others didn't. Needless to say the X-Files fits into this category as well, as it also had an "after" - which sucked - though posterity will probably put that down to its now being a "during" what with more episodes on the way...

[MuteBanana]

Sounds like the perfect time for an origin story to me.

Yep. Like Batman and Superman. We'll get a brand new original Doctor Who for the movies.

OH FUCK. Jim Broadbent. Jim Broadbent could be the first movie Doctor Who of the franchise.

[Old Nehamkin]

I'm struggling to think of one "franchise" (for want of a better word) that's been able to produce a film during (or even shortly after) its run, that was any good (or didn't feel like just an extended-length episode)...

South Park.

[biggytitbo]

Artistically it's redundant, Doctor Who absolutely works best as a TV show, thats what it is - inherently episodic.


Financially, its about was redundant as it can get. The 50th anniversary cinema showing's outrageously successful limited runs pricked the ears of every Hollywood exec there is. Who is so big globally now, a film is a guaranteed massive hit - although the sooner to now the better admittedly. Its a better idea than every other hollywood franchise going and they all know it - if the first one hits, its mega money bonanza time. Every Hollywood studio going must be aware of that.


Of course, everyone who knows the shows knows it completely kills it as what it is best - a tv show. Thats probably why they don't want to do it unless they heavily control it.

[BritishHobo]

Whenever a film is mooted, I always just picture something that's more about being a Doctor Who film than it is being a good story - where they feel obligated to feature daleks as the bad guys, and possibly the Master, just because its Doctor Who.

[Replies From View]

'The Day of the Doctor' and 'Deep Breath' were shown in cinemas.  They could give a standard series opener a higher budget than usual and air it in cinemas just like the latter, and call that a movie.  Nothing else really interests me about a Doctor Who movie, since if it took off and became its own thing it would most likely ultimately subtract from the television version.  I say the producers of Doctor Who should stick to their guns; if they say that this isn't the time for a Doctor Who movie then they're probably right.

[Replies From View]

I posted this in the series 9 thread a while back; it's not particularly scintillating but it's more relevant to this thread than that one.

And some non-news about the likelihood of a Doctor Who movie:

http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/capaldi-a-doctor-who-movie-would-be-great-72840.htm

[olliebean]

If they do a Trials and Tribble-ations style mashup with Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., I'm in. Any other movie ideas can get tae fuck.

[mothman]

South Park.

Dammit! Hell, it's been a long week...

[Mister Six]

I'm not sure it would get a Star Trek-sized budget anyway

Well that was exaggeration. But even a low-budgeted mainstream movie costs $60 million, and that's about 40 times the price of the average Doctor Who episode, I think.

[Johnny Yesno]

I'm struggling to think of one "franchise" (for want of a better word) that's been able to produce a film during (or even shortly after) its run, that was any good (or didn't feel like just an extended-length episode)...

Beavis and Butthead.

[Replies From View]

Supermarket Sweep.

[mothman]

Beavis and Butthead.

Aargh!

Supermarket Sweep.

Now, that I'd watch.

[Danger Man]

TV series into movie?

The Man From UNCLE did it well, sort of....

[Replies From View]

Clangers into Ratatouille wasn't bad.