IkeaBoy
11-28-2001, 12:14 PM
Bringing old shows to movies was popular a few years ago. then it died. now it's back. i'm not sure if this should be in Old School but Hogan's Heroes was one of those shows they wanted brought back to life and now...
Crowe Commandeers "Hogan's Heroes"
Who knew that it would take a battle-hardened gladiator to defeat the Nazis.
Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe is the latest A-lister wanting to take Stalag 13 to the big screen by developing and starring in a movie version of Hogan's Heroes.
Following in the footsteps of Mel Gibson, who had previously attempted to mount a movie version of the TV Land staple, Crowe has joined forces with Imagine Entertainment and Sony-based Revolution Studios, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The burly actor, who has already teamed with Imagine for director Ron Howard's upcoming A Beautiful Mind, would take over the role of Colonel Robert Hogan, played in the original series by Bob Crane.
The TV Hogan's, which ran from 1965 to 1971, centered on a ragtag group of imprisoned Allied inmates in a Nazi POW camp and was actually loosely based on Billy Wilder's Stalag 17, which earned William Holden a Best Actor Oscar as a cynical soldier. Like that movie, the series dared to play Nazi thugs for laughs, following the shenanigans of Hogan and his pals as they ran an elaborate espionage and sabotage operation right under the nose of bumbling camp director Colonel Klink (Werner Klemperer) and his henchman Sergeant Schultz (John Banner).
Studio execs say the feature will try to balance the basic storyline of the TV show while updating some of the gags and characters to appeal to a more contemporary audience.
"You try to think of movies that you grew up with and loved," Revolution cochair Tom Sherak said in May, when the studio first obtained rights to the project. "Things like Stalag 17 or The Great Escape. We want Hogan's Heroes to be a smart movie for everyone."
The celluloid Hogan has been kicking around Hollywood for years. At one point, Gibson was attached to produce and star, but he went AWOL to pursue other projects. When Destination Films, the production company that controlled the Hogan property, went belly up, Revolution stepped in, snatched up the rights and began looking to enlist a major Hollywood star.
Enter Crowe.
The Australian hunk, whose r‚sum‚ includes such Oscar-worthy dramas as L.A. Confidential, The Insider and Gladiator, would be able to show his comedic prowess as the scheming Hogan.
There's no word on a timetable for the new Hogan. Producers are still trying to land a name director and Crowe will be busy through the spring shooting another World War II-era movie, this one an epic ensemble drama titled The Long Green Shore, about Australia's bloody battles against the Japanese on the island of Papua New Guinea during the last days of the War. In addition to starring, Crowe will make his directing debut on the film.
Meanwhile, A Beautiful Mind hits theaters in limited release next month before going wide in January.
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Carrot Man to Big Apple: I Miss my baby carrot.
Pro-War NYU Student. We're not all peace fags.
Crowe Commandeers "Hogan's Heroes"
Who knew that it would take a battle-hardened gladiator to defeat the Nazis.
Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe is the latest A-lister wanting to take Stalag 13 to the big screen by developing and starring in a movie version of Hogan's Heroes.
Following in the footsteps of Mel Gibson, who had previously attempted to mount a movie version of the TV Land staple, Crowe has joined forces with Imagine Entertainment and Sony-based Revolution Studios, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The burly actor, who has already teamed with Imagine for director Ron Howard's upcoming A Beautiful Mind, would take over the role of Colonel Robert Hogan, played in the original series by Bob Crane.
The TV Hogan's, which ran from 1965 to 1971, centered on a ragtag group of imprisoned Allied inmates in a Nazi POW camp and was actually loosely based on Billy Wilder's Stalag 17, which earned William Holden a Best Actor Oscar as a cynical soldier. Like that movie, the series dared to play Nazi thugs for laughs, following the shenanigans of Hogan and his pals as they ran an elaborate espionage and sabotage operation right under the nose of bumbling camp director Colonel Klink (Werner Klemperer) and his henchman Sergeant Schultz (John Banner).
Studio execs say the feature will try to balance the basic storyline of the TV show while updating some of the gags and characters to appeal to a more contemporary audience.
"You try to think of movies that you grew up with and loved," Revolution cochair Tom Sherak said in May, when the studio first obtained rights to the project. "Things like Stalag 17 or The Great Escape. We want Hogan's Heroes to be a smart movie for everyone."
The celluloid Hogan has been kicking around Hollywood for years. At one point, Gibson was attached to produce and star, but he went AWOL to pursue other projects. When Destination Films, the production company that controlled the Hogan property, went belly up, Revolution stepped in, snatched up the rights and began looking to enlist a major Hollywood star.
Enter Crowe.
The Australian hunk, whose r‚sum‚ includes such Oscar-worthy dramas as L.A. Confidential, The Insider and Gladiator, would be able to show his comedic prowess as the scheming Hogan.
There's no word on a timetable for the new Hogan. Producers are still trying to land a name director and Crowe will be busy through the spring shooting another World War II-era movie, this one an epic ensemble drama titled The Long Green Shore, about Australia's bloody battles against the Japanese on the island of Papua New Guinea during the last days of the War. In addition to starring, Crowe will make his directing debut on the film.
Meanwhile, A Beautiful Mind hits theaters in limited release next month before going wide in January.
-----
Carrot Man to Big Apple: I Miss my baby carrot.
Pro-War NYU Student. We're not all peace fags.