Would You Believe They Made a Movie?
"It
would be cruder if it were done today. We're in an age of cynicism now. I
don't know if I'd be as comfortable doing it. It only works if it's kind,
and not mean-spirited."
-
Leonard
Stern on remaking Get Smart*
Way back in the mid-90s during the birth of the Get Smart Mailing List,
a fine controversial topic was brought up: If Get Smart were made into a
Tinsel Town production, then who would star? That turned into a big,
fat, itchy-scratchy topic of sorts and was put to pasture until an ironic thing
happened --a little known script writer named Nick Marine wrote a script
called Spyville.
It was late 1998 when Marine's script appeared
attached with a cluster of rumors. One, Warner Brothers bought the
script and two, the biggest tale out of school by far, was the chance that Jim
Carrey was considering taking the lead in this
production. Now, Jim Carrey signing his name on a movie contract is no big
or surprising event -except this time. Why? Spyville had a
definite Smartian theme to it and this particular script was going to be used as
a Get Smart Movie -or so they said.
Be it known support for the movie
has been divided
like the north and the south. A certain portion of the population expressed a new GS movie
was a a worthy venture. They had their own ideas for the cast, for merchandising, as well as high
hopes of becoming an extra. The only problem was: Who would play Max?
It was the fact that no mere mortal was deemed worthy
enough to fill the mighty shoes of Don Adams that put a big gaping hole in this
proposal. How, how, how, and how can anybody be Maxwell
Smart but Don Adams? The characterization of Smart was ultimately
developed by Adams, so who was man enough to carry this weight? After
Carrey's name came up a few other suspects were mentioned including Tom
Hanks, Adam Sandler and Will Ferell.
A decade later a real Get Smart movie crept
around the corner. Was it better than the Nude Bomb? Was it
worse than
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians? Will they ever make a
sequel? Read about it on my:
Get
Smart: The Movie Page
Get
Smart Meets the Press
The movie has generated a bit of press. Here's stuff to look for -and a few reviews to boot.
Fair Warning:
One thing stands out when sitcoms go to the movies --they just don't
mix well! Get Smart had its own special chemistry. To boot, the scripts of Get Smart are of a higher grade than most TV writing
today -- the writers did not have to rely on comedic crutches to carry Agent 86 through a
script. Get Smart had breeding while today's sitcoms and films feature
jokes are of the vulgar variety. With this sad reality in tow, it is difficult to
believe that a new GS movie would capture the quality of the series. Get Smart
has gone to the movies before. For information on that, check out the:
Get Smart
Sequels
*From The Incredible World
of Spy-Fi by Danny Biederman
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