New series of The Saint coming to TNT
Lots of news last week about the new version of The Saint series that is in development for TNT. Roger Moore's son, Geoffrey Moore, has teamed up with producer William J. MacDonald to create a new series for television. Jorge Zamacona is working on the script for a 90-minute pilot, and they are getting consulting advice from such notable long-time Saints as Ian Dickerson and Burl Barer -- both who are huge fans of the Leslie Charteris books, and hopefully can exert some influence in keeping with the gentleman thief character of Simon Templar.
There is certainly some concern, as William (Bill) J. MacDonald was one of the producers (along with Robert Evans) of the Val Kilmer Saint film by Paramount back in 1997 – a movie so un-Saint-like, that Leslie Charteris’ name was removed from the credits. The Saint (1997) was a tough movie for die-hard fans as the character that they knew and loved didn’t actually show up until the end of the movie – such is the problem with “origin stories.” That said, Bill MacDonald has surrounded himself with some great Saint this time, including Roger’s son, and we are very hopeful for a clever gentleman with his own code of moral values to emerge without the need to spend any time telling the story of how Simon Templar became The Saint.
As yet, nobody has been cast as the Saint. There was some initial speculation that it might be Geoffrey Moore himself, and that option has not been completely taken off the table as they look for The Saint of 2007.
Your thoughts? Comment below.Labels: 2007, Burl Barer, Geoffrey Moore, Ian Dickerson, Ian Ogilvy, Jorge Zamacona, Leslie Charteris, Simon Dutton, TNT, William J. MacDonald
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3 Comments:
It needs to be someone with the charm and intrigue of the actor who played in the first movie, (Heyward I think?). That gentleman was extremely believable. The George Sanders character was too dry for my taste although admittedly popular. Of course, I favored Gerard Butler for the new James Bond replacement!
In casting The Saint, the trick is to get someone who can balance the silly, whimsical humour with the tough, violent action. I hope they keep in mind the 'Robin Hood of Modern Crime' tag. Simon Templar is not James Bond. And, please, someone English!
Richard Armitage or Jack Davenport. RA would be ideal as the the darker version of Simon Templar, JD would be a combination of all TV saints, much like Pierce Brosnan was with his oo7.
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