The Saint's Blog devoted to news and rumors about The Saint and Leslie Charteris. Simon Templar, alias The Saint, was played by Roger Moore in the 1960's TV show featuring the Volvo 1800.
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Monday, April 01, 2013
First Look at the new Saint: Promo Trailer
Deadline Hollywood has posted the exclusive first footage of Adam Rayner as Simon Templar, alias The Saint!
Adam Rayner and Eliza Dushku look absolutely fantastic in the trailer promo for the new TV series that is based on Leslie Charteris’ Saint franchise.
The backdoor pilot was directed by Simon West from a script by Jesse Alexander. Brad Krevoy’s film and TV production company MPCA is behind the project, which will be screened at MIPTV next week, with MPCA’s Francisco Gonzalez handling international sales.
Deadline reports that there is interest in the series from U.S. networks.
Now watch the trailer here, and see if you can spot all the amazing co-stars such as James Remar, Enrique Murciano, Thomas Kretschmann, Greg Grunberg, Sir Roger Moore, and Ian Ogilvy!
The 2013 version of The Saint kicked off principal shooting this week, starting off in Pacific Palisades, California on Monday morning. This photo is from day one, and is the first one we have of Adam Rayner as Simon Templar, alias The Saint, standing next to Eliza Dushku, who is playing The Saint's partner-in-crime, Patricia Holm.
Eliza Dushku and Adam Rayner on the set of The Saint, day 1
Ian Ogilvy Joins Adam Rayner on The Saint
One of the really great things about this show is that the Producers are including a great deal of the history of The Saint. And to that end, on day two of the shoot, Ian Ogilvy, of 1970s TV show, The Return of The Saint, showed up on set for his role in the new show. Ian reportedly had a great time on set, and there is a possibility that his "wink cameo" (as he calls it) will turn into a semi-regular part.
Two Saints: Adam Rayner meets Ian Ogilvy on Day 2
And The Cast Grows
As filming gets underway this week, other cast members are being announced or otherwise making their connection to The Saint known! Here's is the lastest list we have so far, and more is obviously on the way!
Oliver Bell as the young Simon Templar
We'd love to know a lot more about Oliver Bell, and it appears he's only been in The Sparticle Mystery thus far. Perhaps The Saint will take him up up and away.
Oliver is represented by Caz Irwin and LSI Talent Management, who tweeted that their fab client Oliver Bell will be playing the young Simon Templar in The Saint alongside Sir Roger Moore!
Enrique Murciano as Inspector John Henry Fernack
The role of The Saint's American foil, Inspector John Henry Fernack, is an important one and well documented in the writings of Leslie Charteris. The character was based on an Italian-born detective of the New York Police Department that Charteris met in the 1930s. Enrique Murciano is reportedly brilliant in the role, and has a long career going all the way back to Speed 2, Traffic, Black Hawk Down, and a number of TV show appearances.
The photo of the left was taken on day 1 as filming of his on-going pursuit of Simon Templar continued in this 2013 version of The Saint.
Greg Grunberg as Detective Garces
Formally of the TV shows, Heroes, Felicity, and Alias, Greg will be playing Inspector Fernack's right hand man in their attempts to catch Adam Rayner and Eliza Dushku.
Most recently Grunberg has been a guest star of Hawaii Five-O, Psych, and Baby Daddy.
We are excited to see all the great talent that is being cast, and look forward to the show!
Yani Gellman as Doyle
Yani hit our radar on Day 3, when one of the co-Producers posted an Instagram of the mysterious "Doyle on The Set". It turned out to be Yani Gellman, who is reportedly playing a really great role in the pilot.
Gellman first appeared in Goosebumps back in 1998, and has since been in nine movies and 16 television shows, including 90210, The Mentalist, and Beauty and the Beast.
Follow The Saint @ #TheSaint
Tweet #TheSaint The growing use of the hashtag #TheSaint is a really great way to find out the latest news, as it happens. Many of the actors and cast are using Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook to post their personal updates on an hour-by-hour basis.
Keep using #TheSaint and re-tweet using that tag if you see something that you think the fans of The Saint would be interested in!
Follow @thesaintclub
And, you can also follow @TheSaintClub as we try to keep up and retweet all the news and rumors about The Saint.
Watch for the sign of #TheSaint as he will return in 2013!
Well, we've recently found out where The Saint's Jaguar XJ-S from The Return of the Saint ended up. Now this begs the question, where is The Saint's BMW motorcycle, ST2?
Ian Ogilvy, who played Simon Templar in The Return of The Saint, was responsible for this addition to The Saint's collection of vehicles. Ogilvy http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifowned his first motorcycle at the age of sixteen, and has been a avid enthusiast ever since. Ogilvy was quoted in 1978 as saying, "It was my idea that Simon Templar should have a motorcycle as well as a car. After all, there are times when it can be more useful for him than a car. And with with all the appeals for people to cut down on petrol consumption, it's now completely acceptable."
Well, Ogilvy was quite pleased when Executive Producer Robert S. Baker agreed and delivered the newest and fastest 1,000cc BMW available.
So, what happened to the BMW? We think it was a model year 1977 BMW R100RS painted in Silver Blue Code 530. Perhaps Ogilvy ended up with it, as the word is that one of the reasons he suggested a motorcycle is that he had just recently sold his own and needed a new one!
We have an update on the actual XJ-S that Jaguar supplied to the Return of the Saint television series. It is alive and well, and roaming the British countryside.
Here are a few more notes from the current owner:
No, the car is not for sale at this time. He has thought about it from time to time, and at this point wants to keep it.
The car was featured in Classic Cars magazine sometime around 2003/2004, with photos taken outside The Saint's house in Eaton Mews.
The car has not been shown in public for a long time, and there are some plans shaping up for a few UK car shows in 2008.
The car is owned by a private individual, so make the most of any public showings.
The condition is mechanically sound, with the full restoration still in process. The car needs a bit more daily driving to identify any flaws in the drive-train.
It will be repainted at some point to get a better finish on it -- the car wants stripping to bare metal and repainting.
The interior is in excellent condition and will be kept original.
The Saint's Jaguar is quicker than most old XJS's and hit 133mph on a private track recently with more to offer. It handles well and doesn't roll as much as normal XJS's.
It has a little Saint stickman on the bonnet that obviously wasn't in the series. People do stop and ask about the car.
The car came with a big info folder with pics/receipts for work done etc and a certificate from Jaguar confirming it was the main car used.
Check out The Saint's Jaguar page for further updated information and some new pictures from 2008.
Members of The Saint Club recently recieved the annual Saint Club Christmas Letter from Ian Dickerson with some news about a couple forthcoming publications:
Hodder & Stoughton will be publishing two Saint anthologies in the Autumn of 2008. Unoriginally entitled The Best of the Saint (volumes 1 and 2) they'll feature a selection of stories from across the Saint's career (including one which has never appeared in an English paperback before); each volume will also have an introduction from a notable Saint (or Saint fan) plus some additional material by me. Current plans are for each book to have a yellow jacket cover, along the lines of the old H&S style.
Next year will also see the publication of the definitive history of the Saint's television adventures. Currently and unoriginally entitled The Saint on TV, it's written by me (Ian Dickerson) and if you thought the story of the Saint on TV started with Roger Moore, well this book will show you otherwise. It starts in 1940s Hollywood and this book follows the Saint on TV right up to the present day and the new show in development.
Amongst other things it provides a unique episode guide to all three Saint TV series detailing plots, cast, crew, filming locations and critical reaction. It also comprehensively details what many of the cast and crew have been up to since they met the Saint. And perhaps of more interest to you lot, tells the full story behind The Saint in Manhattan and The Saint (with Simon Dutton) using exclusive interviews with many of the cast and crew involved on the productions to analyse what went wrong.
There's loads more in it but I'm not spilling all my beans here. If you want to know more about it, or the two reprints, keep checking www.lesliecharteris.com because that's where the latest news will be.
Don't forget to tune in tomorrow for Barbra Paskin's tribute to 100 years of Leslie Charteris with Roger Moore narrating. The live show is at 11:30am tomorrow, London time, with on-demand replays available for seven days after the initial broadcast.
Roger Moore, who starred as Simon Templar in the original TV series, celebrates the centenary of the birth of popular fiction writer Leslie Charteris, famous for his adventures featuring the character better known as The Saint. The programme includes rare interview footage of Charteris along with contributions from his family, actor Ian Ogilvy and Charteris biographer Ian Dickerson.
There has been some recent issues with BBC Radio 4's RealAudio play back, and during testing today, this is the message that was being displayed:
We are experiencing severe technical problems, and regret that many programmes are unavailable. We are working to restore normal service. See station websites for alternative links.
We'll keep you posted as to the lastest links and news about this great show.
Barbra Paskin, a British yet Hollywood-based, journalist has been commissioned by BBC Radio 4 to create a radio show celebrating the 100th year of Leslie Charteris. Barbra, who is most recently noted for her fine biography of Dudley Moore, is an excited Saint fan who has been looking forward to making a show like this for many years. As noted on LeslieCharteris.com, she's a life-long Charteris fan who grew up enraptured with Simon Templar. Her brother Simon (not actually named after Simon Templar), from earliest memory, has always called himself 'ST' and signs all his personal letters with a stick symbol and a halo.
The 30-minute show is in production at the moment and will feature contributions from such notables as Roger Moore, Ian Ogilvy, Patricia Charteris, Dan Bodenheimer, Ian Dickerson, and Burl Barer. More details, including a broadcast date and time, will be posted here as and when we know them.
Book and Magazine Collector's June 2007 issue features, "Leslie Charteris: 100 Years of The Creator of The Saint."
The long 13-page article was written by Norman Wright, begins on page 36 of the issue. The article discusses Charteris' creation of the Saint and is printed in full color with some marvelous illustrations of Roger Moore, George Sanders, Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Louis Hayward, magazine appearances, various dustjackets, and paperback editions.
A three-page annotated bibliography of the British editions is included, along with some current pricing guidelines within the UK; the highest price is, of course, for a British first Ward Lock edition of Meet The Tiger with dustjacket, at over £3000+ ($6000+)!
The issue went on sale May 10, 2007.
While thanking Book and Magazine Collector for doing a piece on The Saint and Leslie Charteris, Ian Dickerson has also posted a number of factual content errors to the news page of LeslieCharteris.com for you to enjoy -- see how many of them you found yourself!
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.
Noted Saintly author, Burl Barer, has posted some interesting news about his part in the new series of The Saint on TNT. This show is really going to be great, and follow in the footsteps of Roger Moore, Ian Ogilvy, and Simon Dutton.
If I have anything to say about it, and supposedly I do, the new SAINT TV project for TNT will retain the flavor of Charteris' original.
The Roger Moore series that began in 1962 used the "glob trotting celebrity" character found in Charteris later short stories, and due to the restrictive TV codes of the time, Charteris lamented that the Saint on TV bore as much similarity to his creation as Winnie the Pooh did to Captain Blood.
Times have changed -- restrictions have relaxed. Soooo...this version of The Saint will be the more dangerous and picaresque adventurer, having way too much fun as he takes on recalcitrant and contumacious oppressors while bedding the requisite bevy of beauties -- including the mercurial and romantic Ms Patricia Holm. As all Saint fans know, Simon Templar parks his shoes in numerous international locales, but Holm is where he hangs his hat -- or halo.
Bill Macdonald asked me to serve as "consultant" to the project, and has honestly taken my suggestions to heart (and page). The show should be really cool, faithful to the character, and won't have Charteris getting what he termed Graveyard Torque from spinning in his metaphoric grave. What I like best about the project, of course, is that I'm supposedly getting paid for my wit and wisdom. As with any TV or film project - or publishing for that matter -- I will be 100% convinced when the check clears the bank. As Bill has never deceived me in the past, I trust it will all come out in the wash, even if the spin cycle makes me crazy.
The current owner of a certain Jaguar XJ-S, registration no. PWK 530R, has been in touch with us to let us know that he owns the car and that he has plans to restore it to its former glory.
This is splendid news, for this is the primary car that was used in the making of Return of the Saint and although for many years it was owned by Saint fan (and Saint Club member) Alisdair Stewart we lost track of it when it was sold in the early 21st Century.
The current owner has promised us more pictures so keep checking www.lesliecharteris.com to see what happens to this classic car.
For more information about The Return of The Saint's Jaguar XJ-S, as driven by Ian Ogilvy, please visit The Saint's Jaguar page.
From Louis Hayward, to George Sanders, to Hugh Sinclair, to Felix Marten, to Jean Marais, along to Roger Moore, then Ian Ogilvy, and finally on to Val Kilmer, The Saint has appeared in a large number of movies. In fact Simon Templar, alias The Saint, by Leslie Charteris was recently named the #2 spy movie hero of all-time, just behind James Bond.
The page on this site about The Saint in movies and films has been updated to include a large number of movie posters.
If you know of any other versions of the movie posters, especially if you have any in your own private collection, we'd be very interesting in seeing them.
A couple of these posters are available in reprint form from the moviegoods.com website.
Just a quick reminder that The Return of The Saint DVD Set from Network is shipping today from Amazon UK. This set is the definitive collection and features many extras, including voice-overs by Ian Ogilvy.
The Return of The Saint DVD Set from Network is now available for pre-order from Amazon UK for release on January 29, 2007.
This set is eagerly anticipated, and features a number of commentary tracks that were recorded in late 2006 exclusively for this release.
Ian Dickerson of The Saint Club was heavily involved in the creation of this set and getting a great deal of extras on the DVDs. And you can be sure that he did a great job in pulling together a wealth of extras from a good number of different sources. I especially like the PDF files that will be included, as the ones from the Roger Moore series by Network were also of very high quality.
For more information about all the goodies that will be included with this set, here is a nice complete list of all the extras.
The extras have been confirmed on the forthcoming DVD box set of Return of the Saint from Network, which is due in the shops on January 29th. Alongside all 24 episodes of the show are:
• The Saint Steps In... to the 70s - Narrated by Sir Roger Moore, this is a unique and exclusive documentary on the making of the series which features contributions from Ian Ogilvy, producer Robert S. Baker and others involved with the production of the series.
• Four exclusive commentaries featuring Ian Ogilvy, producer Robert S. Baker, production manager Malcolm Christopher and writer John Goldsmith
• The Saint and the Brave Goose – feature-length version of the Collision Course two-parter which is presented in its episodic format on discs four and five.
• Episodic Image gallery with music suite
• Title sequence storyboard gallery
• Return of The Saint Script Archive - Presented here in PDF format are original scripts (plus some changes and meeting notes) for Return of the Saint. These PDFs can only be viewed on suitable software on a PC/Mac and cannot be viewed on your DVD player. The scripts are: Appointment in Florence, Assault Force, The Debt Collectors, The Diplomat’s Daughter, Hot Run, Nightmare Man, The Obono Affair, The Poppy Chain, Tower Bridge is Falling Down and Vicious Circle. Also included is Prince of Darkness – an unproduced script in which the Saint fights vampires.
• Promotional image gallery
• Memorabilia image gallery
• Generic Return of the Saint trailer
• European opening titles featuring vocal theme "Taking it Easy" by Oliver Onions
• Previously unseen rushes from the title sequence (mute)
• Commercial Break Bumpers
• Textless material (mute)
• The Saint at Elstree featurette - A plaque honouring Roger Moore is unveiled at Elstree Studios in December 2006
• Return of The Saint annuals in PDF format (1979 & 1980)
• PDF of original colour publicity brochure
• PDF of original Look In and TV Times articles
The Return of The Saint DVD Setfrom Network is now available for pre-order from Amazon UK for release on January 29, 2007.
A nice collection of Saints were in London recently, where on December 7th, 2006, we had Robert S. Baker, Ian Ogilvy, Malcolm J. Christopher, Dan Bodenheimer, Ian Dickerson, and John Goldsmith all in the same DVD recording studio. The team at Network DVD is putting the final touches on the upcoming Return of The Saint DVD box set, and it is looking like a true winner with a number of great extras to look forward to watching.
Of course, during my stay I had to make a quick detour to the Sherlock Holmes museum on Baker Street. Not only is Sherlock Holmes great reading in his own right, Leslie Charteris actually co-authored a number of the Sherlock Holmes radio shows in 1944 and 1945 under the name Bruce Taylor, writing with Denis Green.
Last month Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes exchanged wedding vows at the 15th-century Odescalchi castle in the lakeside Italian town of Racciano. According to Malcolm Christopher, this same castle was used in the 1970s as a location for The Return of the Saint episode, "The Village That Sold Its Soul" starring Ian Ogilvy. Malcolm J. Christopher was the Locations Manager on The Return of The Saint, and look for some great commentary from him on the forthcoming DVD set coming to the UK in 2007.
starring Ian Ogilvy as The Saint is now available on DVD (region 2)!
from Network is now available for pre-order from Amazon UK for release on January 29, 2007.
