Believe it or not, I'm walking on air?

Mr. Hamrick · March 21, 2009, 07:06:07 AM

I learned a few days ago from a good friend of mine on the Halloween 2 movie that they have greenlit a motion picture version of the 80s series

The Greatest American Hero

The film is apparently being described as a "reimagining" but also a really good script from what was told to my friend about it.

I'll post more when I have it.

thalaw2 · March 21, 2009, 10:13:50 AM

cool. I love that series

The Hitman · March 21, 2009, 01:09:52 PM

Awesome.

Uncle Yuan · March 21, 2009, 01:36:13 PM

I just hope it's a comedy, and not too serious with the sub plots. And I won't see it if it doesn't have a cameo for Robert Culp . . . and I mean a nice juicy one!

docdelorean88 · March 21, 2009, 01:36:18 PM

Oh, great! I have only seen a few episodes but i LOVED that show!

GhostMachine · March 21, 2009, 07:11:04 PM

William Katt is coming to a con here in June (that I may not go to if they don't get better comic book artist guests; the only one I care about so far who hasn't been here before is James O'Barr - they have a lot of good celebs coming, but I go for the comic book people), and apparently there's a Greatest American Hero comic that's been out for a while by a publisher I've never heard of.

Ares_God_of_War · March 22, 2009, 06:50:52 PM

lol I always think og Family Guy now after one of their episodes - Peter Griffon "I'm the Greatest American Hero, My superpower is somehow staying memerable after a very short run on television."

stumpy · March 22, 2009, 08:56:30 PM

Well, despite having one of the worst acronyms of any show, it got three seasons in. There are probably more famous shows with no more than that. (Of course, two of its three seasons were short.) Gilligan's Island comes to mind, though I suppose I'd have to credit syndication for my memory of that, since it aired before I was born. GAH was one of the shows I actually sort of remember from it's original airing, since my dad thought it was funny enough to let me stay up "late" to watch.

I am curious where they go with this. The original series was so camp that it would be tough to imagine a "serious" superhero movie coming from it without totally abandoning what made the original so fun. But, remakes that try to out camp their campy inspirations can end up being just screwball.

Part of what made the original work was that the lousy special effects were fine for the concept of a superhero who can't quite get his powers to work right. The shows and movies of the time with superheroes whose flight looks crummy (including, let's face it, the Superman movies) and so on suffered from the lack of special effects. With GAH, it was perfectly reasonable to see Katt flying like a spastic ferret and crashing into stuff, because he never figured out how to do it right.

I would be among those hoping for cameos by Culp, Katt, and maybe even Sellecca.

BlueBard · March 25, 2009, 09:10:55 PM

Man, I loved that show when it was on!

It was partly the inspiration for my Accidental Hero stories.

If they can keep the spirit of the original, I'm all for it. There's a lot of room for humor in the concept without turning it into "Batman and Robin" or "The Superhero Movie". They just need to keep the core concept simple - everyday guy gets 'magic jammies' and no instruction manual - and flow from that.

"The Tuxedo" was kind of campy, but fun to watch. If they can hit the right blend, it will work.

danhagen · March 27, 2009, 07:06:10 PM

I interviewed Robert Culp about that show for Comics Interview years ago. He said he thought the network pulled the plug just when the show was starting to hit its stride in terms of character, and that viewers complained constantly about the fact that Ralph couldn't learn to fly properly.
He also did my phone answering machine message for me, and called back just to do it, which was awfully nice of him.

Mr. Hamrick · March 27, 2009, 08:03:42 PM

i wish i could get an actor to do my answering machine greeting message!

danhagen · March 27, 2009, 10:42:45 PM

Well, I also asked James Earl Jones, and he said, "No." So that was the last time I asked anyone that favor.
Culp did a funny riff on the phone, though. He's a great guy and a collector, not of comics, but of Big Little Books. He lined his office with them when he and Cosby did "I Spy."

Mr. Hamrick · April 10, 2009, 06:41:31 PM

Ok gang, rally the troops.

My friend B, who told me about the TGAH re-imagining, went to meeting today regarding the film. He was offered the job of co-writing the thing and possibly writing it himself. It seems the stuff he had gotten was treatment and not a draft of the script (though could be wrong on that as he said script at the time).

B doesn't consider himself a comedy guy, but did he'd consider it.

Then came the meeting.

The "co-writer" bailed on the thing citing "stomach cramps". The studio is wanting the script tailored as a vehicle for Owen Wilson.

B has a few days to think over the options. I figured we could lend him some support in his decision.

What do you all think?

GhostMachine · April 10, 2009, 06:45:09 PM

Hope your friend goes for it, but...

Owen Wilson? Ugh.

The Hitman · April 10, 2009, 07:05:20 PM

I see it more of a Luke Wilson film, actually.

BWPS · April 10, 2009, 08:25:39 PM

Wait, he's deciding whether or not to write a script for a movie that will be in theaters? For me, that'd be a no-brainer.

Mr. Hamrick · April 11, 2009, 07:05:58 AM

BWPS, I should clarify that B is the friend of mine who had done some uncredited rewrites on the Halloween movies for Rob Zombie. He is currently not "union" or not "WGA" so he can't be credited for the work he has done on those films or on other films he has worked on that are union projects. He also worked on the film "Trick or Treat" which was a direct to vid release. He has also been involved with the forthcoming "Jeckyl and Hyde" film that is being done. He is currently working on an adaptation of a book called "Prank". No idea if he will be actually credited or not.

The issue here is that he is a horror guy cheifly and being asked to do a comedy. There are also some other issues regarding him being very burnt out over the worked he as been paid to do (regardless if he got on screen credit).

And GhostMachine and Hitman, I agree about the UGH on Owen Wilson somewhat. I have nothing against Owen and actually like him as an actor. I am just not sure that he'd be the right guy for this. I also agree with Hitman that I think Luke Wilson would be the better Wilson to go with, especially given the habit of Ben Stiller popping up in Owen's projects and vice versa. (I am not a big Ben Stiller fan.)

Mr. Hamrick · April 16, 2009, 06:31:09 AM

Ok gang, I hate to double post. BUT this is very worth it. I have been instructed to release the following in relation to The Greatest American Hero by the current screenwriter.

QuoteHello all! As promised, I'm updating everyone on the "Greatest" decision of my career to date. As most were aware, I was called to a meeting and offered to take the reigns of the Greatest American Hero project. To give you a little history of this movie. It has been pasted from studios, to writers, and actors for the past 8 years. Each time passed over, or the story just wasn't there. Over the last few years there's been a resurgence of interest in the Gen-X shows, movie, etc. We've had a George of the Jungle, Underdog, Transformers, and soon to have a live action movie of the Smurfs (yes...you read that right), and a newer and better Masters of the Universe movie done by Zach Snyder. It was only a matter of time before Ralph Hinkley would fly to the big screen. In March, I appeared at a convention in Chicago to sit on an H2 panel when I ran into one of the people working on TGAH. I was asked to read over the "idea", and what I would do differently. We met for dinner that night and talked stuff over. I never thought that in a months time I would be asked to head the writing of it. I look at that moment now and realize that it was a "preliminary" job interview. I wasn't sure (and still not), if I was the right one for this. The studio said I was recommended and wanted to hear my ideas of how to bring it up to date, and still give it that "something" that drew all of us to the T.V to watch it all those years ago. After that they explained it's failed attempts to make it to the big screen. I still don't know who suggested me, (Rob perhaps). I don't know. So, anyway, I spoke with friends and family, didn't think I could do it, and told everyone I wasn't gonna take it. I went hang gliding (finally), and had a hard time flying. When I was in the air, I came up with a little more of the story. In which time, I came crashing down, hard!!! I died laughing and thought "that must be what he felt like!" The next day, I called and said "I'll take it!" So, I now have 3 months to make Ralph fly into the hearts of all the fans....including me. Cheesy, huh? Good, that's what I was going for. I have one shot at this, and I have so much pressure on my to do it right. I can't give to much away because the studio has the final say of actors, and story. But as of right now, the project is being handed to Owen Wilson to play Ralph. That is not set in stone. Next, I plan on keeping to the original "story" as much as possible, but added a Super Fuzz aspect to it. And before you say "Super Fuzz??!!", I'm not talking about the Simon Pegg movie from a couple of years ago. I'm talking about the 1980 movie starring Terence Hill. Some will remember the movie. But I do assure you Ralph will still be a teacher, Pam a lawyer, Bill an FBI agent, and Rhonda, Tony and Marco still troublemakers. I have asked for the studio's scripts of the show, and ordered the entire series today. But, for those that are interested, William Katt is writing for the Greatest American Hero comic book, check it out, I'm going to. So, now you know the extent I am going to, and my commitment to make it fun, original but still have that old touch... I'll do my best, I promise. Now, I am going to give you an idea of what I am thinking when it comes to the "exchange" of the suit and Ralph's and Bill's meeting. It is not completely unlike their meeting in the show, just an re-imagining and reworking of it. This is by no means concrete or in official form.

- Ralph trying to get the approval of his students and his commitment to their learning takes all kinds of abuse, and jabs from them. Tony tests Ralph's patience by calling him "Mr. H" and veiled treats about his flirting with Rhonda. Ralph calls out Tony. Tony says that if "Mr. H" will fly an ultralight flying machine, he will lay off and stay after school for tutoring. That afternoon, Marco, Rhonda and Tony meet Ralph at the airstrip. After a quick lesson, Ralph takes off into the sunset. After realizing he is WAY off course and over the desert, he starts to panic. The sun is almost completely down, when the engine shuts off all of the sudden. He starts to fall out of the sky, fast. He looks up at the parachute and sees that the wind has picked up and thinks he is seeing things. It looks like the sun is directly overhead, and is brighter than before. He is slightly blinded but sees the car a second before he hits it. Trying to unstrap himself he hears a voice and then sees FBI agent Bill Maxwell. He asks Ralph what the hell he was doing, and where the hell he came from. Ralph asks him the same question. Bill's car has stopped and won't start. And he couldn't discuss what he was doing out there. Official business. The sky lights up and Bill's horn starts honking and the engine revving. Both try the doors, but they're locked, so they dive for underneath the car trying to hide, but their butts are stuck up in the air. Ralph looks over at Bill and asks if "THAT" is his official business, Bill answers....."yeah, unofficially".

Ok, that is just an idea of what I'm gonna put in the screenplay, I have to write it in format, etc. Rough notes right now......That will probably be all you see of it til it comes to the screen. Sorry, but the studio never said anything about me publishing notes, just official text. Sorry. I'll keep you all posted.

There you have it. My good friend B.G. has taken the job of writing the screenplay for The Greatest American Hero. In accordance with his wishes, I have posted this here and I am posting the following.

QuotePost what you've read on my note, and let them know I'm watching. Throw out comments, ideas, etc. I'll see them. But please let them know I have no influence on the actor. LOL! I hate Owen myself.
But really, assure them I am paying attention to their ideas.
Oh, and as far Connie Sellecca doing a cameo, she was only in the first season. Different actress in the other 2.

There you have it gang. B.G. is paying attention to this thread. Oh and he is getting WGA credit for Prank and if the Hyde flick gets made as well as this. So speak up, gang. The man is watching.

Spring Heeled Jack · April 16, 2009, 01:34:35 PM

Well, BG, all I have to contribute is this: In regard to humor, bear in mind you can be humorous without making fun of the premise. Or to put it another way, there's no reason to produce 90 minutes of movie making fun of the original show.

I'm just tossing that out there because there have been so many unnecessary film productions of old TV and movie properties that squander their time poking fun at what they're rehashing (i.e., Starsky & Hutch). That never made much sense to me; there has to be something more appealing about an old property than how outdated it is.

Good luck! Sounds like a great opportunity!

Alaric · April 16, 2009, 01:53:19 PM

My only piece of advice would be- watch the original pilot episode. As much as I used to enjoy the show, I think the pilot was much, much better than most of the following episodes.

herodad1 · April 16, 2009, 02:34:44 PM

i agree with alaric, stick more with the pilot.i bought and watched all three seasons and connie sellecca was in all 3 seasons.very attractive lady

.not being able to fly right was funny but got annoying after awhile.i wouldnt have so many goofy powers either.if aliens were going to give someone a super suit what kinds of abilities would they endow the suit with? i'd go with super strength, flight , invulnerability ,super speed , invisability , enhanced senses , and the psychic thing were he could hold an object of a person's and see something about them or where they are at by looking in a mirror.that was original and funny.even having laser/heat vision would work.not having control over that would be funny.catching stuff on fire accidently when he was ticked off,surprised, or even sexually excited.triggered by certain emotions.wouldnt touch as much on his students and more on his girl friend and the FBI guy.how about being able to read minds or the suit had a built in univeral translater so he could speak any language ( even able to talk to a dog ).X-ray vision might also have a few laughs.suit would have a more modern/space/alien tech look. NO shrinking thing.that was too stupid.liked the locomotive sound when he would run.that had a funny touch.hope this stuff helps!oh yeah, there should be a real imminate global threat.thats why they give him the suit!

The Hitman · April 16, 2009, 02:57:30 PM

First off, congrats BG! This sounds like a really fun project!

Just throwing my 2 cents in, I agree with the idea posted somewhere earlier about the threat being something like a global threat, not just a bad guy to beat up. For that matter, did GAM have and actual archnemesis? Personally, I'd like to see plenty of callbacks to the original series, but not to an extreme or camp factor.

I'd also watch some superhero films that star non- mainstream characters (The Shadow, The Phantom, etc.), to kind of get the feel, and to see what worked in the film (and what didn't!). Good luck, man!

JeyNyce · April 16, 2009, 05:16:51 PM

As said before please watch the pilot episode and at the end let him at least master 1 power from the suit. You may not have control of this, but PLEASE DON"T ALTER THE SUIT!

Gremlin · April 16, 2009, 06:06:34 PM

Quote from: herodad1 on April 16, 2009, 02:34:44 PMnot being able to fly right was funny but got annoying after awhile.

Yet, you only have 90 minutes, and it'll still be funny in that timeframe.

Quotei wouldnt have so many goofy powers either.if aliens were going to give someone a super suit what kinds of abilities would they endow the suit with? i'd go with super strength, flight , invulnerability ,super speed , invisability , enhanced senses , and the psychic thing were he could hold an object of a person's and see something about them or where they are at by looking in a mirror.that was original and funny.even having laser/heat vision would work.not having control over that would be funny.catching stuff on fire accidently when he was ticked off,surprised, or even sexually excited.triggered by certain emotions.wouldnt touch as much on his students and more on his girl friend and the FBI guy.how about being able to read minds or the suit had a built in univeral translater so he could speak any language ( even able to talk to a dog ).X-ray vision might also have a few laughs.suit would have a more modern/space/alien tech look. NO shrinking thing.that was too stupid.liked the locomotive sound when he would run.that had a funny touch.hope this stuff helps!oh yeah, there should be a real imminate global threat.thats why they give him the suit!

No, I'd say go with the stupid powers and point out how odd they are. You can get a lot of mileage out of that--"Why the heck am I shrinking? Who thought that was a good idea? ...oh, now I can explore this facility without being detected. That's awesome." But, keep SHJ's comment in mind; you can be funny without hating on the concept. Keep the love, man.

And, again, don't change the suit. It SHOULD look silly and spandex-y and ridiculous. That's the whole point.

herodad1 · April 16, 2009, 10:05:58 PM

i guess what i meant with some of my comments is what worked back then might not work with the audience now.if they went with the costume/spandex road maybe the reason for the aliens design is based off say old superman tv show episodes.thats why they design it "campy".we have a thinking crowd now a days so you have to have some reason for people to wrap their heads around.also...i know alot of people who didnt watch it because it was in their eyes stupid.movie producers want to appeal to everyone.they want the big bucks.i see where you guys are coming from though.

El Condor · April 17, 2009, 12:40:15 PM

Quote from: Spring Heeled Jack on April 16, 2009, 01:34:35 PM
Well, BG, all I have to contribute is this: In regard to humor, bear in mind you can be humorous without making fun of the premise. Or to put it another way, there's no reason to produce 90 minutes of movie making fun of the original show.

I'm just tossing that out there because there have been so many unnecessary film productions of old TV and movie properties that squander their time poking fun at what they're rehashing (i.e., Starsky & Hutch). That never made much sense to me; there has to be something more appealing about an old property than how outdated it is.

I totally agree with this. In my experience, the most successful of these types of movies are ones that may poke a lot of gentle fun at the original, but are essentially love letters to the show and genre at their core. This is much harder to do well than just a schlocky send-up, but ultimately pays bigger rewards.

I'd also urge that the GAH not get "hunky". Part of the central premise is that he's a totally ordinary guy floundering about with this sudden and awesome responsibility - he should stay ordinary!

Thanks for considering the input, BG.

EC

BlueBard · April 17, 2009, 06:48:10 PM

You absolutely need to be clear that the suit is being given for a reason. One of the plots involved Ralph preventing a nuclear holocaust, if I remember correctly. But you don't need to stick to that.

To my mind, I would have the suit being given as a test of humanity. The aliens want to find out if humanity is worth saving. They give the suit to an ordinary human, tell him a catastrophe is about to happen (but not what), and watch to see what he does. Forget 'The Manual'. They WANT him to figure out how to use the suit on his own and avert the disaster, if he can.

The catastrophe itself could be anything from a nuclear accident, natural disaster, terrorist attack, or even (Heaven forbid) a result of global warming. I think a more likely plot might involve "alien terrorists"... Evil aliens disguised as humans and about to do some horribly destructive act bent on subjugating or destroying the Earth. 'Cause you have to have evil bad guys to thwart, or the whole thing becomes pointless. Whatever the disaster is, and it doesn't matter what, it should be imminent and it should be caused or complicated by human or alien agencies.

As far as goofy powers goes, some of those were developed over the course of more than one season let alone one show. If they try to throw all of those in to one movie, it's going to be a mess. Pick the ones that advance the plot of the movie or have the best humor value. I think invisibility should be right out, for one. If they put it in at all, it should work badly.

Flight is one of the no-brainers. Ralph should have a profound fear of heights and he should be forced to confront that fear in order to 'save the world'. I wouldn't do the flying machine bit, as he should be too afraid to try something like that. His first flight in the suit should be a complete and unintentional accident and lead to him trying to run everywhere at first.

Alaric · April 17, 2009, 06:52:50 PM

Quote from: BlueBard on April 17, 2009, 06:48:10 PM
His first flight in the suit should be a complete and unintentional accident and lead to him trying to run everywhere at first.

I don't know... One of my favorite scenes from the pilot was when the kid teaches him how to fly. I'd kind of like to see something like that in the movie, myself.

BlueBard · April 17, 2009, 06:57:19 PM

Quote from: Alaric on April 17, 2009, 06:52:50 PM
Quote from: BlueBard on April 17, 2009, 06:48:10 PM
His first flight in the suit should be a complete and unintentional accident and lead to him trying to run everywhere at first.

I don't know... One of my favorite scenes from the pilot was when the kid teaches him how to fly. I'd kind of like to see something like that in the movie, myself.

Oh, I wouldn't take that out. Put it in when he has to fly and can't figure out how he did it the first time.

BlueBard · April 17, 2009, 07:17:37 PM

Actually, I think it would be funnier if he gets his superpowers advice from a comic-book nerd. You know... one of us.

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Believe it or not, I'm walking on air?