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Doctor Who To Become Hollywood Feature Film

Hugh Pickens writes writes "Variety reports that David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter films, is teaming up with the BBC to turn its iconic sci-fi TV series Doctor Who into a Hollywood franchise. 'We're looking at writers now. We're going to spend two to three years to get it right,' says Yates. 'It needs quite a radical transformation to take it into the bigger arena.' But not everyone is enamored with the idea of Doctor Who on the big screen. 'I fear that high production values and the inevitable sexualisation of the lead characters that a Hollywood treatment brings will destroy the show,' writes Andrew M. Brown in the Telegraph. 'The ecosystem of a great television programme is a delicate thing. Please, Hollywood, don't spoil Doctor Who."

12 of 357 comments (clear)

  1. Lol by JustAnotherIdiot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Please, Hollywood, don't spoil Doctor Who.

    That's like asking the school bully not to beat you up and take your lunch money.
    He does it every day, he's going to do it every day, and now it's your turn.

    --
    What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
    1. Re:Lol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      You Brits don't have a thing to worry about. Hollywood will use cheap CGI and how does Eddie Murphy as Doctor Who sound?

    2. Re:Lol by Baloroth · · Score: 5, Funny

      Could be worse. Could be directed by Michael Bay and featuring Shia LaBeouf as Dr. Who.

      I'll take cheap CGI.

      --
      "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
    3. Re:Lol by cygnwolf · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I can't decide if you're being sarcastic or not, but in either case, Douglass Adams was heavily involved in writing the screenplay for the movie and stated on numerous occasions he had no intention of making any two incarnations of the Guide be the same.

      --
      Free Pie! The Pie is Also Evil!
  2. "The sexualisation of the lead characters" by Leuf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes, we wouldn't want to risk sexualizing Amy Pond.

    1. Re:"The sexualisation of the lead characters" by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, we wouldn't want to risk sexualizing Amy Pond.

      I'll be in my bunk. ;-)

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  3. Just Say No by jIyajbe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No no no, for the love of God, no!!!

    A major aspect of the show is the fact that it is small-screen. Its roots are in the campiness that the early shows had, and that occurred because of the tiny budget and fast turnaround. The effect of that can still been seen today.

    The campiness and fun will be eliminated in a Hollywood blockbuster treatment, and it will turn into just another sex-and-explosions vehicle.

    --
    "Don't blame the log for the fire." --Andrew Ratshin
  4. Everyone, relax by grasshoppa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dr Who has been around for 50 years. It has survived pretty much anything you could throw at it. It will survive hollywood.

    I have to wonder, however, if the folks doing the market research realize just how adverse Dr Who fans will be to a big budget movie. One of the appeals of Dr Who is the low production value of it, and the ability to take risks that goes along with that. It's unconventional, it's interesting. These are two attributes that hollywood has demonstrated a knack for destroying. Further, one of better attributes of Dr Who has always been it's "continuity" ( which is hilarious in and of itself ), of it's long scope story arcs. Again, not a "movie" thing.

    A Dr Who movie will need to somehow work in the back story, build an interesting plot and come to a conclusion. All within 2 hours. Unless they plan for a series of movies, which would make more sense. That way they can build the backstory and get the plot rolling, then continue in the second movie and finish up in a third. But that might be too much of an investment for a relatively unknown franchise ( unknown to anyone outside geekdom at any rate ).

    --
    Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
  5. Hugh Laurie by invid · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I would only watch it if Hugh Laurie played the Doctor.

    --
    The Moore-Murphy Law: The number of things that will go wrong will double every 2 years.
    1. Re:Hugh Laurie by invid · · Score: 5, Funny

      Plot Synopsis: Start in Victorian England. The Doctor (Hugh Laurie) is helping Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) to stop Moriarty (Alan Rickman) who has kidnapped Ada Lovelace (Angelina Jolie) and has stolen H.G. Well's (Zach Galifianakis) time machine. Moriarty goes into the future and uses Ada's knowledge of programming to take over the cybermen. Combining his evil genius with his robot army he goes to war against the only force that can stop him, the Daleks. The Doctor has a moral quandary: try to stop the war or let these two forces destroy each other. Lots of big explosions.

      --
      The Moore-Murphy Law: The number of things that will go wrong will double every 2 years.
  6. already ruined by Deadplant · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dr Who has already been ruined. They may as well sell it for scrap now.
    The latest season has been an utter disgrace.

    I'm a big fan, I've seen every episode.
    (those early black and white ones are pretty campy)

    The recent episode about the fat bumbling idiot with the talking baby was the straw that broke the camel's back.
    "herp a derp... I'm a fat moron, look, I walked into a wall and knocked over a display-case! hahahah, now my baby is making cutting remarks about me! Oh dear! aliens! oh dear, I've bumbled and stumbled into their grasp, how will I ever escape? Maybe if I really *really* love my baby the power of my love will make them explode! KABOOM! yay! it worked! *happily ever after*"
    I haven't been able to watch it again since that day.