The Saint is coming back to TV
Hello! The Saint is rising again. The venerable character, who was created by writer Leslie Chareris in novels in the 1920’s, will be back on television in a contemporary setting, and actor James Purefoy (Rome) has been in talks to play Simon Templar, the suave, British “good guy” thief. Aside from Purefoy, the Hollywood Reporter writes that the production team includes first class talent: Homicide’s Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana (Oz), writer Jorge Zamacona, Bill Macdonald, and the original TV Saint himself, Roger Moore, and his son Geoffrey Moore.
Mr. Levinson will direct the two-hour TV movie, which will be the pilot for a proposed series. TNT had been interested, but has since backed off from the deal. Now, the film will be produced independently and then shopped to the networks. Producer Macdonald had previously worked on a Saint project in 1991, when acquired the rights to the books for producer Robert Evans. In 1997, they created a big-screen version of The Saint starring Val Kilmer. It was not deemed a hit and failed to produce a sequel.
The man with the previous, successful connection to The Saint in this new version is Roger Moore. Before becoming James Bond in the 1970s, Moore starred as Simon Templar for seven years on TV. His imprint on the role is more famous that any of the actors who’ve played in on screen, including George Sanders, Louis Hayward and Hugh Sinclair, who all were Simon Templar at one time or the other. It’s hoped that Moore’s involvement — along with his son — will bring some of the charm from his Saint to this new one.
Simon Templar (ST - the Saint) is a character who’s been described as a Robin Hood type, stealing from the rich and doing good deeds along the way, all the while being dogged by Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, the Interpol agent determined to catch Templar red-handed. For this new incarnation, they’re also casting Patricia Holm, a romantic interest/assistant, Patricia Holm, and an enemy-turned-partner in crime, Baldwin Aleppo.
At one point, Macdonald, Zamacona and the Moores interested TNT in The Saint as conceived, but they passed. Zamacona, who had his first writing job in the business on Homicide: Life on the Street, which Levinson and Fontana created, turned to them and they became attached to the project, too.
“One of the things we lost a little bit of in the movie but want to bring to the TV series is that Simon Templar is very funny character with great lines and situation humor, and I don’t think there is anybody better than Levinson to tackle that,” Macdonald said.
Thomas Jane Cast In John McTiernan’s Run
Former Punisher Thomas Jane is set to headline Die Hard director John McTiernan’s car-chase actioner Run. The film is budgeted at $35 million and will shoot in Argentina, where the plot takes place as well. Jane will play an Interpol agent who happens on a large conspiracy while pursuing a murder suspect.
In the past, classic automobile-porn action flicks like The Bourne Ultimatum and Ronin have gloriously used-and-abused Audis, but BMW will provide the vehicles here, with a Super Mustang also set to make an appearance. Producer Michael Pierce adds that the automobiles will “chase each other at over 120 mph.” Well, now.
This marks McTiernan’s first film since he was ordered to serve four months in prison for lying to federal agents about his involvement in the Anthony Pellicano wiretapping fiasco. Obviously, the plot to Run is purposely lean and mean and it’d be great to see him return to form after a series of middling efforts, including the peak that was The Thomas Crown Affair and the depressing valley that was LL Cool J’s Rollerball. Jane, a very likable actor, evidently takes Karl Urban’s expired spot in the lead here, and after the flop that was The Mist and his unfortunate, abrupt run with The Punisher, Jane needs to center himself quickly in the public eye. If that’s as a Jason Statham-level action star, so be it, but my favorite role of his was in Boogie Nights, which was impossibly chameleonic, akin to Eric Bana’s in Chopper. This is a project that would sound absolutely ho-hum, but with the talent involved and a lot on the line, sparks could fly.
Source Link: Variety