The Prisoner Movie. Um, holy crap?

[whiteboyskim]

Variety broke the story this morning but since you have to pay to see the story I'll post the AICN report + commentary link instead. The short version is that Christopher "Batman Begins" Nolan is set to direct a film version of the 1960s version of "The Prisoner" from a script by the folks what done wrote "Unforgiven" and "12 Monkeys."

I'm about to head to Netflix and queue the series as I've never seen it but I've only heard about the rapid fanbase it has. The only sort of fanaticism I've seen compare would be "Firefly" fans. For those of you who have actually seen "The Prisoner" please tell me. If this good news? Do you not want to see the movie go forward? Thoughts? Comments?

[wonderpug]

They better do a damn good job casting Number 6, they better not modernize the 60s style for the village, and for god sakes the white bubble better not be an overdone CG nightmare.  And they better get the car right.  And the music.  And the umbrellas.  And how in the world are they going to do the story justice in 2 hours?

Damn they've got their work cut out for them if they want to please the fans.

[CeeKay]

I heard they are casting Chris Rock as the lead and turning it into a comedy about a prison where gangsta wannabes are sent to for reprogramming by 'The Man'.  The 60's pastiche is going to be replaced by 70's disco and there is no bubble.

[warning]

I love the show but it's very set in its place in time.  It's hard to imagine how they'd make it into a movie.

[Kevin Grey]

The short version is that Christopher "Batman Begins" Nolan is set to direct a film version of the 1960s version of "The Prisoner" from a script by the folks what done wrote "Unforgiven" and "12 Monkeys."

They also done wrote the Kurt Russell atrocity "Soldier". Still David Webb Peoples has a good track record overall (he was one of the contributors to "Blade Runner") and I trust Nolan with  the material.

[wonderpug]

You know, the new James Bond guy wouldn't be a bad pick to play Number 6, appearance-wise:

Patrick McGoohan:


Daniel Craig:

[dbt1949]

SECRET AGENT MAN!

[Tareeq]

ITV is producing a tv update of The Prisoner, starring Christopher Eccleston of 28 Days Later and Doctor Who.

I like Eccleston a lot more than anyone involved with this movie project, but I still think the tv update is a bad idea.  The Prisoner is, imho, the best television show ever made (well, except for I, Claudius).  Any movie and any television show is going to suffer in comparison because it will lack Patrick MacGoohan, who is the closest thing television has to an Orson Welles.

If you haven't seen the original show it's netflixable, and well worth viewing.

[dbt1949]

Altho I like Patrick McGoohan, the Prisioner never did grab me. The weird 60s fashions were a bit much for even then. I'll wait for y'alls feedback on the movie before making up my mind tho.

[EngineNo9]

While I am a bit skeptical, it certainly looks like they have some excellent people working on the ground floor.  Hopefully they can work up a worthy story.  And then somebody else can run it into the ground in the inevitable sequels.

[tiny ogre]

Between Memento and Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan has a free pass from me on his next movie.  I don't care what it is, I'll see it.  Those were both awesome yet completely different.

And yes I've seen Insomnia too.  Not great, but not really horrible either, just uninspired.

[EngineNo9]

Between Memento and Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan has a free pass from me on his next movie.  I don't care what it is, I'll see it.  Those were both awesome yet completely different.

And yes I've seen Insomnia too.  Not great, but not really horrible either, just uninspired.

If you like Nolan, check out his earlier movie Following.  Definitely worth a watch.  I think some versions of Memento are actually double packed with it.