We recently reported that super-producer Robert Evans is teaming up with British network ITV to bring the seventies cult classic UFO to the big screen. Gerry Anderson, the show's creator, has now commented on the news with surprising optimism.
In an interview with Den of Geek, Anderson acknowledged he had been contacted by the new film's American producers and that he has high hopes this will lead to him having a role in the film's production:
"I got a call from somebody in America. It was very kind actually - they phoned to say, 'Gerry, listen, there's an announcement going out now [about the new movie] and we didn't want it to come as a shock to you', which was a kind move. As a result of that I had a long chat with them. It wouldn't help me to blow this up bigger than it is, but I have a feeling that I might end up being a consultant on the movie."
This marks something of a change from the last time one of Anderson's shows got the Hollywood treatment. The makers of the utterly disastrous 2004 movie Thunderbirds had initially invited Anderson on as a creative consultant, but let him go days later when they decided they already had enough people on the payroll. Anderson has previously described the Thunderbirds movie as "the biggest load of crap I have ever seen in my life", which sounds about right.
Despite this previous bad experience, Anderson is cautiously optimistic that UFO will be different from the mostly awful Hollywood remakes of classic British shows, Thunderbirds very much included:
"Over here there's a rather unfortunate history about remakes; Thunderbirds the film was a disaster, and The Avengers, and so on. But I hope, and I think I probably believe, that this could be the exception."
The UFO movie is currently still in the development stages. The original series is available on DVD and heartily recommended.