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Bryan Singer to direct and produce 'Battlestar Galactica' movie

post #1 of 30
8/13/09 at 6:41pm
Thread Starter 
I couldn't find a thread about this. Interesting news that should cause a bit of a ruckus.

Battlestar Galactica is getting the big-screen treatment. Universal Pictures has confirmed blog speculation that Bryan Singer, director of Valkyrie, w.ill take on directing and producing duties for a BSG movie,

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/08/13/bryan-singer-battlestar-galactica-movie/
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post #2 of 30
8/13/09 at 6:48pm

Quote:

The film is not expected to be a continuation of current popular television show that’s running on the SyFy network but will be a complete re-imagining of the sci-fi lore that was invented by Larson back in the 70s.

No sale.
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post #3 of 30
8/13/09 at 8:18pm
Thats what people said about the scifi series when it was announced too.;)
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post #4 of 30
8/13/09 at 9:31pm
But let's be honest.. there was a 15+ year time gap since even Battlestar 1980.  Here you are going to have less then a year from a re-imagining, and you've already licensed characters for re-use in a series that just starts next January (Caprica) as well as licensed another film (The Plan) due shortly.

BSG isn't a following that has such a huge number that it can be divided in infinite ways and work.  BSG never got the ratings on SciFi (it was SciFi then, not StaphINfection or Syphilis or whatever it is now) that Eureka, etc. pulled down.  It was a great critically acclaimed series with a die hard following. 

Now, you can re-imagine again in hopes of bringing in a broader audience at the theaters.  But you could also end up with an expensive film that, no matter what you do, just isn't built for a mainstream audience without being a monumental bomb.

Some properties are just that way.  The SciFi miniseries "Dune" and "Children of Dune" was very successful. Hell, they could try for "God Emperor of Dune" or whatever.  Still, even with an excellent crew and tons of budget, the "Dune" that was delivered at the theaters was an abomination that died because fans didn't accept it and no one else cared.

Time will tell.  Maybe it could become a giant smash; which would make you wonder what happens to the licensing value of the show or if the new show (Caprica) would be tempted to steal ideas.. or try to form something..

Just seems like there needs to be a bit more of a break
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post #5 of 30
8/13/09 at 11:01pm
Great news, until I read that Singer is doing it and that it "will be a complete re-imagining of the sci-fi lore". Two wrongs that mostly likely won't make a right.
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post #6 of 30
8/13/09 at 11:08pm
Sounds promising to me.  I stopped caring about the relaunch after season 2, even though I watched it until the end.  I hate Superman Returns, but that was probably more the script than the direction.
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post #7 of 30
8/14/09 at 1:51am
why ?
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post #8 of 30
8/14/09 at 4:54am
Seems it took the success of Ron Moore's BSG to get Singer's project off the ground. You will recall that Singer was involved in trying to remake the show before Moore was. Now that Moore's show is a huge success, won Peabodys, had a UN discussion panel, etc., the studio (understandably) wants more.
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post #9 of 30
8/14/09 at 5:31pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by mattCR View Post

Just seems like there needs to be a bit more of a break

The biggest response I've seen to this news is that it's "too soon". But really, how much time between reimaginings do we need? How long is long enough? The Ron Moore series was outstanding. I loved it. But it is over now, so there's no danger of confusion or cannibalizing audiences. It's not like we're ever going to forget the series. Heck, most of us still remember the original series just fine, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the update.

If Singer can come up with a compelling new approach, I say go for it. 
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post #10 of 30
8/14/09 at 7:45pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by Chad R View Post




The biggest response I've seen to this news is that it's "too soon". But really, how much time between reimaginings do we need? How long is long enough?

I don't know if there is a "right" answer to this question.  However, I personally feel a few months is not long enough (as in a few months between Moore's show ending, and this announcement).  I understand this, along with Richard Hatch's idea, were floating around in the ether long before Moore's reimaging, and indeed Singer's version was cut-off mostly due to the events of 9/11.  However, the timing just seems too perfect to me, as if Singer et al are trying to capitalize solely on the success of the TV show.  If that's the case, that's poor form.

That all being said, I certainly won't judge the movie in any way until I see it with my own two eyes (unless something *really* stupid leads me to do otherwise, such as making the entire cast a bunch of talking puppies).

I was as big a fan as they come for the Moore reimaging, and the Caprica pilot was awesome.  I wonder what the movie will do for the series--hurt or help it?
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post #11 of 30
8/14/09 at 9:39pm
I think that's the big problem I have.. "The Plan" will air next year I believe.   And Caprica will be in it's first season.  Imagine it like this:

 

Star Trek: The Next Generation was in it's third season.  And, on the big screen, there was a "re-imagining" of "Star Trek" which was TOTALLY different.  

How would that impact the series that was still airing?  It just seems to me like it risks greatly devaluing the product that is being developed/shot now (Caprica) unless something wild is going on.

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post #12 of 30
8/15/09 at 7:58am
Wow Star Trek envy eh? Like a few others I lost enthusiasm for the new series of BG after the 2nd season especially when I realised the Cylons and looking for Earth were the whole story, yawn! It's like having an entire series of Star Trek Voyager with the Borg as the only antagonists.
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post #13 of 30
8/15/09 at 9:46am
Neh, not Star Trek envy.  Maybe a bad example.  Ok, let's take this example:

While "The Brady Bunch" is on the air, the parody movie/film comes out also called "The Brady Bunch" which is also funny.. in a totally different way. 

NOW, the movie might turn out good, etc... but the marketplace value of the mid-level program would be significantly harmed.

So, my question is: if Singer goes forward with this and let's assume he does, then how does RDM and the studio change up Caprica to make it not at odds with the film...
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post #14 of 30
8/15/09 at 5:18pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by mattCR View Post

... but the marketplace value of the mid-level program would be significantly harmed.

So, my question is: if Singer goes forward with this and let's assume he does, then how does RDM and the studio change up Caprica to make it not at odds with the film...

I don't want to look at a film's marketplace value. I know there's a great deal of interest in the business side of movies, but I'd rather concentrate on just the creative side of it. 

As to "Caprica" being on at the same time, I can keep the two straight in my head. After all, when "Smallville" was going strong I had no problem differentiating "Superman Returns" and keeping the two storylines separate. In fact, in comics there's often alternative stories of the same character running across TV, movies and comics concurrently.

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post #15 of 30
8/15/09 at 5:48pm
This time, Starbuck is transgender.

Maybe this 3rd Battlestar Galactica claim is just a cover story to hide the production of some sort of sci-fi movie.
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post #16 of 30
8/15/09 at 6:32pm
I have problems conceptually with this franchise being applied to the big screen, regardless of the cultural baggage from previous iterations that surrounds it. Both the original and reimagined series feature at their core a pilgrimage from exile to the Promised Land. Such a pilgrimage needs to play out over time to have any real weight. If the colonies are destroyed in the first twenty minutes and they find earth, this supposed long lost colony that has defied the best and brightest minds for centuries, in the last twenty minutes, it makes it seem like a pretty freaking easy journey.Maybe they'll find some twist that will make it work, but it seems like any two hour version is doomed to failure from the start.
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post #17 of 30
8/16/09 at 8:42am
You make a good point, Adam.  While I stated above that I wouldn't judge this movie sight-unseen (afterall, I've pointed out the hilarity factor of the thread anouncing the new TV series), I do agree that it is doomed to fail simply because of the short run-time.  In my mind, there are only a few plots that are possible *and* meaningful for a movie:

- The colonies are attacked, and the course of the movie shows ony the immediate aftermath, leaving the fate of the humans on the Battlestar/fleet as a cliff-hanger.  This would essentially be the pilot for for a series of movies.

- The attack and the finiding of Earth is all shown.  The entire core plot of Battlestar is condensed into 2 hours.

- We see the attack, and the ensuing conflict between humanity and the cylons, but left with a different cliff-hanger of sorts, in which the humans have fended off the cylons...but when will they return?  Another "pilot" project, of course.

- The Cylons win :)  (I might actually pay to see this)
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post #18 of 30
8/16/09 at 9:18am
 I liked the Galactica series, i really do...but...i wouldnt call it sci-fi, just like i wouldnt call Knight Rider sci-fi just cause it has a cool car. Yea, Galactica had better scripts than KR, most of the time, anyway. That boxing episode is still the shark jumping moment for me on Galactica. Man that one stunk!

I would like to see what Singer can do with it. Shoot, id like to have seen what Richard Hatch would of done with the show. I was lucky enough to see the "pilot" he made with his own money. I thought it was pretty cool!
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post #19 of 30
8/16/09 at 9:30am
While I can't write this off sight-unseen, a re-reimagined BSG holds no appeal to me just now. The recent TV series was so remarkable -- perhaps the best scifi series ever -- that the prospect of someone else trying to rework it for an unrelated movie doesn't make any sense.

But, I keep relearning to have an open mind. I thought the new Star Trek looked liked nonsense, and that turned out great. Even this BSG, during prerelease promotions, sounded like  heresy to my childhood memories; and its mini-series launch knocked me out.
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post #20 of 30
8/16/09 at 6:59pm
Count me in if they go back to the roots of the original story.
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post #21 of 30
8/16/09 at 7:03pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by Chad R View Post

As to "Caprica" being on at the same time, I can keep the two straight in my head. After all, when "Smallville" was going strong I had no problem differentiating "Superman Returns" and keeping the two storylines separate. In fact, in comics there's often alternative stories of the same character running across TV, movies and comics concurrently.

 


Very good points i totally agree..
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post #22 of 30
8/17/09 at 2:23pm
I was a big fan of the Moore series. I accepted the show at face value for its entire run. Now to have another "re-imagining" of the show less than a year later BSG ended just dosen't seem right. It's like have a bed time story read to me by my dad, then after he tucks me in my mom comes in and reads me the same story. Different reading does not make a different story. maybe in ten years or so but not now.

No thank-you.
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post #23 of 30
8/17/09 at 2:54pm
A few random thoughts;

I enjoyed Moore's show. But while he used the properties' concept to effectively tell his stories, he never "defined" the concept. He spent four years waxing philosophical on religion, mysticism, and technology. That's fine, but there's more than enough room for a traditional Sci-fi Action-Space Opera. God can stay home for this one. 


The show had about 2 million viewers by the end. Lets say absolutely none of them go to see this movie. No one would care.

There's no way in hell Caprica will make it past it's first season.

 

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post #24 of 30
8/18/09 at 7:13am
i believe teh closest comparison we can think of is probably the feud between Roland Emmerich's Stargate film and Wright/Cooper's Stargate series. but then again, it wasn't ever on simultaneously.

i just can't imagine a BSG w/o ron moore's re-imagining.
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post #25 of 30
8/18/09 at 11:57am


Quote:
Originally Posted by Zack Gibbs View Post

A few random thoughts;

I enjoyed Moore's show. But while he used the properties' concept to effectively tell his stories, he never "defined" the concept. He spent four years waxing philosophical on religion, mysticism, and technology. That's fine, but there's more than enough room for a traditional Sci-fi Action-Space Opera. God can stay home for this one. 


The show had about 2 million viewers by the end. Lets say absolutely none of them go to see this movie. No one would care.

There's no way in hell Caprica will make it past it's first season.

 



IDK, I always thought the reason one 're-imagines' a classic series, (and i'm using the word "classic" very loosely in relations to the original BSG) is you hope that there is already a pre-set fan base that will keep the show going long enough til the rest of the viewing audience catches on. What I think has happened in this case is that the majority of the potential BSG fans watched the R. Moore series and now consider that  version the legitimet version. Most would probably only think the original series as a quaint 70's show that was the genises of the new show. One would have a difficult time convincing those fans to abandon the concept R. Moore developed in favor of a new theatrical version so soon after that show had ended. The only fans left to grab are Sci-Fi fans that didn't like the R. Moore version. But by this point one would be cutting the slice of potential fans so thin that it would hardly seem worth the while to use the BSG story at all. There are plenty of other storys out the to use if the only intention one really has is to create a special effects driven space drama.
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post #26 of 30
8/18/09 at 12:04pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Leiter View Post





IDK, I always thought the reason one 're-imagines' a classic series, (and i'm using the word "classic" very loosely in relations to the original BSG) is you hope that there is already a pre-set fan base that will keep the show going long enough til the rest of the viewing audience catches on. What I think has happened in this case is that the majority of the potential BSG fans watched the R. Moore series and now consider that  version the legitimet version. Most would probably only think the original series as a quaint 70's show that was the genises of the new show. One would have a difficult time convincing those fans to abandon the concept R. Moore developed in favor of a new theatrical version so soon after that show had ended. The only fans left to grab are Sci-Fi fans that didn't like the R. Moore version. But by this point one would be cutting the slice of potential fans so thin that it would hardly seem worth the while to use the BSG story at all. There are plenty of other storys out the to use if the only intention one really has is to create a special effects driven space drama.

Well-summed, Mark!
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post #27 of 30
8/18/09 at 2:13pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Leiter View Post





IDK, I always thought the reason one 're-imagines' a classic series, (and i'm using the word "classic" very loosely in relations to the original BSG) is you hope that there is already a pre-set fan base that will keep the show going long enough til the rest of the viewing audience catches on. What I think has happened in this case is that the majority of the potential BSG fans watched the R. Moore series and now consider that  version the legitimet version. Most would probably only think the original series as a quaint 70's show that was the genises of the new show. One would have a difficult time convincing those fans to abandon the concept R. Moore developed in favor of a new theatrical version so soon after that show had ended. The only fans left to grab are Sci-Fi fans that didn't like the R. Moore version. But by this point one would be cutting the slice of potential fans so thin that it would hardly seem worth the while to use the BSG story at all. There are plenty of other storys out the to use if the only intention one really has is to create a special effects driven space drama.

 You don't make "blockbusters" for fan-bases or sci-fi fans. They capitalize on the brand recognition and aim to bring in the general public. Hell, most of the time the fanbase is a liability because all they'll do is bitch, and the smaller the better. 
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post #28 of 30
8/18/09 at 9:46pm
Eh, they had already screwed up the old series with this remake nonsense, so it cant be any worse now.
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post #29 of 30
8/19/09 at 12:49pm
Well one thing Singer could do is go back to the kid-friendly nature of the 70's version and go for a Star Wars type plot line and audience.  The R. Moore version was very much an adult series.  The movie doesn't have to find Earth but could have the home world destroyed in the first 10 minutes or just do a really fast flashback and assume everyone already knows about it and we are already months/years into the journey.  It could be changed that the humans have a plan to destroy the Cylons or at least destroy enough of their ships that they no longer have to worry about being pursued.  Your standard big space battle ending.  Hell they could even have settled on another world or just started to settle on one and then go after the Cylons to prevent another attack but end up losing their new home world after a successful attack on the Cylons.  Maybe Baltar is back working with the Cylons in command of his own base ship.

An extreme version could be that they have already found Earth 30 years ago and have been helping us prepare for a Cylon attack in case Earth was ever found.  Cue standard big space battle movie where we have to destroy the one base ship before it reports Earth's location.  That would allow them to bring back some of the original cast and their current age would make sense.


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post #30 of 30
8/20/09 at 5:31am
I doubt Singer would want to do anything quite as kid-friendly as the original show. His film will probably end up somewhere in between the original and the Ron Moore version. I wouldn't mind seeing this film be a little lighter in tone; RDM's BSG was relentlessly dark; they shouldn't try to copy that. Bringing back some of the original cast in some capacity could be fun. Moore's show might be the best science fiction that was ever produced for television; it is certainly the most mature. A movie will need a broader audience, so a lighter tone seems likely to me.
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