Bewitched to the Big Screen... (1 Viewer)

[Joe Karlosi]

IMHO some things should just be left alone - and vintage television shows are one of them. No matter how well the actors play the roles it just won't be the same as the original. Some say that is okay but I say if you're not aiming to recreate the original then why not just make a movie based on a new concept.

You said it, Greg!

 

[Patrick Sun]

It's because studio execs are scare of pumping money into films with an "original" idea/concept with no built-in audience.

 

[Paul Sandhu]

I think it may be worth watching even though it looks more of a romantic flick... but I guess the original series was romantic too.

Does anyone know if Dr. Bombay is in this one? Also the trailer doesn't show Sam's real mother (unless that one sec clip was her), its too bad because she was perfect in the TV series.

I can tell this will be way better than The Honeymooners...... geeze that movie is going to bomb.

 

[David*P]

In the movie Shirley Maclaine plays Iris Smythson who plays Endora on the TV series that they are filming in the movie.
The character of Dr. Bombay is in the movie and is played by Fred Willard. At one point the original Dr. Bombay, Bernard Fox, was in talks to reprise the role but they opted for a more contemporary performer, much to my disappointment and the disappointment of Bernard Fox. He has played that role quite recently on the day time soap Passions.
Yes, this is a romantic comedy but like you said the TV series was romantic too, especially in the first four years. In fact Samantha and Durweed were one of the first TV couples to be seen sharing the same bed!

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As it relates to the movie I thought I would post here that according to Sony's announcement of the release of the First Season DVDs a free ticket to see the movie will be included in the sets, available June 21st, three days before the movie opens in the US. Thanks to TSoD for that info!

 

[David Rogers]

The sad thing is, I thought they were doing a Bewitched movie.

It's been a long time, but I used to watch that show. It's about a witch who's married to a normal guy. Silly me, I thought the movie would be about that.

Instead, according to the trailer I saw recently, it's about an asshole actor who's ended up playing a guy who's married to an actress playing a witch ... except she might be a witch.

(sigh) Oh my God. I ask this question without any real hope anymore, but it's tradition by now. (deep cleansing breath) ...

"Why did you bother paying for the property if you're going to change everything about it?"

The way the movie in their trailer looks, they should have just made it and not paid for the Bewitched rights. Because it doesn't look like Bewitched.

 

[Ron-P]

This went from my "must see in the theater list" to the "I'll buy the dvd blindly" list. Seems OK, that latest trailer doesn't do much for me. Although, Kidman sure is nice on the eyes.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Just saw the full trailer. No idea what they were thinking with this one. It's a definite must miss.

 

[Seth Paxton]

I was worried that they were going to a straight forward adaption a la Starsky & Hutch.

Err, what? It was the fact that they DID NOT do a straight adaptation of a good gritty action/crime story that ruined much of that film for me. The shows had a great blend of serious, hard-edged crime fighting with moments of playful humor between the characters. Both were very competent crime fighters on the TV show. This would be like making the Untouchables with these guys instead of Connery, Garcia and Costner.


And as for this film...stupid. I agree, why buy a HIGH CONCEPT property and actually twist it so much that it becomes a much more complex premise.

High concept, easy to grasp - normal guy marries a witch, comedy ensues. The pitches don't get much more high concept than that.

New premise - too complex to explain, though I suspect the real pitch was this..."Will Ferrell project summer 2005". It pisses me off and I like Ferrell's comedy much of the time.

I just don't see this as a comedy that should be based around Darren. The comedy was off of him playing the STRAIGHT MAN, not the jokester. The comedy came from the situations and the crazy relatives. That was a proven formula.

MAYBE this will still work but I'm strongly in the camp of not paying for a property that you don't really need. Sure I get that having the name helps, but you know what, that name was built on a SUCCESSFUL FORMULA. That's the valuable part of the property, moreso than the name. The name gets them in for one weekend, the formula keeps them coming back and makes the film a serious hit.


Ferrell remains bankable to a semi-degree, but making a good film update would be even more bankable.

 

[David*P]

Here is a pic of Shirley Maclaine as Endora in her flying suit from the current issue of Entertainment Weekly. It's remarkable how much she resembles the original Endora.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

Shirley looks great.

 

[David*P]

Editthe website I listed before is no longer working).Latino Review has posted some High Quality stills from the movie. They are sweet! One of them includes our first look at Aunt Clara in the movie.

 

[David*P]

MSN.com has a recut trailer for the movie on their site which shows an awesome cameo from Conan O'Brien
.
And also the official Bewitched movie site has been updated with a few animations and promotion information.

 

[Henry Gale]

As usual the search function was useless...but, here I am in the Bewitched (2005) thread.
Glad I didn't have to start this because my big contribution is....
They've remade Shadow of the Vampire (2000) and Nicole Kidman is playing Willen Dafoe's part.

 

[David*P]

The more previews I see of this movie the more I think it's going to be a great movie! I can't wait to see it!
The NYC premiere is next Monday. It'll be interesting to hear the reviews.
BTW, the official BW movie site has been updated again with a sleeker style to it.
www.sony.com/bewitched

 

[Quentin]

Wow...saw the trailer...

I think it will be the biggest bomb of the summer (can anything tank more than Kingdom of Heaven?). I will definitely be keeping my distance...

 

[Malcolm R]

I hope that honor is reserved for "The Dukes of Hazzard." I had to suffer the excruciating trailer for that steaming pile before "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" today.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Quentin, I think the latest trailers look better and I expect it do pretty well. I think it can at least have the charm of Elf.

I was wary when I first heard the changes, but now I can see some positives to them.

 

[Keith Paynter]

They've remade Shadow of the Vampire (2000) and Nicole Kidman is playing Willen Dafoe's part.

Damn, somebody beat me to it...

 

[Stan]

I agree with Quentin, post #95, this movie will tank dramatically and possibly be the biggest flop of the summer season.

Once I started seeing previews earlier this year and hearing all about the "reimagining", all I saw was TURKEY. This thing looks dreadful.

I'll wait till I can rent the DVD for $.99 before I waste my time with it.

 

[Ashley Seymour]

I've seem the trailer twice and don't think it will tank as predicted here. Well I think Will Ferrell will tank vs Nicole Kidman. She stole the trailer - if they didn't just take her best parts. She much cuter than Elizabeth Montgomer and may - MAY - give a better performance than the TV actress. Dick York was a perferct actor for the part in the original series. The best replacement would have been Jim Carey. If the film fails it will be because Ferrel misses the subtlty to pull it off. I understand that he is a vain actor searching for an unknown to play Samatha in a movie about making a remake of the TV series. If the film keeps its focus on Nicole, it will be ok. She has a way cute look for this part.