RDM to Make "A Knight''s Tale" into a television show!!

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Flying Spaghetti Monster, Sep 22, 2012.

  1. Flying Spaghetti Monster

    Flying Spaghetti Monster Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2006
    Location:
    Flying Spaghetti Western
    Linky

    I'm so glad they are likely keeping the anachronisms in there as well as the modern music. The film was long and formulaic but it really was a satire/ commentary on our culture and its obsession with sports and being bought. I think it was a bold movie. I'm kind of interested.
     
  2. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    I have a feeling ABC is going to expect something more along the lines of Once Upon a Time. Post-modern satirical commentary and whatnot is going to go right over the broadcast audience's head.

    RDM should try to keep it simple if he wants this show to get a greenlight and not end up like his other failed broadcast pilots. His fanatsy series got shot down the same year that Grimm got picked up, and why? Because Grimm looked safed and famliar, like a procedural. Then the producers evolved the show into the series they wanted all along.

    RDM should do that, make something that looks like The Adventures of Prince Charming so ABC will go for it. If he locks in an audience, then he can start going in the direction he wants.
     
  3. Sakrysta

    Sakrysta Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 10, 2001
    Location:
    Sakrysta
    This will all depend on execution. I adore the movie, but it can be a hard sell. I'm not sure the tone of the movie would translate to a series. And casting choices would be crucial. The main reason the movie works as well as it does is how perfect the casting was. Aside from Jocelyn, I'm pretty much in love with every single character in the movie, and that's completely due to the actors.

    *sigh* I think I know what I'm watching before bed tonight. :adore:
     
  4. Derishton

    Derishton Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2002
    Location:
    Nova Scotia (Derishton)
    I agree with Sakrysta, the movie is fantastic for the same reason (although not to the same extent) that Casablanca is superb: right script, right cast, right time.

    I always wanted a sequel where Thatcher and Adhemar had to fight on the same side on a real battlefield; I thought that would be different enough to make the effort worthwhile. I'm not at all convinced that a TV series is the way to go, especially given the problem of replacing a terrific young actor gone before his time just as he was reaching the height of his powers.
     
  5. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2006
    Location:
    the real world
    Wow. I've always classed A Knight's Tale along with The Core as type specimens of what's wrong with professionalism in screenwriting. These movies slavishly followed every rule in the latest hack's handbook of commercial writing.

    In any event, whatever the people touting this imagine, being a continuing series will run it up against the problem that continuting anachronism will lose what precious little humor they hand and turn into just plain stupid. There was never enough satire in it to matter. I suppose there might be an certain kind of audience in the executive suites for a show that sanitizes class society, instead of ignoring or falsifying it.
     
  6. Unicron

    Unicron Boss Monster Mod Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2003
    Location:
    The Crown of the Moon
    I'm inclined to think this is probably a bad idea, though I could be wrong. The movie's decent, I like the basic concept and the cast, but I think its execution suffered from some problems. It seems to waver between the core parts of the story (Heath's desire to be recognized as a true knight and joust champion and his romance with Shannyn) and the parts that were sillier, like the inclusion of modern music in a medieval setting. That's one area where I think the film honestly failed for the most part, with a few exceptions. I think they also had to strain credibility in other areas to suit the script; William's ability to prove himself by deliberately failing at the joust is certainly romantic, but I also have a hard time believing he'd really do it because it's ridiculously dangerous and it wouldn't help his credibility to anyone else, even if he only loses for a short time. Perhaps I'm just nitpicking too much though. :p ;)
     
  7. Sakrysta

    Sakrysta Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 10, 2001
    Location:
    Sakrysta
    ^ I keep waiting for the next "this show is better than it has any right to be" show to hit the screen. Sometimes I wonder if I'm just getting old and cynical, or if scripted TV really is just jumping gleefully off whatever cliff it can find.
     
  8. Derishton

    Derishton Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2002
    Location:
    Nova Scotia (Derishton)
    Unicron, William's willingness to appear to fail is straight out of the medieval story of Lancelot. The movie is far more aware of its sources than audiences seem to think, which is why it is (surprisingly) one of the few films set in the Middle Ages that many of us medievalists really love.
     
  9. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2006
    Location:
    the real world
    ^^^Which version of the Lancelot story? The movie versions loom too large for me to recall.

    Also, as a mediaevalist, does the undercurrent of romanticism and idealization appeal to you?
     
  10. Unicron

    Unicron Boss Monster Mod Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2003
    Location:
    The Crown of the Moon
    I can't recall too much about Lancelot, either unfortunately. :lol: I don't recall him being willing to fail on purpose, but my memory's far from perfect. His major failure, if one wants to call it that, was having to choose between loyalty to Arthur and love for his wife. I don't think it necessarily changes my argument on A Knight's Tale though, as I still consider it a bit of a stretch.
     
  11. Derishton

    Derishton Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2002
    Location:
    Nova Scotia (Derishton)
    I can't speak for everyone in the field, but it's the anachronism for me. The Middle Ages thought in anachronism, and were more open to class mobility than it appears. So I guess the idealism does play something of a role.

    The story I'm thinking of is the Vulgate Lancelot, a long prose Old French version. Unicron, you're right to suggest such a stunt was dangerous: that's part of the point of the episode, not just to humiliate Lancelot but also to endanger him. It is, of course, Guinevere who orders him to do it.
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2012
  12. Unicron

    Unicron Boss Monster Mod Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2003
    Location:
    The Crown of the Moon
    Fair enough. I just think the risk factor involved tends to stretch the credibility a bit, and it seems more like an element of the script and not necessarily something derived from the classic works. That's how it comes across to the audience, anyway. :)
     
  13. Sakrysta

    Sakrysta Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 10, 2001
    Location:
    Sakrysta
    I never got the feeling that the writers & filmmakers had any intention of telling a historically faithful knight's story. It's more like they're telling a typical "man raises himself above his circumstances / underdog wins / good guy beats bad guy" tale, and merely using medieval trappings to flavor it. If you listen to the DVD commentary, they talk about why they used all the anachronisms and that it was very purposeful.

    Most of the time I hate intentional anachronisms. For some reason, in this movie, they work. Again, I think this is largely a result of the actors imbuing the material with verity and heart.
     
  14. Robert Maxwell

    Robert Maxwell memelord Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2001
    Location:
    space
    While RDM is a competent writer and producer, I think humor was one of the strengths of the film, and I've never found Moore to be all that good at humor.

    Still, the film's version of Medieval Europe was a fun place to be, and a show set there could work. Like others said, its success will hinge totally on the chemistry of its cast.
     
  15. Kirby

    Kirby Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2003
    Location:
    Alt: 5280
    I enjoyed the movie, but I can't see it as an ongoing series *insert comment about the industry being out of original ideas*
     
  16. Holdfast

    Holdfast Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2000
    Location:
    17 Cherry Tree Lane
    I loved the movie; it's a rather delicious mix of overt cheesiness and underlying sharpness, coated with a nice layer of romantic icing, with Purefoy's perfectly-formed small role as the Black Prince as the cherry on top of the cake.

    If the series makes it over to these shores, I'd definitely try it out. Sakrysta's point about getting the casting right is certainly important, but a good script that can balance fun, fluff & satire will also be key. Could be brilliant, could be dreadful.
     
  17. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2005
    He is credited as the writer of five episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that I think are effective comedies ("The House of Quark," "Our Man Bashir," "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places," "Trials and Tribble-ations," and "Take Me Out to the Holosuite"), but it's certainly true that he's mostly written for dark dramas that didn't make much room for humor. This is especially true on shows where he worked as showrunner (Carnivale, Battlestar: Galactica).

    Then again, until he wrote the pilot of Mad Men (which at first got him a gig writing for The Sopranos, and eventually got the series produced at AMC), Matt Weiner was a sitcom writer. Moore might have comedic range which he hasn't been able to exercise (outside of the DS9 episodes I mentioned), and this could be his chance. We'll see.

    (I wish he was able to get something more interesting off the ground, though; the original movie hasn't impressed me when I've seen it on television, although I've never watched all of it).