David (Harry Potter) Yates to direct Doctor Who The Movie!

[Skellington]

It'll be interesting to see the narrative differences in the big-screen and small-screen versions. Personally, I think that you can do a lot more in a really good TV season than in a really good movie. That this will be a separate production is a potential win-win scenario, though; not only will the show continue uninterrupted, but also it gets free publicity. On the other hand, the movie's potential viewership is already established thanks to the TV show's high profile.

 

[23skidoo]

@23Skiddoo^ I'm just looking at it as an alt-universe take on DW. You can have a Batman or Spider-man movie which is separate from the comics and reaches a wider interest but provokes interest in the comics and hopefully makes them sell more. Try to think of a DW movie as just being another adaptation of a classic franchise but in a different medium.

At the end of the day, if this movie gets made, it doesn't mean that someone will go round and wipe out all of the tv series from existence.

No, but there are still risks. First, just because it's got David Yates' name on it is no guarantee it won't suck. Or that it'll be a good movie that no one will bother going to see. Either of which could have a negative impact on the TV series.

Or, the film could be Avatar 2.0, be a massive hit, and everyone will start looking at Johnny Depp (or whomever) as THEIR Doctor, completely undermining Matt Smith or Paterson Joseph or whomever is the Doctor in the lowly TV series. Worst case scenario: BBC Worldwide decides the future is in the 3-D movie business (you know they'll do that crap with the movie) and so the decision is made to retire the TV series. Do we really want that?

Granted, the same risks would apply if a Matt Smith movie were made: a failure might result in the franchise being retired; a huge success might result in the TV series being retired in favor of film.

Meanwhile, comics and films are entirely different media, and have never been seen as 100% faithful to each other anyway. But this is to my knowledge the first time since in fact the Peter Cushing Dr. Who movies that a movie has been made based upon a still-running TV series that is not based on the ongoing continuity of the said TV series. And I just find it pulls the rug out from under the TV show, is all. Especially when they're planning big things for 2013 which, for all we know, might have included a movie. But maybe not anymore.

I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Considering the last 45 years of plans for big-screen Doctor Who films have had a zero-percent track record of actually being made (even the one written by Tom Baker at the height of his powers), I won't start "worrying" until the cameras actually begin rolling.

Alex

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I agree with 23skidoo. I don't see the point of doing this movie if its completely removed with the series. If I want to see Doctor Who I'll watch the BBC series, not a American movie that attempts to tell the whole story in a different way. Ugh, no.

That being said, I think it would be rather ironic if Hugh Grant did land the role considering he turned down the role of The Ninth Doctor (and later regretted it).

 

[Starkers]

Are the BBC even on board with this? There doesn't seem to be any Beeb involvement which surely they would have to be?

Anyway, personally I think it's a bad idea, but who knows!

 

[Sindatur]

Why are folks thinking this will be an American Production?

"Harry Potter" director David Yates is teaming up with the BBC to turn its iconic sci-fi TV series "Doctor Who" into a bigscreen franchise.
Yates, who directed the last four Potter films, told Daily Variety that he is about to start work on developing a "Doctor Who" movie with Jane Tranter, head of L.A.-based BBC Worldwide Prods.

The only thing remotely pointing at any American involvement, is that they won't limit their search for a writer to Just British, but, will also look at American Writers, since Steve Kloves did such a good job of keeping HP British.

 

[Captaindemotion]

I'm inclined to agree that the 'zero-percent success rate' will most probably continue with this project but even if it gets made, I'm still quite relaxed about it. It's not like Brett Ratner, Uwe Boll or Paul WS Anderson are invoved.

 

[StCoop]

Are the BBC even on board with this? There doesn't seem to be any Beeb involvement which surely they would have to be?

How hard is it to read the story I linked to? It's being made by BBC Worldwide and Jane Tranter (you know, the woman without whom Doctor Who would never have come back to TV in the first place.)

 

[The Wormhole]

How many times does this rumour surface anyway?

Meanwhile, does anyone still have that drawing of a Doctor Who movie poster starring Jason Statham? That was cool.

 

[StCoop]

How many times does this rumour surface anyway?

In what way is a story in Variety (the most respected Entertainment News journal in the world) with extensive direct quotes from the Director a "rumour"?

 

[The Wormhole]

How many times does this rumour surface anyway?

In what way is a story in Variety (the most respected Entertainment News journal in the world) with extensive direct quotes from the Director a "rumour"?

Sorry, I read the article, but didn't pay attention to the site it was on. But it does seem every year word of a Doctor Who movie comes out in some way but nothing ever develops out of it. My personal favourite was a few years back when someone posted here on Trek BBS that he had exclusive info that a new theatrical Doctor Who movie starring Paul McGann was in production.

 

[Silent_Bob]

Hugh Grant gets to be the Doctor at last? Sean Bean, in the vein of Nine? Clive Owen?

Ugh, Clive Owen is an absolutely terrible choice for a Doctor. An actor needs to be able to portray a wide variety of emotions to pull off The Doctor, from jollity to sinister, happy to enraged.

Clive Owen has zero range, playing every character the same dull monotonous way, whether King Arthur or a guy in love with a stripper.

 

[RoJoHen]

He's not British, but I bet Michael Emerson (Ben Linus from LOST) would make a tremendous Doctor.

 

[DWF]

I'm not holding my breath for this one.

 

[StCoop]

My personal favourite was a few years back when someone posted here on Trek BBS that he had exclusive info that a new theatrical Doctor Who movie starring Paul McGann was in production.

Hardly the same thing!

There's a long road from planning a film to it getting made and released but it's certainly not just a "rumour" at this point. (No matter what Tom Spilbury's desperately insisting on Twitter.)

 

[timelord1010]

This sounds like someone wants to do a "Trek 09" on Doctor Who. Is JJ Abrams behind this?

Maybe this will be the only good way for it to work, The Doctor in a alternate universe. They could use David Tennant and Billie Piper since they are already in a alternate universe.

 

[Skellington]

Has anyone poked their head around the door marked "Gallifrey Base" yet?

 

[StCoop]

Has anyone poked their head around the door marked "Gallifrey Base" yet?

It's quite hillarious. A bunch of people with an utter lack of perspective falling over themselves to act the most angry and appalled by the news of a film that might or might not get made three years from now that no one will force them to see!

 

[Sindatur]

Has anyone poked their head around the door marked "Gallifrey Base" yet?

It's quite hillarious. A bunch of people with an utter lack of perspective falling over themselves to act the most angry and appalled by the news of a film that might or might not get made three years from now that no one will force them to see!

"It's my pool, and if anyone's gonna pee in it, it's gonna be me"

 

[Lonemagpie]

Has anyone poked their head around the door marked "Gallifrey Base" yet?

It's quite hillarious. A bunch of people with an utter lack of perspective falling over themselves to act the most angry and appalled by the news of a film that might or might not get made three years from now that no one will force them to see!

Wow, the stuff what happens when I pop out to the pub for dinner...

I'll still believe it when I see it - but it's wise to make it a separate continuity...

Thing is, even if it's true and gets confirmed - and I think it probably will, from this kind of source - it will still just mean that a Dr Who movie has entered what we jovially term "development hell". This means it'll take years from now, and still may never happen anyway. During which time fandom will wank itself into a coma screaming about how the Doctor must never be an American, and why it will be shit because it cannot precisely fit exactly what the individual fan wants.

(I'm guessing this is exactly what's happening on GB tonight)

Count me out of that crap - if a movie happens, I'll go see it, but until then...

 

[StCoop]

Thing is, even if it's true and gets confirmed - and I think it probably will, from this kind of source - it will still just mean that a Dr Who movie has entered what we jovially term "development hell". This means it'll take years from now, and still may never happen anyway.

While nothing's guaranteed until the cameras start rolling (and sometimes not even then!) having Yates on board will be a massive help. Given where he is in his career he could have chosen absolutely anything for his next project and he's not going to devote three years on something he isn't fairly confident in seeing get made.