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

[Psion]

The point would be to clarify that one hand knows what the other hand is doing and to calm everyone down. Moffat claims one thing, Yates claims another. You'd think the actual network with the rights to the thing would step up and clear the air but maybe they just like the attention.

Feh.

I suggest letting the Metrons step in to handle it. On an asteroid with sulfur, coal, potassium nitrate, bamboo, and huge diamonds. And maybe some blue lizards with many legs, too.

Or perhaps the Organians.

Nah, the Organians would just make their keyboards too hot when they tried to write their scripts.

Bring on the Metrons with their asteroids with sulfur, coal, potassium nitrate, bamboo, and huge diamonds. Hell, Moffat and Yates could even talk into microphones to make sure they understood each other.

Or the matter could be sorted out in court... Q's court from Farpoint and AGT!

Nice touch.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

A BBC spokesman said: "A Doctor Who feature film remains in development with BBC Worldwide Productions in Los Angeles.

"The project is unlikely to reach cinemas for several years and as yet there is no script, cast or production crew in place."

.
What the BBC had to say. Seems to back up both versions in a weird way.

 

[Deckerd]

Well you and I Bob are the only ones who don't see an eye-scratching, bitchslapping cat fight going on here.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Well you and I Bob are the only ones who don't see an eye-scratching, bitchslapping cat fight going on here.

I guess it all depends on whether you want to believe that at this point, years out from it actually being made, with no writer even in the frame and only a preliminary "We're in development" means everything is already set in stone and someone has to be lying rather than having their own interpretation of events here.

 

[Starkers]

Handbags at ten paces

 

[Starkers]

What has been mishandled is the messaging. It's not just the crisis management -- or rather, the lack thereof. It's that no one seems to have told Moffat not to say anything, or if he does have to say something to be positive and supportive, to say things like "I look forward to seeing what BBC Worldwide does with the Doctor" or "A world with more Doctor Who in it is better than a world with less," that sort of thing. Instead, Moffat comes across as someone whose sole interest is to protect his own turf.

To be blunt, Moffat is not coming across as a BBC team player at all. I realize that his pride was probably wounded -- he walked away from a Hollywood career to make Doctor Who, and now there's a Doctor Who movie in development in Hollywood without him -- by the Variety article, but he also needs to step up, be professional, do his job, and do as the people who sign his paychecks expect him to do.

Or maybe he is, maybe he's speaking for everyone involved in the show because he feels he can get away with it whilst they can't? I'm not saying that's the truth of the matter, but it's certainly a possibility.

What still irks me about this is the possibility of the telly Who becoming a second class citizen to his big budget cousin. Frankly if I were Smith this might speed up my departure. "Oh, you're the telly Who...I see..." and I fear we'll end up back in the days of the mid to late 80s.

But my opinion won't make a jot of difference to whether it happens or not

 

[Photoman15]

I can see that the current "WHO" cast and staff may have seen the Yates comment as a slap in the face. What would you do?

 

[captcalhoun]

Well you and I Bob are the only ones who don't see an eye-scratching, bitchslapping cat fight going on here.

i don't either. but there again, as i said, i'm not holding my breath for it to happen and at this point, frankly don't give a rat-fuck either way whether it's made or not.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Well you and I Bob are the only ones who don't see an eye-scratching, bitchslapping cat fight going on here.

i don't either. but there again, as i said, i'm not holding my breath for it to happen and at this point, frankly don't give a rat-fuck either way whether it's made or not.

Well that makes two of us.

 

[Mr Awe]

Well you and I Bob are the only ones who don't see an eye-scratching, bitchslapping cat fight going on here.

I guess it all depends on whether you want to believe that at this point, years out from it actually being made, with no writer even in the frame and only a preliminary "We're in development" means everything is already set in stone and someone has to be lying rather than having their own interpretation of events here.

There's a definite difference in tone of message between Yates and Moffat.

Yates = starting from scratch.
Moffat = start with the TV actor.

There's a lot of implied differences behind those 2 approaches. Some of those are differences are up for interpretation/debate at this point. However, there is a certain level of concrete difference there. Clearly, Yates doesn't feel tied to the TV show. Moffat says he is.

I'm guessing that Yates contract is already written, so he's probably correct in assuming that he has the freedom to develop it his way.

Mr Awe

 

[stoneroses]

The movie won't be made, if it is made at all by. 'The Harry Potter guy'.
https://twitter.com/#!/steven_moffat/status/142893996103049217
I trust him.

 

[Brendan Moody]

The movie won't be made, if it is made at all by. 'The Harry Potter guy'.
https://twitter.com/#!/steven_moffat/status/142893996103049217
I trust him.

On this issue, you shouldn't. Whatever Moffat may say on Twitter, or in e-mails to newspapers, BBC Worldwide wouldn't be looking for partners in Hollywood, and a serious director like David Yates wouldn't be publicly expressing interest, if there were serious reason to believe that only the TV production team and Doctor could make the movie. Moffat is, to put it charitably, expressing preference as fact.

 

[Sci]

Has anyone considered the possibility that we're seeing some general conflicts between the offices of BBC Worldwide and BBC Wales and/or BBC HQ spill out into the papers, and that it's not just a Moffat thing?

 

[Starkers]

Me and a few others have postulated that yeah...

 

[Brendan Moody]

Has anyone considered the possibility that we're seeing some general conflicts between the offices of BBC Worldwide and BBC Wales and/or BBC HQ spill out into the papers, and that it's not just a Moffat thing?

Well, anything is possible; I'm sure that somewhere in the BBC hierarchy there are people other than Moffat who don't want the kind of "Hollywood reboot" in which David Yates might participate. But at the moment Moffat is the only one making public statements that conflict factually with what Yates has announced. And the movie would hardly be in development with BBC Worldwide in Los Angeles if the BBC executives who actually make the decisions expected it to be produced by the BBC Wales team with the TV Doctor.

 

[Samurai8472]

I saw someone with this banner today

 

[captcalhoun]

^ like.

 

[Starkers]

Double like...

 

[Admiral_Young]

Ahhh Civil War banners. Brings back memories. I like that a lot.

 

[StCoop]

So here's Moffat talking about the film on the radio today:

"David (Yates) was talking a little out of turn, there; a very, very brilliant director but no the film as described by him, of course we're not going to do that - a film that contradicts the television series, it would be a heathen thing to do ... I would be 'beheaded' to do such a thing!

It would be wonderful to do a Doctor Who film, but when and if we did - and hopefully we will be doing it - it will be very much an offshoot of the television series and we'll be part of it, and it will star the television Doctor, of course - anything else would be heresy!"

You'll note of course that he doesn't say (and has never actually said come to think of it) that Yates isn't involved in developing a DW film; just not one that would contradict the TV series.