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

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.

We can but hope
 
Oh, and a quick note to say that the obvious way to make a separate thing would be to remake or adapt (in some form) something from the early years that no longer exists...
 
So this is the second time we've heard about a "Doctor Who" film being developed, although given the source and the direct attached this one seems to have some merit. I have mixed feelings about this. This kind of feels to me like the Fox Doctor Who TV film. I would like to give this a chance but really have no positive feelings about this whatsoever.
 
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.
Smallville and Superman Returns, in 2006. Both based on the same property, and with mutually exclusive takes on the character and the continuity.

I think it's pointless at this point to start worrying about where and how a movie that might not be made fits into continuity. First, I'll quote Emerson on the subject -- "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." :) And second, I'll point out that fans can make anything fit when they put their minds to it.

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.
You're assuming facts not in evidence. For all any of us know, this movie is part of the plan.

But it does seem every year word of a Doctor Who movie comes out in some way but nothing ever develops out of it.
At the very least, this should put the RTD movie rumors to bed. I thought that RTD would have been a horrible choice to write and produce a Doctor Who movie. An RTD movie would have been like the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies -- a bunch of people with television backgrounds working on a television scale story and a movie budget, producing in two-hour long television episodes with better lighting and f/x. Imagine "The End of Time" as a Doctor Who movie, and think about the bullet we've just dodged with this Yates news. :)
 
Maybe the 11th doctor in the series can make a quick comment

"They even made a movie about me!"


You're assuming facts not in evidence. For all any of us know, this movie is part of the plan.

I just assume the TV series production has plans of their own and the movie studio's have plans of their own.
 
As regards it being separate from main continuity, I think that's fair enough. It will make it easier for casual - ie American - viewers to get into and if it's a complete disaster, fans of the tv show don't have to get too worked up about it.

Movies are a global business, so don't think in terms of just the American audience. For this movie to work, it's gotta appeal to folks from Buenos Aires to Jakarta.

There's a reason that big budget blockbusters are usually so deracinated. Giving a movie a strong national identity risks lowering its global appeal. However, Captain America managed to be true to the source material and still get over 50% foreign BO, so it can be done.

Here's the foreign breakdown for Captain America. Note that Brazil and Mexico were both bigger markets than the UK, so a common language isn't the biggest factor. (This doesn't mean those are always the biggest markets outside America for a movie, but it sure does show their box office clout.)

My theory about Cap is that the underlying theme - triumph of the underdog - had enough universal appeal that the strong national identification of the character was not an issue. Also, it had a lot of action and things blowing up real good. Can't forget that.
 
There's actually a book out there-although I think it's long out of print-called the Nth Doctor which basically details all the film projects that were considered over the years. Some would take place in series continuity, such as Doctor Who vs. Scratchman which would've been the Tom Baker movie, then there was The Dark Dimension which I think would've uncanonized the JNT Doctors or something like that and would've been at least a TV movie, and attempts at a post-cancellation revival with no connection to the series beyond the basic concepts.

This actually kind of sounds similar to the Brian Synger Battlestar Galactica Project that would have no connection to the Ronald Moore series.

I'm also seeing shades of the Bond movie "Never Say Never Again", a 'rival' Bond movie starring Sean Connery (and a remake of Connery's Thunderball) of born out of legal troubles with the franchise, and it went up against the official Bond movie Octopussy (with Roger Moore). Of course there are differences-there appears to be no legal rights issues here.
Actually, a better comparison might be Casino Royale. The first 20 or so Bond films by EON fit into sort of a loose continuity, but Casino and Quantum pretty much tossed all that out with the exception of Judi Dench.

Wonder who they'd choose as the villains. Daleks of course are the most iconic and would be interesting to see them on something other than a TV budget, with perhaps a few tweaks to the design (Let's face it the RTD and even Moffat Daleks aren't all that different from the classic ones). However last time we got a Who movie we ended up with the Master, so maybe that'll be done. Hopefully with more respect than Eric Robert's version.

Also regarding worldwide appeal, Doctor Who is quite popular in not only Britain but several other countries in Europe and Asia as well. America seems to have the hardest time with it, but it has a loyal fanbase here-and the new series-despite some bumps in the road-has been gaining international appeal that the classic series-often shown on late night on PBS here in the states-never really had in the United States.
 
Well, regardless of the vision or its connection to the current series continuity, there are some things I'm really looking forward to:


  • Going to see any other film and hearing the TARDIS wheeze during the coming attractions for the first time.
  • A series of trailers for the upcoming movie.
  • The glorious arguments and acrimony to be savored as soon as this thing is certain. The whole lovers vs. haters angst is sure to be entertaining. Unfortunately, a few party-pooping level-heads will insist on seeing both sides.
But mostly the first. It'll be a thrilling moment.
 
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.
Smallville and Superman Returns, in 2006. Both based on the same property, and with mutually exclusive takes on the character and the continuity.

As I mentioned earlier, comic books don't count. The Dark Knight isn't a reimagining of the Adam West TV series. Smallville has no connection to Superman Returns. And anyway, it's the comic book that is the original, not Smallville.

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.
You're assuming facts not in evidence. For all any of us know, this movie is part of the plan.
I think it's pretty obvious it is not, at least not from Moffat's perspective. This is being done by a separate arm of the BBC than that doing to the TV show. Just as a separate arm of the BBC introduced Richard E Grant as the Ninth Doctor in a planned series of animated webcasts until a separate arm of the BBC announced they were doing a new TV series, throwing everything related to the Richard E Grant Doctor Who out the window. Check it out.

Anyway, for those who think I'm being a stick in the mud, I just came back from a survey of some of the media coverage this announcement is getting, and the comments section of every single report - without fail - is dominated by people saying this is a horrible idea if it's not a direct tie-in with the TV series continuity. One person made the good suggestion that a prequel featuring a young Hartnell Doctor would work, and I agree.

But I'm afraid the horror shows described in The Nth Doctor book mentioned above are a real danger. Bitch about RTD all you like, at least he knew enough about the history of Doctor Who not to do some of the utter crap that very nearly got made. (Seriously - read the original synopsis for the 1996 TV movie before someone with a brain killed it and asked for a redo. The McGann movie had tons of flaws, but had "The Borusa and Ulysses Show" been made, Doctor Who would have died the death 15 years ago and Matt Smith would probably still be fighting for guest spots on ITV crime dramas.

Alex
 
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.
Smallville and Superman Returns, in 2006. Both based on the same property, and with mutually exclusive takes on the character and the continuity.

As I mentioned earlier, comic books don't count. The Dark Knight isn't a reimagining of the Adam West TV series. Smallville has no connection to Superman Returns. And anyway, it's the comic book that is the original, not Smallville.
I thought you were looking for an example of two mutually-exclusive versions of a character or concept appearing simultaneously on television and in film. I can give you other examples, like the Cumberbatch Sherlock and the Downey, Jr. Sherlock Holmes. Or Star Trek V and Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1989; heck, the creator of the later supposed thought the former was non-canon. :)

My point, Alex, is that Doctor Who in the 60s isn't the only example, and only fan myopia would suggest that it was.

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.
You're assuming facts not in evidence. For all any of us know, this movie is part of the plan.
I think it's pretty obvious it is not, at least not from Moffat's perspective. This is being done by a separate arm of the BBC than that doing to the TV show.
Again, you're assuming facts not in evidence. First, you were assuming that the BBC hadn't been planning a film; there's evidence that BBC Films has been trying to get one off the ground since 2009. Now, you're assuming that Moffat's control of Doctor Who is complete and total; his control isn't total, he's the showrunner of a BBC Wales production, and there's a lot more to Doctor Who than just the BBC Wales-produced show, and there are people far above Moffat's paygrade who get to make decisions about what's best to do with the franchise because they, not Moffat, control the pursestrings. Moffat is important, don't get me wrong, but he's no more the God of Doctor Who than RTD was.

Just as a separate arm of the BBC introduced Richard E Grant as the Ninth Doctor in a planned series of animated webcasts until a separate arm of the BBC announced they were doing a new TV series, throwing everything related to the Richard E Grant Doctor Who out the window. Check it out.
Please point out to me any quotes by anyone speaking in an official capacity for the BBC that "[threw] everything related to the Richard E Grant Doctor Who out the window." I believe I can confidently state that as close as you're going to get is Paul Cornell's "basically Unbound now" quote, but even he admitted that was just his personal feeling on the matter. Even the reallocation of the funds for the sequel to "Shalka" to the animated recons for "The Invasion" doesn't mean that the REG Doctor was "out the window"; all it means is that the monies were reallocated. :)

Anyway, for those who think I'm being a stick in the mud, I just came back from a survey of some of the media coverage this announcement is getting, and the comments section of every single report - without fail - is dominated by people saying this is a horrible idea if it's not a direct tie-in with the TV series continuity.
I think you'd find that matches Star Trek fandom in the wake of the announcement of J.J. Abrams' film. Or, the reaction to "Death Comes to Time" about ten years ago. Or the reaction to the FOX television movie. Some think they're trying to protect the linear continuity and progression of the series, others think (like you do) that Steven Moffat has been slighted. Fans are emotionally invested in their fandom, and they're reacting in an emotional manner on a subject that matters to them, even if their reaction is irrational and founded upon their fears rather than the reality.

One person made the good suggestion that a prequel featuring a young Hartnell Doctor would work, and I agree.
Or pre-Hartnell. ;)

To be honest, I'd rather see that story for the 50th-anniversary special -- the eleventh Doctor has an adventure with his first incarnation before he stole the TARDIS and left Gallifrey.
 
According to the guy behind the movie, it will not follow on from the show meaning I HAVE ZERO interest in the movie. Doctor Who should remain a TV show so I hope this project fails.
 
Deja vu

This is similar to Star Trek 2009 and some people worrying about it infringing on established continuity

The tv series doctor who will be fine. It's not like the series will take pointers from the movie

The movie and series will do their own thing. No one is going to step on each others toes


If the movie TARDIS turns out to be a red phone box then so what? We all know the real deal
 
Bring back Paul McGann!

Seriously, why not? He's already said he'd be up for it as long as he can have a different costume and not have to wear a wig. And if they set it pre-Time-War then they can have it completely removed from the TV series and do basically anything short of kill the Doctor or blow up the Tardis.

Or they can set it in a completely separate thing. I really don't mind. If Star Trek '09 has taught me anything, it's to not get too invested in fictional universes. :cool:
 
LOL What a shit idea (and also a bit of a slap in the face to all those hard working individuals on the TV show).
 
The TV show still going? Good.

If they change their minds and tie it to TV continuity, fine. If they continue forward like this, fine.

I only ask one thing. A good Doctor Who story. A good Doctor Who MOVIE.

That's it.
 
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