RDM to Make "A Knight''s Tale" into a television show!!
- Thread starter Flying Spaghetti Monster
- Start date
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.
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.
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.
*sigh* I think I know what I'm watching before bed tonight.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 
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.
I can't recall too much about Lancelot, either unfortunately. 
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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