Jason and The Argonauts miniseries is coming
Dan Tropea
of Cleopatra and Noah's Ark miniseries Robert Halmi SR.
It will be Jason and The Argonauts. This will air during the May 2000 sweeps
and
will be a 4 hour miniseries.
Jason will be played by Jason London who was in
"Carrie 2", "Safe Passage" and "Daxed and Confused."
Why they didn't use the young Jason from the Hercules/
Young Hercules series (Chris Conrad) i don't know.
I think he would have been a fantastic choice for the
miniseries.
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WWS
Dan Tropea wrote:
>
> Well there is going to be a new miniseries by the creator
> of Cleopatra and Noah's Ark miniseries Robert Halmi SR.
> It will be Jason and The Argonauts. This will air during
> the May 2000 sweeps and will be a 4 hour miniseries.
If they don't get chased by skeletons that grow out of dragons
teeth at the end, I'm gonna be pissed off, that's for sure.
Of course, if he does it the way he did Noah's Ark then Jason
is going to be attacked by a ship flying the Jolly Roger, with
a closeup on Blackbeard with a parrot on his shoulder saying
"arrrhgh! arrghgh! avast, mateys, heave to!" But saved at the
last minute when a British man'o'war shows up.
--
__________________________________________________WWS_____________
Idiocy abhors a vacuum, but it also abhors a room full of
people it isn't currently in, and so crashes the party. - jdn
Reverend Sean O'Hara
>
> Well there is going to be a new miniseries by the creator
>
> of Cleopatra and Noah's Ark miniseries Robert Halmi SR.
>
> It will be Jason and The Argonauts. This will air during the May 2000 sweeps
> and
>
> will be a 4 hour miniseries.
>
actual myths (Apollonius, Ovid, Euripedes (kinda))?
And will Hercules and Hylas come out of the closet?
And will we get to see Medea kick some ass the way it's supposed to
be?
--
Reverend Sean O'Hara
You two can be an ordained minister: http://www.ulc.org/ulc
"Father, I killed my monkey."
Tori Amos, "Bliss"
Tom Holt
from Reverend Sean O'Hara <oha...@rcn.com> contains these words:
> Dan Tropea wrote:
> >
> > Well there is going to be a new miniseries by the creator
> >
> > of Cleopatra and Noah's Ark miniseries Robert Halmi SR.
> >
> > It will be Jason and The Argonauts. This will air during the May 2000 sweeps
> > and
> >
> > will be a 4 hour miniseries.
> >
> Now, the question is, will this be based upon the 1960's film or the
> actual myths (Apollonius, Ovid, Euripedes (kinda))?
It's hard to see how a miniseries is going to get out from under the
shadow of the Harryhausen flick, since the FX therein have proved so
influential. If, as seems likely, they're planning on making it a
CGI-fest, I suspect they're backing a loser. Even if the FX are
startlingly better than those in the film, there's a severe risk that
they'll come across as derivative. If they're worse, that's simply
inviting ridicule. Doing remakes of cult classics is a mug's game.
As for the plot and characterisation (assuming they bother to have
any; next off, you'll be suggesting they hire *writers* to do the
script), I don't think there are many unmined gems lurking in the
pages of Apollonius (which I read years ago, as a sedative when the
excitement of watching paint dry got too much for me to handle), Ovid
or even (please note correct spelling) Euripides. Now, if they were
to come up with an intelligent new take on the story that also makes
for entertaining TV... well, they won't have to bother with CGI
harpies. They can use flying pigs instead.
How's the soft-core porn business these days, Sean? Made any sales recently?
God Of Tapes
wrote:
> Well there is going to be a new miniseries by the creator
>
> of Cleopatra and Noah's Ark miniseries Robert Halmi SR.
>
> It will be Jason and The Argonauts. This will air during the May 2000 sweeps
> and
>
> will be a 4 hour miniseries.
>
>
>
> Jason will be played by Jason London who was in
>
> "Carrie 2", "Safe Passage" and "Daxed and Confused."
>
>
>
> Why they didn't use the young Jason from the Hercules/
>
> Young Hercules series (Chris Conrad) i don't know.
>
> I think he would have been a fantastic choice for the
>
> miniseries.
>
Probably a different studio that Conrad wasn't under contract with.
Reverend Sean O'Hara
>
> The message <37FA81B4...@rcn.com>
> from Reverend Sean O'Hara <oha...@rcn.com> contains these words:
>
> > actual myths (Apollonius, Ovid, Euripedes (kinda))?
>
> It's hard to see how a miniseries is going to get out from under the
> shadow of the Harryhausen flick, since the FX therein have proved so
> influential.
Well, it would help if they named it "Jason and the Golden Fleece"
instead of lifting the title from the original movie. Calling it
"Jason and the Argonauts" automatically invites comparison.
> As for the plot and characterisation (assuming they bother to have
> any; next off, you'll be suggesting they hire *writers* to do the
> script), I don't think there are many unmined gems lurking in the
> pages of Apollonius (which I read years ago, as a sedative when the
> excitement of watching paint dry got too much for me to handle),
Hey, I like Apollonius. The Argonautica works great if you just think
of it as a satire of heroic epics.
> Ovid
> or even (please note correct spelling) Euripides. Now, if they were
> to come up with an intelligent new take on the story that also makes
> for entertaining TV...
The best thing they could do would be to move the focus to Medea
and actually delve into what happens after Jason returns to Greece.
The biggest flaw with the original movie was that it turned Medea,
one of the most interesting mortal women in Greek mythology, into
the jailer's daughter (If you've seen old westerns, you know what I
mean. The Hero is wrongfully imprisoned, and the Jailer's daughter,
who happens to be in love with him, unlocks his cell.). Make her into
a real sorceress. Play up how she's being manipulated by Aphrodite
via Eros and his arrows. Show how she betrays her family. And show
how Jason dumps her when they return to Greece. You could have a
great story just by focusing on that, instead of Talos and the
Men of Clay.
> well, they won't have to bother with CGI
> harpies. They can use flying pigs instead.
>
Well, we'll definitely know who they're copying if skeletons show up
in the film.
Tom Holt
from Reverend Sean O'Hara <oha...@rcn.com> contains these words:
> Well, it would help if they named it "Jason and the Golden Fleece"
> instead of lifting the title from the original movie. Calling it
> "Jason and the Argonauts" automatically invites comparison.
More fool them, then. I always felt that 'Jason & The Argonauts'
would've been the eldest Brady Bunch kid's idea of a really cool name
for his band.
> Hey, I like Apollonius. The Argonautica works great if you just think
> of it as a satire of heroic epics.
You're either over-tolerant, severely twisted, or have way too much
time on your hands.
(For really fun bloody-silly-over-the-top epic, give me the Pharsalia
every day. At least Lucan seems to have had a sense of humor)
> The best thing they could do would be to move the focus to Medea
> and actually delve into what happens after Jason returns to Greece.
>.... Make her into
> a real sorceress. Play up how she's being manipulated by Aphrodite
> via Eros and his arrows. Show how she betrays her family. And show
> how Jason dumps her when they return to Greece.
Whoa there, soldier. You're in grave danger of suggesting that
someone actually tries making a sword 'n' sandal flick whose
characters have more depth than an oil slick. Next, you'll be
suggesting serious fantasy; which, as we know, Nobody Wants.
One of these days, a bunch of film students will make a serious film,
with no CGI, no bloody comic relief, no Brian Blessed as the hero's
uncle, no six-second cameo by Sean Connery, no fooling about
whatsoever; just a smart, watchable film with good characters and a
good story, which happens to be set in an 'ancient' or 'fantasy'
landscape and makes full use of its setting and context without
assuming its audience must be under the age of 12. And this film will
be an enormous success; and the studio suits will start
mass-producing high-budget clones, exclaiming all the while "Why
didn't you people just tell us this was what you wanted?"
WWS
Tom Holt wrote:
>
> The message <37FBCA06...@rcn.com>
> from Reverend Sean O'Hara <oha...@rcn.com> contains these words:
>
>
> > The best thing they could do would be to move the focus to Medea
> > and actually delve into what happens after Jason returns to Greece.
> >.... Make her into
> > a real sorceress. Play up how she's being manipulated by Aphrodite
> > via Eros and his arrows. Show how she betrays her family. And show
> > how Jason dumps her when they return to Greece.
>
> Whoa there, soldier. You're in grave danger of suggesting that
> someone actually tries making a sword 'n' sandal flick whose
> characters have more depth than an oil slick. Next, you'll be
> suggesting serious fantasy; which, as we know, Nobody Wants.
>
> One of these days, a bunch of film students will make a serious film,
> with no CGI, no bloody comic relief, no Brian Blessed as the hero's
> uncle, no six-second cameo by Sean Connery, no fooling about
> whatsoever;
Blair Witch Project?
> just a smart, watchable film with good characters and a
> good story,
Ooops, no, scratch that one.
> which happens to be set in an 'ancient' or 'fantasy'
> landscape and makes full use of its setting and context without
> assuming its audience must be under the age of 12. And this film will
> be an enormous success; and the studio suits will start
> mass-producing high-budget clones, exclaiming all the while "Why
> didn't you people just tell us this was what you wanted?"
I liked Thirteenth Warrior quite a bit, and thought it came closer
to that description than most movies of that type. It hasn't been
wildly popular though. (and it did have flaws, not denying that)
To me, it seemed rather like the 7 Samurai meet Beowulf.
Tom Holt
from WWS <wsch...@tyler.net> contains these words:
> I liked Thirteenth Warrior quite a bit, and thought it came closer
> to that description than most movies of that type. It hasn't been
> wildly popular though. (and it did have flaws, not denying that)
> To me, it seemed rather like the 7 Samurai meet Beowulf.
Haven't seen Thirteenth Warrior yet; some of the more, um, eccentric
types over on the SCA ng were enthusing about it, and that put me
off... I'll disregard that, and give it a go.
As regards wierd Seven Samurai remakes - you ain't seen nothing yet...
trickster
>
> In article <aImK3.13$iP1.14672@WReNphoon3>, dtr...@ctron.com (Dan Tropea)
> wrote:
>
> > Well there is going to be a new miniseries by the creator of Cleopatra and Noah's Ark miniseries Robert Halmi SR.
Uh oh...
> >
> > It will be Jason and The Argonauts. This will air during the May 2000 sweeps and will be a 4 hour miniseries. <snip>
> > Jason will be played by Jason London who was in
> > "Carrie 2", "Safe Passage" and "Daxed and Confused." <snip>
Well I'm very partial to the movie (Ray Harryhausen). Do they really
need to mess with Jason and the Argonauts? Jason London... who? Never
heard of him, but couldn't they find a young Greek actor to play Jason,
I mean the hero is Greek, right? These producers are too *f* scared to
mix up ...yet TV endlessly plays commercials about global economy.
> >
J.D. Baldwin
wrote:
> If they don't get chased by skeletons that grow out of dragons teeth
> at the end, I'm gonna be pissed off, that's for sure.
Hydra teeth. And, yes, they have a tall order ahead of them to come
anything close to equalling the climactic sequence of that classic
film.
> Of course, if he does it the way he did Noah's Ark then Jason is
> going to be attacked by a ship flying the Jolly Roger, with a
> closeup on Blackbeard with a parrot on his shoulder saying "arrrhgh!
> arrghgh! avast, mateys, heave to!" But saved at the last minute
> when a British man'o'war shows up.
And if he does it the way he did "Cleopatra" -- oh, it's just too
depressing to contemplate.
At least that "Merlin" / "Alice in Wonderland" / "Leprechauns" crew
would have a *shot* at getting something cool -- or, at the very
least, some cool, memorable moments -- out of the "Jason" story. You
don't have to be the Oracle at Delphi to know where this one is
headed.
--
From the catapult of J.D. Baldwin |+| "If anyone disagrees with anything I
_,_ Finger bal...@netcom.com |+| say, I am quite prepared not only to
_|70|___:::)=}- for PGP public |+| retract it, but also to deny under
\ / key information. |+| oath that I ever said it." --T. Lehrer
***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------
WWS
"J.D. Baldwin" wrote:
>
> In article <37F9F9F3...@tyler.net>, WWS <wsch...@tyler.net>
>
> At least that "Merlin" / "Alice in Wonderland" / "Leprechauns" crew
> would have a *shot* at getting something cool -- or, at the very
> least, some cool, memorable moments -- out of the "Jason" story. You
> don't have to be the Oracle at Delphi to know where this one is
> headed.
I shuddered when I heard they were making "Leprechauns". For some
reason, the presence of leprechauns in any tv or film production
has always guaranteed that it is going to be really, really, really
Bad. This was true for Bonanza (yes, there was a Hoss & the Leprechauns
episode) and it was true for the movie a few years ago. It's like
a curse, or maybe because it's hard to take little green guys with
pots'a'gold seriously after all those lucky charms ads.
And then last night I heard an ad for "Y2K - The Movie: What if they're
Right?" It is seldom that with just one short line not only do I know
the entire plot of a movie that hasn't been seen yet, but I also know
it's going to strive to reach new lows in broadcast entertainment.
I mean, they actually pay people to come up with stuff like that? Man,
I'm in the wrong business.
J.D. Baldwin
wrote:
> > At least that "Merlin" / "Alice in Wonderland" / "Leprechauns" crew
> > would have a *shot* at getting something cool -- or, at the very
> > least, some cool, memorable moments -- out of the "Jason" story.
> > You don't have to be the Oracle at Delphi to know where this one is
> > headed.
>
> I shuddered when I heard they were making "Leprechauns". For some
> reason, the presence of leprechauns in any tv or film production has
> always guaranteed that it is going to be really, really, really Bad.
Well, I would demur that there have been a few exceptions, but I'm
willing to concede a correlation of r=.99999 on the "leprechauns ->
crap" hypothesis.
> And then last night I heard an ad for "Y2K - The Movie: What if
> they're Right?" It is seldom that with just one short line not only
> do I know the entire plot of a movie that hasn't been seen yet, but
> I also know it's going to strive to reach new lows in broadcast
> entertainment.
Sure, but then again I felt the same way when I heard the premise for
"Cop Rock." But it turned out -- no, wait, it turned out that sucked.
Bad example. Never mind.
> I mean, they actually pay people to come up with stuff like that?
> Man, I'm in the wrong business.
I can't think of an industry where they *don't* pay people to do
really, really stupid stuff. Maybe airline pilots. But other than
that, I think it's nearly universal.
William December Starr
In article <381632CC...@tyler.net>,
WWS <wsch...@tyler.net> said:
> And then last night I heard an ad for "Y2K - The Movie: What if
> they're Right?" It is seldom that with just one short line not only
> do I know the entire plot of a movie that hasn't been seen yet, but
> I also know it's going to strive to reach new lows in broadcast
> entertainment.
I'm beginning to get this horrible, *horrible* premonition that I'm
going to end up actually _watching_ that Y2K thing just to see how
truly awful it turns out to be.
Oh well, I survived "Netforce" and "Atomic Train" and even some of
"The Beast"; I can probably survive this too.
-- William December Starr <wds...@crl.com>
Geoduck
Starr) wrote:
There are at least two 'Y2K' novels on the shelves in the supermarkets
right now, if you want to have a complete 'Y2K' evening. (Looking at
the 'book' section in a supermarket is always a fascinating
experience; gives you a real good idea what's currently fermenting in
the black depths of America's psyche.)
--
Geoduck
geo...@usa.net
http://www.olywa.net/cook
Quiet Desperation
> There are at least two 'Y2K' novels on the shelves in the supermarkets
> right now, if you want to have a complete 'Y2K' evening. (Looking at
> the 'book' section in a supermarket is always a fascinating
> experience; gives you a real good idea what's currently fermenting in
> the black depths of America's psyche.)
Over the course of a couple years, I bought Zelazny's "Creatures Of Light
And Darkness", Jeter's "Farewell Horizontal" and Anthony's "Battle Circle"
from the small paperback rack of local Ralph's grocery store.
--
-QD-