According to a press release on the WETA website, a reboot of Gerry Anderson’s “Thunderbirds” (carrying the working title “Thunderbirds are Go!”) is currently in pre-production. Intriguingly, the show “will be produced using a unique mix of CGI animation and live-action model sets.” It’s unclear what this means, but it suggest the series could have a look as unique as the original.
According to the Fanderson site, the upcoming movie based on Gerry Anderson’s television series “UFO” may be based on an episode of that show entitled “The Long Sleep”. This news came from a Fanderson “member” called Kofax who’s working on the movie. The reason he can’t be sure of the plot is because the crew has only been given fragments of the script. This cloak and dagger bit aside this information begs two important questions:
What is the episode “The Long Sleep” about? And would it make a good movie? Well, we have the info and know-how to answer those questions.
After the jump …
The web was a buzz this week when Gerry Anderson announced there will be a new Thunderbirds television show. Now, in an article written exclusively for the Sun newspaper, he’s telling more.
First up, here’s the big bit he reveals:
The new version will be made with CGI, on computer.
Small weep. We were hoping for puppets.
So will this be a reboot or a continuation? Anderson answers that as well:
[T]here is a lot of spade work to do because the original programme is very old.
It was made nearly 50 years ago and the world has changed.
It won’t look like the old Thunderbirds. Not at all.
Take something like Thunderbird 2, which seemed to be the favourite with the fans – that would have to be updated.
But we would be careful that there would be something about the design that they felt they know.
So a reboot. Clearly.
What does Anderson think is the key to a successful Thunderbirds series?
Thunderbirds remains popular because the scripts were written on the basis that the audience would get to know the characters in the first part of the show.
Then we would put them in an impossible situation, so the audience would follow every word because they felt the character was a friend who needed assistance.
We created characters who would please pretty much everybody. My favourite was probably Parker, because he was a bit of a boy and working for a titled woman and was very experienced at cracking safes.
Nice. Love the fact that Anderson’s a Parker fan.
Finally, who will the show be aimed at? Will it exclusively be for kids or will it have more of a family appeal?
I have never believed in children’s programming, and the show is watched by people of all ages.
I’m a child at heart, so I wrote things that appealed to me and it followed that it would appeal to children as well.
That’s a great approach. We’re kids at heart too. And we don’t wanna feel left out of a new Thunderbirds show.
So although we’re not that crazy about the CGI approach everything else he says has us quite excited. How about you? Offer your thoughts in the comments section!
This morning the following announcement appeared on the Fanderson (Gerry Anderson Fan Club) website:
Gerry Anderson has today confirmed to Fanderson that he has finalised a deal to to make a new series of Thunderbirds.
We do not know anymore at this time but will communicate further details as they become known.
He also announced this on interviews he was doing with BBC radio dealing with the release of postage stamps (pictured above) commemorating “Thunderbirds” and several of his other Supermarionation shows . However, he didn’t elaborate beyond this basic announcement.
We don’t know if it will be live action, puppet, CGI or something else. But here’s a test done some years ago for a new puppet version of the series. We’d love it to be something like this:
See a detailed video about the Gerry Anderson Royal Mail stamps after the jump …
From Variety:
CANNES — Robert Evans is teaming with ITV Global on a feature film based on the 1970s British TV series “UFO.”
Evans is producing with Avi Haas and Henri M. Kessler. Ryan Gaudet and Joseph Kanarek are penning a script.
The series debuted in 1970 and ran for three years, with characters created by Gerry Anderson. It was set in 1980 and revolves around Shado (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), a covert military organization that thwarts an alien race that has been kidnapping and killing humans for decades, then using the body parts. Shado headquarters is hidden beneath a Hollywood studio, and the studio mogul is actually the Shado commander.
The movie will be set in the year 2020.
The Robert Evans Co. has a first-look deal at Paramount, which will be first stop for the project. “We know the importance of the ‘UFO’ series brand to ITV Global, and we will work closely with them to build this into a franchise,” Evans said.
