According to a news report from The Hollywood Reporter, the 80's icon, MacGyver is set to be made into a feature film. Raffaella De Laurentiis, daughter of Dino De Laurentiis, is producing the film through her Raffaella Prods. company along with Martha De Laurentiis and series creator Lee Zlotoff and Dino De Laurentiis as exec producer and will be released through New Line Cinema. There is currently no script or writer for the film, but the studio hopes to find a script which will do justice to the shows iconic status.   Read our news bulletin

And already the discussions are hitting the blogs about it.

OMG! I really never thought they'd ever get around to it...

Now I'm all nervous and stuff... Will it be great? Will it not? Will they cast it right? Do I have room on my DVD shelf for another movie...?

I'm giddy as a height-sensitive troubleshooter on a tall ladder!

I'll reserve judgment, but I'm not excited by this. In fact, I'm not at all in the 'this is a good idea' camp. Never have been. But you never know...it might not be terrible.

I really hope RDA plays Mac. Without him, I just don't think I'll be able to see it as the same character. If Harrison Ford could bring Indy back to life at 60-something years old, there's no reason why RDA can't do it too. But, sadly, I bet they'll opt for a younger actor.

I think they should make a nice two hour tv movie, like I've said before, dealing with Pete's death, and maybe having Mac attend the funeral. I don't think a big screen production is going to work with this series. Especially if RDA doesn't come back as Mac.

If RDA comes back at Mac it COULD be good. Even then, there's no guarantees (look at how bad the two TV movies were.) But if he doesn't come back, then I'd prefer that they didn't bother making this.

@SMeeceymouse:
I know what you mean about it seeming better suited for TV, but the problem with TV movies (especially for something like this) is that the production values tend to be incredibly low. At least with a Hollywood movie, there's some hope that the sets won't all look like cheap soundstages, and maybe there will actually be a semi-decent actor or two in it.

Wow, this news has really spread like wild fire. It's all over the news feeds.


I thought it was interesting to see that Lee Zlutoff was involved right from the get go.

Remember he announced a few months back that he was working on a script.

See his speech here

I remember he talked about how he thought the MacGyver of today would use something like a Leatherman rather than a SAK. Thats bad Karma straight away.

I guess we just have to wait and see if this news goes any further. It certainly wouldn't be the first time a movie has been announced and then stalls for months even years. A classic example of that is the Knight Rider movie, which still doesn't even have a script over a year after it's first announcement.

One thing is for certain thought, they better not try to make it a comedy as they did with previous old TV shows like Starsky and Hutch.

Another article http://screenrant.com/MacGyver-movie-niall-6141/

"It was fun for its day but it will be difficult to balance the shows easy going charm and farfetched gadgetry with today’s Bourne style ferocity."

It's the easy going charm that will be sacrificed for the special effects, I'm afraid, and without that, it will be jsut a bunch of science lessons.

banlu

There is hope.

Remember the National Treasure movies? They had a very MacGyverish feel to them and worked really well.

So I think if that mode of thought is followed a MacGyver movie could work.

I just blogged this comment.

It pretty much sums up what I'm thinking about the news at the moment.

I for one am very interested to find out New Line Cinema is taking this one up. With Lee David Zlotoff being part of it, gives me some faith that it might work out. With movies like these coming up it's always the best to stay neutral and not expect too much. But I can see what you are hoping for and in a way I do too. I want the level and the reasonableness of National Treasure and Back To The Future. On the adventure genre, you can hardly go wrong if it's a decent script.

One thing which doesn't sit very well with me was a comment from a New Line representative.

That comment doesn't give me a lot of confidence in regards to their attitude towards it.

I don't know whether that comment is a true reflection of their actual attitude, or a cheap sound bite provided so that columnists can fill empty space with the expected jokes. It's sort of like watching someone feed stale white bread to ducks and wondering if they use the same stale bread to make their own morning toast.

What also puzzles me is why Alex Billington is so convinced that it's a stupid idea. He doesn't actually give any reason at all for his bad attitude; he seems to think it's obvious. Whatever 'it' is.

That comment doesn't give me a lot of confidence in regards to their attitude towards it.

No me neither Rocky.

I have mixed feelings on this really. If RDA doesn't get called for it or doesn't choose to do it...which I think may happen then it won't quite be MacGyver for me. If by some chance he does do it...I worry as I wasn't impressed with Indiana's comeback, Bruce Willis kinda did it, so there's hope. Reckon it's gonna be a while though.

Call me a narrow-minded, set in her ways, fanatical old fuddie-duddie if you'd like, but I intend to boycott this movie if it ever gets made and RDA is not in it, and I'm not talking about some stupid "where are they now?" cameo, either--he would have to be the star. I'm sorry. I refuse to watch it or have anything to do with it if they put some imposter, imitation MacGyver in the film. I guess we will just have to wait and see, but I'm not very optimistic about this one.

I have mix feeling towards this news: I'm excited to know Mac in coming back on screen but at the same time I know he will not be the same without RDA. Perhaps we could send our cast suggestion of the new MacGyver movie on the other thread to the producer for their consideration.

Yeah that thread takes on a whole new meaning now doesn't it.

I just had another thought....

I wonder how this news will affect things like the MacGruber skits?
Will the big wigs at the production studio decide they don't want their new product being made fun of, and put pressure on SNL to stop the skits? Or will they think that any publicity, even in the form of parody skits, is good publicity and keeping their product in the public eye until the film is ready for release.

Or maybe they'll put the anchors on the MacGruber skits once the film is ready for release.

And here's another question... Did the popularity of the MacGruber skits have any bearing on the studios decision to go ahead with the film?

Well, we know that Zlotoff was shopping the project around last year. I personally suspect that the recent high profile of RDA's appearance on the MacGruber spots tipped off some Powers That Be to its viability. It proved that the characetr is still instantly recognisable, and still very popular.

As another litmus test of pop culture: MacGyver jokes appear every few days on the RoflRazzi site. Even though it's a joke site, the jokes are made with a sense of loving nostalgia.

I've skimmed the comment threads of a couple of the industry columnists that you flagged, Rocky (THANK YOU!!) At a rough guess, about two out of every three comments have been some version of "gotta have RDA, or it won't work." I've seen comparisons to Harrison Ford's success last summer ('if it worked with Indy, it can work with MacGyver') and suggestions that RDA could reprise the role in a Mac-comes-out-of-retirement-for-one-last-adventure story. That's certainly the direction I'd love to take it -- and without RDA, the only direction I'd want to go would be awaaaay from the movie theatre . . .

I've also seen a suggestion that, if they must cast a younger actor as Mac, they should then cast RDA as the villain!

OOooo! That's a twist!

That comment doesn't give me a lot of confidence in regards to their attitude towards it.

Talking about writers. There's a couple of writers I'd like to see working on it. Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark) but that's never gonna happen. Jeffrey Boam (The Last Crusade) Maybe less impossible.

Further I'm thinking of the shows writers: John Sheppard (The Murdoc episodes, Passages, Lesson in Evil, but no Lost Treasure of Atlantis thingy) or maybe Lincoln Kibbee (Humanity, High Control, Honest Abe) Humanity could've been a great two-parter for the show or maybe as a tv-movie. As for High Control and Honest Abe I'd think they're great mixtures of action and comedy. They're exciting and funny at the same time.

Robert Sherman (The Gun, Second Chance, Rush to Judgment). I also think his episodes stayed close to the MacGyver concept. He provides action, messages/lessons and character development. Though sometimes it may have been preechy, a moment Mac is getting nervous or upset or other characters are getting upset with the situation. In almost every Robert Sherman episodes, Mac's getting trapped and works his way out and there's an occasional fight. Everything an episode needs.

Of course right now I think the only man right for the job is Lee David Zlotoff. After his talk about MacGyver I saw here, I'd say he's up for the challenge. And who knows what it could mean for his future career.

But it has to be a decent movie. No parody or making fun of. Unless it's decently done, but than again what does that word means in a big context. No overacted: 'Oh my God, how do we get out of here, Mac?' 'With this, this and that. Let's do it rightaway!'

Of course a sense of humour won't hurt it but the escapes and isms has to be serious and educational.

Yeah they have to get the right combination of action and humor. The show itself never took itself too seriously, and I think thats one of the things that made it work, but when the situation was serious, so was the acting and writing, so as MG just said, they have to not make a joke of it all the time.

Having said that, it didn't sound like LDZ was interested in making a joke of MacGyver. He seemed quite serious about the character, so having him on board is good.

Here's an interesting little bit of information from The register

I just had a hunt around on THR web site looking for the "previous reports" they mentioned, couldn't find em, so that kind of leads me to question the validity of their information. But they still make an interesting observation about the timing of this release and the popularity of the MacGruber skits.

What kind of storyline would everyone want to see? A lot of people are drawing comparisons to Indy and National Treasure, but truth be told, I'd prefer that the movie is not about a treasure hunt. Those always seemed a bit hokey in the tv series. I'd much prefer something along the lines of "The Bush Master" or "GX-1" (or countless first season episodes) with Mac going into enemy territory to rescue someone and bring them back to the US. Nothing too preachy. Maybe just a quick mention about how guns are bad (purely to explain to the audience why Mac is not armed), but even that shouldn't be overdone.
The plot should definitely involve rugged, foreign terrain, not Mac dealing with inner-city kids in California. No Challenger's Club stuff. I want a good ol' fashioned Swiss Army Knife, Jeep, Duct-Tape adventure!

Boy, I've so many thoughts with this news! I tend to be in the "ain't gonna watch it if the original cast isn't reprising roles" but I'm going to wait and see on this. First and foremost for me is that they select a good script that properly reflects the many aspects of the show that I do love. I'ts not just a blow-up fest that MacGruber fans might know it as, it has to have the right blend of drama, comedy and cast interaction to make it appealing. Hopefully that will be the case. With that said, I would prefer to see RDA back in the role, but they might not go that way, and even RDA might not wish to do it (he's done parodies in MacGruber but not a full-on MacGyver so to speak). I wouldn't want to see just a cameo either. All or nothing for me, a cameo cuts the belief momentarily for me, and lets me slip out of the movie thinking, "hey! that RDA who used to play Mac!"

I also imagine the timing of MacGruber on SNL and Mac's return to the airwaves here in the US is designed to gauge the viability of the "franchise" and whether it will yield profits for the rights holder. Hopefully this will translate to a decent movie overall, and not just one geared to maximizing profits. A National Treasure kinda movie would be great, and keep it so a sequel would be believable (ie, no Murdoc style endings ).

I'll keep my mind open to the possibilities and am encouraged that the creator of Mac is at least near the driver's seat.

Kev

I agree. I think they should stick with the original cast. If RDA doesn't come back then what is the point of making the movie. Has anyone heard what Henry Winkler thinks about this? He was part of the production team.

I wonder if they'll actually be able to come up with a good female character in the movie, because throughout the entire 7 years of the tv show, they seemed to have a very difficult time creating a woman who wasn't (1) a total ditz, (2) obnoxious, or (3) mentally deranged and out to kill.

In latest films we've always had tough chicks. In my opinion I'd say it's rather cool to have girl that knows something about everything and believe in emancipation. We need a Nikki character or just Nikki herself. Somebody who can think and act and not just scream. The most recent picture I had of Elyssa Davalos is from a couple of years back, I'd say three at most. And boy can I tell she is still good looking for someone being halfway forties. Now probably nearing end forties but she is indeed still good looking.

I just heard that they are working on a MacGyver movie http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/03/16/macgy...p-dental-floss/

http://gizmodo.com/386877/holy-crap-macgyv...ter-film-coming

Is this old news? Any idea if RDA will be in it?

Another great article http://www.cinemablend.com/new/MacGyver-Mo...oming-8720.html