Magnum Mania!

LA Times article here:

Late author Tom Clancy was a big fan of the 1980s detective show "Magnum, P.I." and wanted to make a movie with star Tom Selleck.

Selleck says that he and Clancy met in the 1990s about doing a feature adaptation of the series about a handsome private eye in Hawaii, which ran on CBS from 1980 to 1988.

"In the early '90s, [Clancy had] done a couple of wildly successful movie adaptations of his books," Selleck told Yahoo! TV, referring to such films as "The Hunt for Red October." The interview was conducted prior to the announcement Wednesday of Clancy's death from an undisclosed cause.

"We got together, and I went to Universal, and I said, 'It's time we could do a series of feature films.' They were very interested, and I had Tom, who wanted to do the story, and I had this package put together, but Universal's the only studio that could make it, and they went through three ownership changes in the '90s, and I think that was the real window for 'Magnum.'"

"Magnum," which was a top-rated show early in its run, was produced by Universal Television, which is today part of the NBCUniversal family controlled by cable giant Comcast.

The project may yet happen, given Hollywood's penchant for reviving old properties. But Selleck is resigned to not playing the lead. "If they did a 'Magnum' movie, I think it's been pretty clear — because I've heard rumors there were scripts and all — I don't think they see me doing it."

Interesting article Danno.

I feel T.S. is correct in his opinion the window for the big screen MPI was the early '90's. Ideally in my opinion it should have been immediately after "Quigley Down Under". This terrific film and his performance should have dealt with any Studio doubts T.S. could be a big screen leading man in an action role. It is difficult to understand, despite Studio ownership but particularly with Tom Clancy (R.I.P.) being willing and able why it did not happen.

here's a Q&A from October 1...........11 questions.........below I post the last 2. It's his final comment that grabs your attention.


http://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/fall-tv/moust ... 04536.html

10. Will we ever see another "Magnum?

It's been a weird progression with "Magnum." Tom Clancy is a huge "Magnum" fan. In the early '90s, he'd done a couple of wildly successful movie adaptations of his books. We got together, and I went to Universal, and I said "It's time we could do a series of feature films." They were very interested, and I had Tom, who wanted to do the story, and I had this package put together, but Universal's the only studio that could make it, and they went through three ownership changes in the '90s, and I think that was the real window for "Magnum." If they did a "Magnum" movie, I think it's been pretty clear — because I've heard rumors there were scripts and all — I don't think they see me doing it.

11. How is that possible?
Well, that's up to them, but I do know that Hollywood and feature films has a tendency to buy a TV title, spend $150 million on it, and put big explosions in it and make fun of it, and that will not work with "Magnum." We still have a huge following. The only other aspect is, if we're ever going to see a reunion show, I think that a "Magnum" movie would have a reunion aspect, but reunion TV movies are simply to see how everybody's aged. That seems to be why people tune in, and the show was so good to me. It's in the Smithsonian … my silly little Hawaiian shirt and my Detroit Tigers hat, and we were recognized by the Smithsonian as the first show that recognized Vietnam veterans in a positive light. But he'd be fun to revisit

Great Q&A. Nice to know T.S. feels MPI would still be fun. Fun was always a major part of the show's appeal.

I just love the respect he has for what they created.

So many people, even musicians and writers take this stance that once they create something it's out there for others to interpret (well, except for Bill Watterson). I guess to an extant that's true, but then you get awful stuff like Puff Daddy reworking Kashmir into Come With Me. Ugh.

Selleck got the character, got the show, got the meaning, knew it was more than short shorts, a hairy chest and silly shirts, but understood they were tools for telling the story. He was invested, and that's why it all seems to come so naturally, why when we pop in those disks we're hanging out with friends again.

I'm glad he held the line and was willing to have fun with the character, but not let the character be made fun of.

RIP Tom Clancy!

I'll never forget when I first read The Hunt for Red October as a young teenager. Unlike anything I'd ever read before. So unbelievably exciting and tension-filled. Around the same time, a great early computer game called Harpoon came out (a naval battles simulation). Between Clancy, Magnum and Harpoon it was all Navy, all the time for me. Although I never cared for a lot Clancy's later works, I always had a huge amount of respect for him. He did an incredible amount of research for his books and basically started a whole new genre of writing.

It really stinks that they never made the Magnum/Clancy movie! You get the sense that if Universal hadn't changed ownership so many times in the 90's, the movie more than likely would have been made! Ugh!

I wonder what would have been the landscape if that movie was made.......maybe there would have been a sequel and now in 2013 we'd still bne sitting here with no Magnum movie now. Maybe if it had gotten to the big screen and done well, it wouldn't be such a stretch now to revive a tv/movie franchise that had credibility. Tom has forever been caught in that net of tv personalities who can't carry the torch on big screen ......or at least that is how it has been portrayed. That stigma has lasted. The old school studio heads may still have that sentiment which explains the aversion to getting this done over the years. I'm just glad that Tom came to a point pst-Magnum to accept his strength as being on tv. It's especially gratifying now when we see big names going that route.

Honestly, I don't know if I would have been a fan of a Clancy adaptation. I mean, he was a great writer but if he turned Magnum into some sort of military/political intrigue i don't think it would be the right treatment of the show.

I think the estate and club were about as viable to the show as the characters. I also think that's why season 6 has a different vibe. Magnum is jetting around the islands/world instead of operating on his home turf.

Just my two cents. Once they got back to the estate, it made a difference, in my book