Old TV Series New Business For Filmmakers

Who should play the evil Dr. Smith?

For months, this was all fans of “Lost in Space” talked about when they heard the ‘60s TV show was being made into a film.

They debated it on the Internet, wrote letters to the movie’s producers and campaigned for their favorites in the “Lost in Space” newsletter.

“My personal choice is Anthony Hopkins,” says Flint Mitchell of St. Louis, president of the “Lost in Space” fan club, which boasts 3,000 active members.

Studio executives mentioned a few names to the press - Tim Robbins, Kenneth Branagh. Fans were less than enthusiastic (“Can you see that Shakepeare guy as Dr. Smith?” groans Mitchell). Finally, Gary Oldman of “Immortal Beloved” and “The Scarlet Letter” was picked.

“I would prefer someone with a little more name recognition,” says Mitchell, as serious as a NASA scientist. “But we’ll wait until we see the movie to see if it holds up to the original.”

As the first generation to grow up watching TV, baby boomers have pretty strong feelings about the TV shows from their childhood. And they have even stronger opinions about who should be cast in the film remakes of ‘60s favorites.

“Uma Thurman as Emma Peel? She’s good, but I think it should be someone more sophisticated looking … like Mira Sorvino,” says Linda Harris, a 40-year-old homemaker and fan of “The Avengers.”

But Thurman reportedly has the role as the sexy British secret agent in the remake of “The Avengers,” beating out Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow.

With their eyes on the success of 1995’s “Brady Bunch” movie and last year’s “Mission: Impossible,” filmmakers are turning to old TV series for material.

The list reads as if it’s right off an old Nielsen Top 10 list. “The Saint,” “The Avengers,” “The Green Hornet,” “Green Acres,” “Leave It to Beaver” and “Lost in Space” are among the movies being cast or already in production.

Producers know they have a built-in audience for these films, people who grew up watching the shows on TV - and their children, who catch the reruns on cable.

Sherwood Schwartz knows a thing or two about classic TV shows. He created both “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch.”

But he says a remake based on a beloved TV show isn’t as simple as it seems.

“The first step is casting,” says Schwartz. “If you have someone in the role that audiences won’t accept, then they’ll never go to the movie.”

How about Bette Midler as Lisa Douglas in “Green Acres”? Or Val Kilmer in the Roger Moore role in “The Saint”? Or George Clooney in “The Green Hornet”?

“Because they are all such big stars, it may be harder for people to accept them in these roles,” says Schwartz.

“It should be someone well-known but not someone who will take away from the character, someone like Michael Keaton in the ‘Batman’ movies.”

Schwartz, 80, is currently in negotiation with Time Warner over a film version of “Gilligan’s Island.” Cast members have not been picked, but Schwartz does have some people in mind.

“I think Edward Norton as Gilligan and Chris Farley as the Skipper,” says Schwartz. “They’d be good. But I want to see what other people think and, of course, see who is available.”

What do “Gilligan” fans think?

“If I could pick anyone to play Gilligan, I’d say Jim Carrey,” says Bob Rankin, on the phone from Salt Lake City. He is president of the “Gilligan’s Island” fan club, which has 1,200 members.

Fans will shun a movie if they can’t accept an actor as a beloved character, or if they think the script strays too far from the spirit of the original show. Producers may also miscalculate the audience for a remake. Think of Walter Matthau in “Dennis the Menace,” or Steve Martin in “Sgt. Bilko.”

“The ones that should be done are the ones that are in reruns now - the ones the kids can watch when they get home from school,” says Schwartz.

Thirty-one years after it first aired, “Lost in Space” is still in reruns. Although Oldman may not be the fans’ first choice as Dr. Smith (played on TV by Jonathan Harris), producers are listening to what fans want and even asking for their help.

In January, Trai Williams, an associate producer on the “Lost in Space” film, wrote a letter to the fan club president, Mitchell.

The film, to be released in spring 1998, is being made in England. But the British Equity Guild didn’t want to pay the travel fees of the original cast members, who were to appear in cameo roles in the film, wrote Williams.

In fact, she wrote, the guild didn’t grasp why the original cast should be in the movie at all: “They don’t understand the tribute.”

Williams asked Mitchell to write a letter on behalf of the fan club, saying club members would not be interested in watching a remake unless the original players were in it.

Mitchell wrote a letter to British Equity saying that “the whole point … is to see the original cast.”

In the end, the British listened. “They may have raised their eyebrows, but, hey, it’s important to us,” says Mitchell. “It’s our culture.”

Now that the casting decisions have been settled, “Lost in Space” fans can go back to their usual discussion about their show, trying to figure out something that’s bothered them for years: What, exactly, is Dr. Smith a doctor of?