CSI Ankh-Morpork
Mar. 22nd, 2011 12:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dianeduane
I don't care: I'm really excited about this. With reason, I think.
Sir Terry Pratchett and Rod Brown, Managing Director of Prime Focus Productions, announce that they have come to an agreement for the unprecedented and exclusive worldwide television rights to create brand new storylines for the iconic characters of Pratchett’s phenomenally successful Discworld series.
Terry’s universal success has seen him create one of the leading fantasy fiction franchises of all time, with 70 million worldwide sales of his 38 book Discworld titles (with a 39th being published in October 2011). Whilst there have been three successful mini series adaptations of his Discworld books made for television in the UK, this is the first time that Pratchett has granted a production company the international rights to his characters and world, for the creation of new stories exclusively for a television audience.
The main focus of the series will be set in the bustling, highly mercantile, largely untrustworthy and always vibrant city of Ankh-Morpork and will follow the day-to-day activities of the men, women, trolls, dwarves, vampires and several other species who daily pound its ancient cobbles (and, of course, Igor in the forensics department).
Terry commonly refers to the City Watch police force series as “the jewels in the Discworld Crown.” These richly developed and highly compelling characters will feature in a ‘crime of the week’ episodic storyline. As each weekly adventure unfolds, viewers will be taken on a ride through Pratchett’s genius imagination, with the author overseeing the creation of the series, where wild and exciting encounters with werewolves, dragons, dwarfs, trolls and golems and the classic heroes and villains, are an everyday occurrence…and where many of these characters even make outstanding crime fighters!
I think all fellow longstanding Discworld fans will forgive me a straightforward [swoon]SWOON[/swoon] here. :)
BRING IT.
And now we start Fantasy Casting... Alas that Pete Postlethwaite (or a younger version of him...) is no longer with us.
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Date: 2011-03-22 12:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 12:38 pm (UTC)I really hope this happens and they don't bugger it up.
Jason Stratham (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005458/)for Vimes perhaps? [rumour has it he's looking for a regular gig in a lighter role.]
Michael Shanks (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788218/) as Corporal carrot perhaps?
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Date: 2011-03-22 12:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 12:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 12:51 pm (UTC)Lady Sybil would be the next big challenge to cast, I think.
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Date: 2011-03-22 12:52 pm (UTC)I suggest Paul Darrow for Vimes. He played him on the stage a few years ago and Terry was so impressed that he sent him a copy of all the Discworld books he'd written so far. I also strongly suspect - knowing Paul's style very well - that he was quite a big influence on the character of Vimes in subsequent novels. I can read Vimes in the later City Watch novels and very often hear Paul in my head.
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Date: 2011-03-22 01:05 pm (UTC)I saw Paul in Guards! Guards! in Hull towards the end of last century.
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Date: 2011-03-22 01:05 pm (UTC)Tom Hardy would be great as Carrot, only he may be a little old now. otherwise - one of the Merlin knights would do rather nicely. possibly the bloke who plays Leon (rupert Young) - has the right physique and does a nice line in innocent or the one who plays Percival.
Colon - I vote Mark Lewis Jones, but there's a *lot* of actors I can see doing it.
Cheery - Shirley Henderson. if only so we can see her get to play around with chemicals. Another possibility would be Sheridan Smith.
Angua is a right bugger because she's supposed to be tall. *really* fantasy casting would be Jessica Biel, but no idea if she can do accents.
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Date: 2011-03-22 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 01:09 pm (UTC)Granted, he could probably do it, but...
Boggle.
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Date: 2011-03-22 01:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 01:16 pm (UTC)Terry Jones is also doing an adaptation of "Good Omens" as a TV miniseries, apparently. Busy chap...
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Date: 2011-03-22 01:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 01:41 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, it's now a quarter century later, so I think the moment has past. A decade ago, perhaps.
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Date: 2011-03-22 01:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 01:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 01:55 pm (UTC)I still remember with amusement Carrot polishing his helmet.
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Date: 2011-03-22 01:59 pm (UTC)I want to see who they get for Cheery. And Carrot.
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Date: 2011-03-22 02:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 02:13 pm (UTC)All of my Discworld icons are over at Dreamwidth! Woe.
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Date: 2011-03-22 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 02:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 02:24 pm (UTC)Emilia Fox has also done a *very* nice job swinging a sword in Merlin as Morgause. She's also got the sharpness and 'do *not* try to pull one over on me, sunshine' that Angua needs.
...Dammit, I still can't think of anyone for Nobby. Admittedly, if we cut Rhys Ifans off at the knees he would probably do a decent job.
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Date: 2011-03-22 02:34 pm (UTC)I'm not a Merlin watcher but I have seen a few episodes, including some in season 2 with Morgause. I first encountered her in the 2001 remake series of "Randall and Kopkirk (Deceased)", which they wisely didn't try to copy the original except for the basic premise, and as a result I found it very enjoyable. I definitely agree about the attitude.
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Date: 2011-03-22 03:07 pm (UTC)And yes, they can do things with footwear and bearing that make people look taller, but... yeah. Okay. Maybe not quite the height Carrot should be.
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Date: 2011-03-22 03:51 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2011-03-22 06:46 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2011-03-22 08:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 10:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 10:46 pm (UTC)All the speculation here in the US about the various upcoming magic-themed cop shows had me hungering for a City Watch series and now prospects are looking good for it! Yay!
Vimes- Paul Darrow sounds like a natural choice, but if the Suits get pissy and need a big name actor and assuming he'd be up for it I think Jason Statham could be an interesting pick.
Carrot- Owain Yeoman. Of course, playing Rigsby on the Mentalist may be a bit of a snag, but he's tall, has good looks and knows how to look (deceivingly) dumb. LOL! Of course a natural ginger would be better, but other than the Weasley twins (who are a bit scrawny, I think) I'm drawing a blank.
Nobby- Dom Monaghan is an interesting suggestion, but I can't help thinking Simon Pegg would be better. I think he'd capture Nobby's mindset a lot better and has more of a devious weasel vibe to him. ;) I'm not sure if either of them would be interested in a full-on series, though. Other good weasels: Burn Gorman, Marshall Lancaster, Mackenzie Crook.
Colon- Kai Owen is probably a bit on the young side for this role, but he could be fun. Would Philip Glenister be too hard-edge to play a relative softy like Colon?
Angua- Sophia Myles, maybe? Or is she still tied up with MI5? Rebekah Staton might be another possibility.
What about Vetinari? He's bound to make at least one token appearance. He's another tough one to peg. And assuming this is set later in the books (I'm assuming it is since Pterry was talking of hospitals and morgues and the "modern" watch) then Lady Ramkin will almost certainly show up, too.
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Date: 2011-03-22 10:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-22 11:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-23 12:30 am (UTC)*swoons*
Also: I think he may be verging on too old, but I would love to see Sean Pertwee as Vimes.
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Date: 2011-03-23 01:13 pm (UTC)Anyway, casting: since I see Nobby as essentially Baldrick, Tony Robinson would be a good choice. Someone else suggested Andy Serkis, which definitely works for me. And if you've seen the most recent series of Being Human (UK) you'll understand why I say Robson Green would make a great Vimes. (But I wouldn't say no to Sean Bean, for he is The Man.)
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Date: 2011-03-23 05:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-23 05:29 pm (UTC)