Well remaking TV hasn’t hit the bottom yet, but we can see it from here. From the “Why haven’t they done that yet” fishbowl of ideas we find out that Buck Rogers is getting the silver screen treatment. And just announced, Sin City scribe Frank Miller is on board to direct!
According to IGN Movies, it’s Avi Lerner’s Millennium Films that will resurrect the Buck Rogers character for a whole new generation of sci-fi nerdlings. (I guess Millennium is using their Rambo money on this project.)
But it gets even geekier! Apparently author / artist / filmmaker Frank Miller will be the one in the director’s chair! IGN says that the $40 million Buck Rogers project will be Miller’s next gig once he’s all finished with The Spirit. The screenplay comes from genre veteran Flint Dille, but there’s one thing that gives me a little pause, and it’s this quote specifically: “The cheapness of the low-budget effects will be a running joke in the movie, which will retain the campiness of the 1980s TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century starring Gil Gerard.”
Ouch. The reaction that the fans have had to such tributes has been less than popular. In Thunderbirds, the old 60s camp and marionette styling had been the greatest criticism of the film (which was just the top of the list) and much of the Speed Racer hate has been coming from people who just don’t like the tribute to the original stylings.
I would love to see Buck Rogers get the full movie treatment, but honestly I would rather see an updated sci-fi epic that pays due respects to the franchise than a throwback so we can spend 90 minutes reminding ourselves why we wouldnt watch Buck Rogers reruns.
