Americans love most things British, including music and even television series.
From the Beatles to "Monty Python's Flying Circus," Americans have embraced British popular culture and tried to emulate its successful formulas . . . but to no avail.So it comes as no surprise that British television and popular fiction are supplying Hollywood with ideas for major motion pictures. Already we've seen a big-screen version of "The Avengers," about which the less said the better.
Now comes word that we'll be getting others, such as an Americanized "Dr. Who" film from director Paul Anderson (the man who directed "Event Horizon," not Paul Thomas Anderson, who made "Boogie Nights").
Surprisingly, it's not the choice of filmmaker that has already prompted the project's first controversy -- it's the proposed casting of an American in the title role (popularized on British television by such actors as Tom Baker).
However, one of Anderson's rumored choices is at least intriguing -- character actor Morgan Freeman, who deserves a shot at a major leading role like this one.
Meanwhile, another U.S. director has plans for another British property. Jay Roach, who helmed both "Austin Powers" movies, is developing a film version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," based on Douglas Adams' satirical science fiction novels.
The good news here is that Adams (who's done scripts for "Dr. Who") is planning to write the screenplay himself. Adams even has his own choice for an actor to play the main role, of hapless earthling Arthur Dent: Hugh Laurie, a veteran comic actor who has appeared in the films "Sense and Sensibility" and "The Borrowers."
And evidently several actors have expressed interest in playing Ford Prefect, the extraterrestrial journalist who rescues Arthur when the Earth is destroyed by hostile aliens. Among the group is Gary Oldman, who hasn't had a role this good in years.
However, given that the film will be bankrolled by an American studio (either New Line or the Disney subsidiary Touchstone), there are some fears that casting an all-British contingent might be a deterrent for American audiences.
Needless to say, you shouldn't be surprised to see some big-name actors in the film's other roles, such as Catherine Zeta-Jones as interstellar traveler Trillian or Nicolas Cage as two-headed space hippie Zaphod Beebelbrox.
(Don't laugh, these casting suggestions have already been made to Roach.)
-- WATCH OUT, DISNEY? Several studios have lost money trying to emulate the success of Disney in the competitive arena of family films.
So far, the biggest financial loser of the bunch has been Warner Bros., with its spectacularly unsuccessful animation arm, which has only one real hit among its recent credits -- 1996's "Space Jam" -- and an even bigger handful of box-office duds, including "Cats Don't Dance," "Quest for Camelot," "The King and I" and, unfortunately, "The Iron Giant."
In fact, the only studio that's managed to hold its own with Disney in that department is DreamWorks, which scored hits with the computer-animated "Antz" and the musical Bible tale, "Prince of Egypt."
But that hasn't stopped another studio from stepping into the arena, namely Sony Pictures. The studio already has its own family subsidiary, Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group, which produced the movies "Matilda" and "Madeline."
Sander Schwartz, president of Sony's family entertainment arm, recently announced plans for the studio to produce as many as four animated and live-action features a year that will be directly marketed to children and families.
According to Schwartz, the films will be modestly budgeted (under $30 million), which will allow the studio to produce them without production partners or the participation of another studio -- something that helped its earlier films recoup their costs, despite the lack of overwhelming box-office success.
Some of the fruits of Sony's labors can already be seen this year. The studio co-produced "Muppets from Space" and has two others ready for release -- "The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland," a musical adventure featuring some of the beloved "Sesame Street" characters, and a live-action adaptation of E.B. White's novel, "Stuart Little," with Michael J. Fox voicing the tiny rodent.
-- QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "You keep hearing about the opening weekend -- 'The weekend did this,' or 'The weekend did that.' But if a movie is really good, then it doesn't matter about the opening weekend, because 20 years from now it will still be good and will have resonance for people. I think the calling card of a great movie is that when you watch it again you see things you didn't see before. Opening weekend is a false god." -- Kevin Costner, star of the upcoming baseball drama "For Love of the Game," talking about the importance of opening weekend box-office grosses.
Deseret News movie critic Jeff Vice can be reached by e-mail at jeff@desnews.com