Oct 31, 2009 10:00 AM
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Wed Feb 10
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Looking forward to ABC's reboot of V (starting this week)? So is original creator Kenneth Johnson, but not necessarily for the reasons you'd expect: He's hoping it'll act as a trailer for his own movie version of the show.
While Johnson isn't involved in the new television series, he still holds the movie rights to V, and he's convinced that whether the new show is a success or a flop, it can only mean good things for him:
If the show succeeds, it gives us an opportunity to go out with a one sheet that says, 'You like the show, now see the original classic reborn,' [and] if the show doesn't do well, we can always say, 'Here is the "V" you've been waiting for.'
If you've been waiting for a relatively-low budget independent movie, that is:
When I discovered that I controlled the motion picture rights to 'V,' I suddenly had a lot of new best friends. All the major studios, Fox, Paramount, MGM, Warners, wanted to buy the rights with a whole lot of money. They see it as a $200 million tentpole picture, and want to bring someone else to direct. I took a deep breath and said no... I got into the business to direct and do what I do. So what we've been endeavoring to do is to set up an independent production and produce this movie for $50 million. So I can hang on to the director reins and make sure it gets done.
Why are we worried that a Johnson-directed movie may end up like Richard Hatch's Battlestar Galactica sequel? Because Johnson says things like this:
There's a sense that not only do I know the themes, but it's also because I've had that one on one connection with the audience over the years... I really listened to them and have got a pretty good sense of how to make 'V' work.
Fanservice, here we come...?
The television reboot of V premieres on ABC on November 3rd.
'V' voice revisits familiar turf [Variety]
Send an email to Graeme McMillan, the author of this post, at graeme@io9.com.
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