We heard a few months back that Fox and gloss director McG intended to remake the brilliant British comedy series SPACED for American audiences. And while any fan of the original was praying to the pagan entities that this notion would simply be forgotten and/or die a quiet death, such is not the case -- at the very least, a pilot for a US version (henceforth referred to as McSPACED) has been ordered.
Needless to say, the creators of the series, SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ masterminds Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg (along with co-creator Jessica Stevenson and collaborator Nick Frost) are less than jubilant over the situation. While they unfortunately have no legal claim to the material, none of them were even contacted about the remake by the Powers That Be. Wright recently had this to say about the situation at his Myspace blog:
For anyone who missed my previous blogs, me, Simon, Jessica and Nira are not
involved in any way, shape or form.
And neither do we want to be.
That show was very personal to us.
It's about Simon and Jessica, not just some format or high concept.
It pains me to see it reduced to this...
"Single-cam half-hour revolves around a young man and woman who pose as a couple in order to rent a cheap apartment."
Feel free to vent. I haven't got the energy right now."
You're not the only one in pain, good sir. It seems like the show's fans have been vocal in pointing out the futility of attempting to recapture what made the show magical, but the cries of agony have fallen on dollar-stuffed ears. Simon Pegg weighs in on the whole situation himself RIGHT HERE.
The upside, however, is that the original should finally be hitting DVD in the US soon (possibly in July -- look for the makers at Comic Con to help promote), so everyone should be able to see its greatness before the mangling.
Extra Tidbit:
Not that it's any consolation, but apparently if you have a TV show and it gets canceled, Hollywood execs don't contact you about that either...
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12:54AM on 03/03/2008