Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Why not, the caveat is good comedy actors with good timing and good script writers and excellent locations (not a studio).

And no canned laughter.
 
So far I'm not that thilled with Apple's choice of subject. 8 shows by Shonda Rimes which will all be ruined by how flawed she makes all her characters. She absolutely ruined Grey's Anatomy after her first two seasons
Apple doesn’t have any Shonda Rhimes projects.
 
Apple should remake all of Monty Python. But apply all the Apple filters. No profanity. No crass jokes. No lewdness. And no bigoted French knights.

And Siri will replace the voice of John Cleese.

oh.. god no.
 



Apple is close to securing a deal for the rights to turn 1980s fantasy movie "Time Bandits" into a TV series, reports Deadline.

Directed by Terry Gilliam, "Time Bandits" featured the story of an imaginative 11-year-old boy, Kevin, who gets sucked into a fantastical adventure with a band of dwarves during the Napoleonic Wars in Italy.


Kevin and the dwarves travel through time using a magical map, visiting places like ancient Greece and the Titanic and fighting off an evil being intent on stealing the map for his own purposes.

The original film starred John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Kenny Baker, David Warner, Ian Holm, Katherine Helmond, Jim Broadbent, and others.

timebanditsmovie-800x525.jpg

According to Deadline, the new TV series based on the movie will be a co-production between Anonymous Content, Paramount Television, and Media Rights Capital. Gilliam is set to serve as a non-writing executive producer.

If Apple secures the rights to the "Time Bandits" TV spinoff, it will join the other more than a dozen television shows Apple has in the works, which span genres from drama to comedy to shows for children.

In other related news, comedy writer Regina Hicks has signed on to be a co-showrunner for Apple's upcoming animated television show "Central Park" alongside Loren Bouchard and Josh Gad.

Article Link: Apple May Turn Fantasy 80s Movie 'Time Bandits' Into a TV Series
Well, if this is Apple. Can they please sell of their Macintosh division to some one that might focus on technology,
 
So we get it, Apple can do nothing right.


Even before releasing their first series, it’s already a “cynical money-grab”.


Why don’t you all just ignore it then and go to SamsungRumors to see what they are doing?


And don’t reply with “but the Mac mini”, because nobody was buying it before and nobody will be buying it now, and has nothing to do with this section of Apple.

Did I mention Apple? No I said writers but thanks for reading my full comment.

And lol I think the Mac mini is stupid, so you’re 0/2 with me.
[doublepost=1532768571][/doublepost]
Almost the entire movie industry seems to be focused on producing more reboots of superhero movies right now, and they all sell a ton of tickets. And those movies all suck.

That’s why I said writers. It’s not Apples fault no one can come up with and create new show ideas.

But it is their problem.
 
In the jihad to ruin everyone's childhood of the 80s, nothing shall be spared.
For those that aren't aware or don't remember (I was a child of the 80s and early 90s so Time Bandits is deeply nostalgic for me) you can tell from the photo that there's no way Apple; an American mega-corporation with close ties to Disney (see executive board, Pixar etc); could make anything that remotely respects or does justice to the original enough to use the name.
Dag man, it’s just a freaking movie.
It ain’t that serious and shouldn’t be negatively affecting your “childhood”.:rolleyes:
If it is well....
I don't get this American obsession with remaking everything.
You already answered your own question:
 
Apart from the obvious anxiety over how Apple will deal with this, Time Bandits would be an interesting property to adapt and should fit within their 'family' sensibilities. The premise is not unlike an anarchic version of Doctor Who - Kevin and his friends could visit a different time and place every episode and have some interesting scrapes while trying to prevent the bandits from stealing all sorts of stuff.

We're in modern times so the lead doesn't have to be a boy (we've just had a flawed adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time) especially as The Doctor is now played by Jodie Whittaker.

An obvious cast member would be Peter Dinklage (for the role of Randall) who will be reaching the end of his Game of Thrones shooting schedule too. Something not touched on so far is that Sean Connery appeared in Time Bandits based on wanting to do something for his son to enjoy at the time.

It'd be great to have Pierce Brosnan guest in one of the episodes - people who have seen Time Bandits will know the sequence I'm referring to.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ErikGrim
It is the (edit to change middle to first) first segment of Terry Gilliam's "Three Ages of Man" trilogy, consisting of Time Bandits, Brazil, and The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen

Rather going out on a limb there, I think to call it a "trilogy".....all the above movies are great, and I enjoy them immensely, but I would not call them a trilogy. And if you must, you need to include "12 Monkeys" as the fourth act.
 
Oh god, don't ruin Time Bandits. That movie is great.
Yeah, that’s pretty much my reaction. It was a good movie. That doesn’t mean it’ll be a good TV show. Sometimes a story has been told. Leave it be. Also, there’s a gulf between a good idea for a show and a good show. That gulf is deep and wide. We don’t have access to the idea they’re passing about but... it’s hard to see where the good idea is. My guess is that this will be a historical-lesson-of-the-week, a past-events-painted-with-modern-political-correctness... and FFS hasn’t there been enough of that?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ignatius345
I love time travel, and write Neo-Victorian novels and shorts, so this would appeal to me...as well, is it me or is this similar to the early 80s children's time traveling show Voyagers! from NBC around 1982-3.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ErikGrim
Sacrilege! No mention of David Rappaport, Shades'll Sort It.
 
I bet I’m pretty close...
Nope, not even close.
[doublepost=1532798674][/doublepost]
So, leave everything the same, but change the title? I don't get the point, since a show about time-traveling dwarves would run afoul of the Time Bandits copyright anyway, so if they're going to license the rights, why not use the name, too? It would certainly be confusing to option Time Bandits, and then call the show Temporal Thieves.

I understand your knee-jerk distaste for this project, and I've generally been on your side of the argument. For example, despite the good reviews, I had no interest in seeing Bladerunner 2049, and I absolutely hated Tron: Legacy. Neither movie needed a sequel, in my opinion.

A tv series isn't a sequel, though, and in this case, I think that the concept has the potential for greatness, particularly when the series will have input from Terry Gilliam. In the end, you may be right, but I'm hopeful that good production values and some measure of Gilliam's sensibility will combine to make something special.
Dude just wanted to be outraged.
 
Last edited:
I can't imagine this will get made. This is a blueprint for an epic firestorm of identity politics and no way Apple risks their brand by making a funny show about little people. Time Bandits would not get made today, and if it did, it would be boycotted as bigoted and Cro-Magnon.
 
Oh god, don't ruin Time Bandits. That movie is great.
How does Terry Gilliam ruin his own 37 year old movie with a new TV series? The only way were if actual time travel was involved.
[doublepost=1532801457][/doublepost]
I'm relaxed. There's simply nothing to "enjoy" from a cynical money-grab.
So you have a problem with a "cynical money-grab" but don't have a problem if they just change the name? I think even Gilliam gave up on the idea of a trilogy when he realized that no one has ever made any connection between those 3 movies of his.
[doublepost=1532801763][/doublepost]
Yeah, that’s pretty much my reaction. It was a good movie. That doesn’t mean it’ll be a good TV show. Sometimes a story has been told. Leave it be. Also, there’s a gulf between a good idea for a show and a good show. That gulf is deep and wide. We don’t have access to the idea they’re passing about but... it’s hard to see where the good idea is. My guess is that this will be a historical-lesson-of-the-week, a past-events-painted-with-modern-political-correctness... and FFS hasn’t there been enough of that?
Are you also picturing commercial breaks too? I think it will obviously be serialized like most streaming shows so lesson of the week won't work there. Give these studio executives some credit. They're the same ones that create mature content for adults so there's no reason to believe this will be much different. Are you assuming that this is just for kids because it will contain little people and/or dwarves? The movie was not exclusively for children.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ErikGrim
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.