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Post by Clouseau on Jul 28, 2006 16:01:01 GMT
in 1979, Blake Edwards directed Dudley Moore in 1979's "10", and he apparently enjoyed working with Moore so much that after Peter Sellers died in 1980, Edwards tried to convince Moore to pick up the role of Inspector Clouseau in Romance of the Pink Panther, which Edwards was trying for a while to get off the ground, but Moore turned it down, noting that nobody could fill Sellers' shoes... Edwards did get to direct Moore one more time, in Micki + Maude (1984), but that's it...
my question to you is, how do you think Dudley Moore would have done if he had decided to accept the offer to play Inspector Clouseau? was Blake Edwards on to something? or was it just yet another terrible idea we should be happy never came to fruition?
personally, i just watched "10" the other day for the first time, and i wasn't terribly impressed... i don't know how much of that was due to the script, the acting, or the directing, though... and that's the only film i've seen with Moore in it, so i don't think i'm in any position to judge... i can't imagine him or anyone else being as good as Sellers, but i dunno if he could have done a semi-decent job in the role or not...
what about the rest of you??
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Post by Dreyfus on Jul 28, 2006 16:13:40 GMT
To be honest I cant see him as Inspector Clouseau. I dont think he would suit the role - appearance or acting style. I think it would have performed the same as IC, TCOTPP, & TSOTPP at the box office. I think people would think if its not got Peter Sellers it wont be as funny.
I think Steve Martin got away with it because a long time has passed and I hate to say it but the Pink panther films are not as popular today compared to the time when Sellers was alive.
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Post by georgelytton on Jul 29, 2006 13:40:35 GMT
I could only see him as Clouseau in Roger-Moore-like capacity. Meaning it would be Clouseau post-surgery.
Yes, that would do.
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Cato
Ant
"Good evening, Inspector Clouseau's residence...?"
Posts: 26
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Post by Cato on Aug 9, 2006 19:36:19 GMT
Nah, love Dud, as I do - and I most certainly do, don't get me wrong - he could never really have carried off Clouseau. Moore's comic acting, while terrific, was of a different school to Sellers'. He could play the phyiscal clown all right (witness Arthur and practically every other of the Hollywood films he headlined), but with him it was more about getting into ridiculous slapstick situations and cracking up himself at what had just befallen him - that is, then, laughing with the audience; knowing that the joke was on him. Something that's a million miles from Clouseau, let's be honest. Oh, and by the way, Clouseau, if you haven't seen Moore in anything else, check him and his on-and-off-comedy-partner Peter Cook in the truly brilliant comedy that is the original Bedazzled. It's a real, real, rare little gem - and they're both terrific in it!
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Post by SportzStoogeOO7 on Oct 2, 2006 22:50:44 GMT
Eh...I don't know.
I think creatively, the movies weren't funny anymore.
After TPPSA, things kind of went down hill comically. That might've been due to Sellers' poor attitude and failing health.
But I really don't think Blake Edwards was capable of getting any more out of the PP series - especially after Sellers dying.
I don't know how good the ROMANCE script was - being it was written by Sellers himself it might've been some good material - but it might have been written to cater to his own talents. Which died with him.
But you'll never know. The series looked awfully tired in REVENGE. Perhaps Moore would have revived it.
I think it would've been nice to have someone star as Clouseau in the later films rather than use old footage of Sellers' and come up with clumsy storylines.
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Post by Clouseau on Oct 7, 2006 19:06:12 GMT
i dunno... i agree that i didn't like the plots of Trail, Curse, and Son that much (each had a decent premise, i think, but something went terribly wrong somewhere in each, as well), but i think they did the right thing in not immediately replacing Peter Sellers... i'm not sure what else they could have done... i don't mind the rehashed footage of Sellers in the beginning half of Trail, but with a better 2nd half for that film - like maybe an extremely condensed version of the basic concept of Curse - i wouldn't have been hurt, i don't think, if they'd just wrapped up the series neatly there and left it alone...
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Post by pinkadilly on Dec 7, 2006 1:51:42 GMT
i dont really now anything about this dudly more guy, so i cant say. whats a good movie to watch to see what he would have been like?
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Post by thecolonel93 on Aug 24, 2010 21:22:18 GMT
From Roderick Mann's columns in the LA Times in late 1980 came the news that UA (not yet MGM/UA) had offered Dudley Moore the role of Clouseau in ROMANCE OF THE PINK PANTHER. This was after Danny Rissner left the project as producer and marked the studio's first attempt to carry on after cancelling the film when Sellers died.
In early 1981, Mann reported that Moore informed him that the studio wanted him to commit to a series whereas his stipulation would be that he only appear as Clouseau in ROMANCE as a tribute to Sellers who had intended ROMANCE to be the final film in the series. Moore also stated he wanted Blake Edwards to direct the film.
Danny Rissner had tried and failed to get Sellers and Edwards to make another Panther after REVENGE. He then tried to get Edwards to direct Sellers in ROMANCE using Sellers' script. At the time, you could only get one or the other. There was no possibility of another Sellers/Edwards Panther.
Mann's article from early 1981 makes it clear ROMANCE looked doomed. Edwards started production for VICTOR/VICTORIA for MGM a few weeks later in Spring 1981. MGM had just acquired UA. Edwards later stated during production of VICTOR/VICTORIA that MGM executive David Begelman was constantly pressuring him to make another Panther for the studio since they had just acquired the rights.
Jonathan Krane joined Edwards' production company in mid-1981, Krane was responsible for suggesting the one production for two Panther films concept utilizing the outtakes in Edwards' archive. Krane stated in his autobiography that his intent was for his wife (at the time) Sally Kellerman to replace Clouseau as the new bumbling detective character. Edwards and co-producer Tony Adams wanted Rowan Atkinson who MGM rejected as unknown in the USA. That's how we ended up with Ted Wass who was also cast in SHEENA for Warner Bros. around the same time. Edwards already had an established connection with the American television series "Soap" having worked with Richard Mulligan in S.O.B. and casting him as Clouseau's father in TRAIL so Ted Wass was not as surprising a choice as he seems today. He was an actor whose star was thought to be on the rise in the early eighties.
The production of both films were fraught with difficulty as Edwards and MGM were at war while shooting was underway. MGM resented Edwards for having two expensive productions greenlit by newly-ousted MGM exec David Begelman and did their best to police the production of TRAIL/CURSE and drive down costs. This certainly hurt the quality of the films, but admittedly the scripts were weaker than what had come before. Even the formulaic REVENGE still reads as a funny script in the circulating drafts. TRAIL/CURSE and (a decade on) SON just appear to be cynical money grabs and do not represent Edwards at his best for the period. Imagine a Panther film made with the quality and care of VICTOR/VICTORIA (released the same year as TRAIL) and you have an idea of what could have been.
As a post-script, it should be remembered that Edwards was overworking himself during this period averaging 2-3 productions each calendar year and was actively developing television and Broadway projects at the same time. Along with personal problems from the MGM litigation, he was also suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (not yet diagnosed) and battling with bouts of writer's block as a result. He was past sixty and was fighting hard to maintain his place in the industry at a time when he was still commanding salaries in the same league as Spielberg and Lucas. All of these factors are important to take into account for what went awry.
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Post by Clouseau on Aug 25, 2010 16:25:02 GMT
it's interesting to think someone considered Rowan Atkinson for Clouseau that long ago...
Rowan Atkinson, Ted Wass, or Dudley Moore - who would have been the best choice in 1981?
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Post by Phantom Pictures on Aug 25, 2010 22:59:34 GMT
it's interesting to think someone considered Rowan Atkinson for Clouseau that long ago... Rowan Atkinson, Ted Wass, or Dudley Moore - who would have been the best choice in 1981?
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Post by thecolonel93 on Aug 27, 2010 18:59:01 GMT
Rowan Atkinson was also offered SON, but declined (his star having risen considerably in the ensuing decade since CURSE was offered to him). Atkinson loves Sellers' work and the PANTHERs, but was sure no one could replace Sellers.
Kevin Kline was attached for awhile. He is a fan of the series and loves Edwards' work, but decided after reading the script that the project just wouldn't work. Edwards was convinced that Kline was the next Clouseau after seeing him in FRENCH KISS. Kline and Edwards were to work together on a project called LUCK (not an Edwards script) that William Morris packaged as a replacement project for the duo, but after SON flopped the project fizzled.
Gerard Depardieu was the next SON of Clouseau and was announced in the trades. When Giancarlo Paretti took over MGM, he backed out of the project. Edwards sued the studio again for not allowing him to arrange outside financing. When Alan Ladd, Jr. came aboard, MGM settled out of court with Edwards. Laddie greenlit SON but Depardieu was now doing CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS and was no longer available. After the controversy over his rape remarks to an American journalist MGM was also having second thoughts about Depardieu's suitability for a family-friendly comedy series.
Edwards then wanted Roberto Benigni after viewing DOWN BY LAW and JOHNNY STECCHINO. While Benigni deliberated over the script, Tim Curry was kept in the wings as a potential back-up. Bronson Pinchot wanted the role, but MGM passed (I'm guessing because BLAME IT ON THE BELLBOY tanked). There is early concept art for the SON theatrical poster showing Curry's moustachioed, frizzy-haired Gambrelli in cartoon form (in the baby carriage or pram that Benigni's cartoon visage would inherit). Curry also talked to the press about his desire for the role.
Securing Benigni in late 1991 found the film much-needed third party financing from Aurilio De Laurentiis (Dino's nephew). His investment paid off since SON was a box office hit in Italy despite tanking everywhere else. Nevertheless, by 1996 MGM started asking Robin Williams and Jim Carrey about the series. MGM would cut a deal for a new Panther with Edwards (allowing the film to proceed without his participation) in 1997. Amazingly, it would take nine years and many more prospective Clouseau's before the Inspector and the Panther returned to the screen. Given the current state of MGM, the wait for the next Panther may be considerable.
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Post by Phantom Pictures on Aug 27, 2010 22:11:15 GMT
Nevertheless, by 1996 MGM started asking Robin Williams and Jim Carrey about the series. MGM would cut a deal for a new Panther with Edwards (allowing the film to proceed without his participation) in 1997. Amazingly, it would take nine years and many more prospective Clouseau's before the Inspector and the Panther returned to the screen. I would really like to know how the new Pink Panther movie developed over the nine years, colonel93
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Post by thecolonel93 on Aug 30, 2010 3:58:48 GMT
October 1997 - MGM issued a press release that a new Pink Panther sequel was in development. Jeff Kleeman was the executive in charge of development. Ivan Reitman had signed to produce and develop the relaunch. Robin Williams and Jim Carrey were the two names linked with the project as possible replacements for Peter Sellers. The intent was that the studio would alternate 007 sequels with Panther sequels as their Christmas tentpole release.
Michael Saltzman was assigned to write the screenplay. The project had the working title PINK PANTHER X (as in "10"). I spoke with Saltzman a couple of times. He confirmed that the model for his relaunch was THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER. His script ignored the post-Sellers films. Inspector Clouseau was established as the detective who recovered the Pink Panther diamond the last time it was stolen and is assigned to the case when it is stolen again. Dreyfus and Cato were the only returning characters. Cato was written as more of a "Watson" as in REVENGE. The plot set the film within the fashion industry. A Versace-like fashion designer is murdered. The murder ends up connected to the theft of the Pink Panther although appearing unrelated at the outset. Clouseau enters the world of high fashion. There was a sexy super model femme fatale character as well as a corrupt Lugash sheikh (owner of the Pink Panther) who is involved in drugs and a slavery ring.
Both Jim Carrey and Robin Williams turned the role down, neither actor believing Sellers was replaceable. Kevin Kline was attached for a time to star as Clouseau. In 1999 MGM decided they needed someone with more youth-appeal and walked away from Kline. Herbert Lom was attached to return as Dreyfus. Jackie Chan was set to play Cato.
Ivan Reitman had lined up Steve Oedekerk as director. Reitman was publicly critical of the original series, believing Saltzman's script to be outdated and not in touch with modern comedy. He favored a reboot giving Clouseau an origin story as a cadet and wanted Martin Lawrence or Chris Tucker as Clouseau to give the project edge. MGM favored Kevin Spacey as Clouseau. Spacey read Saltzman's script in April 2000 and rejected the part believing it to be nothing more than an imitation of the originals (which was Saltzman's assignment from the studio after all). It should be noted that entire gags (such as the gymnasium sequence from STRIKES AGAIN) were incorporated into Saltzman's script.
Spacey walking away from the project convinced MGM to trust Reitman. Previously, producer and studio as well as screenwriter were at odds on how best to proceed. Saltzman was removed from the project and Lenny Blum (a regular Reitman collaborator) was brought aboard to write the reboot the producer desired.
Blum took the framework of Saltzman's script and made the super model a pop singer, the fashion designer a football coach, and the high fashion setting replaced with international sports. A casino subplot was added to replace the politically incorrect Lugash sheikh. The character of Ponton was added as an Asian detective with the Surete. Jackie Chan was not entirely comfortable with the stereotyping of Cato from the original films. Herbert Lom was still expected to return as Dreyfus.
MGM did not agree with Reitman's casting choices for an African-American Clouseau (dubbed "The Black Panther" within the studio) and pursued both Mike Myers and Dana Carvey for the role. Myers (the studio's first choice) was interested, liked Blum's script, but wanted to rewrite it. Ideas pitched included Dreyfus going crazy at the end of the film and the addition of Professor Balls (to be played by Howard Stern - who denied being approached for the role as he was at the time hoping for a role in BATMAN BEGINS).
Ultimately, Myers dropped the project in favor of another AUSTIN POWERS sequel. MGM was frustrated by Reitman's inability to package a project the studio could greenlight and in November 2003, allowed Reitman's second option on the property to expire. Reitman was out and replaced by Bob Simonds as producer. Along with Simonds came Shawn Levy as director and Steve Martin as Clouseau. The trio had worked together successfully before and came as a package to the studio with Martin rewriting Blum's script.
Shooting began in the Summer of 2004 on Martin's rewrite. Ponton was no longer Asian. Dreyfus would not go crazy and Martin reached out to his friend and fellow Panther-lover Kevin Kline to replace Herbert Lom (deemed to be too old) as Dreyfus. Ivan Reitman fought for a producer credit, but was denied. The film was intended for Christmas 2005 release and was strictly PG-13 material with Austin Powers-style sex jokes. Test screenings for the film in 2005 proved disastrous. Blake Edwards publicly spoke out that he was not consulted on the script and was critical of the finished film.
Sony took over distribution from MGM and spent a substantial amount of money on reshoots to rebrand the franchise as a family comedy. Rawson Marshall Thurber reportedly came aboard as script doctor for the reshot scenes. The finished film, a hybrid of the 2004 version and the 2005 reshoots was released in Feburary 2006 to scathing reviews, but surprisingly solid box office helped greatly by the casting of Beyonce. Sony quickly moved ahead with a sequel despite Shawn Levy's unwillingness to return as director due to scheduling conflicts with the sequel to NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM.
Hope that answers most of your questions and gives you some idea on how the project dragged out over the course of nine years.
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Post by Phantom Pictures on Aug 30, 2010 9:53:21 GMT
thanks colonel93! awesome stuff!Michael Saltzman was assigned to write the screenplay. The project had the working title PINK PANTHER X (as in "10"). wonder if PINK PANTHER X is available at all now
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Post by thecolonel93 on Aug 31, 2010 17:45:13 GMT
It does not circulate among collectors currently.
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