Spielberg aims to film Dr Who with Crawford as Time Lord
No image available. However there is a transcription available.
Do you have an image? Email us: whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- Publication: Daily Mail
- Date: 1994-01-28
- Author: Baz Bamigboye
- Page: 31
- Language: English
HOLLYWOOD genius Steven Spielberg is preparing to acquire a great British hero - Dr Who.
He wants to join forces with the BBC and turn the classic series into a big screen picture. Top of the joint Spielberg-BBC list to play the Time Lord is Michael Crawford.
Executives at Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment at Universal City near Los Angeles and key BBC people believe Crawford would be 'perfect' because he's British and is popular on both sides of the Atlantic. The BBC owns the Dr Who character and would license him to Amblin.
Crawford would join a distinguished list of thespians who have played the part. They include William Hartnell, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy, who all portrayed him on television.
There has been talk for years of getting a blockbuster version of Dr Who for cinema release. One of the many matters up for discussion is whether Amblin would retain the Doctor's inherent Britishness. I suspect they would because the old programmes have achieved cult status in the US, and an American make-over of Dr Who would upset those fans as well as those elsewhere in the world.
Crawford sounds right for the part. He's agile, amusing and he could handle all the special effects required.
Crawford has longed for a new role to stamp his mark on, as he did indelibly with Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom Of The Opera in London, New York and Los Angeles.
Dr Who hit BBC-TV screens three decades ago. At the height of its success, it boasted 110 million viewers in 54 countries.
One senior BBC executive told me: 'We're in the very early stages of discussion and we want to get to the point where we agree in principle. After that we can talk about whether it's best suited to be a motion picture or a lavish film series for television. Whatever happens, the BBC will make some money out of it, but not a fortune because Amblin and a Hollywood studio would be taking most of the financial risk.'
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Bamigboye, Baz (1994-01-28). Spielberg aims to film Dr Who with Crawford as Time Lord. Daily Mail p. 31.
- MLA 7th ed.: Bamigboye, Baz. "Spielberg aims to film Dr Who with Crawford as Time Lord." Daily Mail [add city] 1994-01-28, 31. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Bamigboye, Baz. "Spielberg aims to film Dr Who with Crawford as Time Lord." Daily Mail, edition, sec., 1994-01-28
- Turabian: Bamigboye, Baz. "Spielberg aims to film Dr Who with Crawford as Time Lord." Daily Mail, 1994-01-28, section, 31 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Spielberg aims to film Dr Who with Crawford as Time Lord | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Spielberg_aims_to_film_Dr_Who_with_Crawford_as_Time_Lord | work=Daily Mail | pages=31 | date=1994-01-28 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 December 2024 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Spielberg aims to film Dr Who with Crawford as Time Lord | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Spielberg_aims_to_film_Dr_Who_with_Crawford_as_Time_Lord | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 December 2024}}</ref>