Believe it or not I kind of like this idea. These are rumors but I must say that they are rumors that I find very exciting. Truth is that I loved this show when it was on TV. I admit that I was only like ten years old and my taste in film was not at a very polished level, but who cares, this is cool. Check out the info I have dug up so far.
Cast Rumor:
The starring role will probably go to a young 20-something actor, with the second lead being an older, possibly grumpy/edgy actor (Gene Hackman, Tommy Lee Jones, Clint Eastwood, etc.) as the FBI agent investigating him (the role Robert Culp played to perfection on the TV series).
Back in March, 2000, shortly after this project was announced, a rumor appeared on Dark Horizons that Adam Sandler was being considered for the lead. There was no source given, so it’s quite likely it was a fan’s dream. For example, Sandler does not have much of a working relationship with Disney; he’s more of a New Line/Sony guy.
Music Note:
The TV show’s theme song, “Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)” by Joey Scarbury, has the distinction of being one of the catchiest (to a fault, some would say) songs I’ve ever heard, and is a staple of 1980’s nostalgia radio (and malls, grocery stores, etc.). So… will we be hearing a 21st century version of the song for this movie? Maybe techno-ized? In the meantime, believe it or not, I’m walking on air, I never thought I could feel so free, free, free… someone stop me!
Based Upon:
The 1981-1983 ABC TV show of the same title, starring William Katt (Carrie) as a A high school math teacher is given a special suit by mysterious aliens that will allow him to perform amazing feats (flying, super-strength, X-ray vision, shrinking, invisibility, just about every super power). The problem is that he quickly loses the instruction book, so he has to learn how to use the suit, which, quite frankly, he’s not very good at… He’s soon joined by an FBI agent, who teams up with the “super hero”, basically using him to fight crime, etc. (5/20/02) Variety reports that the film’s premise also includes other alien suits “floating around the world”… my guess is that someone who’s not so heroic gets one of them. Robert Culp played his FBI agent sidekick, and Connie Sellecca (pre-Hotel) played his girlfriend.
Premise Notes:
The above is, at least, what the TV show was about. This movie might tweak some details. For example, the press release in early 2000 mentioned that the character will be a comic book fan before he gets the suit, implying that there will be some “comics fan” sort of humor… that sort of winking humor we saw, for example, in the Scream series, in regards to horror movies (that’s just a guess).
Filming:
There’s no production date for this project yet, but if this stays on a fast track at Touchstone, it could get started as early as sometime in 2006. Indeed. An anonymous, but
