There will be a 1998 Thunderbirds and 1998 FAB (general Gerry Anderson)
calendar! These are published by Slow
Dazzle in the UK at £8.99 each. You can order them over the
web site or by phone. Full details and photos at the web site.
The script is in second rewrite, and the producers (Tim Bevan and Eric
Fellner) say the first Thunderbirds film will be released in 1999,
with filming to begin next summer. Gerry Anderson will not be involved
in the production.
Working Title Films will handle the special effects for the live-action
film version of the 1960s U.K. Gerry Anderson TV series Thunderbirds in
house, according to published reports. Working Title is setting up its
own effects studio, which will be headed by Peter Chiang, who supervised
special effects for Working Title's The Borrowers.
CBS/Columbia has released uncut videos of Thunderbirds. They have advertised
in "TV Guide". The only catch is that you buy it in their TV show "club"
format where you get the first tape for about $5.00 and every 6 weeks
or so another one arrives, this time for about $20.00. I believe that
there are 2 episodes on each tape, so its quite a good deal.
The English newspaper "The Independent" recently ran a story on a proposed
Thunderbirds movie which is supposed to be live action. The article was
recently posted on the "FAB-L" list and is reproduced below:
Thunderbirds are go - again
Film chiefs rack their Brains as casting begins for big screen version
of Sixties TV hit.
David Lister Arts News Editor
It is the casting dilemma of the year. Who can play five almost identical
brothers? And which actress can portray a Sixties icon with beautiful
features, imperious manner and an icy upper class accent? Thunderbirds,
the cult television animation hit launched 32 years ago, is to be filmed
by Working Title, the British production company behind films such as
Fargo and Four Weddings And A Funeral.
Peter Hewitt, director of the forthcoming big screen adaptation of
the children's book The Borrowers, has been appointed as director and
the search is now on for a cast to attract a young audience without
tarnishing the childhood memories of devoted forty somethings.
Thunderbirds, launched on ITV in 1965 by the husband and wife team
of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, became an instant hit, launching the animatronic
and future merchandising careers of the technical wizard Brains and
his all-American family employers, the Tracys.
Jeff Tracy, and his five handsome sons, operated Intemational Rescue,
a top secret Organisation of the 2020s dedicated to rescuing those in
need, both globally and intergalactically. Operating from a remote island
in the Pacific, International Rescue was the brainchild of former astronaut
Jeff, who together with his offspring and state of the art Thunderbird
rescue vehicles, takes on a variety of daring missions. The Tracys'
London-based agent is the glamorous Lady Penelope, rarely seen without
Parker - her trusted chauffeur - who in turn is rarely heard without
his cold below-stairs accent.
The beaming smiles of the puppet characters provide the enduring memory
for British fans. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore once parodied this to
great effect in a sketch, playing Lady Penelope and Parker. Hearing
news of a massive disaster, Moore cried "this is terrible" through gleaming,
bronzed smile, arms and legs shaking marionette style.
The series proved its popularity when the BBC ran 32 repeated episodes
a few year ago. There was such demand for Thunderbirds toys that there
were shortages of Tracy Island models. When Blue Peter showed its viewers
how to make a do-it-yourself version, more than 100,000 fans wrote in
for an instruction sheet.
British fans of Thunderbirds will want to see the haughty Lady Penelope
played by a homegrown actress. One film industry insider said there
was a good chance of this, with Julie Christie being mentioned for the
role. "She has the right mouth," said the industry source. The Oscar
winner Kristin Scott Thomas, star of The English Patient, is another
likely contender, with Elizabeth Hurley a distant outsider. Perhaps
the real 100-1 shot is TV presenter Anneka Rice, who made a passable
Lady Penelope for a television comedy sketch some time ago. American
actresses will also covet the job. Sharon Stone, keen to play a comic
role, is also likely to be considered by the production team along with
fellow Hollywood star Nicole Kidman.
As for the Tracy brothers, a set of real-life brothers may be cast.
Hollywood star Alec Baldwin has acting brothers in Daniel, William and
Stephen. They could portray four of the Tracy brothers. The Bridges
brothers, Beau and Jeff are another Hollywood pair with international
appeal. This side of the Atlantic there are the acting brothers McGann.
Paul, a former Dr Who, and Joe, Mark and Stephen have already. appeared
together on screen. Ralph and Joseph Fiennes could also figure. Ralph
Fiennes, despite his role as romantic hero in The English Patient, is
not averse to a change of pace with a movie adaptation of a Sixties
TV hit. He started shooting this week on the film of The Avengers, in
which he plays John Steed opposite Uma Thurman's Emma Peel.
Thunderbirds will go into production in 1998 with its release expected
the following year. It is one of the first movie projects to emerge
from the ITC Entertainment Group catalogue, bought by Polygram, Working
Title's parent company. The ITC catalogue includes other classic TV
shows ripe for the big screen treatment: shows such as the cult series
The Prisoner, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, and The Persuaders - which is
already in development with Working Title for a future movie release.
Tim Bevan, co-chairman of Working Title Films, said: "The Thunderbirds
television series has been one of the UK's greatest success stories,
with modem audiences continuing to enjoy its characters, storylines
and fantastical gadgets."
2003 Archive 
