The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: original series & films

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  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    edited April 2013 Posts: 4,043
    Shardlake wrote:
    RogueAgent wrote:
    I would sooner see Ritchie direct a 3rd Sherlock Holmes movie first!

    I would sooner see Richie retire and enjoy his millions, the man is a very average film maker, lets hope he never gets near Bond, I've never been a fan from the moment I saw his Tarantino lite debut at the cinema.

    His first Sherlock film was OK but I can't help but feel underwhelmed when i saw Sherlock, his slowed down Indy knock off approach just feels empty Hollywood nonsense compared to Moffat & Gattis genius.

    Cruise is totally wrong for this, the sooner the general public turn their back on this vile little man the better, he looks like a psychopath and his beliefs are offensive.

    They are called opinions; deal with them.

    I would rather see a Sherlock Holmes 3 too, but if it never happens I won't be too sad. After all, they are barely, BARELY canon and we have BBC giving us the best Sherlock content since the 80s Granada series ended.

    I'm afraid some of us can't see past the man and to me his beliefs are offensi
    Shardlake wrote:
    Cruise is totally wrong for this, the sooner the general public turn their back on this vile little man the better, he looks like a psychopath and his beliefs are offensive.

    Woah (thats English for 'stop a horse')!

    I'm not having that. Scientology is plainly utter bollocks but thats irrelevant.

    If he was a Muslim or Christian and you came up with comments like that

    you would be summarily castigated by everybody but because its Scientology its somehow fine to say things like that.

    Scientololgy is no more or less beliveable than any of the more established religions, its just they have 2000 or so years of barinwashing behind them so they appear to have more 'crediblity'.

    Whether you believe the earth was seeded by aliens or some guy who did magic tricks rose from the dead doesnt the law say that you entitled to hold said belief without fear of persecution?

    Very much correct, @TheWizardOfIce, with your classic panache thrown in for good measure.

    Oh watch out the forum Police are about.

    I actually agree with what you've said about religions, I wouldn't call myself an athiest but I also don't have time for any organised religion and you both pat yourselves on the back for telling me off, I think you'll find Wizard's opinion could seen as offensive as mine supposedly is but I didn't do it with panache.
  • Posts: 1,693
    Well, no new word on what's going on with Cruise being in the new UNCLE movie but there are newly licensed cardboard standees on ebay of Solo and Illya.
  • Posts: 4,622
    delfloria wrote:
    Well, no new word on what's going on with Cruise being in the new UNCLE movie but there are newly licensed cardboard standees on ebay of Solo and Illya.
    Must get those on my Christmas list. :\">

  • Posts: 1,693
    Marcel Vercoutere, the prop man behind many of the most famous gadgets used on "The Man from U.N.C.L.E. died today. R.I.P.
  • Posts: 4,622
    He was a gadgetmeister. The pen communicators are legendary.
  • Posts: 232
    Here's a kind of Man From U.N.C.L.E./ Goldfinger connection presented on the TV series The Protectors, that I uploaded on youtube.

  • Posts: 4,622
    What's going on here? Why did "Solo" gun down the diplomat and who was that woman that gunned him down?
    I am not familiar with the Protectors.
  • Posts: 232
    You'd have to see the entire episode to understand the scene, but the point I was making was that Robert Vaughn shoots Martin Benson (the diplomat). Martin Benson played Mr. Solo in Goldfinger, which was obviously the influence for Napoleon Solo in Man From U.N.C.L.E. I just wonder if the people behind the Protectors' episode made this scene purposely or if it's just coincidental. Either way it's an interesting reference between the two. The Protectors was an ITC show from the early 70s that starred Robert Vaughn as Harry Rule who enlisted the help of Nyree Dawn Porter (Contessa Caroline di Contini) and Tony Anholt (Paul Buchet) to help solve mysteries in "The Avengers" type mold. I'm a big fan of this British show, as well as The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Thought it was an interesting connection is all.
  • edited April 2013 Posts: 4,622
    It is a very interesting connection and The Protectors definitely would appear to be a show of interest to Bond/Uncle fans. Vaughn gunning down Martin Benson - the two Solos. That is interesting.
    Excuse my Protectors ignorance, but how can the lead, Vaughn as Harry Rule, be gunned down and killed? :O
  • Posts: 232
    Spoiler hint... similar situation to Timothy Dalton's assassination of Pushkin in Living Daylights. :)
  • Posts: 4,622
    Jarrod wrote:
    Spoiler hint... similar situation to Timothy Dalton's assassination of Pushkin in Living Daylights. :)
    Ahh I see. Must track this show down and watch!

  • Posts: 1,693
    U.N.C.L.E. gets a new Illya!

    EXCLUSIVE: Armie Hammer, who plays the title character opposite Johnny Depp in the Gore Verbinski-directed The Lone Ranger for Disney, is set to star with Tom Cruise in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the remake of the classic TV series that Guy Ritchie will direct for Warner Bros. The original TV series ran from 1964-68, with Robert Vaughan and David McCallum playing Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, two agents of the United Network Command for Law Enforcement. With gadgets and their wits and charm, they fought the evil forces of Thrush.

  • Posts: 4,622
    He looks like a good fit for Illya.
    ArmieHammer.jpg
    I am still trying to come to terms with Cruise as Solo though. But Cruise does manage to surprise. eg he pulled off Anne Rice's Lestat, in Interview With the Vampire, despite Rice envisioning someone like a young Rutger Hauer.
    He's also pulled off Ethan Hunt and Jack Reacher, so who knows. At least Cruise's presence guarantees big budget and marketing campaign.
    Cruise I think has regained his former status as world's biggest box-office star, or close to it.
  • edited April 2013 Posts: 4,622
    re Vinnie; an interesting tidbit but not much to chew on just yet.
    Maybe a fellow agent or more likely a possible villain.
  • Posts: 1,693
    A new Girl from UNCLE?

    The adaptation of the 1960's spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is finally picking up steam again. The project looked as though it was going to completely fall apart when director Steven Soderbergh decided he was no longer interested in helming, but now Guy Ritchie is attached to direct, both Tom Cruise and Armie Hammer are set to star, and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the project has found its female lead.

    Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, who has recently landed roles in high-profile films like the young adult adaptation The Seventh Son and the Julian Assange biopic The Fifth Estate, is now in negotiations to play " a British agent who has a thing for cars." The trade says that she is a brand new character that was featured on neither the 60s series nor the spin-off The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Cruise and Hammer will be playing the lead roles of Napoelon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, agents for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (also known as U.N.C.L.E.). Unfortunately there's no information regarding when the movie is planning to start production.

    From Cinemablend.
  • Posts: 4,622
    Alicia Vikander. 24year old Swedish actress. Here's a red carpet, glam shot. Quite fetching. Casting is looking good.
    alicia-vikander-uk-premiere-anna-karenina-02.jpg
    I am also warming to Cruise. Even though he is 50, he is a very young looking, fit 50. If he can get the box-office off and running, maybe a younger actor can take over, after he's done two or three films.

  • Posts: 1,693
    In this version of UNCLE Solo is supposed to be older than he was in the series. yes, with Alicia the casting seems to be shaping up nicely. There are probably a lot of younger 007 fans who don't realize how much of a competitor UNCLE was to Bond back in the day and............... just might be again.
  • Posts: 2,115
    delfloria wrote:
    In this version of UNCLE Solo is supposed to be older than he was in the series. yes, with Alicia the casting seems to be shaping up nicely. There are probably a lot of younger 007 fans who don't realize how much of a competitor UNCLE was to Bond back in the day and............... just might be again.

    I actually became a Bond fan *because of* The Man From UNCLE, rather than the other way around. I was a huge UNCLE fan. Then, one Friday in November '65, it was pre-empted for The Incredible World of James Bond special. That's how I discovered 007.

  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    delfloria wrote:
    Marcel Vercoutere, the prop man behind many of the most famous gadgets used on "The Man from U.N.C.L.E. died today. R.I.P.

    RIP to a real life Q. :)>-
  • edited May 2013 Posts: 4,622
    delfloria wrote:
    In this version of UNCLE Solo is supposed to be older than he was in the series.
    Interesting. That will at least explain Cruise's older Solo.
    Then again, even the early 30ish aged Vaughn was a mature man, for the time. He didn't exactly play the character young.
    Back then, age 30 was practically full blown middle-age.
    McCallum as Illya, even though he was roughly the same age as Vaughn, played his character as younger and more hipster. He got the younger girls. Vaughn got the "women".
    We'll probably see a similar dynamic with the new film.
    But if the series catches on, it could be way hipper than Bond. Really spyfy like, like the TV series.
    If it does catch-on, maybe a younger actor will be recruited to continue. Wouldn't even need a re-boot. Just do what the 007 movie series has done so successfully - portray Solo as being of indeterminate age, with more youngish partner.

  • Posts: 2,782
  • edited May 2013 Posts: 4,622
    What does the above home-made video have to do with a Man From Uncle thread?
    SPAM
  • Posts: 1,693
    Another Bond connection. Gemma Atherton auditioned for the role Alicia just won on UNCLE.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited May 2013 Posts: 13,350
    Tom Cruise has left the film. He wants to focus on Mission: Impossible V as both films start production this year.

    http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/shocker-tom-cruise-exits-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e
  • Posts: 232
    Can't say I'm the broken up about Cruise's exit, but I do think it may be tough to find someone who matches his star power.
  • Posts: 3,333
    Tom Cruise Drops Out of MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. to Focus on MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 5 shocker. In a rather unexpected development, director Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of the popular TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. has lost its leading man. Tom Cruise was originally set to star in the Warner Bros. spy pic, which is being planned as a potential franchise-starter, but with a fall production start-date looming Cruise has now vacated the starring role in order to focus his efforts on getting Mission: Impossible 5 off the ground. The film had recently started filling out its cast with Armie Hammer signing on to co-star and Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina) entering talks to play the film’s female lead, but Ritchie must now start searching to fill his leading role. Hit the jump for more on the future of both U.N.C.L.E. and Mission: Impossible 5.

    http://collider.com/tom-cruise-man-from-uncle-mission-impossible-5/
  • Posts: 1,693
    Rather have it character driven than star driven.
  • Posts: 802
    timmer wrote:
    IMO Uncle and Avengers are the uber-worthy twin children of the Bond legacy.

    I love reading this stuff and when it comes to the less serious end of the spy spectrum, I agree completely with your comment albeit, 'The Avengers' started in 1961 and proceeded Bond.
    To digress, in 1966 they filmed an episode at my school and I was asked to serve Patrick MacNee and Diana Rigg tea. I did and got them to sign multiple autographs that I then sold to the other kids for 2/6!
    One of the Fleming/Bond legacies is the way the spy genre fragmented into three segments. You saw the development of the super serious and ultra realistic typified by the work of Le Carre and Deighton. The grounded actioneer such as Adam Hall's excellent Quiller series and the very light comedic illustrated by TMFU & The Avengers.
    Ironically Bond started in the middle segment and migrated to comedy before swinging back.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    Seriously I am glad Tom will not be in this film.
    I don't enjoy him any more, not really, except maybe in the MI films.
    Don't know who would be up to bat as the next actor for this.
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