Hey folks, Harry here with a look at what Peter O'Donnell has gone on record as saying about the upcoming MODESTY BLAISE movie directed by Scott Spiegel. My understanding was this film was rushed into production to retain the rights to the character... not unlike the Roger Corman FANTASTIC FOUR movie. Now, I actually, warts and all, liked that Corman FF movie. Sure it was cheesy and underfinanced, but what he did with what he had and the time they had to shoot it was actually better than many superhero films I've seen, but nowhere near the potential. I fear the same here. MODESTY BLAISE is an incredible character.... taking her, adapting one of the novels (or a series of them) and creating a franchise character... awesome. Or hire Roman Coppola to shot it SuperAgent Dragonfly style!!! Now that would be fricking aces... But here's Peter O'Donnell, creator of MODESTY BLAISE with comments...
Peter O'Donnell sent this message to a Modesty Blaise chat group.....
"During the eight years that have passed since film rights were optiondto Miramax I have been sent screen adaptions of 'The Night of MorningStar' and 'A Taste For Death'- several drafts of each. I know that an adaption was also made of 'I, Lucifer', but I have never seen that/ In every case I as invited to comment and did so at length. I found all of the adaptions unsatisfactory for as variety of reasons, mainly beacause they seemed not to have understood Modesty. The producers must have also found them unsatisfactory, perhaps for other reasons, I don't know. In October last year Miramax asked for a six month extension because their rights expired toward the end of April 2002. I declined because I had come to the conclusion that the time for a Modesty Blaise movie had passed."
"In mid-March this year I was sent a new screenplay that didn't derive from one of the novels. I was invited to comment, I did so, and received a revised draft for further comment. On April 23rd I was informed by Miramax that they have just completed shooting this screenplay with the title 'My Name Is Modesty'. It was shot in Bucharest in three weeks and directed by scott Spiegel. Modesty is played by British actress, Alexandra Staden. The screenplay begins with Modesty as a refugee child and moves on to to when she is (say) seventeen, working in aTangier casino owned by the Louche gang, and thwarts a takeover by a rival gang. This is where the movie ends, so Willlie Garvin isn't in it. Miramax intend this movie to act as an introduction to the character of Modesty Blaise. I have made clear to them my opinion of this approach."
"As I know many fans have a keen interest in the propect of a movie I felt I should set out the facts as above. I do not propose to make any comment."
( Peter O'Donnell is the author and creator of the character.)
