I went to the League of Gentlemen In Conversation event last night at the BFI. In attendance were the full League. That might get a full write up at some point, if anyone's interested (anyone?).
But before that, I thought I'd let you know a few juicy nuggets about their forthcoming (or not) projects, including Sherlock Holmes, Psychoville and the Lucifer Box adaptations.
Lucifer Box adaptations
Mark Gatiss spent a year developing an adaptation of his novels with the Beeb. However, it's been abandoned because "it went the way I thought it would and became more and more neutered". So they live no more.
Sherlock
This is his pilot for a modern day retelling of the Sherlock Holmes stories that Gatiss wrote with Stephen Moffat, and which stars Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch* as Watson and Holmes. It's currently filming in Cardiff.
- Una Stubbs is playing Mrs Hudson
- They're "taking taking their attitude from the Universal films of the 40s and having as much reverence [for the originals] as Conan Doyle had - none." As proof, he referred to the stage adaptation by William Gillette who asked Doyle whether he could marry Holmes off at the end, Doyle replied "Marry him, murder him, do what you like" (more or less). All the same, they're "looking to the real spirit of the original stories - fun, fast and strange, which we're trying to do in Cardiff."
Psychoville
Reece Sheersmith and Steve Pemberton's seven part series for BBC2, inspired in part by their love of Dexter and Heroes. Will follow various people in a town or village, including a clown and a dwarf, who start to receive mysterious letters, and like Heroes this will advance the overall plot while we see them getting on with their lives. Will definitely be a comedy, but a dark one.
Reece and Steve will be playing many of the parts, but the likes of Dawn French, Eileen Atkins, Christopher Biggins and Nicholas Le Prevost are also going to be on it. They're editing episode five at the moment, but don't yet know when it's going to air.
*Rumour has it that BC was offered the role of the Doctor but turned it down because he didn't want to follow David Tennant.
Related entries
- February 6, 2009: Review: The League of Gentlemen in Conversation
A review of the League of Gentlemen in Conversation - June 12, 2009: Psychoville viral marketing takes a leaf out of Obsessed's book
The BBC are taking a leaf from Obsessed's book to viral market Psychoville
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January 22, 2009 | Reply
Full write up please Mr Rob!!! I'm a huge LOG fan, though there Christmas special scared the pants off me. Also love Lucifer Box and think a neutered TV version is better off not happening. Psychoville sounds fab and a Mark Gatiss/Stephen Moffat Sherlock Holmes can't fail surely???
January 22, 2009 | Reply
Me too on a full write up please - though this is tantilising in what it tells us about planned activities (yay for Sherlock and Psychoville!). A shame that the Lucifer Box stuff has ended up on the shedpile (though truly unsurprised that it got neutered). Is the third book out yet btw?
January 22, 2009 | Reply
a full write-up vote from me as well, Rob. And having seen B. Cumberbatch in "fortysomething" recently, I think he'd have made a great Doctor. But I can understand not wanting to follow in Tennant's footsteps....
January 23, 2009 | Reply
Lisa - apparently the hard back of Black Butterfly has been available since November see:
http://www.luciferbox.com/blackbutterfly/index.htm
Can't think how I missed it. I'd have bought it for the other half for Christmas if I'd known.
Am very glad Lucifer Box has not been neutered as I love the full outrageousness of both the character and stories. They could make a very very wierd film though. Wouldn't that be fun?
It's great that the LOG are doing something new as well, cos they're such a talented bunch.
January 24, 2009 | Reply
Consider this another vote for a full write-up from TLoG talk
January 25, 2009 | Reply
I'll try to write it up on Monday, then.