Stories of a Prisoner remake, either as a TV show or film have been floating round for ages - it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that I greeted the news around twenty months or so that this was actually happening. The original is easily my favourite show of all time - it was originally broadcast over here in 67/68 and then repeated around a year later which is when it first caught my eye (as a seven year old!). It was only when I saw the regional repeats in 77 that I really started what became a bit of an obsession. I only live around two and a half hours drive from the "real" village of Portmeirion - I've been there a few times and it has barely changed, the place is amazing. Last time I was there (around three years ago), I was chatting to an American guy who was visiting. The night before, he was in a hotel in London and said to his wife "I wonder how far away the village is?" - they got a map, hired a car and drove up next morning - he was so excited to be there...I think we in England get the new show early next year and I will watch with an open mind - it's certainly a good cast, although as the new village is in Namibia and the old one in Wales, it certainly looks different!
On Nov 11, 9:00 pm, Eidem <[email protected]> wrote: > By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer > > NEW YORK – A man named Michael from New York wakes up in the desert, > much to his surprise. > > Fortunately, a pleasant-looking village is nearby. > > Unfortunately, Michael wants to get back to New York and finds he > can't. > > "That's not possible," the Village elder tells him. "There is no New > York. There's only the Village." > > "I want out!" Michael says. > > "There is no out," insists the leader. "There is only in." > > So goes "The Prisoner," a brilliant six-hour, three-night reimagining > of the 1960s classic. It airs Sunday through Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST on > AMC. > > "The Prisoner" is a sometimes startling, always eye-popping meditation > on freedom through the prism of mass thought control. Jim Caviezel > stars as Michael, the addled detainee who finds that, on his arrival > in the Village, he, like all the residents, is designated by a number, > not a name. He is now Six. > > Ian McKellen is the charismatic, delicately despotic boss, Two. With a > suave, creepy-reassuring manner, he lords over this realm with its > daunting sinkholes, huge white beach ball and compliant, seemingly > contented populace. > > Here wanderlust is out of the question, the solution to every problem > is "More Village" and every home has a pig to somehow guarantee > stability. > > What's it all mean? That's up to each viewer, and it's fun (and mind- > expanding) to surrender to the Village's enigmas and find out. > > "He's running the Village with the best of motives," declares > McKellen, speaking of his character, Two. > > But Two embodies, among other things, the drawbacks of capitalism, > McKellen says. > > "Capitalism offers you freedom, but far from giving people freedom, it > enslaves them," he says. "That's part of the show's message." > > At 70, the British-born Sir Ian (who was knighted in 1991) is deemed > one of the greatest actors working today. He has triumphed with > Shakespeare in his long stage career, while his many films include > "The Da Vinci Code," the "X-Men" adventures and the "Lord of the > Rings" trilogy (and, ahead for him, a pair of "Hobbit" films back in > his role as Gandalf). > > McKellen says he chooses a project based on whether it is something he > would like to see himself. Another consideration: Can he learn > anything from doing the role? > > He accepted "The Prisoner," he says, because screenwriter Bill > Gallagher (British TV's "Lark Rise to Candleford," "Conviction") > "wasn't writing a fantasy, he was writing science fiction — something > that might indeed happen, NOT something that could never happen. > > "But I had decided I wanted to do this before I read the final > episode," which mercifully clears up much of the mystery. > > "Once I found all the questions," says McKellen, "I just took it on > trust that Bill would come up with some good answers." > > McKellen says he saw only enough "to get a flavor" of the original > "Prisoner" series, which starred Patrick McGoohan as Six while > shuttling numerous actors through the role of Two. > > Filming took place in Capetown, South Africa, and in Swakopmund, a > town on the Atlantic coast of Namibia. Hayley Atwell, Ruth Wilson, > Lennie James, Rachael Blake and Jamie Campbell Bower also star. > > Asked how difficult he found the role of Two, McKellen says, "I don't > think I've ever played a part that I haven't really, really worried > about, and thought, 'I shouldn't be doing this.' I'm never confident. > But, perversely, I'll only do a part if I think I can't do it, because > that will get the best out of me." > > It was in Swakopmund where McKellen found a tailor who, furnishing > Two's signature white suit, helped him get into character. > > That costume, says McKellen, "became my favorite," but he cautions > that the suit's on-screen spiffiness is oddly missing off-camera. "In > life, if you saw it you wouldn't want to wear it." > > Now, as he speaks with a reporter in a New York hotel suite, McKellen > is fashionably rumpled in a dark striped jacket, vest, open-collar > shirt and jeans. On his feet are a pair of rubber Calzuro clogs, a > version of which he was issued with his prison costume as Magneto in > "X-Men" and has worn ever since. > > Charming and witty, he slouches back on the couch in thought when > asked how performing any other part (Magneto? Gandalf? Two?) can > possibly compare to a Shakespearean role. > > "That's what Jude Law said to me," says McKellen, who has just seen > Law on Broadway. "'What am I going to do after Hamlet? Everything is > going to seem third-rate.' Well, it's true — it is," McKellen sums up > with a laugh. "Because Shakespeare is FIRST-rate." > > But then, referring to every other dramatist, he adds, "You can look > for the good intentions, I suppose, with the understanding that even > halfway up a mountain, the view can be pretty good." > > Regular ascents to the summit with Shakespeare have certified > McKellen's lofty stature. But he suggests his reputation is somewhat > by default. > > "If you're associated with great pieces, some of that luster rubs off > on you. Besides, there are not that many great actors around. Olivier, > Gielgud, Scofield, Guinness" — now all passed from the scene — "are > major, major performers, and you can tell I sort of modeled my career > on them, because I like the sort of things that they liked. > > "But that's not to say I'm up there with them." > > Whereupon, with perfect timing, his voice drops to a stage whisper: > "But don't tell anybody." > ____________________________ > > Don't know if you've heard about this, t. I know you're a fan of the > original TV show. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Diamond Headz" group. 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