Here are some exciting excerpts of a press release from Sci Fi!
SCI FI’S Upcoming Television Events Shatter the Boundaries of Imagination
NEW YORK, April 5 /PRNewswire/ — SCI FI Channel, responsible for almost single-handedly reviving the miniseries format in the past few years, has established itself as the industry’s leading producer of original movies and awe-inspiring television events. Continuing to attract Hollywood’s hottest filmmakers, SCI FI has partnered with DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg for a second miniseries (the first was the Emmy Award-winning Steven Spielberg Presents TAKEN) entitled Nine Lives, and has signed deals in recent months with Martin Scorsese, Bryan Singer, Dean Devlin, Joel Silver and Gale Anne Hurd, among others. Oscar(R)-caliber actors such as Timothy Hutton, Randy Quaid and Isabella Rossellini lead the casts of SCI FI’s upcoming 2004 miniseries, while other stars have signed on for future epics.
Following is a list of projects that lead SCI FI’s development slate, with a number of luminaries making the Channel their creative home:
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Dresden Files (working title)
Based on the best-selling “Dresden Files” novels by Jim Butcher, this 2-hour backdoor pilot film will be executive produced by Academy Award(R) winner Nicolas Cage and Norm Golightly of Saturn Films. Erik Dresden is a detective with extraordinary powers, the kind that could belong only to the descendant of a long line of wizards. Where others see the typical crimes of assault, kidnapping and serial killings, Erik sees otherworldly forces at work — which only he knows how to combat. Whether consulting for the police on inexplicable crimes or following his own cases, Erik has a unique outlook on the world, and wields a wry sense of humor as one of his most potent weapons. The project is produced by Lions Gate Television and Cage’s Saturn Films (The Life of David Gale, Shadow of the Vampire), with Morgan Gendel (Law & Order, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Next Generation) writing; Gendel and Anthony Peckham (Don’t Say a Word, 5 Days to Midnight) are executive producers.
141 thoughts on “Sci Fi Channel announces intentions for Dresden pilot”
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This is great! Dresden Rules! I hope that Sci Fi channel gets behind this all the way. James Marsters would be a great Dresden.
All I can say is woot!
The press releases’ description of the general plot seems a bit…off, but maybe thats just to attract the non-rabid fans out there.
Soon to be rabid, I think would be more appropriate.
EriK Dresden? Is Sci-Fi changing Harry’s name? Or was that just a typo? After all there is power in a name.
Yep, Erik. It’s Harry Houdini’s *real* first name (different spelling), and it lets the series distance its character a bit from Harry Potter.
Sweet! I’m really looking forward to this.
K
This is extremely good news. I think this will be another cult classic such as Buffy, Angel, Farscape etc. James Marster would be perfect as Erick Dresden and a logical choice because of his large fan base.
Great news! What would make it absolutely perfect would be to hear that James Marsters will star as Harry/Eric….
WoW, or in the words of my sister “Groovy”.
I can understand the name change, but it will take time to get use too. Im such a Harry addict. Gonna love it, can wait.
Wow, this is just stunning news! I’ve just been listening to Fool Moon on audio-CD and it’s great.
I really like the fluid language Jim uses and the imagery, plus the reading that James Marsters does is fabulous!
To have the two of them collaborate (Jim’s words, James’ acting abilities) would truly be more than wonderful.
After reading the first book, one of the first things to enter my mind was this could be a great movie, the other was Good Lord was that a good read. I just hope that it isn’t as bad the I, Robot adaptation. I almost cried in frustration when I saw the trailer. Anyway, good on ya Jim and keep the good words flowing.
Congratulations!
Brilliant news! Here’s hoping James Marster’s is 1st in line to play Harry… I mean Erik (I won’t get the hang of that… Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden rolls off the tongue better than Erik Dresden!). I hope the film doesn’t differ too much from the books.
This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time–good to see that interesting genre programming isn’t dead, just moved to the cable networks. James Marsters would make an absolutely fabulous Harry, and with his current series ending, the timing is perfect. I hope the producers realize this and snap him up right away.
Fan-Dang-Tastic! Congrats to everyone involved in this step…and yes…THINK JAMES! JAMES NEEDS WORK! JAMES HAS FANS! JAMES IS BRILLIANT!
I hope they give him the same chance they would give a “big name” star because believe me James will draw a bigger crowd for this work than he did for Angel (many of his fans, myself included actually stopped watching AtS when Spike’s story arc was trashed out of Buffy…we wanted a Spuffy ending and we wanted Angel to be an independent series…we were ignored and left). If we had stayed onboard the AtS ratings would have been closer to 5.2 as they were in the first James Eppy (which I and my ilk watched).
And seriously, move away from the height issue…I don’t think anyone but the hardest core pre-James…Dresden fans will care once they experience Marsters in the role.
Rabid/Raeann
The report of the go ahead for filming of a Dresden File Series is spectacular news and it makes my day. I have enjoyed Jim Butcher’s books and am very pleased that they will be bringing that world to my television screen in the near future. I would be even more ecstatic if they would also consider James Marsters for the role of the main character.(Harry/Erik) In my opinion he is one of the most talented and expressive actors out there today. I loved his reading of the first two books. He makes you truly care about the characters. I admit Mr. Marsters has me beguiled. I know that if he were to be in this production, it would be #1 on my must watch list each week. I hope TPTB will make this sci-fi fan happy.
They’re changing it to “Eric” to avoid Pottermania? EXCUSE me? And Sci-Fi, who frickin’ KILLED Battlestar Galactica?
What the Farkleheimer are they thinking?
Magicians named “Harry”…mmmmm….why didn’t they tell Rowling to “change that Potter kid’s name; can’t have any of Houdini’s relatives suing us!”
Does this mean that ALL creative works featuring magic AND characters named “Harry” must change the name, as Magic Harry-people must forever be inextricably linked to Potter? The train never breaks down when Harry Potter gets on board; when Cousin Dudley got a videogaming platform in the most recent HP book [I forget if it was XBOX or Playstation], it didn’t burst into sparks when Harry came near…heck, the INITIALS aren’t even the same [H.P. versus H.D.]!!!!
Killed Galactica? Gotta respectfully disagree. Loved the miniseries, looking forward to where they go with the next step.
And changing character names in order to make a translation to television? Gee, that was an awful idea. Sure screwed the Highlander series out of going anywhere…
oh, wait. 🙂
James Marsters is free since ANGEL’s cancellation.
I Love his reading and hope he’s considered for the role.
I hope the series would stay true to the books.Almost all books are spoiled on being made movies.The exception being lord of the rings.James Marsters would make a wonderful Harry..er Eric.I wish sci-fi would collaberate with axn or starworld and show the series in India too.
Big Woo and Hoo!! I am so excited, even with the name change! Yes it would be nice if the name stayed the same, but I’m just happy that there’s finally progress!!