Peter Segal Interview - Get Smart
Get Smart's heading to the big screen in 2008 with director Peter Segal (Fifty First Dates, The Longest Yard) at the helm and Steve Carell taking over the part Don Adams made famous in the classic TV series.
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Transcript: Peter Segal Interview - Get Smart
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the 2007 San Diego Comic Con.
Director Peter Segal - Get Smart
I'm a huge fan of Get Smart. Are you going to satisfy me?
Peter Segal: "Wow, you're throwing down the gauntlet. I like that. You know, I really hope so. I really hope so. We're trying our hardest. I think there are some hilarious moments in this. I just saw the first cut because we just finished most of our shooting, and it's the best first cut of anything that I've worked on. A lot of credit goes to my editor on that one. But I think there's going to be a lot for young people as well as folks my age who remember the TV series to enjoy. And that's the challenge, bringing Maxwell Smart to a new generation."
How do you keep the tone of the original series and yet make it your own?
Peter Segal: "You'll have to see. That is really the challenge. When Steve [Carell] and I got together, we're both the same age. We've both grown up with the show. We said, 'How do we do it?' There's so many movies that have sort of emulated the spirit of Get Smart including the Naked Gun franchise, which I participated in. And so we couldn't just go back there. We had to take it and add a little bit of our own freshness to it. And so that is where we looked to the scope of the picture, the action, to complement the humor, to complement the characters and the situations that people remembered. I think we found our own tone, and hopefully people like you will enjoy it."
Does Steve Carell copy what Don Adams did or make it his own?
Peter Segal: "Steve wanted to make it his own and I think that was a really smart choice because otherwise, you know, it's just sort of a disservice to the fans. They're looking at, 'Oh, it's more of an impression.' He already has an ironic similarity of looks to Don, and so we felt like that was our advantage. And he already almost has a similar timbre to the tone of his voice, so we really didn't feel that we needed to reach any further."
And do you have a shoe phone?
Peter Segal: "Yes I do."
One last question, what's happening with Shazam!?
Peter Segal: "Shazam!, we're in the script process right now. John August is writing. It's going great. We're hoping to get our first draft in the next couple of weeks, and we're hoping that's the next one."
No casting yet?
Peter Segal: "Not yet."
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