Tom Hanks circles 'Major' toy story
Universal will develop "Major Matt Mason," a live-action feature based on the vintage Mattel action figure. Pic will be developed as a star vehicle for Tom Hanks, and Graham Yost will write the script.
Playtone partners Hanks and Gary Goetzman will produce.
The toy line originated in 1966; Mason led an astronaut team that worked on the moon and lived in a space station. The toy was a hit in the buildup to the first manned moon mission. Mattel retired the line in the 1970s.
When Mattel execs Tim Kilpin and Barry Waldo came to Playtone for a meeting, they brought an arsenal of the Matt Mason figures. Hanks came armed with his own.
It might be difficult to convey how huge this is. The toy line was iconic. I mean to say, it's not like someone taking a book or comic you loved and turning it into a crappy film. It's more like someone stealing your favorite childhood toy and making you watch while he plays with it clumsily and breaks it. Right after taking twelve dollars from you.
However...if there's anyone in the world who could do this right, it's Tom Hanks. He might just pull it off and produce a film that conveys what space travel -- and space travel-based toys -- meant in the Sixties, up until we actually landed on the Moon. After that happened, it suddenly became boring and a waste of money and a distraction from the serious business of ending the war in Vietnam and campy and hopelessly naive and a relic of Cold War thinking. When it was no longer fantasy, nobody wanted to hear about space anymore (other than sad nerdy kids) and Major Matt Mason sales plummeted. But for a while there, this was the future.
(I do hope he puts in a female astronaut, though, because that's been waiting 40 years to happen. And Matt's space buddy Jeff Long damn well better be there too...)
I had Matt and the "jetpack" with the two strings and the double spool that I busted and could never put back together.
ReplyDeleteI will see this movie.
I hear you.
ReplyDeleteI must confess a particular fondness for the almost Segway-like Space Sled and the Reconojet...but I anticipate a fan revolt if we don't see the Space Crawler!
Wasn't there a space capsule as well? I vaguely remember one ...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I used to have cross-over adventures with Major Matt and GI Joe. Ah ... memories.
Possibly this one, Keeper? I never even saw this one in the old days and only learned of its existence online years later.
ReplyDeleteWhen I envision a MMM/G.I. Joe crossover I keep thinking "Major, who are those freakishly huge soldiers?" "Stay calm, Sergeant Storm, we'll call in Captain Lazer to deal with them." "My energy weapons are useless against their lifelike fuzzy hair!" As usual, I've thought about this way too much.
Since we're revealing details, I'll contribute that I had a set of fatigues that I took off some generic supermarket toy solider that fit Matt perfectly. He would wear them when he was on-planet and then take them off to reveal his spacesuit when he was back on the job.
ReplyDeleteI think that is the space capsule I remember.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the life-like fuzzy hair probably could repel lasers!
中国公文网 中国皮肤网 中国呼吸网 肿瘤网 癌症康复网 工作总结 个人工作总结 年终工作总结 半年工作总结 单位工作总结 教师工作总结 教学工作总结 学校工作总结 德育工作总结 财务工作总结 医务工作总结 安全工作总结 乡镇工作总结 党员工作总结 团委工作总结 公司工作总结 实习工作总结 班主任工作总结 党支部工作总结 办公室工作总结 学生会工作总结 工作报告 述职报告 述职述廉 考察报告 自查报告 情况报告 调研报告 调查报告 申请报告 辞职报告 实习报告 验收报告 评估报告 工作汇报 思想汇报 汇报材料 情况通报 情况汇报 心得体会 学习体会 工作体会 培训体会 读后感 领导讲话 庆典致辞 节日致辞 开业开幕 演讲稿 竞聘演讲 就职演讲 比赛演讲 征文演讲 节日演讲 演讲技巧 工作意见 活动策划 工作方案 整改方案 实施方案 企划文案 营销方案 培训方案 应急预案 规章制度 事迹材料 先进事迹 个人事迹 申报材料 学习材料 考察材料 经验材料 交流材料 自我鉴定 工作计划 年度工作计划 学校工作计划 个人工作计划 团委工作计划 工会工作计划 单位工作计划 党支部工作计划 民主生活会 入党志愿书 入党申请书 入团申请书 转正申请书 党性分析材料整改措施 剖析材料 贺电贺词 论文
ReplyDelete