The Saint and Leslie Charteris Blog

Happy 82nd Birthday to Sir Roger Moore

2009-10-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Saint Roger Moore today!

CommanderBond has some great old photos!

Sir Roger George Moore KBE was born October 14, 1927 in Stockwell, London (sometimes referred to by Moore in interviews as Saint Ockwell). Roger is the only child of George Moore, a policeman, and Lillian "Lily" (née Pope), a housewife.

Roger Moore played Simon Templar in 118 episodes of The Saint TV series from 1961–1969.

Robert S. Baker (1916-2009)

2009-09-30T23:42:00.000-07:00

Robert S. Baker passed away today at age 93. He was the man who brought The Saint to TV.

Guardian News has his obituary:

A defining moment in the career of the film producer Robert S Baker, who has died aged 93, was the day he met Leslie Charteris, the author of a series of novels featuring the gentleman thief Simon Templar, alias the Saint. It was 1961 and Baker, in conjuction with the producer Monty Berman, had already made dozens of British B-movies of varying quality, including several films in the Hammer horror tradition, the most commercially successful being Jack the Ripper (1959), which the pair also directed.

Charteris had been seeking a tele-vision deal for the Saint for some time, but nobody had managed to persuade him that they would do the stories justice. As Baker acknowledged: "He protected the Saint like a bulldog – and many offers had fallen flat on their face." But thanks to a recommendation from John Paddy Carstairs, who had struck up a friendship with Charteris when he directed The Saint in London (1939) for RKO Pictures, the writer agreed in principle to give Baker and Berman the rights for a series.

The deal was clinched after Lew Grade of Associated Television agreed to allow a healthy budget of £30,000 an episode and to shoot the series on film rather than the cheaper teleciné, which would make it easier to sell to the US. In fact the series was eventually sold to 63 countries and reaped a profit in excess of £350m.

For the lead role, Grade suggested Patrick McGoohan, who had been a great success as the secret agent John Drake in Danger Man (1960-61). But Baker and Berman felt McGoohan lacked the lightness of touch that the character of Templar needed, and opted for 34-year-old Roger Moore, who had taken the title roles in the TV series Ivanhoe (1958-59) and Maverick (1959-61).

Moore starred in 118 episodes of The Saint (1962-69). Return of the Saint (1978-79) revived the suave and witty character, this time embodied by Ian Ogilvy, and was reprised in a few different guises over the years, with Baker profiting from holding the rights.

Baker was born in London and became interested in photography from an early age, winning several competitions. When the second world war broke out, he joined the Royal Artillery in north Africa during the El Alamein campaign. He then got himself transferred to the Army Film and Photographic Unit, becoming a combat cameraman in Italy, Belgium and Germany. During that time he met Berman, who was also filming battles.

After the war, the pair set up Tempean Films, their first production being A Date with a Dream (1948), a modest comedy about a wartime concert party's reunion. It starred Terry-Thomas and Jeannie Carson, with Norman Wisdom making his screen debut in a small role.

The company was soon turning out second features at a rate of about four a year to fill up programmes during the 1950s, most of them directed briskly by John Gilling or Henry Cass, and starring what seemed like a Who's Who of washed-up American actors, including Forrest Tucker, Mark Stevens, Alex Nicol, Scott Brady, Arthur Kennedy, Rory Calhoun, Rod Cameron, Dale Robertson and Larry Parks.

Then, from 1958, the duo moved into slightly more mainstream territory with Sea of Sand, a familiar north African war adventure, directed by Guy Green and starring Richard Attenborough; The Siege of Sidney Street (1960), which vividly recreated the London of 1911; and The Treasure of Monte Cristo (1961). The latter two were directed by Baker and Berman, along with the period swashbuckling adventure The Hellfire Club (1961), which was written by Jimmy Sangster and featured Peter Cushing, both regular Hammer habitués.

In fact, Baker and Berman, inspired by the success of Hammer, made their own gothic horror movies. However, these were released in two versions, one for the UK and US markets with their strict censorship and ratings systems, and another for the more liberal, continental European and Japanese markets, where audiences enjoyed extra blood and sex.

They had that aplenty in Blood of the Vampire (1958), with Donald Wolfit hamming it up as Dr Callistratus, who has returned to life to run a lunatic asylum after being executed, and Jack the Ripper, both films written by Sangster. The poverty and filth of 19th-century Edinburgh is well evoked in the atmospheric The Flesh and The Fiends (1960), with Cushing as Doctor Knox, and Donald Pleasence and George Rose as the grave-robbers Burke and Hare. After Gideon's Way (1964-66), a workmanlike police drama series based on the John Creasy books, with John Gregson as the Scotland Yard detective, Berman branched off to produce and write several of his own television series.

Baker and Moore then formed Bamore, a company that produced The Persuaders (1971-72), starring Moore and Tony Curtis as wealthy playboy adventurers, and the film Crossplot (1969), a swingin' London thriller with Moore finding himself in a psychedelic disco, a vintage car race and a helicopter chase. Baker and Moore had a long association, with the actor describing his friend as "one of the kindest men I have ever had the privilege of working with".

Baker is survived by his two daughters.

How About Dougray Scott as The Saint?

2009-08-22T20:53:00.001-07:00

Will James Nesbitt, Robson Green, Dougray Scott, or Eddie Izzard play the role of Simon Templar on the new TV show of The Saint?

Will there even be a new TV show of The Saint, as we have been hearing about for more than a year now?

Will the new series be filmed in Detroit or Canada?

Burl Barer's Amazon blog and the official website of Leslie Charteris are both hinting that the long-awaited new TV show of The Saint might be announced soon. Various other information has been posted to IMDB. Further Google searches find even more rumors on Commander Bond. Even Roger Moore himself is saying that a new show is close to being sealed, and will start filming in Canada.

What does this all mean? Stay tuned.

French DVD Set of RKO Le Saint Films

2009-03-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

Officially released March 4, 2009, Editions Montparnasse have collected together eight of the RKO films in a very nice Region-2 DVD set:

DVD 1
Le Saint à New York (The Saint in New York). Un film de Ben Holmes with Louis Hayward (1938)
Le Saint contre-attaque (The Saint strikes back). Un film de John Farrow with George Sanders (1939)

DVD2
Le Saint à Londres (The Saint in London). Un film de John Paddy Carstairs with George Sanders (1939)
Simon Templar face au Saint (The Saint’s double trouble). Un film de Jack Hively with George Sanders (1940)

DVD3
Le Saint reprend du service (The Saint takes over). Un film de Jack Hively with George Sanders (1940)
Le Saint à Palm Springs (The Saint in Palm Springs). Un film de Jack Hively with George Sanders (1941)

DVD4
Pas de vacances pour le Saint (The Saint’s vacation). Un film de Leslie Fenton with Hugh Sinclair (1941)
Le Saint face au tigre (The Saint meets the tiger). Un film de Paul L. Stein with Hugh Sinclair (1943)

Extras include a 5-min TV interview in French with Leslie Charteris, and a 20-page booklet, Le Robin des Bois des temps modernes, by noted Saint expert Jean-Marc Lofficier.

The set can be ordered from Amazon France.

The Best of The Saint by Leslie Charteris

2008-12-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

The Best of The Saint by Leslie Charteris is now available for order from Amazon! This two-volume tome will be released on December 11, 2008.

It's been 80 years since the adventures of Simon Templar first debuted in print and Hodder & Stoughton are celebrating this anniversary by publishing two anthologies of the best of the Saint's adventures.

Volume 1 is introduced by Ken Follett; this sparkling collection of the very best of the earlier stories:

The Man Who Was Clever
The Policeman with Wings
The Lawless Lady
The Inland Revenue
The Charitable Countess
The Star Producers
The Art of Alibi
The Simon Templar Foundation
The High Fence
The Ellusive Ellshaw
The Miracle Tea Party
The Affair of Hogsbotham

Sir Roger Moore, star of the Sixties TV series, introduces Volume 2 -- a collection of post-war stories of the following Saint adventures:

The Covetous Headsman
The Angel's Eye
The Rhine Maiden
The Golden Journey
The Loaded Tourist
The Spanish Cow
The Latin Touch
The Patient Playboy
The Talented Husband
The Reluctant Nudist
The Lovelorn Sheik
The Pluperfect Lady
The Sporting Chance
The Better Mousetrap
The Prodigal Miser
The Hopeless Heiress

Roger Moore: My Word Is My Bond

2008-11-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

One of the most recognizable big-screen stars of the past half-century, Sir Roger Moore played the role of James Bond longer than any other actor. Beginning with the classic Live and Let Die, running through Moonraker and A View to a Kill, Moore brought his finely honed wit and wry charm to one of Hollywood's most beloved and long-lasting characters. Still, James Bond was only one in a lifetime of roles stretching back to Hollywood's studio era, and encompassing stardom in theater and television on both sides of the Atlantic. From The Saint to Maverick, Warner Brothers to MGM, Hollywood to London to extreme locations the world over, Roger Moore's story is one of the last of the classic Hollywood lives as yet untold.

Until now. From the dying days of the studio system and the birth of television, to the quips of Noël Coward and David Niven, to the bedroom scenes and outtakes from the Bond movies, Moore has seen and heard it all. Nothing is left out—especially the naughty bits. The "special effects" by which James Bond unzipped a dress with a magnet; the spectacular risks in The Spy Who Loved Me's opening scene; and Moore's preparation for facing down villains (he would imagine they all have halitosis): the stories in My Word is My Bond are priceless.

Throughout his career, Moore hobnobbed with the glamorous and powerful, counting Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Seymour, and Cary Grant among his contemporaries and friends. Included are stories of a foul-mouthed Milton Berle, a surly Richard Burton, and a kindhearted Richard Kiel, infamous as Bond enemy Jaws.

As much as it is Moore's own exceptional story, My Word is My Bond is a treasure trove of Hollywood history.

My Word Is My Bond: A Memoir is available in all these versions:

Purefoy Not Going Forward as The Saint

2008-07-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

From Double O Section:

Tradecraft: Purefoy's Saint Series Dead?

Here's some truly disappointing news to start off the week. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Barry Levinson-directed revival of The Saint, which was set to star the perfectly-cast James Purefoy as Simon Templar, "didn't go forward." Apparently Purefoy is instead opting to star in a different show with a very similar premise, The Philanthropist. (It really could have been an ITC title in the late Sixties; I'm surprised they didn't think of it!) Says the trade, "Philanthropist centers on a renegade billionaire (Purefoy) who uses his wealth, connections and power to help people in need no matter the risks or costs." That's pretty much what Simon Templar does, the only real difference being that his wealth is ill-gained. The Reporter ends its report on The Philanthropist with this brief statement on The Saint: "Earlier this year, CAA-repped Purefoy was attached to The Saint, an independently produced two-hour backdoor pilot with Levinson on board to direct, but the project didn't go forward."

"Didn't go forward?" So what does that mean? Is the project dead? Will it still go forward in the future, but with another star? All LeslieCharteris.com (the premier site for Saintly information) can add at this point is that shooting on the pilot has been delayed until "at least August" because of a possible actors' strike. (Such a strike seems very unlikely at this point.)

Muddying the waters further is how incestuous this whole Saint/Purefoy/Philanthropist triangle really is. The original producers on The Philanthropist were Levinson and Tom Fontana, both of whom were also on The Saint! They've now been replaced, however, by Battlestar Gallactica and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys producer David Eick. So were Levinson and Fontana really developing such similar projects simultaneously? Or did The Saint somehow morph into The Philanthropist? That seems an unlikely scenario, given that the trade states The Philanthropist got a 13-episode order from NBC nearly a year ago. More likely, the shows aren't really as similar as they sound in loglines.

Whatever the tangled web behind the scenes, this story saddens me. As I was just saying earlier this month, I was really looking forward to this newest incarnation of The Saint--and primarily because of Purefoy's involvement. I hope that the matter is not yet said and done, and that we still might somehow see a James Purefoy Saint series sooner or later.

Purefoy to Join NBC's Philanthropist

2008-07-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

From The Hollywood Reporter:

James Purefoy circles NBC series
Network execs had been courting 'Rome' star
By Nellie Andreeva
July 21, 2008, 01:00 AM ET

NBC is closing in on its "Philanthropist," with Brit James Purefoy in negotiations to play the lead in the midseason drama series.

"Philanthropist," from UMS, centers on a renegade billionaire (Purefoy) who uses his wealth, connections and power to help people in need no matter the risks or costs.

NBC brass had courted Purefoy for some time, including flying the "Rome" star from the U.K. to Los Angeles for a meeting.

The casting of the lead comes nearly a year after NBC gave the project a 13-episode series order and three months after the network put it on its 2008-09 schedule.

It also follows the recent change at the helm of "Philanthropist," with David Eick taking over following the departure of original writer/executive producer Tom Fontana and exec producer Barry Levinson.

Peter Horton is set to direct the pilot for the series, which is slated to premiere in the Monday 10 p.m. slot in midseason.

Earlier this year, Purefoy, repped by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, was attached to "The Saint," an independently produced two-hour backdoor pilot with Levinson on board to direct, but the project didn't go forward.

Possible strike stops Detroit production of TV pilot

2008-07-04T01:52:00.000-07:00

Filming in Detroit on the $10 million television pilot “The Saint” has been delayed until at least August because of a possible actors strike, the show’s producer said.

“We’re just now awaiting some word on the disposition of the Screen Actors Guild negotiations and then will proceed most likely in mid or late August,” Bill Macdonald, senior producer at Saint Productions Inc. said in an e-mail to Crain’s Detroit Business.

The two-hour television pilot, a remake of a 1960s British mystery-spy thriller television series, was supposed to film in Detroit in May and June.

Talks between Hollywood studios and television networks and the 120,000-member Screen Actors Guild broke off Monday, hours before the union’s deal expired with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers. The dispute centers on new media and DVD payments for actors. No strike vote has been taken.

The pilot, originally meant for the TNT network, is being independently produced and shopped around.

Filming was earmarked for Detroit to take advantage of the state’s new 42 percent rebate, which pays back 42 cents on every dollar spent in the state on approved productions.

Darryn Welch, CEO and producer of Berlin-based production and financing company Instinctive Film, which is also involved in “The Saint” pilot, declined comment. A call to Nehst Studios in New York City, another production and film finance company, was not returned.

Grace & Wild HD Studios in Farmington Hills was bidding against Hollywood on the film processing work for pilot. Such work typically costs $120,000 to $150,000, Ginny Hart, vice president of sales at Grace & Wild, previously told Crain’s. The studio has the state’s only film lab.

Hart couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday. It’s unclear if the studio won the film processing job.

“James Bond” actor Roger Moore played the lead character, Simon Templar, in the 1960s British television series and is among the producers involved in the remake. A 1997 feature film of the same name starred Val Kilmer.

The new proposed series is set to star British actor James Purefoy, probably best known for his role as Mark Antony in HBO’s “Rome.”

Macdonald and writer Jorge Zamacona aligned with Moore and his son, Geoffrey, in 2004 to form Templar Entertainment Group, aimed at getting a new “Saint” series on television, according to the Web site and blog www.saint.org, which is devoted to the show, movies and novels by “Saint” creator Leslie Charteris.

The Readers Speak Out!

2008-06-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

Lots of comments and thoughts are coming in on the recent posting with details of the plot synopsis of the upcoming James Purefoy TV show of The Saint. Let us all know what you think! Speak Up!

Burn Notice on DVD

2008-06-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we discussed how Burn Notice should appeal to Saint fans.

Well, time flies and Burn Notice is now available on DVD in the United States.

If you missed the show on the USA Network, it's time to watch it on DVD.

Homicide: Life on The Saint

2008-06-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

It's really a homicidal saintly reunion. Jay Tobias is production manager on The Saint. His resume includes stints as director on Homicide: Life on the Street, first assistant director on Spenser: For Hire, first assistant director on Law & Order SVU and location manager on Porkys II. Ah well, we all have to start somewhere...

Irene Burns is post-production manager on The Saint. Her resume includes stints as post production supervisor on Oz and a long stint in the same role on Homicide: Life on the Street.

Jim Finnerty is line producer on The Saint. He was coexecutive producer and unit production manager on Homicide: Life on the Street.

And don't forget three of the principal producers, Jorge Zamacona, Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana also worked on Homicide.

The Name's Templar, Simon Templar

2008-05-31T09:11:00.000-07:00

So Leslie Charteris' 100th birthday came and went without too much fanfare. Now, on the occasion of Ian Fleming's 100th birthday, in an attempt to bring James Bond back to his roots, The Fleming Estate has commissioned Devil May Care, a new 007 adventure by literary novelist Sebastian Faulks "writing as Ian Fleming."

This new James Bond novel was published on Wednesday, the 100th anniversary of the birth of his creator, Ian Fleming, and as befits the British fictional superspy, the plot was kept top secret -- although its publisher said it is a return to the original Bond, after so many adaptations of the character on film.

"Devil May Care" was penned by the award-winning British novelist Sebastian Faulks at the request of the late author's family.

"The new novel is in the spirit of the original and very funny," said Faulks, whose favorite screen Bond was Sean Connery.

Faulks reportedly read many of the early Fleming novels in order to capture the spirit of James Bond, and write in the same manner and style as the original books. Early reports are that he has done just that, and we hope that the same treatment is given to The Saint!

Devil May Care is available in all these versions:

James Purefoy as The Saint: Teaser and Plot Synopsis

2008-05-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

The official website of Leslie Charteris (www.lesliecharteris.com) tells us that The Saint was represented at Cannes recently by Arsenal Pictures -- who had some rather nice teaser artwork and the following synopsis to promote the upcoming TV show starring James Purefoy:

Simon Templar is part of a secret organization known as 'Knights of the Templar'. He's responsible for enforcing the group's code of ethics against the criminal underground of the world. Those familiar with 'Knights' know Simon Templar by one name: The Saint. His current assignment has him in Montenegro, rescuing captive children from being sold on the black market. When the operation is finished, Templar discovers that one of the children is missing. An orphan once himself, he vows to rescue the lost boy, no matter what the cost. Waiting for him in Paris is Patricia Holm, an intelligence specialist and Templar's lover. She has information that a crooked businessman named Carger is responsible for the children's abductions; however, the Knights learn that Carger is now into much bigger things. The Saint is ordered to find Carger and steal a treasured relic that, if made public, could ignite a spectacular holy war. When he discovers Carger has also been keeping the missing orphan as his own son, Templar must decide between his own personal convictions and his duties as The Saint.

Sherlock Holmes Unboxed

2008-05-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

We are very hopeful that The Saint will be available on Amazon Unboxed, iTunes, and other various online viewing services. In April, Media Guardian reported that ITV plans "to make a range of classic programmes" available through iTunes at prices from £1.89 per episode, and scheduled for later this year is The Saint. Presumably the Roger Moore version, but we'll see.

In the meantime, we can still watch Sherlock Holmes!

Amazon.com Widgets

James Purefoy at Sex in the City

2008-05-20T19:54:00.001-07:00

Well, we thought that headline would get your attention. Okay, so the real point of this story is that James Purefoy was at the Sex in the City movie premiere looking very much like Simon Templar in a tuxedo. Does he look like The Saint now?

"Sex and the City," the movie, premiered in London Monday night, May 14th, it opens in America on May 30.

James Purefoy will play The Saint in a new TV pilot that is in the works for 2008.

Simon Dutton as The Saint on DVD

2008-05-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

The Saint, starring Simon Dutton is finally coming to DVD. The 1989 Saint series has never been available on DVD before, and Unbrella will be publishing all six episodes in Region 2 format.

THE SAINT - WITH SIMON DUTTON
1989 TV
566 Mins - TBC
RRP: AUS $39.99

Suave, chivalrous & Utterly Heroic!

In 1989 the cult British spy series, The Saint, was again welcomed back to TV in six feature-length episodes staring Simon Dutton as Simon Templar-aka The Saint. In a role immortalised by Roger Moore in the 60s, Dutton plays the suave, debonair super sleuth who is adored by women, feared by his adversaries and remains a constant thorn in the side of police forces everywhere.

An Australian/British co-production from 1989, this was the final remake of the cult British spy series originally starring Roger Moore - Ian Ogilvy starred in the 70s vehicle, The Return of the Saint. The entire series on 3 Discs - six, 2 hour movie versions of the hugely popular British TV series

What Happened to ST2?

2008-05-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well, we've recently found out where The Saint's Jaguar XJ-S from The Return of the Saint ended up. Now this begs the question, where is The Saint's BMW motorcycle, ST2?

Ian Ogilvy, who played Simon Templar in The Return of The Saint, was responsible for this addition to The Saint's collection of vehicles. Ogilvy http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifowned his first motorcycle at the age of sixteen, and has been a avid enthusiast ever since. Ogilvy was quoted in 1978 as saying, "It was my idea that Simon Templar should have a motorcycle as well as a car. After all, there are times when it can be more useful for him than a car. And with with all the appeals for people to cut down on petrol consumption, it's now completely acceptable."

Well, Ogilvy was quite pleased when Executive Producer Robert S. Baker agreed and delivered the newest and fastest 1,000cc BMW available.

So, what happened to the BMW? We think it was a model year 1977 BMW R100RS painted in Silver Blue Code 530. Perhaps Ogilvy ended up with it, as the word is that one of the reasons he suggested a motorcycle is that he had just recently sold his own and needed a new one!

For more information, see ST2: The Saint's 1977 BMW R100RS Motorcycle.

The Return of The Saint Jaguar XJ-S

2008-05-13T03:05:00.000-07:00

We have an update on the actual XJ-S that Jaguar supplied to the Return of the Saint television series. It is alive and well, and roaming the British countryside.

Here are a few more notes from the current owner:

No, the car is not for sale at this time. He has thought about it from time to time, and at this point wants to keep it.
The car was featured in Classic Cars magazine sometime around 2003/2004, with photos taken outside The Saint's house in Eaton Mews.
The car has not been shown in public for a long time, and there are some plans shaping up for a few UK car shows in 2008.
The car is owned by a private individual, so make the most of any public showings.
The condition is mechanically sound, with the full restoration still in process. The car needs a bit more daily driving to identify any flaws in the drive-train.
It will be repainted at some point to get a better finish on it -- the car wants stripping to bare metal and repainting.
The interior is in excellent condition and will be kept original.
The Saint's Jaguar is quicker than most old XJS's and hit 133mph on a private track recently with more to offer. It handles well and doesn't roll as much as normal XJS's.
It has a little Saint stickman on the bonnet that obviously wasn't in the series. People do stop and ask about the car.
The car came with a big info folder with pics/receipts for work done etc and a certificate from Jaguar confirming it was the main car used.

Check out The Saint's Jaguar page for further updated information and some new pictures from 2008.

Happy 101st Birthday Leslie Charteris

2008-05-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

Today, May 12th, would have been Leslie Charteris' 101st birthday. Charteris was born in Singapore on May 12, 1907 as Leslie Charles Bowyer Yin.

Charteris was born to a Chinese father and an English mother. His father was a physician who claimed to be able to trace his lineage back to the emperors of the Shang Dynasty. Charteris became interested in writing at an early age, at one point creating his own magazine with articles, short stories, poetry, editorials, serials, and even a comic strip.

2008 is shaping up to be a great year for Leslie Charteris. Eighty years ago Charteris wrote and published the first of many stories about Simon Templar, alias The Saint. The Saint has appeared in various media, and it seems that this 80th anniversary of his creation is the one that people are latching on to -- rather than last year's centenary of the author, which pretty much everyone missed anyway.

The 80th anniversay plans include a new 2-hour TV pilot starring James Purefoy, re-releases of Charteris' books, some new audio CDs, and additional DVD releases around the world.

Watch this space. As things are confirmed, you'll learn more about them by checking the news blog on www.saint.org and www.lesliecharteris.com!

Want To Be In The Saint TV Show?

2008-05-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

Production: The Saint (Television)
Location: Detroit
Employer: NEHST
Duration: May-June 2008, starts May 2008
SAG artist contracts

Director: Barry Levinson. THE SAINT - SHOOTING IN DETROIT - CASTING IMMEDIATELY on www.screentest.biz

The Saint – TV pilot directed by Barry Levinson - a remake of the famous Roger Moore TV series, produced by NEHST Studios. Principal photography will be in Detroit from May through June, with international scenes shot in Budapest. The Saint will be played by James Purefoy recently starring in HBO’s “Rome”.

We are looking for local talent for a variety of speaking roles. The casting process is happening right now. The shooting schedule is tight, so do not delay and visit :
www.screentest.biz

Look in Casting Call, screen right, under “TV Series.” And sign up now.

Apply to: FRAN

Breakdowns:

1. Male / 41-50 yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
Claude Eustace Teal An inspector at INTERPOL. Lean, strong, “a man of no vices”. A brilliant tactician. American. Happily Married. SERIES REGULAR

2. Female / Any yrs. / Latin American.
Patricia Holm age range 20-40 yrs old Striking, Tall, lean, maddeningly sexy, dirty blonde, extremely fashionable (very New York). Has an exotic accent - “hazy mix of Spanish, Creole, and Dutch”. Her relationship with Templar is unique and can often lead her into the path of danger. SERIES REGULAR

3. Male / 31-40 yrs. / Middle Eastern.
Baldwin Aleppo Handsome. Middle Eastern. Mystical. Has a long history with Templar that has formed a friendship that is often fraught with conflict. SERIES REGULAR

4. Male / 61+ yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
Jerome Creedy 60’s, the director of INTERPOL. Toupeed. Bureaucratic, a pain in the ass. A bad temper. RECURRING

5. Male / 51-60 yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
Hollis McCarthy Lantern-jawed, square, “not to be messed with”. Ex-military. Dark-souled. Spiritual. RECURRING

6. Male / 51-60 yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
Delano Carger Pale, poisonous, deluded, brilliant, charming, self-righteous. Short but lethal, i.e. Napoleonic Complex. President of Apollyon Antiques. Manages the human trafficking of children displaced from the Tsunami and other disasters. GUEST STAR

7. Female / 18-24 yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
Emma Carger’s assistant. Young, petite. Horribly abused and embarrassed by the unspeakable treatment she faces from Carger.

8. Male / 31-40 yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
Jasper Wells Lean, imposing, a stone-cold killer. Works for Delano Carger. Sells children into slavery and sex-slavery for Carger.

9. Female / 25-30 yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
Lydia Carger 20 years younger than her husband, Delano Carger. Very attractive AGE 20-29 years old

10. Female / 31-40 yrs. / Black - African.
Agent Lena Owensby African-English. Very Pretty. Speaks before she thinks

11. Female / 25-30 yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
Siri AGE 20-29 YRS OLD Green eyes, beautiful. Stoic and anguished over the kidnapping of her son.

12. Male / 0-5 yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
Paolo Siri’s green-eyed boy. 3-5 years old.

Does The Saint have The Moves?

2008-05-10T22:37:00.001-07:00

The Moves are a collection of the subtle things that people do to signal tremendous wealth and power without having to say anything overtly. How many of these moves does The Saint have, and are there any additional moves that should be added?

read more | digg story

Daily Mail: James Purefoy Bulks Up to Play The Saint

2008-04-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

This article from the Daily Mail crossed our desks today:

James Purefoy bulks up - and grows his hair - to play The Saint
By BAZ BAMIGBOYE, 24th April 2008

Saintly: James Purefoy will be growing his hair long for the role of Simon Templar.

James Purefoy, who received a scar or two while filming his last movie, is busy getting into shape — and growing his hair — to play The Saint.

The two-hour TV film will shoot in New York and Leslie Charteris's hero has been updated to contemporary times.

But Roger Moore, who played The Saint in the Sixties, will be keeping an eye on the proceedings, because he and his son Geoffrey are among the team of four producers who picked up the rights to produce new TV versions of Charteris's tales.

Purefoy's Simon Templar will still be smartly attired and cool, but he'll have more of a kick-ass attitude.

'He gets more into the thick of the fighting,' someone close to the project told me.

If the pilot works, Purefoy will sign on to do more.

He has just finished playing comicbook hero Solomon Kane and received some cuts and bruises doing fight scenes. He had his hair cut off to play Kane, but needs his mane again for his turn as Templar.

New take for 'Saint' series

2008-03-10T02:59:00.000-07:00

"The Saint" is marching back to television via a contemporary take on the Leslie Charteris' books, with James Purefoy in talks to topline as the debonair international thief Simon Templar.

Producers Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana, writer Jorge Zamacona, feature producer Bill Macdonald, Roger Moore -- who played Templar in the 1960s British series -- and his son Geoffrey Moore are all involved in the project.

Levinson is set to direct the two-hour TV movie/backdoor pilot, which will be produced independently and then shopped to the networks.The project is backed by Nehst Studios, a financing, production and distribution company that recently partnered with Lexicon Filmed Entertainment to share $250 million from private-equity sources to finance features, TV series and Web series.

Macdonald has been associated with "Saint" on and off for 17 years. In 1991, he acquired the rights to the books for producer Robert Evans. The two went on to produce the 1997 feature starring Val Kilmer as the dapper adventurer.

In 2004, Macdonald teamed with Zamacona and Roger and Geoffrey Moore to bring the "Saint" franchise to television. The four formed Templar Entertainment Group, through which they acquired the TV rights to Charteris' novels.The new "Saint" series was created by Zamacona, who penned the pilot script, and Macdonald.

The project was originally set up at TNT, which announced it as part of its 2007 development slate last March.TNT later passed on it, and the rights reverted to the producers. Macdonald and Zamacona might have gone the traditional route -- trying to find a new network home for the show -- if it hadn't been for the writers strike.With development activity in Hollywood screeching to a halt and Macdonald and Zamacona joining the picket lines, the producers began to mull producing the pilot and the potential series independently and seeking a network partner later.

They were well into raising financing for the project when the strike ended. "The strike changed our strategy because no one knew how long it was going to be, but producing the project independently gives us a lot more creative freedom," Macdonald said.During the strike, Zamacona approached Levinson and Fontana, who had given him his first writing job on "Homicide: Life on the Street." The two came on board to executive produce "Saint" with Macdonald, Zamacona and Geoffrey Moore, and Levinson agreed to direct.

"One of the things we lost a little bit of in the movie but want to bring to the TV series is that Simon Templar is very funny character with great lines and situation humor, and I don't think there is anybody better than Levinson to tackle that," Macdonald said.

The producers then went after Purefoy, who recently starred on the HBO/BBC series "Rome," which was co-created and executive produced by Macdonald.Casting is under way for the other key parts in the pilot: Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, the Interpol agent in charge of tracking Templar; Templar's romantic interest/assistant, Patricia Holm; and his enemy-turned-partner in crime, Baldwin Aleppo.

Filming on the two-hour telefilm, whose script was reworked after the strike, is expected to begin in April in Budapest, Hungary, New York and Puerto Rico.The project is funded for seasons to come, Nehst founder and chairman Larry Meistrich said.

"We are committed to financing the pilot and deficiting the potential series," he said.Added CEO Ari Friedman, "I think it's a really good time for a project like this, and we are confident we can find a home for it."The two-hour movie/backdoor pilot model was used successfully to launch an updated version of another classic action-adventure series, "Knight Rider," which is expected to be picked up to series by NBC after the movie scored big ratings last month."Saint" was packaged by CAA. Levinson is repped by ICM.

Roger Moore starred on, produced and directed several episodes of the original British "Saint," which ran on ITV from 1962-69 and in syndication in the U.S. from 1963-66 and as a summer series on NBC from 1967-69.

In the past 10 years, there have been two attempts by broadcast networks to remake the series. In 2000, UPN teamed with director John McTiernan and ATG, while ABC took a stab at the franchise in 2004 with writer Stephen Nathan and "American Idol" producer FremantleMedia North America, which owned the rights at the time.

Val Kilmer is K.I.T.T. in Knight Rider

2008-02-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

One of the most famous television cars is The Saint's Volvo P1800, and Val Kilmer drove a Volvo C70 in the 1993 movie of The Saint. Well, we now hear that Val Kilmer will be the new voice of K.I.T.T. on Knight Rider -- another famous television car to rival the Volvo!

Keeping it in the family, the new K.I.T.T. is a Ford Mustang, and as you know, Ford owns Volvo.

From SlashFilm:

Oooh, K.I.T.T. voice draaama! Friend of the world’s beaches and former Batman and Real Genius, Val Kilmer, has signed on to voice the smooth-computin’ automobile in the latest TV-reboot of Knight Rider for NBC and Universal. Will Kilmer’s K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Three Thousand) do a passable Elvis impersonation and fire a laser that pops a billion golden kernals? I don’t know wise guy, but I do know that actor Will Arnett (Arrested Development) is right bummed right now. Arnett had already finished recording all of his voice work for the rebooted show, which premieres in just two weeks, see? And before you swipe Kilmer’s jolly hand away as it attempts to steal Arnett’s gooey, delicious voice of K.I.T.T., know this: it isn’t Kilmer’s fault, see?

In one of the silliest signs of a world run amok in corporate Brawndo tie-ins, Arnett has done commercial voice work in the past for General Motors, and K.I.T.T., see, is a Ford Mustang. Kablowski! That invisible line in the industrial sandbox? Well, Arnett just crossed it. But he still had time to jump back over said line, cover his tracks and allow Kilmer to swing in using a vine made from his absolutely batshit resume to save the day and grab a nice payday (PayDay?).

The new two-hour made-for-TV movie will be shown on NBC on Sunday, Feb 17, 2008. For more information, you can visit the Knight Rider Movie, the official NBC site, or the web's longest-running Knight Rider site.

From NBC:

This two-hour movie event, based on the iconic 1980's hit television series, stars Justin Bruening ("All My Children"), Deanna Russo ("The Young and the Restless"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars," "Grindhouse") and Bruce Davison ("Breach," "Close To Home"). In addition, David Hasselhoff (NBC's "America's Got Talent") -- who starred in the popular lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons during the original series' run -- returns as the same character during a special guest-star appearance.

As the original story resumes, the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body -- thanks to its creator's work and nanotechnology -- is capable of actually shifting shape and color. Plus, its artificial intelligence makes it the ideal good cop partner: logical, precise and possessing infinite knowledge. It is the ultimate car -- and someone will be willing to do anything to obtain it.

The three cars featured in the series include the KITT Hero -- a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR that is playing the part of the everyday Hero car with 540 horsepower; the KITT Attack -- a super high-speed version of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR Hero car that transforms into Attack mode with the help of air-ride technology and specialized body parts -- and a KITT Remote, which is a driverless Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR version of the Hero vehicle.

Sarah Graiman is a 24-year old Ph.D candidate at Stanford University, following in her genius father Charles' (Davison) footsteps. But when men attempt to abduct her, Sarah receives a mysterious call from KITT warning her that he's a creation of Charles, who also invented the first KITT 25 years ago -- and that her father is in serious danger.

Sarah and KITT track down her best friend from childhood, Mike Tracer (Bruening), a 23-year-old ex-Army Ranger, whom Sarah hasn't seen since he left home at 18. Having served in Iraq, Mike is now jaded and lost and initially resistant. Eventually he agrees to help Sarah and the two set out to discover who's behind the attempt to procure KITT and find Charles. Along the way, Carrie Rivai (Poitier) plays the agile yet tough FBI agent who has a long-standing friendship with Charles and Sarah. Due to those ties, she is brought into the mix to help in the search.

Credits: Dave Bartis ("Heist") and Doug Liman ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith") serve as executive producers. David Andron is supervising producer and writer. Steve Shill ("Dexter" "The Tudors"), also a co-producer, directs the two-hour movie from Universal Media Studios and Dutch Oven Productions.