'Magnum P.I.' Gets a Comedy Director

Could this possibly be a joke.

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Tuesday, January 24th 2006 at 2:21 AM

Let's do a little comparing, just for a second. "Miami Vice" and "Magnum P.I." were both big hits in the '80s, both starred a couple of high-profile actors and both featured fast cars and hot women. Now, both are getting the feature film treatment over at Universal Pictures, only there is a bit of a difference here. Miami Vice is being directed and was written by Michael Mann, the same writer/director that brought us Heat and Collateral. Variety is telling us today that Magnum P.I. is going to be directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, the same man that directed Dodgeball.

I have nothing against Thurber. No, I wasn't a fan of Dodgeball, but this stinks of Fantastic Four all over again in that Universal is hiring a comedy director to handle a serious film (semi-serious at least). I actually liked Fantastic Four, I was one of the few, and Thurber may do just fine with the Magnum film, but I have to assume that any movie based on a television show is looking for success and a sequel and if you ask me the real drama is going to be lost in a director that may have a keener eye on comedy rather than telling a compelling and dramatic story.

What is worse than all this? Well, Mike McCullers was brought on back in 2003 to pen the script. McCullers is the man that wrote the last two Austin Powers sequels with Mike Myers. From what I remember about "Magnum P.I.", it did have some comedy relief, but it was far from shaggadelic.

Nevertheless, this is the way it is. We will have to wait and see how it shapes up.

The Hollywood Reporter is also carrying the story and they give us this nice little breakdown of the show's premise:

…the 1980-88 CBS series created by Glen Larson and Don Bellisario, followed the adventures of Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck), a Navy intelligence officer-turned-private investigator hired by wealthy author and playboy Robin Masters to oversee security on the latter's massive Hawaii estate. Magnum lived in Masters' guest house and drove his Ferrari (the car would become one of the show's signatures), much to the chagrin of Jonathan Higgins III, a proper Englishman who ran the estate. Magnum also continued to take on cases in which he was aided and abetted by his Vietnam vet buddies, notably helicopter pilot T.C. and club manager Rick.