Dwayne Johnson as Doc Savage?

[Standing Wolf]

First, I've been a Doc Savage fan since I was about twelve and found a paperback reprint of 'Fear Cay' at the drugstore. I buy the new hardcovers by Will Murray, and have probably read about half of the original 182 stories, published in pulp magazine form back in the '30s and '40s. A serious, big-budget Doc film is something many of us have anticipated for a long time. For years, Schwarzenegger was rumored to be starring in one, which of course didn't pan out, and now a guy who - in my opinion - is probably even more right for the part physically is pretty much definitely going to play the part.

http://screencrush.com/442/files/2016/05/Doc-Savage-Dwayne-Johnson.jpg?w=720&cdnnode=1

http://screencrush.com/dwayne-johnson-official-doc-savage/

Here's what's got me anxious:

“But here’s the #1 reason I'm excited to become Doc Savage.. HE’S A F*CKING HILARIOUS WEIRDO!”

Maybe it's in the script, or it's just Johnson's idea to play it that way, but apparently, from other things he has said since the announcement was made, he has got the idea that Doc Savage is some kind of, excuse the expression, social retard who doesn't understand human interaction or how to deal with people...and he believes that he is going to star in a comedy.

As I say, maybe that's the way it's written - though I sincerely hope not - and maybe that's the vision director Shane Black has for the film. In any case, I predict that if it is played strictly for laughs, it's going to be an even bigger disaster than the Armie Hammer/Johnny Depp Lone Ranger, and for the same reason. Kids don't know who Doc is any more than they knew who the Ranger was. Older people - us old fanboys who do know Doc Savage - don't want to see him as the butt of jokes. A little humor is fine in dealing with a character like that - Billy Zane's Phantom and Alec Baldwin's Shadow were good movies, that took themselves and their main characters seriously enough without being nuts about it. Trying to make Doc Savage into a clueless, musclebound 'Monk'? Not a good action plan, guys.

[Peter1469]

I never heard of doc savage

[Standing Wolf]

I never heard of doc savage

Really!

[Peter1469]

really

[MMC]

http://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.M70279250d74d1e7eb3833234474195f7H0&w=224&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0
http://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.Ma20bb1b5b70ec28bef6d8c1de2c78bc1o0&w=300&h=225&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0
http://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.Ma422c0bd043491f6c7ee5706422b9ebfo0&w=300&h=187&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0


:tongue:

[Safety]

I only know of one savage, Randy Savage.

[MMC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nc2C9PQJ2A

http://www.debatepolitics.com/images/smilies/New_Smilies/think.gif

[Standing Wolf]

How can anyone have missed that classic, mid-'70s masterpiece starring Ron Ely?

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/130540343987-0-1/s-l1000.jpg

http://image.toutlecine.com/photos/d/o/c/doc-savage-doc-savage-the-man-of-bronze-08-1975-06-1975-1-g.jpg

[MMC]

The Banana Splits use to show his episodes on their Saturday TV show. :wink:

[Cletus]

While I thought Ron Ely was a good Tarzan, he was seriously miscast as Doc.

If they want to use Johnson, they will need to cover the tats and somehow get him a widow's peak.

[The Xl]

The Rock is charismatic enough to pull off anything.

[MMC]

The Rock is charismatic enough to pull off anything.

What about playing the Thin Man. :tongue:

[Subdermal]

I've heard the name Doc Savage, but that's the extent of my knowledge.

[AeonPax]

`
`
He's sci-fi. Man of bronze or something. Never read the books.

[Standing Wolf]

His adventures began in the pulp magazines in 1931, and influenced - among others - the creators of Superman. Doc was "The Man of Bronze" years before there was a "Man of Steel". He had a Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic, and his first name was even 'Clark'. Batman borrowed Doc's utility belt.

[Cletus]

Monk, Rennie, Ham... The casting could be interesting.

[decedent]

Johnson is a perfect Doc Savage. He looks like him and he can act.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H53kBYo1Jx8

[Standing Wolf]

While I thought Ron Ely was a good Tarzan, he was seriously miscast as Doc.

If they want to use Johnson, they will need to cover the tats and somehow get him a widow's peak.

There is a small "Doc-Con" every year in the Phoenix area. I have never been, but was going to try to make it last year after I heard that Ely was going to be there. They even held it right here in Scottsdale, just down the road. I checked online to confirm the date the day after it was over.

I don't think covering the tats will be a problem; they may not even bother - just CGI them out, like they did to Gary Sinise's legs in Forrest Gump. Or Bruce Willis' bald spot in at least one film. Doc didn't originally have a widow's peak - at least not in the old pulp story illustrations. The writer described his hair as looking like a "bronze skull cap" and when James Bama did those fantastic covers for the paperback reprints beginning in the '60s he interpreted that to mean the short-cropped widow's peak look.

[Standing Wolf]

Monk, Rennie, Ham... The casting could be interesting.

The casting of Doc's five aides will tell a lot about what kind of film it's going to be - serious or played for laughs.

If I hear that Patton Oswalt is being considered for Monk, I'm not going to be responsible for my actions.

:smiley-char092:

[Cletus]

There is a small "Doc-Con" every year in the Phoenix area. I have never been, but was going to try to make it last year after I heard that Ely was going to be there. They even held it right here in Scottsdale, just down the road. I checked online to confirm the date the day after it was over.

I don't think covering the tats will be a problem; they may not even bother - just CGI them out, like they did to Gary Sinise's legs in Forrest Gump. Or Bruce Willis' bald spot in at least one film. Doc didn't originally have a widow's peak - at least not in the old pulp story illustrations. The writer described his hair as looking like a "bronze skull cap" and when James Bama did those fantastic covers for the paperback reprints beginning in the '60s he interpreted that to mean the short-cropped widow's peak look.

Yeah, but you have to admit, his widow's peak was just way cool. The original illustrations also didn't highlight Doc's musculature the way Bama's covers did.

[Dr. Who]

First, I've been a Doc Savage fan since I was about twelve and found a paperback reprint of 'Fear Cay' at the drugstore. I buy the new hardcovers by Will Murray, and have probably read about half of the original 182 stories, published in pulp magazine form back in the '30s and '40s. A serious, big-budget Doc film is something many of us have anticipated for a long time. For years, Schwarzenegger was rumored to be starring in one, which of course didn't pan out, and now a guy who - in my opinion - is probably even more right for the part physically is pretty much definitely going to play the part.

http://screencrush.com/442/files/2016/05/Doc-Savage-Dwayne-Johnson.jpg?w=720&cdnnode=1

http://screencrush.com/dwayne-johnson-official-doc-savage/

Here's what's got me anxious:

“But here’s the #1 reason I'm excited to become Doc Savage.. HE’S A F*CKING HILARIOUS WEIRDO!”

Maybe it's in the script, or it's just Johnson's idea to play it that way, but apparently, from other things he has said since the announcement was made, he has got the idea that Doc Savage is some kind of, excuse the expression, social retard who doesn't understand human interaction or how to deal with people...and he believes that he is going to star in a comedy.

As I say, maybe that's the way it's written - though I sincerely hope not - and maybe that's the vision director Shane Black has for the film. In any case, I predict that if it is played strictly for laughs, it's going to be an even bigger disaster than the Armie Hammer/Johnny Depp Lone Ranger, and for the same reason. Kids don't know who Doc is any more than they knew who the Ranger was. Older people - us old fanboys who do know Doc Savage - don't want to see him as the butt of jokes. A little humor is fine in dealing with a character like that - Billy Zane's Phantom and Alec Baldwin's Shadow were good movies, that took themselves and their main characters seriously enough without being nuts about it. Trying to make Doc Savage into a clueless, musclebound 'Monk'? Not a good action plan, guys.



I think he's excited to play the character as he was written in the book:



Doc was physically and mentally trained from birth by his father and a team of scientists to become the perfect human specimen with a genius level intellect. His heightened senses are beyond comprehension. He can even identify a women's perfume from half a mile away. He is literally the master of everything.


But here's the #1 reason I'm excited to become Doc Savage.. HE'S A F*CKING HILARIOUS WEIRDO!


Confidently, yet innocently he has zero social graces whatsoever due to his upbringing so every interaction he has with someone is direct, odd, often uncomfortable and amazingly hilarious.


After speaking for hours w/ Shane Black I can see why the creator of Superman took only the best parts of Doc Savage and leaving the "weirdo" part behind. But to us, it's that "weirdo" part that makes Clark "Doc" Savage dope! Can't wait to sink my teeth into this one of a kind character.




I'm not familiar with the stories, but I get the impression that Doc has a bit of the Mister Spock, Data, and Sheldon Cooper thing about his character.

[Standing Wolf]

Yeah, but you have to admit, his widow's peak was just way cool. The original illustrations also didn't highlight Doc's musculature the way Bama's covers did.

Very true. You know, Bama used actor Steve Holland - briefly t.v.'s Flash Gordon back in the '50s - as his model for those covers.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4d/Steve_Holland.jpg

[Standing Wolf]

I'm not familiar with the stories, but I get the impression that Doc has a bit of the Mister Spock, Data, and Sheldon Cooper thing about his character.

Perhaps a bit. In the books, his interactions with other people consisted largely of his saving people's lives or kicking their butts, so it is kind of hard to tell where his social skill set might be lacking. He's a genius, like those others you mentioned, but that doesn't necessarily have to be played for laughs. Sherlock Holmes, in the original stories and in some of the better film versions - like those starring Jeremy Brett - was socially inept to a great extent, but he wasn't portrayed as an "hilarious weirdo". I can see where that could very quickly become the basis of a one joke movie.

[Dr. Who]

Perhaps a bit. In the books, his interactions with other people consisted largely of his saving people's lives or kicking their butts, so it is kind of hard to tell where his social skill set might be lacking. He's a genius, like those others you mentioned, but that doesn't necessarily have to be played for laughs. Sherlock Holmes, in the original stories and in some of the better film versions - like those starring Jeremy Brett - was socially inept to a great extent, but he wasn't portrayed as an "hilarious weirdo". I can see where that could very quickly become the basis of a one joke movie.
Most superhero movies make sure that there is some comic relief.

[Standing Wolf]

Most superhero movies make sure that there is some comic relief.

Oh, absolutely. I thought Michael Pena pretty much stole Ant Man. Even the grimmest superhero films, like the Christian Bale 'Batman' movies, include some dark humor at the very least.

[waltky]

Hmmm... now there's a good man who would do us well to be President... Gary Sinise Dedicates 'Smart Home' Built for Wounded Veteran The actor dedicated the home specially built for the family of Capt. Luis Avila, who was injured in 2011 by an IED in Afghanistan.
Actor Gary Sinise attended the dedication in Maryland of a specially outfitted home that his foundation built for an Army captain who was severely wounded in Afghanistan.
http://images04.military.com/media/global/newscred/cxada40veaa0njnjpg-13-nov-2016-ts600.jpeg The Gary Sinise Foundation says in a statement that the ceremony Friday in Chevy Chase marked the completion of one of more than 50 "smart homes" that the organization has built or is building for wounded veterans and their families. Capt. Luis Avila was injured when an improvised bomb exploded in 2011. He lost his left leg and suffered two strokes, two heart attacks and brain damage. He is undergoing therapy at the nearby Walter Reed National Medical Center. Avila is married, with three sons. Sinise played a wounded veteran, Lt. Dan Taylor, in the Oscar-winning movie "Forrest Gump." http://www.military.com/off-duty/movies/2016/11/13/gary-sinise-dedicates-mart-home-built-wounded-veteran.html See also: ‘Welcome Home My Friend’ – Gary Sinise Foundation Provides New Home for Wounded Vet November 16, 2016
WJZ in Baltimore recently reported that the Gary Sinise Foundation donated a new home to a wounded veteran. U.S. Army Captain Luis Avila was severely injured in an IED blast in Iraq in 2011. He lost his left leg and suffered two strokes, two heart attacks and brain damage. He is undergoing therapy at the nearby Walter Reed National Medical Center. The Gary Sinise Foundation builds “smart homes” for wounded veterans, houses that are equipped with special technology to make navigation and common tasks easy. The Avilas are the 15th family this year to receive a home sponsored by the Gary Sinise Foundation. “It is my honor to be here to honor him and his family on this special day,” said Sinise. “Thank you for all you’ve given and for all you’ve sacrificed on behalf of this nation. “Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart,” Captain Avila’s wife, Claudia, said. “Welcome home my friend," Sinise said. http://www.cnsnews.com/blog/mark-judge/welcome-home-my-friend-gary-sinise-foundation-provides-new-home-wounded-vet