Consider Me Unpersuaded

I have to confess that I don’t have strong memories of The Persuaders!, a 1971-1972 British TV series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore as a pair of millionaire international playboys from opposite sides of “the pond,” who are coerced into fighting crime, in order to stay out of jail for trashing a restaurant. (If that sounds to you rather like the premise for both Alias Smith and Jones and It Takes a Thief, you’re not alone.)

Apparently, though, the muckety-mucks at DreamWorks recall this short-lived series (which also showed in the States on ABC-TV) with greater fondness than I. More than a year ago, that U.S. movie studio announced its intention to remake The Persuaders! as a feature film, starring--of all people--Ben Stiller. Now, Variety is reporting that Dan Dorfman, whose credits include scripting the comedies Anger Management and My Boss’s Daughter, has been signed to write the Persuaders flick. British actor Steve Coogan has been recruited to fill Roger Moore’s shoes.

Given what a dreadful job the twitchy Stiller did with the 2004 Starsky & Hutch cinematic remake, and the generally poor track record American studios have when it comes to turning once-popular TV series into big-screen hits, I’ll be surprised if this Persuaders doesn’t go straight to video. The only thing that could make the project more unpromising than it already is, would be if DreamWorks chose to stick with the original series’ dirge-like theme music.

The film is scheduled for release in 2007.