Casting ideas for a new movie

I'd actually prefer to see Giamatti as Kolchak.

But it doesn't matter now. The franchise was ruined by that crappy piece of *beep* remake.

I think that part of what made Kolchak a great character was that he wasn't a typical tough guy and often represented the typical audience member hunching down into their living room chairs on Friday nights when it originally aired... (yep, I was one of 'em!) The thing is Kolchak was at his core a really tough guy, the type that even despite his fear was driven to do often "crazy" things to satisfy his curiosity and get the story -or slay the beast as may be the case, what we often refer to as a true hero. The anti-government/anti-establishment part of his maverick character was even better -Carl Kolchak was a man all too used to being pushed around by the establishment when he found facts that were incompatible with their version of reality. Kolchak's character was ahead of his time. It was pointed out nicely again(tongue in cheek), quite a few years later in "Men in Black", how people don't really want to know, just want to go on living their day to day lives.

All that said, a Paul G. type actor would probably be more compelling than an Ed O'Neil type that would be more believable as a tough guy type -not to say he couldn't pull it off, but he'd have to back way off the tough guy type image. So much of what makes Kolchak a compelling character is that he isn't a "tough guy" type, just a very driven man willing to have an open mind. Perhaps he's driven by his desire to be believed and prove that he's more than just a 3rd rate newsman well past his prime...

I say that if they want to make a movie they should set it in the period it originally debuted in and work the political and government angles of the day. It would also fit a lot better with the character of Kolchak who was a stringer for a news bureau, INS(Independent News Service, IIRC.) Kolchak was not a big time kind of guy, though one often felt he was trying to regain his former glory... I'd like to see the period approach - a window back into a different era, with the cheap cameras, seersucker suit, and corny hat.


Where the new show missed:

1. Kolchak was no longer a lone heroic figure but now part of a small group.
Don't get me wrong, I like Gabby Union, I just thought they gave up something
there. Maybe it should have taken longer for her to be brought into the
fold. The original was a loner, who had a little bit of a support group.
Tenuous at best. Kolchak is the last of a dying breed in his original
incarnation. How we could position him today and still convey that, I'm
not sure...

2. While not popular with the police because of the mysterious circumstances of
his wife's death, they didn't really play up the police being told the facts
by him and choosing to ignore them because they either thought him nuts or
that they would be thought the same. The anti-establishment angle also
helped make the original character more of a loner.

3. Kolchak married? That bum of a downtrodden shadow of his former glory?
Nah. Too much of a loner. Probably would be much better to marry him off
at some point and have the wife driven off or killed, reaffirming his char-
acter never getting to have an even break at the good life.

Let's be honest, we all need Carl Kolchak, but no one wants him. He's the
poor schlep that, but for the grace of God, might be us.

4. New actor much too good looking/the cool dude type. Kolchak has to be past
his prime -at least a bit. He needs the drive that comes from a man knowing
that the majority of his best days are behind him -and that he needs to make
the opportunities in front of him count for something, even if he's never
believed or acknowledged for his contributions.

5. Most importantly, Kolchak is a cynic. He only believes the crazy he's faced
with because his only alternative is to admit that he, rather than the world,
has gone crazy. His humor and wit is often at the expense of the accepted
kookiness of the day. Everything from heraldry to establishment rules, to
the mob, to astrology was lampooned or looked on with kolchak's jaundiced
eye. Kolchak is a mirror to society -one that we often don't wish to gaze
at for too long a period.

6. Kolchak is FUN! Sure it's scary, but Kolchak would say "God Bless You" in
response to a Satanist's sneeze. He's never completely grown up and can
still wonder at the mysteries of life and allow for their existence.

All that said, if we'd never seen the original series, perhaps the new one could have flown, if it were given the time that almost all great shows have historically required to find an audience. The problem with today is that no one has any patience at all, audiences, programmer's, sponsors, etc. I say the only way to fix it is to go back to making a full season commitment and sticking to it. Better yet, do the same for the sponsors! If the network and the sponsors can't get behind an idea enough to risk a season and see what happens maybe the idea isn't good enough. Honestly, as fast as our lives are in every respect these days, word of mouth still travels at it's own speed and it takes a while to build an audience. While they're at it they need to consider TIVo, DVRS, TimeShifting, etc, when it comes to ratings and Neilson boxes. Who watches shows when they're actually aired any more?

Dennis Quaid would be great. Not only is he the right age to play a reporter past his prime, he can handle snarky comedy just as well as he can play the loner hero. I saw him in "Undercover Blues" and thought that Quaid showed a lot of Kolchak in that performance.

Kolchak - Jeff Bridges
Vincenzo - James Gandolfini
Skorzeny - Gabriel Byrne
Butcher - Chaz Palmentieri
Gail - Heather Locklear

These are some interesting suggestions. I was thinking about this the other day. What about John McGinty?

"The truth 24 times a second."

This is so easy!:

Kevin Spacey as Kolchak

Paul Sorvino as Vincenzo