In January 2009, TV show creator Sherwood Schwartz announced that a new deal had just been signed with a studio. Last March, it was reported that Warner Bros. and Atlas Entertainment were prepping the Gilligan’s Island feature.
Brian Copeland (Yogi Bear) will write the script and Schwartz will executive produce. Production’s expected to get underway in 2011. No word if original series survivors Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells will be offered roles.
Schwarz has said that he’d like to see Michael Cera play Gilligan. No matter who dons the iconic sailor’s cap, he’ll make a lot more than the original, Bob Denver.
Dreama Denver, Bob’s widow, told the Village Voice, “Although in my heart no one can replace Bob as Gilligan, it’ll be interesting to see how the movie turns out.”
She continued, “One thing is certain; whoever the new Gilligan is, he’ll make a whole lot more money for doing that one movie than Bob or the other castaways ever did in their lifetimes.”
“[Neither] Bob nor the rest of the castaways ever received royalties for syndication, video or DVD sales, websites, video games. None of that was even imagined when they shot the TV show.”
Dreama Denver heads The Denver Foundation, a nonprofit foundation that seeks to enrich the lives of disabled and disadvantaged individuals in West Virginia.
What do you think? Considering how many millions of dollars the studio has made from the Gilligan’s Island series, should they have better rewarded the original cast?
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