Yeesh. In the long history of ridiculous movie ideas, this one might take the taco as the most absurd of them all. Variety is reporting that "American Gladiators" creator Johnny Ferraro is keen on bringing his average Joe vs. muscleman TV franchise to the silver screen. Uhhhhh... what?!
Scott Mednick, former Legendary Pictures chief marketing officer and confirmed producer on the adaptation told Variety that "the goal is to create an action story that takes place inside the world Ferraro has created." Exactly what world he's referring to is anyone's guess. "American Gladiators" has always been a game show. The titular musclebound gladiators all sport short, punchy pseudonyms like "Blaze" and "Laser," but there's no fiction built around them. The series has always been a physical challenge-oriented game show in which contestants compete against one another while fending off the ever-disruptive gladiators.
One fact revealed by Ferraro in the article is that "American Gladiators" was originally conceived as a film. Interestingly, the quote reads that the concept "took a detour and became a TV phenomenon," implying that the movie idea was canned long before the TV series took off. Ferraro will fund the film, along with Joe Allegro and Sunset Pictures' Martin Guigui.
What do you think of this? Can you imagine a scenario where "American Gladiators" would work as a film? Is it possible that Ferraro is fudging the facts a bit when he says that the series was originally planned as a movie, to throw off doubtful commentators before they can open their collective mouths? (too late)
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