MacGyver - The Hollywood Reporter: 'MacGyver' getting revived as feature film

At The Hollywood Reporter:

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'MacGyver' getting revived as feature film

New Line developing pic based on ABC's 1985-92 series

By Borys Kit and Jay Fernandez

March 15, 2009, 11:00 PM ET

New Line is using twine, bubble gum and a pencil to throw "MacGyver" into development as a feature film.

Raffaella De Laurentiis, daughter of Dino De Laurentiis, is producing through her Raffaella Prods. along with Martha De Laurentiis and series creator Lee Zlotoff.

Dino De Laurentiis is exec producing.

"MacGyver" was a science-oriented adventure series that ran from 1985-92 on ABC. Richard Dean Anderson, later of "Stargate: Atlantis" and "SG-1" fame, starred as an incredibly resourceful secret agent for the Phoenix Foundation who frequently would escape from dangerous situations with ingenious and lightning-quick engineering trickery.

Two telefilms starring Anderson aired in the years after the show's cancellation. The character eventually achieved enough cultural penetration to become a reference for anyone attempting to jury-rig a solution out of household items. "Saturday Night Live" took the concept to the next level with its spoofs "MacGruber," starring Will Forte ...

Richard Dean Anderson - Seattle Post-Intelligencer: MacGyver appeals to our inner heroes

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, WA):

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MacGyver appeals to our inner heroes

'80s icon lives on in 'MacGruber'

By DANIELLE FRIEDMAN
COLUMBIA NEWS SERVICE

For Will Forte, a seven-year veteran performer on "Saturday Night Live," transforming into MacGruber is easy: All he has to do is slip on a mullet wig, look in the mirror and -- bam! -- he's ready to defuse bombs with a rubber band, a bottle cap and a thumbtack ...

... Years before "SNL" created MacGruber, Ira Glass, public-radio demigod and host of "This American Life," recognized that MacGyver's appeal extended beyond nostalgia. In 2003, he dedicated an episode to the character, elevating him to high culture. A few years later, Brendan Vaughan, a journalist, compiled and edited "What Would MacGyver Do?," a collection that paid homage to the hero through tales of real-life MacGyverisms. Pop culture commentator and Esquire columnist Chuck Klosterman (who originally shared his story on "This American Life") and A.J. Jacobs contributed to the book, further elevating MacGyver. And, of course, over the past decade, the character has achieved the ultimate status of becoming a verb: To "MacGyver" something is to fix or improve it in an exceptionally resourceful way.

The original ABC show had a wide fan base, especially among guys. For most of its seven seasons (1985-1992), it aired right before "Monday Night Football" in the East, fostering many a father-son-bonding moment. And the men who helped make the show a hit -- Richard Dean Anderson and Henry Winkler, who produced it -- seemed very much guy's guys.

In each episode, MacGyver, who works for the Phoenix Foundation, a fake government counterintelligence agency, is either assigned to or finds himself in the middle of high-stakes trouble. Sometimes he's fighting Russian spies; other times he's protecting an orphanage or other noble institution from being destroyed by heartless villains. The tricks MacGyver pulls off are typically more sophisticated than just using a paper clip to jiggle open a locked door -- there's often hard-core science involved ...

Richard Dean Anderson - Video: MacGruber Skits

Courtesy of NBC's Saturday Night Live and HULU:



Saturday Night Live - MacGruber w/ MacGuyver

Excerpt (s.34 : ep.18)|05:00|

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Stargate / MacGyver - Richard Dean Anderson Web Site Updates Mar 8 '09

From a Richard Dean Anderson website e-mail announcement:

Updates at RDAnderson.com:



In a note earlier this week, RDA mentioned the MacGruber skits he had shot for Saturday Night Live. Apparently he didn't know at the time that three more skits (not commercials this time), were scheduled to air on Saturday Night Live later in the week.

The newest MacGruber skits, as well as RDA's note, can now be seen in the Updates section of the RDA website.

Thanks for visiting!

Kate
Richard Dean Anderson Website
http://rdanderson.com

Richard Dean Anderson - Guests again in MacGruber skits on Saturday Night Live

Twitter is, ah, atwitter, with sightings of Richard Dean Anderson once again making appearances in the MacGruber skits tonight on Saturday Night Live. Real skits this time, not Pepsi commercials.