Yeah, this does not fill me with joy.
Deadline has reported that Vince Vaughn is being eyed to play Private Investigator Jim Rockford in a film version of THE ROCKFORD FILES.
From 1974 to 1980, James Garner ROCKED as Jim Rockford, an ex-con P.I. Set in Malibou, Rockford lived in a mobile home and just scraped by helping folks out. Unlike charmers like Magnum, Rockford was a scruffy guy on the edge of society. An all-around awesome show, TRF won five Emmy awards and was nominated for another twelve more.
Vaughn, along with his Wild West Picture Show Productions, would produce as well as star. This would be for Universal, whose NBC already passed on a rather heavily panned TV pilot a couple of years ago. It looks like NBC/Uni just can’t let go of the idea of a modern take on the classic series.
Brian Koppelman and writing partner David Levien are slated to write. The duo wrote the remake of WALKING TALL as well as RUNAWAY JURY and OCEANS THIRTEEN. They are also slated to write/direct an HBO series based on Josh Bazell’s BEAT THE REAPER.
With his unique charm, Vaughn might not be the worst choice for this, but I really wish they would leave Jim and co alone. I can see why Vaughn would be interested in this, it would allow him to step away from the comedies that have defined him, but for most fans of the original show, there is only one Jim Rockford…and that is as it should be.
