Welcome to 'Star Chat' where you put forward questions to this months very special guest 'David Jacobs'.

 

 

 

Find out David's answers to your questions about the new Dallas movie, the original Dallas series and of course Knots Landing

Interviewer - Welcome to David Jacobs, we have had hundreds of questions come in to Ultimate Dallas and KnotsLanding.net so we will kick off with a question about the Dallas movie.

Jamie Sue from New Zealand asks - "How did the idea for the new Dallas movie come about? What was the inspiration?"

David - There wasn't really any inspiration, the idea for a Dallas movie came about because there was a 'Fugitive' movie, a 'Charlie's Angels' movie and we started speculating about it and then we realized I still had the theatrical rights. We started visualizing it.

Caroline from England asks "Is the Pam/Bobby love story going to be a big part of the movie?"

David - Absolutely

Caroline also asks "Will we get to see Pam and Bobby meet, which we didn't in "Digger's Daughter" and fall in love?"

David - that's a very interesting story and a good question. I don't know yet and part of the reason is that Im not going to write this myself and we are talking to candidates to write it. The reason I'm not going to write it is that I have already written it and putting it in a 21st Century setting with a new story, a new cast, requires somebody a little bit younger than I am. As we have envisioned it so far we have imagined having the pilot episode of Dallas when Pam first marries Bobby as being a little prologue. I don't think we can have when they first met because the real Dallas fan knows, if they saw Dallas the early years, Pam and Bobby met when they were four years old.

Dan James from: Essex, England asks "To all us Dallas fans the talk of this movie is all very exciting, in fact I think its overwhelming, to think that the show you created and the show we and I all love so much, is going to be on the big screen is really huge. But what are you expecting from this movie? in terms of personal feelings, are you hoping this movie will be the one and only ultimate tribute to Dallas?"

David - I don't know if I would use the word tribute but I hope its a redefinition of Dallas, its a rebirth of Dallas. I like to think that Dallas would have another life for another generation and for another century and mean as much to people as it did in its old incarnation but now it seems there is no point doing it in the same scale you may as well do it on the big screen.

Richard Beijers from Netherlands asks "Hello Mr. Jacobs my question is: Is the music in the New Dallas Movie also from Jerrold Immel theme?"

David - Yes I don't see how we can do this movie without it.

Sascha from Germany asks In which time period the movie will play. In the eighties or in 2002?

David - It will be absolutely current.

William from New Orleans asks "Will it be a parody like the Brady Bunch movies? thanks"

David - Absolutely not. It has to have all the fun of Dallas, all the mordacity of Dallas but it has to take itself seriously.

David Nisbet from Scotland asks If the Dallas movie is a success, could there be a Knots Landing one too?

David - I would love to do a Knots Landing movie but I would tend to think not, because Knots Landing never had the world wide popularity of Dallas.

Interviewer - Why do you think that was?

David - Because Dallas was bigger than life. Knots Landing was a very middle class program and Dallas was about 'them' and Knots Landing was about 'us' and 'them' is always a more interesting subject for people.

David Nisbet also asks "What actors would you like to see in the Dallas movie?"

David - Lots of actors would be great, I can't say. Every popular actor in their 30's and 40's has been mentioned and I have seen the virtue in all of them. There are so many good actors around from a wide range from Kevin Costner , George Cloony would be great, there are a lot of actors who would love to sink his teeth into the role of JR.

Interviewer - Some reports have suggested John Travolta has been cast in the role.

David - No but he would be cool

Pamela in London asks - I always loved how the Dallas mini series was ground breaking and was grounded in real characters? Will the movie once again be doing that but set nowadays with characters and issues that inflict this generation?

David - Yes (laughs) I have my ideas but I'm not going to get the kind of quality writer I want if I make these pronouncements and ask the writer to come in and give a fresh take on it. We are talking about major writers so I have to hold myself back. For example I would like to see some of the scandals we have had in the United States, some of the Corporate scandals, Enron and Global Crossing infecting the Ewing family. But the writer may have another idea.

Jim2002 from Washington asks "Will Oil be featured still?"

David - I don't see how it can't. Oil is a bigger issue now than when Dallas came on. We wouldn't want to move away from Oil.

Cliff Barnes from New York asks "When do you see this movie being released? "

David - I think I would love to see it done in 2003 and released July 4th 2004. But as we are going after major actors a lot of this depends on their availability.

Jill Peterson from Tennessee asks "Which characters will be featured?

David - All the same characters you saw before, all the initial characters. So it's JR, Bobby, Jock and Ellie, Pamela, Sue Ellen, Lucy, Ray and Cliff Barnes. I think I included everybody.

Jordan tate from France asks "Dear Mr Jacobs , For you is it more difficult to be a scriptwriter for the television or for the cinema ? And what advice would you give to a young beginner scriptwriter ?"

David - My advice may not be the advice that everybody would give because it reflects my own experience. Mine would be not to start in screen writing but start writing short stories, working in journalism. Something which forces you to develop your story telling skills in a very controlled way. I think its good for young writers to have that imposed from outside, I didn't start to write for any drama until I was 37 years old.

Luis Guadalupe from Peru asks "Will any of the original actors of the show take part in this movie?"

David - Sure, if they will do it I would love to see them. Not too many. I would love to see Larry Hagman.

Wendell2002 from Saint-Petersburg asks Will Larry Hagman make cameo appearance, and as who?

David - We will have to wait for the script but I would love to see Larry Hagman as like the Governor or Senator of Texas who makes an important appearance.

Michael from Tennessee asks "Will you be filming at Southfork? "

David - I don't know if it will be the same Southfork, its been turned into a tourist site.

Joseph asks "Will the interior of Southfork be the same as the show?"

David - I would think the new interior would be decorated differently. That's the thing to think about, 2003 where would they live? Would they still have that house?

Frankie from Maryland asks "Mr. Jacobs, With all of the buzz the new movie is receiving, what are your thoughts on the negative opinions of some fans who say that the original cast should be the ones who should star in the new Dallas movie?"

David - I don't know how we would do that. The original cast are too old to play those same parts now. Victoria, Linda and Charlene are all still beautiful but Charlene is never going to play a seventeen year old again. She has a daughter older than seventeen (laughs)

Robin from The Netherlands asks "Do you think the new Dallas Movie will create a new interest in the series?"

David - To be very honest I am always shocked at how much interest still persists in Dallas. I have been interviewed by BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4 about four times just in the last two and half years. I don't know if there will be a new interest in the original series but in the scenes that Dallas suggest.

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