‘Condor’ EPs Defend Relevance Of Series Inspired By 70’s Thriller: Political Paranoia Alive And Well
Though inspired by Paramount’s 1975 Sydney Pollack spy thriller Three Days of the Condor, AT&T Audience network’s Condor remains relevant, because political paranoia is alive and kicking, exec producers found themselves explaining to TV critics in Pasadena.
Condor follows a young CIA analyst who stumbles onto a plan that threatens millions of lives.
Max Irons stars, as do William Hurt, Mira Sorvino and Bob Balaban in the 10-episode straight-to-series drama produced by MGM Television and Skydance TV.
Among the more head-scratching questions, Condor exec producers Todd Katzburg and Jason Smilovic got asked what was the point of taking a 42 year old brand that “a lot of people don’t remember” to be the basis of a TV series in 2018.
They mistakenly thought the question was asking if it was a straight re-telling of the original; Katzburg answered happily that they got to “do our own thing with it” to “make sure this is our own and..update it, while retaining enough of the original to give viewers what they are expecting.”
The question-asking critic clarified that he does not understand why such an old brand has meaning in 2018.
The movie has a lot of relevancy today, Smilovic explained, what with it being about political distrust and paranoia and “those are issues plaguing our society now.”
“People are more distrustful now than they ever have been,” he insisted, an assertion that was not challenged by TV critics anyway.
But he also noted while the series’ first season follows the same DNA as the movie, it will not in a second, moving on to a different storyline.
The franchise, he said, is not a “’who dunnit’ but a why dunnit’.”
Bob Balaban acknowledged they had seen the movie back in the day, but did not re-watch for this gig. Star Max Irons joked he considered not letting people say Robert Redford’s name on set “for fear I would burst into tears.”
Mira Sorvino, the only woman on stage, noted her character is new to the franchise and was created for the series.
During the panel, Sorvino got asked about the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Sorvino has been extremely outspoken about Harvey Weinstein and today published an open letter expressing her “belief in” and support of Woody Allen accuser Dylan Farrow. Sorvino spoke at length about how excited she was that the #MeTo and #TimesUp movements are taking place, calling it a “really wonderful awakening time for us all.”
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