In an introduction to a paperback edition of
The Looking Glass War, John le Carré joked that what the public wanted from him at the time he wrote that book was "Alec Leamas Rides Again." Unlikely as that prospect seemed, it looks like Leamas, the titular
Spy Who Came in from the Cold, will indeed ride again! This is certainly exciting news. The success of
The Night Manager miniseries (or "limited series," to use the preferred term
du jour) in both Britain and America guaranteed we'd be seeing more le Carré adaptations on the small screen, but I honestly didn't expect a new version of what's probably his
most famous novel (and one of the best spy novels of all time). Yet that is in the works!
Deadline reports that Paramount TV and The Ink Factory (the production shingle run by le Carré's sons with a mandate to develop film and television projects based on his works) are developing the property as a limited series with Simon Beaufoy (
Slumdog Millionaire,
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) writing. Le Carré will serve as executive producer, as he did on
The Night Manager. No network is involved at this stage, though one has to imagine that both of
Night Manager's partners, the BBC (in Britain) and AMC (in the United States), will bid hard for a follow-up of this magnitude.
Though it was his third novel (and also third featuring George Smiley), it was
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold that put le Carré on the map. Upon its publication in 1963, the book garnered excellent reviews and became a bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic. Martin Ritt made an excellent film of it in 1965 starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom and co-written by
Goldfinger scribe Paul Dehn. But as good as that film is, I don't see it as the last word on the story. In fact, I've long harbored dreams of a
Spy Who Came in from the Cold remake. Making it in a new format (as a miniseries) will afford Beaufoy the opportunity to make different choices from Ritt and Dehn, and to flesh out certain aspects of le Carré's novel that got short shrift in the film, just as
the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy feature proved a fresh take on that material from the famous BBC miniseries that came before.
No casting has been announced, and it is probably a long way off at this stage. But I would guess that, like
The Night Manager, this title will attract high caliber stars. Personally, my dream cast for a
Spy Who Came in from the Cold remake has long been Daniel Craig as Leamas (I think he'd be perfect!) and Keira Knightly as Liz (who can now use her actual name; in the film it was changed to Nan because of Burton's famous wife named Liz). Craig, however, is committed to another TV series, and sadly unlikely to be available. Even more important, though, are the supporting roles. I really, really hope that The Ink Factory's producers Stephen Cornwell and Simon Cornwell will manage to lure their
Tinker Tailor actors back in the roles of Smiley and, more crucially, Control. While it seems somewhat unlikely that Gary Oldman would want to reprise his film role on television for what basically amounts to a cameo, I have trouble picturing anyone other than John Hurt in the role of Control. He was utterly fantastic in
Tinker Tailor. (
Spy would be a prequel to that story, which was adapted from a later book.) And Hurt certainly does television.
The only thing I'm slightly disappointed about regarding this news is the fact that they're not doing
Call for the Dead first. Though
Call for the Dead (which was filmed in the Sixties as
The Deadly Affair, also adapted by Dehn) features Smiley front and center and
Spy does not,
Spy is very much a sequel to
Call. I wonder if Beaufoy will be able to incorporate certain aspects of that novel into his adaptation? Depending on how many episodes the miniseries turns out to be, that could be a very interesting approach.
What this news means for the Ink Factory's
previously announced follow-up to
The Night Manager, a 3-part adaptation of le Carre's 2003 novel
Absolute Friends, remains to be seen. Hopefully that is still on track as well. (It may even materialize before
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.)
Read my book review of
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold here.
Read my overview "George Smiley: An Introduction"
here.
Theodore J. Flicker's 1967 James Coburn satire The President's Analyst is one of my very favorite spy movies. (It's also Coburn's best spy movie... Sorry, Derek Flint.) When describing it to people, I always say that the comedy holds up surprisingly well today... sadly. America is still facing many of the same social issues Flicker sent up over fifty years ago (from institutional racism to monolithic Big Tech), and it's easy to imagine a remake. Now, Paramount is imagining one... with The Daily Show host Trevor Noah on board to produce and potentially star. According to The Hollywood Reporter, former Obama White House staffer Pat Cunnane will write the script. The premise, about a psychotherapist burdened with all of the President's top secret stresses, will obviously be familiar ground for him! According to his publisher, Cunnane served as "President Barack Obama’s senior writer and deputy director of messaging at the White House, where he worked for six years in many roles."
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