By Travis Johnson
Remember that brief shining moment when it almost looked like there was gonna be a new Crocodile Dundee movie? Man, that was a wild week. Well, now it’s true. Kind of.
As the most surprising email in our inbox this morning states, “Following on from the extraordinary success of the ‘Dundee’ Australian Tourism Campaign, Transmission Films is pleased to announce that the real Crocodile Dundee himself, Paul Hogan, is indeed heading back to the big screen in a new feature film entitled, The Very Excellent Mr Dundee! And this time it’s for real!
“The Very Excellent Mr Dundee! sees Paul Hogan playing himself and on the brink of receiving a Knighthood for services to comedy. ‘Don’t do anything to mess this up,’ his manager tells him. However, despite all his best efforts, the next six weeks sees his name and reputation hilariously destroyed.”
Dean Murphy, who called the shots on Hoges in Charlie & Boots and Strange Bedfellows, is directing, and the film will shoot in Australia, Los Angeles and Vancouver this July. No further casting details have been announced, but Hogan has said that we should “…watch this space as I’ve been honoured to have many of my friends and colleagues, whose work I adore, agree to join us for this hilarious new adventure.”
So there ya go.
Crocodile Dundee was a commercial success not only because it was entertaining but also because it was a film that was about an amusing fictional character. The casting of Hogan in the lead role had only a secondary effect on Crocodile Dundee’s commercial success. The true reason for the film’s success can be primarily attributed to the high quality of the original story. People who believe that Crocodile Dundee was a commercial success just because it featured Hogan in the lead role and also because of Hogan’s good looks and acting skills, can expect a bitter disappointment with “The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee”.