Let this be a serious lesson for all of you aspiring network executives out there – if you think you’re going to resurrect one of Cameron Crowe’s old movies for a sitcom, you’d better think again. After the celebrated director found out that his beloved 1989 film Say Anything… was getting a small screen adaptation from NBC (the same way the rest of us found out, mind you), he made it perfectly clear on Twitter that not only does he have nothing to do with the idea to check in on Lloyd and Diane 10 years later, but if he has his way, he’s going to make sure that it never happens.
According to Deadline, Crowe had his way. 20th Century TV has agreed to kill the project per Crowe’s request, which means that NBC’s script commitment to break Lloyd and Diane up is now just going to be a joke that people talk about any time that a network tries to get its hands on another old film without the permission of the original director. Apparently this whole mess occurred because of a miscommunication, as Crowe called the sitcom’s would-be producer, Aaron Kaplan, to let him know that 20th TV never asked for his permission, while the studio reportedly claims that it tried to “bring him in the loop.” Regardless, Kaplan and writer Justin Adler bowed out and 20th TV really had no choice.
What’s interesting, though, is that Crowe might have been open to the idea if the studio had actually got him on the phone, but I think that it worked out for everyone’s benefit that Lloyd and Diane are still together and happy 25 years later. However, Lloyd probably gave up kickboxing at some point, because we were never really buying that. If NBC’s still looking for a movie from the 80s that could make sense as a TV series today, though, well… I think we all know what I’m thinking about.
Complain all you want, but a boy can still dream.
