Harry Potter Director's Next Project: 'Doctor Who,' the Movie
by Richard Sharp
David Yates, who directed the last four wildly successful Harry Potter movies (including the record-smashing "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2") is once again turning to a beloved British character for his next movie - "Doctor Who."
Running from 1963-1989, then revived again for a successful run with multiple spinoffs in the 00's, "Doctor Who" is easily one of the most beloved shows in British television history.
Eleven different actors have climbed into TARDIS, the slightly faulty blue telephone booth/time machine, to play the brilliant but harried Dr. Who over the years. The show has resulted in six different series, including the latest version, starring Matt Smith.
The notion that a time-honored British story is to be turned into a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster has some Brits justifiably questioning the project, but Yates has obviously succeeded in telling distinctly British stories with the Potter films, and he thinks he can have success with Doctor Who regardless of whether the writer he works with is British or American.
"We want a British sensibility, but having said that, Steve Kloves wrote the Potter films and captured that British sensibility perfectly, so we are looking at American writers too," Yates told Variety.
Regardless of which writers he'll be working with, Yates sees the proven storyline as being fertile grounds for something new and great.
"The notion of the time-travelling Time Lord is such a strong one, because you can express story and drama in any dimension or time," Yates told The Daily Mail.
Watch the classic "Doctor Who" intro (and make sure you avoid Daleks):