Trivia / The Avengers (1998)

• Actor-Shared Background: Sir August de Wynter is a proud kilt-wearing Scotsman. So was Sean Connery.
• Awesome, Dear Boy:
  • Sean Connery remembered watching the original series and thought that playing an off-the-wall villain might be fun.
  • Eddie Izzard claimed the only reason he agreed to do this film was because he just wanted to meet Connery.
• Box Office Bomb: Budget: $60 million. Worldwide box office: $48 million.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Eileen Atkins was originally offered the role of Father, but felt the machine gun-toting Alice would be more fun to play. Consequently, the part was enlarged for her.
• Creator Backlash: Sean Connery asked veteran stuntman Vic Armstrong at this film's premiere what he thought of the movie. Armstrong, not wanting to offend Connery, said "Yeah it was ok". Connery replied "I thought it was shite".
• Creator-Chosen Casting:
  • Jeremiah Chechik and producer Jerry Weintraub cast Ralph Fiennes as John Steed after seeing The English Patient.
  • Uma Thurman was the dream choice to play Emma Peel of both Weintraub and screenwriter Don MacPhearson. In fact, Weintraub approached her about the role before it was offered to anyone else.
• Creator Killer: Director Jeremiah Chechik's career was electrocuted by this movie being a massive critical and commercial bomb (not screening the movie for critics and trying to justify the move by saying he wanted the press and audience "to experience the movie together" blew up in his face and added to the problems.) He spent the next fifteen years sticking to television, and he's still wallowing in the C-list of directors.
• Defictionalization: Approximately ten years after the film came out, transparent walk-on-water balls like the ones Steed and Peel use in the film were actually developed and sold to the general public.
• Deleted Role:
  • Roger Lloyd-Pack filmed scenes as a professor working on the Prospero Programme during an opening sequence which was deleted from the final print. He can still be glimpsed in the trailer.
  • Polish actor Christopher Rozycki had a scene as a scientist who is tortured by De Wynter that ended up on the cutting room floor.
• Disowned Adaptation:
  • Patrick Macnee hated the film, while Brian Clemens, one of the main creative forces behind the series, was dismissive of the idea, saying that "Americans making The Avengers is like making The Godfather in Watford".
  • Linda Thorson thought that the movie was “a real miss”
  • One of the Original writers was, according to his son, left silent. And not in a good way.
• Executive Meddling:
  • According to Peter Bart's book Gross, Warner Bros. green-lit the film based on the strength of the cast and Jeremiah Chechik's work on Diabolique and were horrified by the final cut, being unsure of its appeal. The first screening took place in front of a "largely Spanish-speaking, working class" audience in Phoenix, Arizona, who hated the movie. The second took place in San Diego and didn't go any better. The studio wanted to reduce the running time and re-market it as a traditional action film (which it wasn't). Chechik was forced to re-edit the movie and remove some of his favourite scenes. The film's running time was cut from 115 minutes to 89, resulting in a incoherent mess laden with logistical and continuity errors.
  • Michael Kamen was forced to re-work parts of his score, which caused him to cancel a number of concerts at Carnegie Hall and arrange additional recording sessions. After working on the film for eight and half months, Kamen quit the film to work on Lethal Weapon 4 and took his score with him. He told Soundtrack magazine that working on the film was "like aiming at a moving target". Joel McNeely replaced him...It should be noted that the film uses the Tara King-era arrangement of the TV series' theme...
• Fake Brit: Uma Thurman as Emma Peel.
• Franchise Killer: Gunned down any ideas of adapting a modern-day successor to the classic British spy show. To wit, the most recent media about it is either comics or Audio Plays by Big Finish (both set in The '60s) and Shane Black's revival series project is in Development Hell.
• Hypothetical Casting: Brian Clemens, one of the main creatives of the original series, felt that Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley would be ideal for John Steed and Emma Peel.
• Looping Lines: Some of Sean Connery's dialogue in the boardroom scene was slightly altered in post-production. He originally mentioned one million dollars, whereas in the film he says one million pounds.
• Missing Trailer Scene: A huge chunk of the storyline was cut out prior to release, including a major opening sequence setting the plot. The trailer features footage from these deleted scenes, such as the fake Emma Peel uttering the code phrase "How now, brown cow?"
  • There was also a scene where Emma throws the annoying gentleman's club attendant down the stairs when he tries to stop her entering. In the film he just vanishes.
• Not Screened for Critics: Warner Bros. even claimed it was putting the film out without previews not because it was awful, but because the studio wanted the public and press to "discover the film together". They also refused to fund a premiere on either side of the Atlantic.
• Playing Against Type: Sean Connery as a supervillain. He used to play someone who fights them before.
• Promoted Fanboy:
  • Ralph Fiennes was an admirer of the series and watched many episodes before deciding against imitating Patrick Macnee, preferring to give his own take on John Steed.
  • Screenwriter Don MacPhearson was an avid fan of the original series.
• Release Date Change: The original release date was June 26, 1998. After poor test screenings, this movie was pushed back to August 14, 1998, and the June spot was filled in by A Perfect Murder.
• Saved from Development Hell: Plans to make a feature film of The Avengers (1960s) date back to 1987 when producer Jerry Weintraub bought the rights to the series (as part of his ultimately short-lived tenure over the Thorn EMI film/TV library, which had then recently been sold by the struggling Cannon Films). Screenwriter Dave Rogers, who had written several episodes of the series, attended a meeting where he advised the producer on the series' style and Weintraub briefly enticed Mel Gibson, who was a fan of the series, to play John Steed. Gibson's casting was leaked to the press, with the Australian newspaper The Sunday Mail reporting that he would play the role like his hero, Cary Grant and that he had bought the rights to the series. Gibson denied that he had bought the rights and said that he would never consider playing Steed, as he thought that Patrick Macnee was perfection. In 1989, Weintraub hired Sam Hamm, fresh off the huge success of Batman (1989), to write the script. Hamm completed a script, but Weintraub Entertainment suffered a number of flops and so the funding for the film became scarce. In September 1990, the company declared bankprupcy, Weintraub resigned from his own company and became a producer for Warner Bros., whom he convinced to back the film having produced three movies for them. David Fincher told Starlog in 1993 that Weintraub had asked him to write and direct the film, but declined due to creative differences - Fincher wanted to shoot in black and white and hoped to cast Charles Dance as Steed, having worked with him on Alien³. Meanwhile, Hamm's script featured the first meeting between Steed and Emma Peel. However, wanting to create something that would appeal to a nineties audience, he revised the characters, giving them completely different backgrounds and personalities, but retaining the names. This was exactly what Warner Bros. didn't want, so he was paid off in the summer of 1993 and Don McPhearson, a fan of the series, was brought in. Beginning in January 1994, they spent five months crafting a new script. Weintraub once again hoped to cast Gibson as Steed, with Sharon Stone as Mrs. Peel (he'd just produced The Specialist, which she co-starred in). The planned shooting date of Feburary 1995 came and went and production still hadn't begun. Then Nicholas Meyer was brought in to direct. He promptly re-wrote MacPhearson's screenplay, but Warner Bros. disliked his new script and rejected it, so Meyer left the project. MacPhearson was then brought back to write another draft. Jeremiah Chechick was brought on as director in October 1995, the film was finally given the green light in Feburary 1996 and production finally started on June 1997.
• Sending Stuff to Save the Show: There's a small but very devoted fandom movement wanting Jeremiah Chechick's unaltered cut of the film to be released.
• Similarly Named Works: If anyone tells you that The Avengers is their favorite movie of all time, chances are they don't mean this movie. As noted on the main page, the movie featuring the Marvel superhero team was renamed Avengers Assemble in the UK to ensure it isn't mixed up with this film.
• Spared by the Cut: In the original script, Alice was killed off during the maze sequence. In fact, the scene where she re-joins Steed after being knocked out was a re-shoot.
• Star-Derailing Role:
  • This film, along with Batman & Robin the year prior, banished Uma Thurman's career to the B-list until she was able to claw her way back out with Kill Bill, which was ironically another Quentin Tarantino project (he was responsible for her stardom from Pulp Fiction).
  • The failure of this and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen were what persuaded Sean Connery to retire from acting.
• Stillborn Franchise: This film's failure quashed all thoughts of making The Avengers a film series. Ironically, those other Avengers would end up becoming the most successful film franchise of all time.
• Vacation, Dear Boy: Part of what attracted Sean Connery to the film was the prospect of filming in locations like Blenheim Palace and Stowe House.
• Wag the Director:
  • Sean Connery initially turned down the role of Sir August De Wynter, as he felt the part was too small. The role was eventually increased.
  • Eddie Izzard later said that his character originally said a few bland lines and generic threats, so he felt it would be better if he didn't speak at all. He says just two lines in the film.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Sean Bean, Robbie Coltrane, Rupert Everett, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman were considered for John Steed.
  • Nicole Kidman was the first choice to play Emma Peel, but was too busy with Eyes Wide Shut. Gwyneth Paltrow also turned it down (eventually she appeared in a better received film of the same name), as she chose to accompany Brad Pitt in America where he was filming Seven Years in Tibet. Drew Barrymore, Elizabeth Hurley, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Elisabeth Shue, Madeleine Stowe, Emma Thompson and Polly Walker were also considered.
  • Diana Rigg was asked to play Alice. Upon seeing the script, she refused.
  • Joanna Lumley was offered an unknown role.
  • Michael Caine told The Daily Express that he was offered the role of Sir August De Wynter, but upon reading the script, decided that it wasn't for him.
  • Dawn French was considered for the role of Father.
  • Michael Kamen originally began scoring this movie, having impressed Jeremiah S. Chechik with his tongue-in-cheek style on 101 Dalmatians (1996). Kamen likened the attempt to "aiming at a moving target" after being issued with five or six revised edits of the movie. Because of this upheaval, he elected to work on Lethal Weapon 4 instead. Despite this, his name featured on early trailers.
  • Emma Peel was originally going to drive her Lotus Elan from the series, but Chechik preferred the E-Type Jaguar, considering it a more iconic, nicer-looking car.
  • There was originally a straightforward car chase where Steed and Peel are pursued by three black Mini Coopers. This was scrapped due to budget concerns, but was replaced in reshoots by the mechanical wasp sequence.
  • Radiohead were to record a song, "Man of War", for the film, but due to the stress Thom Yorke was going through at the time, they never finished it. The recording session appears in Meeting People is Easy. The song itself was never released until 2017.
  • The original script follows the same plot structure with a few differences. The most important details, which were either altered or trimmed altogether from the finished film, are the following:
    • In the opening sequence Emma Peel is working at Prospero Weather Base with her husband Peter Peel and his brother Valentine Peel. All the scientists are dealing with climatic changes. Peter gives Emma a ring. Shortly thereafter the base is blown up. Peter and Valentine are killed in the explosion but Emma barely makes it out alive, thus attracting suspicion from the Ministry that she is a saboteur.
    • John Steed originally drove a Jaguar SS 100 and news reports regarding the weather heard over his car radio assist in telling the story.
    • Mother exercised by moving around his headquarters secured to the low ceiling, an idea borrowed from the episode "The Forget-Me-Knot".
    • Some of the story takes place in the Scottish highlands.
    • August De Winter was originally named Merriweather and was a minor role.
    • There was originally a chase scene where Mrs. Peel pursues Bad Emma atop the London rooftops.
    • Instead of the CGI wasp attack (which was a re-shoot), Steed and Peel were to be pursued by three black Mini Coopers in a more straightforward car chase. It would have concluded with Alice killing Bailey with an Uzi just as he is about to shoot Steed.
    • During the course of the plot, Emma has sporadic visions with Peter talking to her. This stresses the question if she is delusional or not and if she has a split personality.
    • The murder attempt scene does not take place during a snow blizzard but at a desert. This increases the hallucinating atmosphere and makes Steed more confused after waking up, wondering if this incident was a dream or not. Evil Emma was of course riding a camel during the attack.
    • Steed is instructed by Mother to kill Emma, as the Ministry believe that she is a security risk. He disobeys orders and they go to see Invisible Jones together.
    • The World Council Meeting takes place in the Palace of Westminster and a delegate is kidnapped by men dressed as butlers, who take him away to a waiting helicopter. This leads to a sequence where Emma hangs from the helicopter as it flies across London, causing it to crash near Tower Bridge. She manages to escape unscathed and goes to depart the villain in the underground installation accessed from the island in the serpentine, followed by Steed.
    • During the final scenes, Emma confronted Father in a massive room full of giant mirrors.
    • In the finale, it was revealed that the evil mastermind was Valentine Peel in disguise. He had staged his death, was the culprit behind the explosion and killed Peter because he wanted the ring which contained important information about the weather. In an attempt to trick Emma, Valentine initially appears as disguised Peter in order to deceive her to hand him the ring. All the visions that Emma had were staged by Valentine.

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