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Dukes of Hazzard, The

Genre:
Action/Television Adaptation.

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Production Company:
Village Roadshow Pictures.

Project Phase:
Released.

Who's In It:
Johnny Knoxville (Luke Duke); Seann William Scott (Bo Duke); Jessica Simpson (Daisy Duke); Burt Reynolds (Boss Hogg, in talks); Willie Nelson (Uncle Jesse, in talks).

Who's Making It:
Jay Chandrasekhar (Director); John O'Brien, Jonathan Davis (Screenwriters); Billy Gerber (Producer); based on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard.

Premise:
Unknown.

Release Date:
2005 or 2006 (tentative).

Comments:
The original CBS TV series ran for six seasons (1979 - 1985) and was one of the most popular shows on the air for its time. Two years in, series stars Tom Wopat (Luke Duke) and John Schneider (Bo Duke) wanted their salaries beefed up to reflect the show's popularity. Instead of meeting their demands, the show's producers decided that the actors were expendable and replaced them. For one full season Luke and Bo's "cousins" Coy and Vance came to live on Uncle Jesse's farm while the original Dukes were nowhere to be seen. After one full season with the replacement characters, Wopat and Schneider returned the following year with bruised egos.

By the way, during the show's run a total of 229 Dodge Chargers were made up to become the General Lee. Attesting to the program's popularity, some of the surviving Chargers still make appearances at car shows and racing events.

Scoop Feedback:

July 31, 2003... Depending upon your preferences, this next story will either do nothing for you or send chills down your spine. Warner Bros. has been kicking around with the idea of turning the 80s TV show THE DUKES OF HAZZARD into a feature film, in the vein of CHARLIE'S ANGELS or the now-filming STARSKY & HUTCH. According to The Hollywood Reporter, THAT 70s SHOW Ashton Kutcher and 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS's Paul Walker want to play the big-screen versions of Luke and Bo Duke.

Also into starring in the movie is comedian Anthony Anderson as Boss Hogg, Hazzard County's richest and craftiest resident. And if the rumors are true, pop singer Britney Spears could be trying on a pair of denim shorts as Daisy Duke.

If this gets off the ground with this cast, I can't see anyone buying Kutcher as Batman. What's it going to be, Ashton: the Batmobile or the General Lee? [The Hollywood Reporter.]

December 1, 2003... Screenwriter John O'Brien has been hired by Warner Bros. to rewrite THE DUKES OF HAZZARD movie script. O'Brien already has prior work experience writing movie scripts for 70s action stars that have hot wheels: he was one of the credited writers that worked on the script for the STARSKY & HUTCH movie that recently wrapped production and will be out in theaters next year. Early buzz has been favorable for that project, a likely factor as to why O'Brien landed the polish job on the DUKES script.

Warners would like to have the DUKES movie rolling before cameras next year, and if they have their way, Ashton Kutcher and Paul Walker would play the big-screen Duke boys.

O'Brien also wrote CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE for Warners. Hey, come to think of it, Jet Li and DMX would make for a funky set of Duke bros, wouldn't they? [THR.]

July 2, 2004... According to an innocent post made by Broken Lizard troupe actor Paul Soter, Jay Chandrasekhar will direct Warner Bros. big budget DUKES OF HAZZARD movie. It just hasn't been officially announced yet, but Soter told fans on the group's blog that Chandrasekhar has the job. "I don't know if I'm supposed to be announcing that yet," wrote Soter at the website. "Great. Now I'm gonna have Lemme and Jay not speaking to me." [Broken Lizard.com.]

September 10, 2004... The big screen DUKES OF HAZZARD boys have been found and they are JACKASS star Johnny Knoxville and AMERICAN PIE's Seann William Scott. Knoxville will play Luke Duke, the dark-haired cousin (originally played by Tom Wopat in the CBS TV series) while Scott will be blonde Bo Duke (who was originally played by John Schneider on the tube.) Confirming reports that appeared first on the web, pop singer Jessica Simpson has auditioned for the part of Daisy Duke.

THE DUKES OF HAZZARD movie has been in development at Warner Bros. for a couple of years now and this time it finally looks like it's going to happen. Broken Lizard's Jay Chandrasekhar is directing the movie with the script having been penned by the five person comedy troupe.

Other important roles that have yet to be filled include Uncle Jesse, Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane. A start date hasn't been slotted by Warners just yet. [The Hollywood Reporter.]

September 14, 2004... Variety has confirmed that pop singer and reality TV star Jessica Simpson has landed the part of Daisy Duke in THE DUKES OF HAZZARD feature film. She joins Johnny Knoxville (Luke Duke) and Seann William Scott (Bo Duke) in the picture. Broken Lizard comedy troupe member Jay Chandrasekhar will direct the film for Warner Bros.

The original Daisy Duke was played by Catherine Bach in the CBS TV series and was a leggy Southern gal whose fashion tastes ran towards short shorts. She lived on her Uncle Jesse's farm with her two cousins and often helped them outwit the Hazzard police and Boss Hogg in their many adventures.

This is Simpson's first major theatrical part. She's carved out a name for herself on television in the MTV reality series NEWLYWEDS with her husband Nick Lashay. [Variety.]

October 15, 2004... It may not have been our first choice but he may be the right man for the Hogg's job. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Burt Reynolds is up for the part of Boss Hogg in the movie version of THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. Also in consideration is country musician Wille Nelson for Uncle Jesse, the Duke boys' family mentor and a former pal of Boss Hogg before he became a greedy business man.

Reynolds is having a career comeback. He's currently shooting the remake of THE LONGEST YARD with Adam Sandler, was last seen in WITHOUT A PADDLE and had a voice part in GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY.

Johnny Knoxville (Luke Duke), Seann William Scott (Bo Duke) and Jessica Simpson (Daisy Duke) are all still in the movie. The movie's last remaining major role, that of Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, remains uncast. [The Hollywood Reporter.]

June 30, 2005... Warner Bros. Pictures has agreed to pay a Georgia-based producer Robert B. Clark $17.5 million -- yes, you read that right -- for copyright infringement for his 1974 film MOONRUNNERS, which was released by United Artists in 1974. MOONRUNNERS became the basis of the hit Warners' TV series, THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. The studio had to either pay this amount or a federal judge would have slapped them with a preliminary injunction, which would have canceled the August 13th release of the new feature film and would have seen all copies of the movie impounded by federal marshals. [Variety.]