The New Transporter Babe: Andrea Osvárt

In Deadline's original story a few weeks ago about Chris Vance being cast as the new Transporter for Cinemax's TV version of the Luc Besson-produced, Jason Statham-starring neo-Eurospy franchise, the trade blog also reported that Andrea Osvárt would be the new Transporter Babe. This seemed to merit its own headline here, since my 2008 post identifying Natalya Rudakova as "the new Transporter Babe" in Transporter 3 remains to this day one of the most popular articles in the history of this blog. (Who would have thought?) Anyway, in the true Eurospy tradition, the women in the Transporter movies were pretty disposable. Like Bond Girls, each one was unique to the film she appeared in, and audiences didn't expect them to come back.  (Rudakova, in fact, was the only one Statham's Frank Martin was even romantically involved with.) Apparently the TV series will be different.  Now Frank has a "handler." (See? I keep telling you transporters are a lot like spies!)

According to Deadline, "The series centers on professional transporter Frank Martin (Vance), a role played in the movies by Jason Statham. Operating in a seedy underworld of dangerous criminals and desperate players, Frank can always be counted on to get the job done -- discreetly. Osvárt, repped by Innovative and Mosaic, will play Frank's handler Carla, an extremely crafty former CIA operative who organizes his missions, acts as his eyes and ears on the outside, and continually stokes the flames of their unrequited attraction." That seems about right for a TV version. TV's Frank (no relation to Dr. Forrester's sidekick, I presume) needs a beautiful sparring partner for unrequited attraction. (See: Burn Notice.) And there's certainly no denying Osvárt's beauty--or her credentials. Like Rudakova and Olga Kurylenko (who also started out as a neo-Eurospy babe before graduating to Bond Girl), the 32-year-old Osvárt hails from Europe. She was born in Hungary where she began a modeling career that took her to Italy and France, and led to acting. She's also got some spy experience, having played small roles in Duplicity and Spy Game. I look forward to seeing what she brings to the latest incarnation of The Transporter.

Speaking of the Transporter himself, perhaps I was a little hard on Chris Vance in my original post about his casting.  EW has an interview with him accompanied by a photograph (or is it Photoshopped?) that looks suitably Transporterish and goes a long way on selling him in the part. Plus, he seems to come off as a nice guy. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and wait to see how his Transporter shapes up.

So we know the male and female leads in the series, but I have yet to see confirmation of its real star: what kind of car will Frank Martin be driving on cable? (In other words, what company will pony up for the potentially lucrative product placement deal?) In the first movie, it was a BMW. In the second two, it was an Audi, which has become more associated with the character. But on television, it could conceivably be something completely different.

Tradecraft: Meet the New Transporter

Deadline reports that Chris Vance, who played the smarmy "psycho" arms dealer Mason Gilroy on Season 3 of Burn Notice, has been tapped to fill Jason Statham's sizable shoes on EuropaCorp's Transporter TV series.  Hm.  I'm not convinced.  Vance didn't really impress me on Burn Notice, and physically he's certainly no Statham... but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.  (At least he's English.)  I think he was also considered for the new Saint telefilm, so presumably he's got reserves of charm that weren't on display in Burn Notice.  As previously reported, the 12-episode, $48 million Transporter TV series (based on the awesome Luc Besson-produced series of neo-Eurospy movies) will air here on Cinemax. It will shoot in Europe.

Transporter TV Series Comes to Cinemax

We've been following EuropaCorp's development of a TV series based on their successful Transporter series of neo-Eurospy films for a while now, and last we heard (in December), the company had scored an American network but not yet announced which one.  Today, The New York Post reports that it's cable channel Cinemax.  A few weeks ago we heard that Cinemax was venturing into the world of scripted series that has proved so lucrative for other cable outlets, including their sibling company HBO, with an American version of the UK spy/action series Strike Back.  Apparently that's part of an aggressive strategy on the part of HBO to reshape Cinemax from the soft-core skin flick venue unofficially known (as far back as my childhood) as "Skinemax" into what the newspaper calls "a channel for tire-squealing shoot-'em-ups -- with a good measure of sex thrown in, of course."  The network still hasn't made any official announcements about the series or its creative talent, but the Stargate fan website GateWorld speculates that longtime Stargate writer-producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie are in talks to be involved in some capacity on the Trasnporter show.  It seems highly unlikely that Jason Statham will be involved at all with the series, and as of now it's unknown whether another actor will play his signature role of Frank Martin or if the TV version will focus on a different transporter altogether.  (The third film revealed that the profession is not quite as unique as one would think.)  I love the Transporter films, and while I think that Statham is the best part of them, I do think that the franchise has potential without him as a TV show--especially with European filming locations, which have been part of the package all along thanks to Luc Besson's Paris-base EuropaCorp. I've had Cinemax as part of my cable package for a long time because it was bundled with channels I actually watch, but I don't think I've ever tuned in.  Looks like that's about to change!

Tradecraft: Transporter TV Series A Go
Also: More details on Taken sequel

We first heard about the prospect of a TV series based on EuropaCorp's neo-Eurospy Transporter films last year, then quiet.  I had kind of assumed that meant the project was dead, but it turns out that's not the case. Deadline reports that not only is the series very much alive, but it's already got a commitment from an American network and is due to start filming early next year.  According to the trade blog, EuropaCorp won’t reveal who the US partner is, but chairman Pierre-Ange Le Pogam promises "it's a big one.”  (My guess would be Spike or FX, which both play the Transporter movies and both seem like good fits for the franchise.  But we'll have to wait and see.)  The first 12-episode season is budgeted at $48 million. Filming is slated to commence "early next year," with the first episodes expected in November.  One EuropaCorp franchise is already a successful TV series in America: Nikita, which airs on The CW (and has improved significantly since its pilot), and already has a full-season order.  The company is aggressively trying to expand further into television, with not only the Transporter series on the horizon, but also tentative plans for a show based on its Liam Neeson neo-Eurospy hit Taken.  That won't move forward until after Taken 2 films in the spring, however, according to Le Pogam.  (Neeson is committed, but they're still trying to lock down a director.) 

I love the Transporter films, and while I would much rather see a fourth cinematic entry starring the great Jason Statham, a TV series appeals to me as well–especially since it will be shot in Europe.  I loved Taken, too, but I'm more hesitant about its potential as a TV series.  The premise of an ex-spy's daughter being kidnapped, prompting him to go on a merciless tear of righteous ass-kicking until he finds her, would not really lend itself to a series.  (Or even really a sequel, so I'll be curious to see how they pull that one off.)  The character of Bryan Mills (Neeson) probably has more to do with the film's success than its premise (and certainly has the potential to fuel a film sequel with a different set-up), but that's so tied in with Neeson's performance that it's difficult to imagine Mills making much impact on television, where he would probably come off as a Jack Bauer clone.  Still, I'll give any potential spy series a chance, so we'll see where this leads.  In the mean time, I'm sure looking forward to Taken 2.

Just to clarify, it is not expected that either TV show will star the actor from its respective film series.  So who could possibly fill the shoes of Statham and Neeson?  I don't really have any ideas about Neeson.  Presumably on TV, the character would be sort of Equalizer-like: a skilled former operative–not young–who uses his spy skills to help people.  I can't think of anyone off the top of my head in that age range with Neeson's requisite gravitas.  I do have an idea for The Transporter, though: I think Rome's Kevin McKidd (currently seen on Grey's Anatomy) could be good.  Come to think of it, his co-star Ray Stevenson wouldn't be a bad choice either...