Brian Damage
10-05-2009, 06:20 PM
The Aaron Spelling classic "Fantasy Island" is being reimagined as an hourlong competition-elimination reality show courtesy of Sony Pictures TV and producer Mark Burnett. The wraps were taken off the project by Sony Pictures TV president Steve Mosko during a cocktail event Monday at MIPCOM in Cannes.
" 'Fantasy Island' has all of the elements of a hit series," Burnett said in a statement. "An exotic location, dream fulfillment, competition and most of all, emotional storytelling."
Located in a resort hotel on an exotic island, the revamped "Fantasy Island" will follow 12 contestants as they vie to become the next real-life Mr. (or Ms.) Roarke, the owner of the island in the original series portrayed by Ricardo Montalban, and win a dream job at the hotel. One contestant will be chosen as the star performer for the week and will be safe from elimination. All of the contestants will then vote on who should be expelled from paradise and have their quest for a dream job come to an end.
"With a legendary title and a universally applicable format, the new 'Fantasy Island' is a show that will be marketable around the world," Kees Abrahams, SPT president of international production, said.
Burnett has produced 1,100 hours of television, including "Survivor" (CBS), "The Apprentice" (NBC), the syndicated "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" (Fox) and SPT's own "Shark Tank" (ABC). The original "Fantasy Island" ran on ABC from 1978-84 and was briefly revived by the network in the late '90s.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i29ea94e0c3808472c09cab3c50a9d6b6#
" 'Fantasy Island' has all of the elements of a hit series," Burnett said in a statement. "An exotic location, dream fulfillment, competition and most of all, emotional storytelling."
Located in a resort hotel on an exotic island, the revamped "Fantasy Island" will follow 12 contestants as they vie to become the next real-life Mr. (or Ms.) Roarke, the owner of the island in the original series portrayed by Ricardo Montalban, and win a dream job at the hotel. One contestant will be chosen as the star performer for the week and will be safe from elimination. All of the contestants will then vote on who should be expelled from paradise and have their quest for a dream job come to an end.
"With a legendary title and a universally applicable format, the new 'Fantasy Island' is a show that will be marketable around the world," Kees Abrahams, SPT president of international production, said.
Burnett has produced 1,100 hours of television, including "Survivor" (CBS), "The Apprentice" (NBC), the syndicated "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" (Fox) and SPT's own "Shark Tank" (ABC). The original "Fantasy Island" ran on ABC from 1978-84 and was briefly revived by the network in the late '90s.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i29ea94e0c3808472c09cab3c50a9d6b6#