The Silence of the Lambsis one of the most iconic horror films ever made.Jonathan Demmedirected a sterling adaptation ofThomas Harris' crime novel, andAnthony Hopkinsinstantly became one of the silver screen’s best boogeymen in his Oscar-winning portrayal of Hannibal Lecter. It’s remarkable that anyone ever tried adapting the world of Hannibal again, let alone becoming as similarly iconic.
Welp,Bryan Fullersure as heck did it! His three-season TV seriesHannibalgave us a new Dr. Lecter —Mads Mikkelsen, exceptional — to chew into. And, smartly, it didn’t start with a story we were already oversaturated with. It landed on the relationship between Hannibal and Will Graham, an FBI profiler played byHugh Dancy. It’s a pleasure to watch these relatively new stories in somewhat familiar worlds…
…but still. Wouldn’t it be dope ifHannibaldid eventually make it toSilence of the Lambsterritory and cast their own Clarice Starling, the FBI trainee who was played in Demme’s film by the Oscar-winningJodie Foster? In a 90-minute exclusive interview with Collider’s own Steve Weintraub, Fuller explained the legal, studio-politics-saturated reasons why their show, produced and funded in part by the Dino de Laurentiis Company and Gaumont International Television, could never touch theSilence of the Lambsworld, owned by MGM — using quite the delightful analogy to boot.
“Silence of the Lambsis owned by MGM. What happened early on and why there was sort of a sticking point for us with the Clarice rights is that MGM was originally working on a deal with Martha De Laurentiis that had everything in one package, and then Gaumont came along and offered Martha a significantly greater deal that MGM couldn’t match. So there’s been a little bit of animosity between the studios because MGM’s like, ‘Hey, you were gonna do it with us,’ and she was like, ‘Yeah, but you didn’t give me the better deal,’ and they were kind of upset about that. So that’s why it’s been sort of a sticking point to attempt to get the Clarice rights because they were like, ‘Why would we help you when you…’ They’re basically Bill Pullman inSleepless in Seattle.
For those in need of context:Bill Pullmanis engaged toMeg RyaninSleepless inSeattle, before Ryan leaves those consistent-but-boring arms for the more romanticTom Hanks. And now I’m less interested in aSilence of the Lambs-Hannibalcrossover than I am aSleepless in Seattle-Hannibalcrossover.
For more onHannibal, here’severything we know about a potential season 4and Bryan Fullerexplaining the fight to cast Mads Mikkelsenover John Cusack or Hugh Grant. Look for Steve’s full 90-minute interview very soon.
