Every couple of years one of the Police Academy cast members who isn’t Kim Cattrall and therefore has nothing better to do, hints around that another installment in the long ago played out franchise might be happening. Now it actually is.
THR says New Line Cinema is actively casting for a planned relaunch of the Police Academy series. Relaunch is a fancy word for remake. Don’t bank on any of the original cast returning for anything other than a cameo. Sorry Bubba Smith.
The Police Academy blight kicked off in the wild 80s, during the first wave of raunch comedies. It fit right in with the still prevalent Animal House attitude of the time by telling the story of a group of misfit police working their way the academy by partying and misbehaving, only to come together at the end to save the city. It was mediocre entertainment and it’s worth noting only because for some inexplicable reason it spawned seven sequels and, oh yeah, it briefly popularized Steve Guttenberg.
As for how they’ll go about casting it, producer Paul Maslansky seems to indicate they’ll be combing the ranks of Last Comic Standing. He says, “It's going to be a new class. We hope to discover new talent and season it with great comedians.” Just please, do not try to find the next Michael Winslow. The guy was never funny or particularly talented. Seriously, those shitty noises he made sucked. He was at best, a third rate Bobby McFerrin. Leave the noisemaking waste of space character out of it this time.
Maslansky also seems particularly concerned with the movie’s themesong, and reassures fans that they’ll probably keep it. I don’t know why, does anyone even remember it? Police Academy, you are not The Pink Panther.
