Rumour Tracker
Welcome to G&T's Rumour Tracker, dedicated to bringing you all the latest rumours about the movie.
DATE: 28th September 2003
SOURCE: Red Dwarf Official Site (Direct link)
THE RUMOUR: Shooting is now slated for May 2004.
CONFIRMED BY GNP?: Yes. Erm, well, considering it's from GNP themselves...
DATE: 15th September 2003
SOURCE: Sci-Fi Online (Direct Link)
THE RUMOUR: "Filming is due to start in Australia on the Gold Coast early in 2004."
CONFIRMED BY GNP?: No. But it's yet more rumblings about Queensland, so this part is looking more and more likely to be correct.
DATE: 14th August 2003
SOURCE: Teletext's TV Plus (G&T News story)
THE RUMOUR: An interview with Craig Charles has given lots of info about the current plans for the movie. The main revelation is that the movie is to shoot this October, and the cast will be in Australia for four months. He also mentions that "Money is still a stumbling block but I think BBC Worldwide is putting cash into it". A budget of �12 million is given; about the same amount we've heard from other sources.
CONFIRMED BY GNP?: No. However, I'd say that both Teletext and Craig are fairly reliable sources, so it's likely to be true.
DATE: 19th July 2003
SOURCE: Ain't It Cool News (Direct link)
THE RUMOUR: Richard Keddie and Jane Ballantyne are involved with the film.
Joining the production are producers Richard Keddie (TV mini-series "After the Deluge") and Jane Ballantyne (SELKIE). They've formed a partnership with Red Dwarf Films, which will likely shoot in Queensland.
CONFIRMED BY GNP?: No. They're not yet listed in the official Crew Roster. We'll just have to wait for confirmation - or not.
DATE: 16th July 2003
SOURCE: Herald Sun (Direct Link)
THE RUMOUR: The movie may be shot in Queensland.
The Pacific Film and Television Commission confirmed yesterday that they had spoken to those involved in the Red Dwarf movie, and it was possible that the production would come to Queensland.
CONFIRMED BY GNP?: No. It's got more credence than most rumours, though; we know that GNP are looking to shoot in Australia, and the Pacific Film and Television Commission are a reputable organisation. We'll just have to wait and see.
On a purely speculative note, have a look at our news article about this; could the production possibly end up being based at Warner Roadshow Studios? The official word from the Vice President of the studios is: "Red Dwarf has not made any decision where it will be filming at this stage".
DATE: 23rd April 2003
SOURCE: Ain't It Cool News (Direct link)
THE RUMOUR: Someone who supposedly worked on an Aussie TV film at Pinewood Studios had this to say:
I bumped into the Chris Barrie double this month during pickup shots for Tomb Raider 2. He said he was about to work on Red Dwarf when Tomb Raider finishes - again as Chris Barrie's double and they are to film at a derelict refinery complex in Oxford towards the west side of the city, which will be the exterior shots of a huge crash site. There will also be filming at a military armoury somewhere in Hampshire that was also used for the last Bond movie.
CONFIRMED BY GNP?: No. No word from them at all about this. Whether it was ever going to be true, the plans certainly fell through; Tomb Raider 2 has finished shooting, and Red Dwarf hasn't started (and was never planned to start that early in the current schedule). As for the crash site shooting, it remains to be seen whether any of this is true; it's possible, even if most of the shooting is planned for Australia, but it seems exceedingly unlikely to us, given the quality of the other information.
DATE: 26th February 2003
SOURCE: Ain't It Cool News (Direct link)
THE RUMOUR: A teaser poster for the movie is leaked. On it is the following synopsis of the movie:
RED DWARF THE MOVIE is set in the distant future where Homo Sapienoids - a fearsome combination of flesh and machine - have taken over the solar system and almost wiped out the human race. The only survivors are the crews of long-haul space freighters that left Earth before the conflict began. The Sapienoids send forth fleets of Death Ships to hunt them down.
One by one - the human ships fall, until only one remains.
It's name RED DWARF...
CONFIRMED BY GNP?: Yes. On the 18th April 2003, the official site published the article Making The Movie, confirming that the poster is genuine. They give the following warning about the synopsis given:
[The flyer] misses the bit where Lister, Rimmer, Cat and Kryten come together, obviously. It also misses out Holly and Kochanski. It misses the actual plot, in fact, and with good reason. This flyer was produced as a marketing tool for Winchester Films to sell the movie in various international territories. What story is included is there to whet the appetite.
Also mentioned is that Doug is "currently in Australia investigating studio facilities":
"We had originally planned for Shepperton, but at the time we were told there were no studios available. We looked everywhere - Germany, Austria, Italy - and eventually Richard Taylor at Weta (Lord of the Rings) recommended Australia...We've been delighted by everything we've found out here. Australia's the sci-fi capital of the world right now. Star Wars, The Matrix, Farscape... It's the ideal place for Red Dwarf."
Shooting is planned for late September.