After all the retro-movie gigs, we really need a Rockford movie.
I loved the series as a teenager.
Rockfish fans unite!!!
Who would play Jim and Rocky and Angel?
They used to show this program on 70s re-run channel late at night and I found myself religiously recording it.
If they made a Rockford movie, though, they’d have to
- keep it set in the 70s, and
- use some kind of special chemical on the film stock to make it fade, in order to achieve the proper effect.
- use the theme song
- Re-animate the three principal actors
Um… only one re-animation necessary.
James Garner and Stuart Margolin are still with us, as is Joe Santos, who played Det. Becker.
Not that anyone’s interested in seeing an 81-year-old Jim Rockford back in action. (Garner could have a cameo, though!)
I bet there’ll be some disagreement on this, but I could see George Clooney playing Rockford if they did a movie today. He’s the right age, and I think he could strike just the right put-upon cynical nature of the character.
Argh! It pains me to think how they’d butcher the theme tune.
Casting: I can see Tony Shalhoub as Angel, otherwise I’m stumped, could anyone else really do Rockford?
Anyhow, thanks for bringing the show up. I have four seasons on DVD and I never get round to watching the blinking things… Tonight House stays in the box, it’s Jimbo time.
Gah! Okay, he could probably nail the cynical, but he’d have a hard time dropping the smug from the charming.
Can’t think of anyone else I’d want to pay to see at 29 Cove Road.
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
“My people have a saying…”
Yes, the second one is from Nichols, but you nailed the right guy. 
Love The Rockford Files. I picked up a used copy of Season 5 for $7 a couple of weeks ago. One thing I get a kick out of is watching the car chases–man, most of the cars they used handled like boats!
James Garner is one of my favorite actors. In the interviews I’ve seen, he comes across as a down-to-earth guy and a class act.
Who will play Lance White in our remake of the show?
Nathan Fillion.
This is exactly why this exercise in doing a movie must STOP !!! There is NO ONE who could do Rockford - James Garner WAS Rockford. Period.
Doesn’t anyone remember the “Maverick” movie with Mel Gibson ? Even Garner playing his own role didn’t really work that well.
DON’T even try to resurrect Rockford ! It would only be a disappointment.
(I like Nathan Fillion as Lance White, though)
What are the odds someone is pitching this to Will Ferrell right now?
Being resigned to the fact that it would be cheesy anyway…
Jim: Bruce Campbell
Becker: J.K. Simmons
Gandolph Fitch (the Isaac Hayes role): Snoop Dogg
Richie Brockelman: Michael Cera
Well, Jim Rockford could take a punch better than anyone and Will Ferrell sure needs a beating…
And there goes that last smidgen of my faith in humanity.
Patrick Warburton (Putty from Seinfeld) as Jim Rockford. Perfect choice.
Would a movie be done as a period piece? Or how else are you gonna work that gold Pontiac Firebird in there?
Random (no googling) trivia question: what was the name of the restaurant on the beach close to Jim’s trailer?
The Sandcastle?
Good call, but Fillion could do Rockford himself I think. He’s a little young at this stage, but …
I also think Clooney could do it.
That is, IF one were to allow a Rockford movie with modern cast, which, of course, one would not.
I’d argue that David Boreanaz is already doing a low-wattage version of Rockford on BONES: the amiable investigator who can take a punch and handle a gun but really excels at reassuring the people he’s sizing up. And he’s quick with the wisecracks, but it’s never done with Clooney-style smugness or smarminess; it’s just equal parts cheerful and sarcastic.