×
Going for the gold
Paylaş
LinkedinFlipboardLinki KopyalaYazı Tipi
"You mean they did not ask you to play at the series Golden Girls?" I asked Z. With her ever-seductive glance and looks, she would be just right for the role of Blanche, the most seductive of the "Golden Girls," the 1980s sitcom that was a favorite with families.
"No, but it seems that everybody else was asked," replied Z.
Fair enough. For three months now, we are eagerly discussing the Turkish version of "The Golden Girls," an Emmy-winner that tells the story of three older women sharing a fashionable house in Miami, Florida. The house's owner is a widow, the aging diva of Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan), who has recently been joined by somewhat simple-minded Rose Nylund (Betty White) and very gay divorcee Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur). The three were later joined by Dorothy's mother, Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty), possibly the closest that you can get to a Turkish mother in a comedy that takes place in Miami.
About a month ago, the Turkish version came down with Turkey’s stars of the 1960s playing those elder women. (And that just goes to show, ladies, there is no plastic surgeon that can stop Father Time.) Dorothy is played by Hülya Koçyiğit, whose tear-strained face created sympathy for three decades; Rose is played by Türkan Şoray, who was famous for her misty glance; actress-turned-mayor Fatma Girik plays Sophia; and the role of the seductive Blanche is taken over by Nevra Serezli, after another famous blonde of the 1960s, Emel Sayın, turned it down for health or wealth reasons.
What’s another sitcom in Turkish TV, you would say, when there are so many more exciting ones? There is, after all, the intriguing "Forbidden Love" and the nostalgic "Fall of the Leaves" and the popular/populist "Asi"É
You’d be wrong. Even before the sitcom was released, the show biz people started complaining that their project was stolen. "The project to have the Turkish ’Golden Girls’ was ours. But, fool that I am, I talked about it all the time and someone pitched the idea right under my nose," complained actress Nurseli İdiz (yes, the one who has been arrested for Ergenekon). She was far from being the only one. Oya Aydoğan, a buxomy brunette who reached fame with 1970s low-budget movies, said director/producer Ömer Durak came to him with the project some seven years ago. Durak wanted to do it with the stars of the 1970s and 1980s, the next generation compared to Girik-Koçyiğit-Serezli-Şoray quartet.
"The project could not materialize because Banu Alkan, who would have played the vamp, refused it. Then, two years ago, we thought of Bülent Ersoy who might play that part," said Aydoğan. For those who do not know, Bülent Ersoy is a very popular transsexual singer.
The remarks were shrugged off by Armağan Çağlayan, the producer of the actual Turkish Golden Girls, saying, "A lot of people may have the idea, but what is important is to get the rights from Walt Disney." However, part of the spectators reacted to the non-story. They have already established a page on Facebook, where they protest the allegations of stealing and say the present setup is the best.
It is, after all, easier to organize a demonstration on Facebook than in Taksim.
Fair enough. For three months now, we are eagerly discussing the Turkish version of "The Golden Girls," an Emmy-winner that tells the story of three older women sharing a fashionable house in Miami, Florida. The house's owner is a widow, the aging diva of Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan), who has recently been joined by somewhat simple-minded Rose Nylund (Betty White) and very gay divorcee Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur). The three were later joined by Dorothy's mother, Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty), possibly the closest that you can get to a Turkish mother in a comedy that takes place in Miami.
About a month ago, the Turkish version came down with Turkey’s stars of the 1960s playing those elder women. (And that just goes to show, ladies, there is no plastic surgeon that can stop Father Time.) Dorothy is played by Hülya Koçyiğit, whose tear-strained face created sympathy for three decades; Rose is played by Türkan Şoray, who was famous for her misty glance; actress-turned-mayor Fatma Girik plays Sophia; and the role of the seductive Blanche is taken over by Nevra Serezli, after another famous blonde of the 1960s, Emel Sayın, turned it down for health or wealth reasons.
What’s another sitcom in Turkish TV, you would say, when there are so many more exciting ones? There is, after all, the intriguing "Forbidden Love" and the nostalgic "Fall of the Leaves" and the popular/populist "Asi"É
You’d be wrong. Even before the sitcom was released, the show biz people started complaining that their project was stolen. "The project to have the Turkish ’Golden Girls’ was ours. But, fool that I am, I talked about it all the time and someone pitched the idea right under my nose," complained actress Nurseli İdiz (yes, the one who has been arrested for Ergenekon). She was far from being the only one. Oya Aydoğan, a buxomy brunette who reached fame with 1970s low-budget movies, said director/producer Ömer Durak came to him with the project some seven years ago. Durak wanted to do it with the stars of the 1970s and 1980s, the next generation compared to Girik-Koçyiğit-Serezli-Şoray quartet.
"The project could not materialize because Banu Alkan, who would have played the vamp, refused it. Then, two years ago, we thought of Bülent Ersoy who might play that part," said Aydoğan. For those who do not know, Bülent Ersoy is a very popular transsexual singer.
The remarks were shrugged off by Armağan Çağlayan, the producer of the actual Turkish Golden Girls, saying, "A lot of people may have the idea, but what is important is to get the rights from Walt Disney." However, part of the spectators reacted to the non-story. They have already established a page on Facebook, where they protest the allegations of stealing and say the present setup is the best.
It is, after all, easier to organize a demonstration on Facebook than in Taksim.
Paylaş
LinkedinFlipboardLinki KopyalaYazı Tipi
