Doctor Who film will definitely happen, leaked Sony emails reveal

A Doctor Who movie is part of an eight year plan for the TV drama

Daisy Wyatt
Friday 17 April 2015 10:16 BST
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The Doctor at work in his workshop at Coal Hill School
The Doctor at work in his workshop at Coal Hill School

The Doctor will make his silver screen debut within the next eight years, it has been revealed.

BBC head of drama Danny Cohen has said there is “tremendous interest” in making a Doctor Who film, according to leaked emails between Sony executives that have been published on WikiLeaks.

According to the emails, Doctor Who producers are keen to make a film but feel “hot under the collar” about being pushed to do one soon.

The emails also reveal there is “pressure” from BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the corporation, to make a film.

In an email to Sony Pictures Entertainment chief executive Michael Lynton, president of international production Andrea Wong said: “Just spoke to Danny Cohen re Dr Who.

"He said that while there has been tremendous interest (and pressure from BBCWW [BBC Worldwide]) to do a Dr Who film, the show runners feel very clear that they don’t want to do one at this moment.

“That said, over the course of the coming months, the show running team is coming up with an 8 year timeline for the brand – laying out all that will happen with it. He says that a film will certainly be a part of that timeline.”

After Lynton replied asking whether he “should meet with the showrunner”, Wong said there were no plans to make a Doctor Who movie in the next eighteen months.

“Spoke to Danny and he doesn’t think it would make sense right now and actually hurt our cause,” she said.

The emails, which revealed embarrassing admissions from Sony staff including one calling Angelina Jolie a "minimally spoilt brat", have now been published on Wikileaks.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said that the database includes more than 170,000 emails from Sony Pictures Entertainment and a subsidiary company, as well as 30,000 other documents.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said the leaked Sony emails 'belong in the public'

In a statement, Assange said the documents should be available to the public.

"This archive shows the inner workings of an influential multinational corporation,“ he said.

"It is newsworthy and at the centre of a geo-political conflict. It belongs in the public domain. WikiLeaks will ensure it stays there."

Sony Pictures Entertainment said in a statement: "We vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks' assertion that this material belongs in the public domain."

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