A New Doctor Who Film Report: Over the November 25-26 weekend, the Sunday Times in the UK broke a new film-related story. Entitled "Dyke calls up Daleks to take on Hollywood," the article by media editor Nicholas Hellen suggested (erroneously, as we have been able to confirm) that a new Doctor Who film is imminent. "MOVE over Darth Vader, here come the Daleks," says the article. "The BBC is to compete head-on with Hollywood under plans by Greg Dyke, the director-general, to revolutionise British film-making. The £250m venture, to be announced next month, will lead to the corporation's first foray into big-budget movies after years of small-scale costume dramas. Dyke's blueprint for a full-scale Hollywood-style film studio at the BBC is intended to reverse the talent drain which has seen generations of actors and directors leave Britain for Hollywood. ... The Daleks will lead the assault on the international box office as the BBC devises a movie version of Dr Who, the science-fiction series first screened in 1963 in black and white. Sequels are already being prepared." The full article can be found at the Sunday Times website.

Since the article ran -- and the Outpost has been inundated with emails pointing us in this direction -- we have been able to confirm that the article is merely a retread of old news. While the news about Dyke and the British film plans are true, the BBC's film plans for Doctor Who are currently only in early planning stages, and no appropriation, financing or production schedule is on the horizon for the near future. Indeed, the BBC's own official Doctor Who website posted on November 27 that the article merely highlights long-standing possibilities, and that a Doctor Who film is no further along than it was when stories started to break in 1999 (see the news archive page for related stories). When and if the situation changes, Outpost Gallifrey will keep you updated.