GEORGE Peppard (seated) and fellow cast members Dwight Schultz, Tim Dunigan and Mr. T from the original TV show of the 1980s.

Director of The A-Team, one of the most talked about and long awaited movie productions out of Hollywood, is expected to be in Kamloops today checking locations.

Joe Carnahan, who directed the 2006 action film Smokin’ Aces, hasn’t yet “locked down” any locations in the region but has shown strong interest in its desert-like appearance, said TNRD film commissioner Vicci Weller.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Weller said Tuesday. “It’s a big production.”

The movie adaptation of the 1980s hit TV serial has a budget of about $80 million, well above most films shot in the Interior.

“We’ve been scouting in the region for well over a month,” Weller said.

Stephen J. Cannell, the prolific TV producer responsible for the original show, is co-producing the film version with Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Body of Lies) and Jules Daly.

Reportedly Carnahan is planning to update the setting, using the Gulf War rather than the Vietnam War as a back story.

Carnahan recently told the entertainment weekly Variety that the original plot remains the same: Four veterans escape military prison for a crime they say they did not commit and become mercenary good guys. He wants to offer cameo roles to surviving members of the original cast.

The project has gone through various stages of development since the mid-1990s but recently gained impetus after Carnahan replaced John Singleton in the director’s chair. Last month, Liam Neeson (Taken) was signed to the commanding role of Col. John Hannibal, which was originally played by the late George Peppard.

The A-Team ran on NBC for five seasons between 1983 and 1987. Cannell had been sacked from ABC for failing to produce a hit. He struck gold with The A-Team after moving to NBC. The show was a runaway success and has since achieved cult status in syndication, becoming phenomenally popular in Europe.

One of the show’s distinguishing features was the sanitization of its violence. Despite a seemingly endless arsenal of deadly weaponry, there was no blood, no bodies and often victims emerged unscathed from horrific explosions.

It’s not known whether this aspect will be transferred to the big screen.

“There could be plenty of action around,” Weller quipped.

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