if there ever was to be a movie about Price...

[Superballer]

...who do you think would be best suited to play the talents both on and back stage over the years? 

[Teddy]

I'll focus on the show's first quarter-century on the air, and these are the actors I'd use for their roles:

Bob Barker - Jim Parsons
Johnny Olson - Ben Stiller
Rod Roddy - Wayne Knight
Anitra Ford - Courteney Cox
Janice Pennington - Anna Faris
Dian Parkinson - Brittany Daniel
Holly Hallstrom - Sara Gilbert
Kathleen Bradley - Keke Palmer
Roger Dobkowitz - Diedrich Bader
Kathy "Fingers" Greco - Leah Remini
Mark Goodson - Jon Cryer
Bill Todman - Jim Belushi

I could see Warner Bros. bankrolling the movie, considering that many of the above names have starred on various shows that were produced by the company (The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Mom, Friends, The Drew Carey Show, etc.)

[jude_este]

If there were ever a Price movie or heck a limited series focusing on the first 30 or so years on the air; I can think of only ten actors I'd use for these roles.

Jon Cryer as Bob Barker
Dirk Blocker as Mark Goodson
Marc Evan Jackson as Bill Todman
Dustin Milligan as Roger Dobkowitz
Wendi McLendon-Covey as Janice Pennington
Beth Behrs or someone unknown as Dian Parkinson
Ellie Kemper as Holly Hallstrom
Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Kathleen Bradley
Steve Higgins as Johnny Olson
Kristian Bruun or someone unknown as Rod Roddy

[gamesurf]

Every movie needs a plot. So here's an HBO movie about the backstage shenanigans of the 1990s.

Starring Nicole Kidman as Dian Parkinson. After climbing the ranks of her modeling career, she ends up netting one of the most glamorous jobs in show business--a Barker's Beauty. What's more, off the set, the host seems to be interested in her... She reigns for several years as queen of Studio 33--until it all comes crashing down in a lawsuit that divides the set and pits staff members against the host, both backstage and in court testimony...

And Tommy Lee Jones as Bob Barker, the charismatic but demanding kingmaker of backstage TV politics. Has an unparalleled talent at giving the prime show roles to his favorite staff members, but backstage, has a hidden vindictive streak.

Plus...
Lauren Graham as Holly Hailstorm
Rene Russo as Janice Pennington
Bob Odenkirk as Paul Alter
Fred Armisen as Roger Dobkowitz
Will Sasso as Rod Roddy

[Trevor Tuominen]

I think it should be about the first 35 years of the show, from that pitch reel to Bob’s final episode. Even the James, Kennedy and Davidson eras. Maybe slip in some cameos from cast members of The Drew Carey Show? Bob can be played by a former SNL cast member, though I don’t know who.

[dagdoggnh]

I think it should be about the first 35 years of the show, from that pitch reel to Bob’s final episode. Even the James, Kennedy and Davidson eras. Maybe slip in some cameos from cast members of The Drew Carey Show? Bob can be played by a former SNL cast member, though I don’t know who.

Who would play Dennis James, Tom Kennedy(he was a host of the primetime TPIR from 1985-1986), Drew Carey, Rich Fields and George Gray?

[gamesurf]

The problem with doing a straight "30 years of TPIR" is that outside of this message board, nobody would watch it.

What would the plot be? How do you tell a story about it? How do you give each character an arc? Does the plot have an interesting inciting incident, rising action, climax, etc?

For example, the band members of Queen wanted the movie Bohemian Rhapsody to cover their whole career. They wanted to make a movie where Freddie Mercury died halfway through and the rest of the movie was about how the band picked up the pieces and moved on. The trouble is, nobody outside the most hardcore Queen fans wanted to watch a movie where the most interesting character dies halfway through.

The project struggled in development hell for years and years until the band, who held creative control over the movie, finally was talked out of it.

[pricefan18]

I think it should be about the first 35 years of the show, from that pitch reel to Bob’s final episode. Even the James, Kennedy and Davidson eras. Maybe slip in some cameos from cast members of The Drew Carey Show? Bob can be played by a former SNL cast member, though I don’t know who.

I see Bill Murray in that role........

[Teddy]

Perhaps it would be better off as a miniseries if it were to continue into the present day. In the second (and third) part(s), these new characters would be introduced:

Nikki Ziering - Extra
Claudia Jordan - Zoe Saldana
Rich Fields - Ashton Kutcher
Rachel Reynolds - Beth Behrs
Brandi Sherwood - Ariel Winter
Gwendolyn Osborne-Smith - Amber Stevens West
Lanisha Cole - Tiffany Haddish
Phire Dawson - Tia Mowry
Drew Carey - Kevin James
Tamiko Nash - Extra
Shane LaLonde - Extra
Mike Richards - Woody Harrelson
Amber Lancaster - Kristen Bell
Manuela Arbelaez - Yara Shahidi
George Gray - Neil Patrick Harris
Rob Wilson - Frankie Muniz
James O'Halloran - Max Greenfield
Devin Goda - Stephen Curry

Dan Aykroyd would narrate the miniseries as Stan Blits, a longtime staffer for the show.

[Superballer]

Interesting thoughts by all.  Were he still with us, I'd think John Candy would have been the absolutely perfect Rod, not just physically but also emotionally--playing out Rod's last days might have been his very best work of all, as he probably could have hit the pathos just right. 

[Trevor Tuominen]

The miniseries angle could work. Each season covering a decade of the show’s run from 1972 to 2017. I agree, Bill Murray could make a great Bob. Your guess as to who’d play the syndie hosts.

[vnisanian2001]

Hope it doesn't whitewash everything (Barker the victim, the models and Rod Roddy the villains)

[Teddy]

The miniseries angle could work. Each season covering a decade of the show’s run from 1972 to 2017. I agree, Bill Murray could make a great Bob. Your guess as to who’d play the syndie hosts.

FWIW, the miniseries as proposed would focus mainly on the Barker and Carey series. I've broken them down into parts, with the following actors and their roles:

PART 1 (1972-1986)
Jim Parsons as Bob Barker
Ben Stiller as Johnny Olson
Wayne Knight as Rod Roddy
Courteney Cox as Anitra Ford
Anna Faris as Janice Pennington
Brittany Daniel as Dian Parkinson
Sara Gilbert as Holly Hallstrom
Diedrich Bader as Roger Dobkowitz
Leah Remini as Kathy "Fingers" Greco
Jon Cryer as Mark Goodson
Jim Belushi as Bill Todman
Max Greenfield as Bud Grant
Dave Foley as Marc Breslow

PART 2 (1987-2003)
Jim Parsons as Bob Barker
Wayne Knight as Rod Roddy
Anna Faris as Janice Pennington
Brittany Daniel as Dian Parkinson
Sara Gilbert as Holly Hallstrom
Diedrich Bader as Roger Dobkowitz
Leah Remini as Kathy "Fingers" Greco
Keke Palmer as Kathleen Bradley
Zoe Saldana as Claudia Jordan
John Goodman as Paul Alter
Colin Mochrie as Bart Eskander
Extra as Nikki Ziering
Extra as Heather Kozar

PART 3 (2004-now)
Jim Parsons as Bob Barker
Diedrich Bader as Roger Dobkowitz
Leah Remini as Kathy "Fingers" Greco
Ashton Kutcher as Rich Fields
Beth Behrs as Rachel Reynolds
Ariel Winter as Brandi Sherwood
Amber Stevens West as Gwendolyn Osborne-Smith
Tiffany Haddish as Lanisha Cole
Tia Mowry as Phire Dawson
Kevin James as Drew Carey
Woody Harrelson as Mike Richards
Kristen Bell as Amber Lancaster
Yara Shahidi as Manuela Arbelaez
Neil Patrick Harris as George Gray
Frankie Muniz as Rob Wilson
Justin Timberlake as James O'Halloran
Stephen Curry as Devin Goda
Colin Mochrie as Bart Eskander
Dylan McDermott as Rich DiPirro
Sean Giambrone as Scott Robinson
Nina Dobrev as Hope Vinitsky (Mighty Sound Effects Lady)
Adam Sandler (actor) as Adam Sandler (director)
Extra as Gabrielle Tuite
Extra as Tamiko Nash
Extra as Shane LaLonde

For all three parts, Dan Aykroyd as Stan Blits would serve as the narrator.

[priceguy]

I think the best showbiz related movies are about certain events and not the whole history of a performer/show. A movie or series about 35-48 years of TPiR history could get tedious, even for us superfans, IMO.

With that said, I'd like to see a movie about the Terry Kneiss perfect bid fiasco. I realize there is already the fantastic documentary, but I think a scripted dramatization would be a neat twist.

As for casting, I think Christopher Plummer would make a great Bob Barker. William H. Macy as Roger Dobkowitz. And maybe Paul Giamatti as Ted?

[pricefan18]

I think the best showbiz related movies are about certain events and not the whole history of a performer/show. A movie or series about 35-48 years of TPiR history could get tedious, even for us superfans, IMO.

With that said, I'd like to see a movie about the Terry Kneiss perfect bid fiasco. I realize there is already the fantastic documentary, but I think a scripted dramatization would be a neat twist.

I think the model scandals of the 90's alone would be interesting...that's probably the best movie idea at least in the Barker era. What about Christopher Lloyd too as Barker? I can see him filling that role.