Hollywood 'books Hawaii Five-O film'

The TV series' star Jack Lord died in 1998

Hawaii Five-O, the classic TV cop series, is set to be turned into a film following a bidding war between Hollywood studios, according to reports.

Steven Spielberg's studio, Dreamworks fought off competition from at least three other companies to negotiate for the film rights, according to trade newspaper Variety.

Hawaii Five-O ran for 12 years

Hawaii Five-O, which became a worldwide hit in the 1970s, saw Jack Lord play Detective Steve McGarrett, who would chase criminals on the islands before telling his partner to "book 'em, Danno".

It is expected to be brought into the 21st century for the big screen, as another TV favourite, Charlie's Angels, was for its film revival.

Dreamworks, who were behind A Beautiful Mind, Gladiator and American Beauty, are likely to pay a seven-figure sum for the film rights, Variety said.

The Hawaii Five-O film is expected to keep the same characters, which also included Danny Williams, played by James MacArthur in the TV series, and criminal mastermind Wo Fat, played by Khigh Diegh.

Hawaii Five-O was seen on the small screen between 1968 and 1980, and has been credited with being the longest continuous-running police series in US TV history.

Success

The film script has been written by Roger Towne, who wrote the screenplay for the 1984 Robert Redford drama The Natural and has also penned a forthcoming Al Pacino Thriller, The Farm.

The film will follow the success of Charlie's Angels, which originally ran from 1976-81 but was turned into a big screen hit starring Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz in 2000.

Another series, 1950s sitcom The Honeymooners, has also recently been lined up to become a film, Variety said.

Sopranos star James Gandolfini is reported to be interested in playing Ralph Kramden, a role originally filled by Jackie Gleason.