10 Craziest Things That Have Been Made Into Movies

10. A Barclaycard Advert - Johnny English

Although it'd be easy to think Johnny English was merely a British attempt to capitalise on the success of Austin Powers, the real origins of the film are something much more ridiculous. From 1991 to 1997 Rowan Atkinson starred in a series of adverts for Barclaycard where he played an exceedingly confident MI7 agent who consistently dismisses the advantages of the credit card to the behest of either his mission or almost-suave façade. They're well produced, succinct and, most importantly, funny. But nobody would have expected to see them blown up to feature length on the big screen. The name of Atkinson's character was changed (in the commercials he was named Richard Lathum) and Bough was recast in Johnny English, but the film is very reminiscent of the minute-long origins; many of the film's best jokes originate from the adverts. The Austin Powers connection and simplistic origins put many people against the film long before it arrived, but if you go in without any cynicism and it's actually a rather fun outing. While Mike Myers set his eye on the early days of Bond, English is a direct pastiche of the more recent Brosnan era. Which, given Die Another Day had been released just a year before, was much needed.