Variety reports that Anjelica Huston will direct a movie adaptation of Daniel Woodrell’s GIVE US A KISS. Huston directed BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA and the screenplay will be written by Angus MacLachlan, who scripted JUNEBUG, so this could turn out very well for us Woodrell fans. I enjoyed RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, which was based on Woodrell’s WOE TO LIVE ON, and was done by the same production company as this project.
In the Trades Today
Anti-Heroes
Ever since shows about a mob family (THE SOPRANOS) and corrupt cops (THE SHIELD) hit it big, we’ve been seeing a lot of attempts to do other series about anti-heroes. Most of them have been about bank robbers and thieves, and most of them have failed.
But now there’s a new breed of anti-heroes on TV. On WEEDS, we have a housewife who sells pot. On DEXTER, we have a detective who is a serial killer himself. And now comes word from Variety that AMC is developing a series about a high school chemistry teacher who manufactures and distributes crystal meth.
Pilot script, which previously was set up at FX, concerns a
desperate man who discovers he is terminally ill and tracks what he’s
willing to do to ensure his family’s survival.AMC execs say
they’re confident that "Breaking Bad," should it go to series, will
have the support of Madison Avenue — in spite of a protagonist who is
both a teacher and a drug maker."It will be much more about the
storytelling and the way we handle the material that will make it OK
for advertisers," net exec VP-general manager Charlie Collier said.
"The story is about a guy who turns to a life of crime because he’s
trying to change his life. … In the classic antihero sense, you’re
rooting for him to figure it out."Rob Sorcher, AMC exec VP of
programming/production, said the network is willing to take more risks
because of its commitment to find "cinematic" series to pair with its
arsenal of theatricals.
Why is it when networks want to be "cinematic," they think it means going very dark? I find it especially odd considering that whenever you hear movie executives talking about dramas now, they’re saying they want projects that are as compelling as the shows on TV… where all the best drama is being done now (and why so much movie talent….writers, director and actors… are migrating to television).
Don’t Miss UNDERFUNDED
The Hollywood Reporter gave a deservedly rave review to my friend David Breckman’s hilarious pilot UNDERFUNDED, which the USA Network is quietly burning off tonight at 8 pm. It’s about a spy for the Canadian Secret Service and it’s great fun, closer to THE ROCKFORD FILES than GET SMART.
Why is it that nothing about Canada can be taken seriously? Is it the
speech pattern that ends everything in "Eh"? The fact that the populace
seems so sweetly guileless and lily-white? The complete lack of
pretension? Whatever the case, the Great White North takes one on the
chin again in this lighthearted and surprisingly entertaining subtle
procedural spoof, a rare TV movie that plays it all for laughs."Underfunded"
is a production freak of nature: a movie filmed in Canada (Vancouver)
that’s actually about Canada, featuring no name stars and a scrappy,
unassuming, take-nothing-seriously tone that proves mostly endearing.
Kudos to USA for greenlighting something this far outside the telepic
norm.
Now if only USA would greenlight the series…
Another Clueless Moron
This advertisement was in Variety yesterday (click on it for a larger image):
All Nick has really done with his $5000 is announce that he’s a clueless moron to all the entertainment industry executives enjoying their morning bowel movement.
But in his own way, he has performed a public service. His advertisement is actually a primer on how NOT to sell your novel, TV series, movie, game show, photography, music, or 1997 Honda Civic to Hollywood.
(Oh, and here’s a helpful hint to all the future Spielbergs, Camerons, Eastwoods and Nicks out there — before you set out to write your next book, TV series, movie, game show, song, or ad in Variety, you should know that an apostrophe S doesn’t make something plural).
I couldn’t resist checking out his site. Among his projects for future Spielbergs, Camerons and Eastwoods is a treatment for THE RETURN
FOR MAGNUM PI, which he registered with the WGA in 1994 despite the
fact he doesn’t own the underlying rights. Since then, he’s apparently changed his name from Nick Oliva to Nick Bold, perhaps to embrace the new boldness of his writing. I also read the first five pages of his important new book. Here’s one of my favorite passages (the italics are his):
I felt my heart pounding in an uncontrollable tidal surge of affection as we sat and laced up our skates.
And this:
She embraced herself and gracefully slid her hands down opposite arms, creating bountiful cleavage that she stared into before looking over to me, offering herself with an outward shrug of her right shoulder much the way a cat lifts its bottom.
He’s threatening to give this novel away free, but I think even that is charging too much. I wonder if Nick is a member of the Colonial Fan Force? If not, he should be.
UPDATE 11-20-06: He ran the ad again today…because there were typos on his website. He didn’t bother to correct the grammatical errors in his ad, though. What a moron.
She’ll Be Back
Variety reports that Lena Headey has been cast in the title role of THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, the Fox pilot based on the TERMINATOR movies. I’ve never heard of her, have you? Headey takes over the role from Linda Hamilton, who I had an enormous crush on as a kid. David Nutter is directing the pilot, and he has an unbroken record of success, so it’s a safe bet you’ll see this on the air in the fall. Josh Friedman wrote the script, and he’s no slouch, either.
Airing Tonight in Oblivion
A year ago, I wrote abou lost TV series that were ordered and shot but never aired. Variety reports that the new CBS series WATERFRONT is destined to be another show that will only be broadcast in oblivion.
Over at the Eye, "Waterfront" was originally slated for midseason.
But with few holes to fill on its sked, CBS execs decided to pull the
plug on the drama from Warner Bros. TV.Jack Orman created the
skein, which starred Joe Pantoliano as the mayor of Providence, R.I.
William Baldwin, Mary Stuart Masterson and Larenz Tate also starred.Four
episodes, plus the pilot, of "Waterfront" had already been shot.
Insiders said net execs weren’t completely pleased with the show’s
direction; without a pressing need to schedule it, the net decided to
pass.
Each episode of the show probably cost at least $2 million to produce. Plus it’s likely that the producers and cast have pay-or-play deals, meaning they will have to be paid for 13 episodes whether they are shot or not. So this decision essentially means that CBS will be flushing over $10 million down the toilet.
The Conversation: The Series
Variety reports that Francis Ford Coppola is developing a TV series version of his classic movie THE CONVERSATION for ABC. The pilot will be written by Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects") and Erik Jendresen ("Band of Brothers").
Released in 1974, between Coppola’s first two
"Godfather" pics, "The Conversation" is a sparse thriller featuring
Gene Hackman as master of electronic surveillance Harry Caul.McQuarrie
and Jendresen plan to set the TV version in the present day, with Caul
now equally adept at digital spying and traditional audio surveillance.Skein
will feature close-ended stories, with Caul reluctantly taking on cases
in order to help people deserving of assistance. But there’ll also be
an ongoing storyline since, as in the movie, Caul will be a man under
constant observation by various government agencies due to a secret
conversation he’s recorded.
This is not the first time this has been attempted. Back in 1995, Oscar-winning screenwriter Ron Bass wrote a pilot based on THE CONVERSATION for NBC that starred Kyle MacLachlan in the Hackman role.
Purgatory for Pilots
Variety reports that the web is becoming a haven for busted TV pilots:
In recent weeks, at least four failed pilots
from the 2005-06 development season have ended up online on services
such as YouTube and Break.com. Inspired by the saga of "Nobody’s
Watching" — the year-old WB pilot that found new life after popping up
on YouTube (Daily Variety, July 21) — interested parties seem intent on getting their work out to viewers, one way or another.That
has sent studios scrambling, forcing them to quickly decide whether to
let the shows live online, where they might build a cult following, or
ask the services to yank them. For the most part, studios seem to be
choosing the latter option.
While the studios pretend that these pilots "mysteriously" show up on the net, and that their lawyers are furious about it, they almost always give up the act (or at least delay taking action) after the pilots begin getting some buzz and wracking up hits.
Studio insiders warn that producers or talent who leak pilots could face penalties.
But
it seems unlikely studios will risk alienating creators, especially
since most pilots simply die after they’re rejected by networks. If
anything, having consumers respond positively to a show rejected by a
network only serves to validate the studio’s decision to take a risk on
a project.And while "Nobody’s Watching" has generated much hype
for its YouTube resurrection, it’s hardly the first pilot to find a
life on the service.Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel’s cult
classic "Lookwell" has been seen more than 50,000 times, while
"Awesometown" — the Fox sketch comedy pilot starring "Saturday Night
Live’s" Andy Samberg — has been streamed over 225,000 times.
Fletch Returns
Variety reports that Kevin Smith is out and SCRUBS showrunner Bill Lawrence is in to write and direct a movie version of FLETCH WON, from the novel by Gregory McDonald. FLETCH WON is a prequel to the original FLETCH novel, which was adapted in 1985 as a lousy Chevy Chase movie and inspired a even worse sequel film, FLETCH LIVES.
Batman Flies Again
Variety reports that Christian Bale is returning to play Batman in THE DARK KNIGHT, which will feature Heath Ledger as The Joker (quite a turn from Jack Nicholson). Christopher Nolan will direct the movie, which will be written by his brother Jonah (from a story by David Goyer and Christopher Nolan). The movie is already set for release in May 2008, up against the so-far-untitled 22nd Bond movie and IRON MAN.