Category Archives: TV Adaptations

Rob Reiner to Direct Basket Case Adaptation for Spike TV

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Carl Hiaasen’s best selling novel, “Basket Case” is getting a small screen adaptation by way of an upcoming television series courtesy of Spike TV and FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) in association with Random House Television Productions and Castle Rock Entertainment. Rob Reiner is set to both direct and develop the script for the series.

The plot of “Basket Case” focuses on a great investigative reporter who has trouble dealing with authority, change, women, success, and most of all, corruption. The family-run newspaper he works for is sold to a giant, international conglomerate and after he savages the new and very powerful owner in a video on the paper’s website, he is demoted to the lowest position on the paper, the obituary desk. Obits, however, provide a new perspective into crime-ridden Miami and he soon learns that they are a unique window into suspicious deaths and weird goings on. Using an unusual team of friends, relatives, an ex-wife, newspaper misfits, and his beautiful new boss, he strives to regain his investigative credibility and a saner life.

Reiner commented,

“Corruption, murder, and laughs. I can’t think of a more satisfying combination. Carl Hiaasen strikes the perfect balance. I’m so looking forward to entering his twisted world.”

Peter Gethers (“The Cat Who Went To Paris,” “Old Jews Telling Jokes”) and Jeffrey Levine (“Too Big to Fail”) will serve as executive producers and Alex Taub (“Hart of Dixie,” “Drop Dead Diva”) will write the series. Thom Beers, Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk serve as executive producers for FremantleMedia North America. Reiner and Liz Glotzer are executive producers for Castle Rock Entertainment.

“We are thrilled to have sold our first scripted series to Spike,” said Gethers. “What makes it particularly gratifying is that, not only is the show based on the work of one of Alfred A. Knopf’s most beloved authors, we get to partner with Rob Reiner and Castle Rock. It’s a dream combination for us.”

Author, Hiaasen, added,

“It’s very cool to have Rob Reiner involved with ‘Basket Case.’ Among writers of satire, ‘Spinal Tap’ stands as a work of genius. I’m excited to see what Rob will do with my twisted little novel.”

NBC Greenlights Miniseries Rosemary’s Baby

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NBC has officially green lit the upcoming four-hour miniseries remake, “Rosemary’s Baby.” The series is an adaptation of the 1967 best-selling suspense novel by Ira Levin. “Rosemary’s Baby” centers on a young married couple who move into a Paris apartment that has a haunted past. After getting pregnant, the wife becomes increasingly suspicious that both her husband and their neighbors will have ulterior motives when her child is born. The novel was famous adapted into a feature film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Mia Farrow (who about half way through the movie gets a hideous haircut, sorry Mia.)

Quinn Taylor, Executive Vice President, Movies, Miniseries and International Co-Productions, NBC Entertainment, said,

“Ira Levin’s mesmerizing book was a groundbreaking reflection on how effective and influential a psychological thriller could be. We’re looking forward to adapting his incredible work and bringing those indelible characters to a new generation of viewers.”

Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment added,

“As we move into the event movie and miniseries space, ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ represents the kind of attention-getting, surprising project that will make noise for us. The story has been updated and moved to Paris, but it’s faithful to the spirit of Ira Levin’s classic novel. This is a compelling tale wonderfully told.”

The project will be produced by Lionsgate Television, with Joshua Maurer, Alix Witlin and David Stern serving as executive producers. Scott Abbott (“Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,” “Winchell”) and James Wong (“American Horror Story”) will write the screenplay. Agnieszka Holland, who has been nominated for both an Oscar (“Europa, Europa”) and an Emmy Award (“Treme”), will direct.

Production on “Rosemary’s Baby” is set to begin in January on location in Paris. Casting will begin immediately.

New Interactive Trailer for Sherlock Series Three

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Season 3 of BBC’s “Sherlock” is finally almost here and BBC One has revealed a new interactive trailer for the upcoming third season.  The third season will premiere on BBC One on January 1st with “The Empty Hearse.” The third season will kick-off in the United States on January 19th on PBS.

After the New Year’s Day premiere, the second episode will air on Sunday, January 5th, followed by the third and final part on Sunday, January 12th. Those episodes are titled “The Sign of Three” and “His Last Vow.” All three episodes will run at 90 minutes each.

“Sherlock” is a British television crime drama that presents a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson. Six episodes have been produced, the first three of which aired in 2010. Series two aired in 2012, and a third series began production in March 2013. The series has been sold to over 180 territories.

The series depicts Sherlock depicts “consulting detective” Holmes, assisting the Metropolitan Police Service, primarily Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves), in solving various crimes. Holmes is assisted by his flatmate, Dr John Watson, who has returned from military service in Afghanistan. Although the series depicts a variety of crimes and perpetrators, Holmes’ conflict with his archnemesis Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) is a recurring feature. Pathologist Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey) assists Holmes in her laboratory. Other recurring roles include Una Stubbs as Mrs. Hudson, Holmes and Watson’s landlady; and co-creator Mark Gatiss as Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft Holmes.

Guillermo del Toro’s “The Strain” Teaser Revealed

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Guillermo del Toro and his upcoming new FX series, “The Strain” was teased during the mid-season finale of “The Walking Dead,” though most people probably didn’t realize it. he promo featured “found footage” accounts of rats. The first shot shows a couple dining outdoors until they spot rats scurrying about by a sewer grate. Another shot finds a batch of rats running through the hallway what looks like a City Hall. Then, enigmatically, a tiny phrase appears saying, “He is here.”

They are definitely utilizing the incredibly creepy aspect of found footage in the teaser.

The tale is a high concept thriller that tells the story of “Dr. Ephraim Goodweather” (Corey Stoll), the head of the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, and an assembly of everyday New Yorkers, wage war for the fate of humanity itself. Mia Maestro, Sean Astin, Kevin Durand, Natalie Brown, Jonathan Hyde, Richard Sammel, Robert Maillet, Jack Kesy, Ben Hyland, and Miguel Gomez also star.

“The Strain” is based on the novel of the same name written by del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Del Toro is also directing the pilot for “The Strain” which kicks off (unfortunately) next July.

You can watch the teaser below:

Sin City TV Series Coming Following A Dame to Kill For?

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The long-awaited sequel to Frank Miller’s 2005 Sin City film adaptation is almost here. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is set for an August 22, 2014 release date but it looks like we may have a television series to look forward to as well.  The Weinstein Company’s Bob Weinstein told The New York Times that they are looking at developing a “Sin City” TV series as well.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

Bob Weinstein, interviewed separately from his brother, said he was developing original projects that would be in tune with his horror and action-oriented Dimension brand, along with several shows based on movies he has overseen for the company. He is preparing a pilot based on the “Scream” films for MTV, for instance, and developing a proposed 10-part series with Frank Darabont, based on Dimension’s film version of Stephen King’s “The Mist.”

Mr. Weinstein said he was also hoping to quickly follow the August release of the film “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For,” directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, with a “Sin City” television series from Mr. Miller and Mr. Rodriguez.

The “Sin City” franchise is based on the graphic novel series of the same name written by Frank Miller. A Dame to Kill For is a comic book limited series first published by Dark Horse Comics in 1993. It is the second story in Frank Miller’s Sin City series, and the first to be published in miniseries format. It was written and drawn entirely by Miller

 

Witches of East End Renewed for Second Season

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Lifetime has officially renewed their supernatural drama, “Witches of East End” for a second season. The show stars Julia Ormond, Mädchen Amick, Jenna Dewan Tatum and Rachel Boston as a family of witches living in the secluded seaside town of East Haven. Season two will begin in 2014.

Rob Sharenow, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Lifetime, said,

“With its great story telling and amazing cast, ‘Witches of East End’ is leading a full-blown witch renaissance. The show’s perfect mix of premium execution with content that is in the zeitgeist is drawing new viewers to Lifetime and we’re very excited to be bringing it back for a second season.”

“Witches of East End” is based on the novel of the same name written by Melissa de la Cruz. It centers on the mysterious Beauchamp family: free-spirited artist Joanna (Ormond) and her two grown daughters, wild-child bartender Freya (Dewan Tatum) and shy librarian Ingrid (Boston), both of whom are unaware that they are gifted (and cursed) with a magical birthright. Freya is recently engaged to the man of her dreams, wealthy playboy Dash Gardiner (Eric Winter), but when she finds herself inexplicably drawn to Dash’s troubled, enigmatic brother Killian (Daniel DiTomasso), bizarre occurrences begin to manifest. Meanwhile, Joanna’s long-estranged sister Wendy (Amick) shows up with a warning that could change the Beauchamps’ fate forever, forcing Joanna to reveal to her daughters they are, indeed, immortal witches who possess great untapped powers.

“Witches of East End” also stars Jason George and Virginia Madsen. The series’ first season will conclude on Sunday, December 15th, at 10:00pm ET/PT. Produced by Fox 21, “Witches of East End” is executive produced by Maggie Friedman, Jonathan Kaplan, Erwin Stoff and Josh Reims. Kaplan also serves as the producing director on the series.

Game Of Thrones Jack Gleeson Is Done Acting Once King Joffrey Is Gone

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King Joffrey is a character we all love to hate. And by hate I really mean LOATHE. The “Game of Thrones” character played by Jack Gleeson is one of the most famously bad characters in television and literature. So when his character inevitably exits the show, Gleeson has stated that he plans to quit acting. For good.

Gleeson said he would rather quit acting so he can focus on charity work during an interview with The Independent. According to the interview, a recent trip to Haiti with international aid organization, Goal, was one of the deciding factors that led Gleeson to wanting to step out of the limelight and spend more time doing charity work.

Whether this ends up being permanent or not, it is still incredibly selfless and admirable. Though it would have been nice to see him in a non-villain role. One day maybe? Either way, way to go Gleeson.

“Game of Thrones” is scheduled to premiere in early 2014 on HBO. It will be based roughly on the second half of A Storm of Swords, the third book of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R. R. Martin, of which the series is an adaptation. The season will consist of ten episodes .

The Walking Dead Enlists Andrew J. West for Secret Season 4 Role

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, “The Walking Dead” is about to get one more survivor in the gang. Andrew J. West, most known for his role on “Greek,” has joined the cast in a role that has yet to be released. Details about his character are being kept secret but it is said that his character is not directly from the source material. Instead, he is a “remix” of someone from the comic series.

The article also notes that, similarly to other added characters, West will be credited as a “guest star” for the second half of season 4 with an option to become a series regular in season 5. Other new cast members for the fourth season of “The Walking Dead” include Larry Gilliard Jr.,  Josh McDermitt, Michael Cudlitz, Alanna Masterson and  Christian Serratos.

It was also not revealed when fans can expect his entrance into the series.

The fourth season of the series premiered on October 13, 2013,  and is set to consist of 16 episodes. The fourth season has already introduced several notable comic characters including Abraham Ford, Eugene Porter, Rosita Espinosa, and Bob Stookey as well as a modified version of the Chalmers family from The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor tie-in novel including prominent comic/novel character Lilly.

“The Walking Dead” airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

The series is based on the series of comic books of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard; it was developed for television by Frank Darabont, and is executive produced by Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple, Greg Nicotero, and Gale Anne Hurd. Gimple assumed the role of showrunner after Glen Mazzara’s departure at the conclusion of the previous season.

Telltale Reportedly Developing Game of Thrones Video Game

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Telltale Games, the company behind the hugely successful “Walking Dead” video games series is reportedly developing a new game based on everyone’s favorite fantasy series, “Game of Thrones.” IGN has reported that they have heard from multiple sources that the developer is working on the game adaptation.

However, it is not currently known whether the game would be based on the HBO series or the source material, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin.

When asked, Telltale Games responded simply,

“We get these sorts of rumors about what we could be working on next cropping up all the time. Officially we have no comment.”

If anyone is going to make a “Game of Thrones” video game, I would want Telltale to be one of the developers. If it is anything like the “Walking Dead” season games it would be massively successful and masterfully well done (I am assuming, of course.) What we don’t need is another fuck up like the last “Game of Thrones” video game that failed both in the eyes of critics and fans.

The HBO series is based on the novels from “A Song of Ice and Fire” written by Martin. He began the first volume of the series, A Game of Thrones, in 1991. He published it in 1996. Martin gradually extended his originally intended trilogy to seven volumes, the fifth of which, A Dance with Dragons, took him five years to write before its publication in 2011. Martin’s work on his sixth, The Winds of Winter, is still underway.

“The Space Vampires” Adaptation Heads to the Small Screen as “Lifeforce”

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The 1976 Colin Wilson novel, “The Space Vampires” is heading to the small screen. Ringleader Studios announced plans to re-adapt the novel after securing the rights. The studio also plans to use the title of Tobe Hooper’s 1985 cult classic for an ongoing series and other related media tie-ins including a video game and a graphic novel.

“The Space Vampires” is set  in the late 21st century and follows an Earth spacecraft, the Hermes, that uncovers a massive derelict craft filled with bat creatures and three humanoids in suspended animation. When the Hermes’ crew brings the bodies back to Earth, they accidentally awaken an evil force intent on stealing the life-force energy of the entire planet.

The titular space aliens are energy vampires, as opposed to the familiar stereotypical blood-sucking Earth vampires that suck blood and change into bats. They consume the “life force” by seducing living beings with a deadly kiss and also have the ability to take control of the willing host bodies of their victims. Though initially the aliens’ “true” form appears to be a bat-like creature, the creatures are ultimately revealed to be insubstantial energy-beings from a higher dimension.

The novel was originally adapted into a film in 1985 that starred Steve Railsback and Mathilda May. Despite being a failure at the 1985 box office, the film has achieved a cult popularity today.

Steve Harris is attached to executive produce the new series. There is no word on when “Lifeforce” will premiere or which network is being looked at as a vehicle.