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Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Wayne Beach (MURDER AT 1600) is writing the pilot for WGN America’s suspense drama, AMERICAN DREAM about a homicide cop trying to nail a mega-zillionaire CEO. (Sounds like a cool series…if only we knew who/what WGN America was. Anybody wanna google it and tell us?)
- Kurt Sutter (a little thing called BREAKING BAD) is developing THE BASTARD EXECUTIONER as a series for Netflix. (Cuz he’s Kurt Sutter and he can damn well develop anything he wants to – and get paid. Yes, okay, we’re definitely eating our heart out here.)
- Patrick Macmanus (MARCO POLO) is writing THE INN, a supernatural drama pilot for NBC. (A classic ghost story complete with a group of strangers gathered together in a weird hotel? Execution will be everything. Wait. Did we say “execution?” Maybe Kurt Sutter will join the process with his bastard?)
- Matthew Perry (Yeah, that guy) is writing a new version of Neil Simon’s THE ODD COUPLE with Danny Jacobson (MAD ABOUT YOU). (Cuz God forbid Neil Simon should be allowed to put his stamp on his own creation. His style has been the basis for TV comedy for almost 50 years, but, you know, enough is enough.)
- Chas Smith is adapting his book, Welcome to Paradise, Now To to Hell into a Fox 21 Productions cable series about crime/murder/adrenalin and – did you guess it? – surfing. (This one might be a little iffy, cuz you know what happened to the last big surfing series on cable. No? Google JOHN FROM CINCINATTI and you’ll sadly see.)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Mike Kelly (REVENGE) has a new overall deal with HBO after being fired from REVENGE, which has had declining ratings. (Proving that he’s a heck of a good guy in the room, no? We mean as well as being a brilliant writer who isn’t necessarily in tune with audience desires…which pretty much describes exactly what HBO is all about, which, FTR, we do not think is a bad thing.)
- Alex Taub (DROP DEAD DIVA) is adapting Carl Hiaasen’s novel, Basket Case, into a drama series for Spike TV. (Carl Hiaassen! On TV! Finally! TVWriter™ congratulates Spike TV for finally moving in a direction we approve of. And you know how important our congratulations – and approval – are, don’tcha? Yeah, we’re afraid we know the true answer to that too. Sigh…)
- Sam Ernst & Jim Dunn (HAVEN) are adapting Stephen King’s short story “New York Times at Bargain Rates” into a series for ABC. (How good will this be? We figure that’s in inverse proportion to Mr. King’s active participation. Hey, we love the guy’s writing, but every time he pokes his verbiage into the screen versions…)
- Patrick Moss & Jeremy Anderson (GREAT EXPECTATIONS) are writing KING DAVID, a to-be-syndicated series featuring a take that’s likely to raise hella hackles among Bible fans. (What? You don’t think anybody will object to what the PR is describing as “a mafia show in biblical clothing?” What planet are you on?)
- Lizzy Weiss (SWITCHED AT BIRTH) is developing INTO THIN AIR, a so-called “family drama,” for ABC family. (Just in case you still thought ABC family was really for, you know, families, this is further described as having “thriller elements.” Just what you want to sit down with your kids to watch, right?)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Amanda Brotchie (Australia’s LOWDOWN) is writing the pilot for a U.S. version of the comedy project on E! (Considering how much we’ve enjoyed another Australia-to-U.S. comedy, WILFRED, we’re gonna look forward to this one.)
- Drew Goddard (CLOVERFIELD) is developing DAREDEVIL for Netflix. (And considering that he also wrote and directed THE CABIN IN THE WOODS we find ourselves looking forward to this one too. A horror movie style Daredevil? You know it’s awesome.)
- Al Gough & Miles Millar (SMALLVILLE) are adapting Terry Brooks’ Sword of Shannara books into a series for, of all places, MTV. (Two hits and then this obvious miss. Sword of Shannara? Worst inadvertent fantasy pastiche evah! SMALLVILLE? Most mind-numbing comic book adaptation evah! MTV committing to a majorly scripted series? Worst idea for a network push evah! Oyyy! Guess we’ve made ourselves clear here, huh?)
- Alice Hoffman’s historical novel, The Dovekeepers, is being adapted into a CBS miniseries about “four extraordinary women whose lives intersect in a fight for survival at the siege of Masada.” (For us, this is a definite Pee-yoo cuz, well, for one thing we know going in that these women ain’t gonna survive because Masada=everybody dies; for another thing what happened to the men?; and for yet another thing…it’s being produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. Which means that we know damn well that if we even tried to watch we’d never survive the first act.)
- Chris Mundy (LOW WINTER SUN) has segued from his AMC series failure (by which we mean LOW WINTER SUN) to an overall deal with that very same network. (Cuz you know the old TV development saying, “Better the worst known quantity than the best unknown.” Yeppers, this is risk avoidance at its
peak nadir.)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Bernie Richburg (a pal of Pam Grier) is writing the pilot for an Entertainment One series starring Pam Grier as the head of a squad of “shoot first, ask questions” later Homeland Security agents. (Ethical/political considerations aside, this thing has “hit” written all over it cuz Pam Grier, Pam Grier, PAM GRIER!!!)
- Christina Wayne (a Development Exec – uh-oh) has a new producing deal at Endemol Studios and is looking to develop projects so don’t just sit there, get in touch with her. (Pretend you know her. Take
it her to lunch. This is opportunity knocking, gang. For reals.)
- Carol Flint (ER) is writing the pilot for MDX, an Endemol Studios TV project. (See? We toldja they were real.)
- Zack Stentz & Ashley Miller (THOR) are developing a new TERMINATOR TV series for Fox. (And they’ll be syncing it with the franchise’s return to the big screen as well. Which could be terrific…or horrible, depending on the way the two work together. Or if Pam Grier is involved. Yeah, Pam Grier as a TV terminator. Would that not be amaaazing?)
- Doug Ellin (ENTOURAGE) has a new overall deal at CBS studios. (Nothing to see here, folks. Move along, move along. Maybe you’ll run into Pam Grier around the corner, who knows?)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Murray Miller (GIRLS) has a new overall deal with HBO and is co-writing a comedy pilot for them called MR. ROMANCE with Casper Christian (KLOWN). (Congrats to all concerned. We’re thinking this is going to turn out well for everybody, even the audience.)
- Scott Kosar (THE MACHINIST) is writing a History Channel miniseries to be called THE LOST YEARS. (And guess whose lost years they’ll be? Nope – Jesus, baby. The secret, hidden truth about The Son Of God. Think that one’ll ever get past the true believers and on the air? For that matter, should it?)
- Steven S. DeKnight (SPARTACUS) is adapting the Italian drama ROMANZO CRIMINALE into a series for Starz about Philadelphia mobs in the ’60s and ’70s. (Which seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with the original, which is set in Rome in the ’70s and ’80s except, you know, Italian mobsters, whoa! Although come to think of it, that’s probably more than enough.)
- James Shiban (HELL ON WHEELS) is developing a History Channel miniseries about JAMESTOWN, in all its patriotic glory. (Or, hopefully, in all its harsh reality cuz for us that would be way, way cooler. Good luck, Jimmy boy!)
- Jenji Kohan (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK) is creating an HBO series about the Salem witch trials. (And, no, we don’t care how it comes out, we’re in love with anybody who has the cajones to call herself Jenji and on top of that do in her parents by daring to spell her last name with a K.)
- John Singleton (SHAFT) is writing the pilot for a drama series called CLUB LIFE: MIAMI for HBO. (Which will be totally cool cuz he’s being overseen by one of our biggest heroes over here: Russell Simmons. What a great dude!)