Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

CBS Films has released a clip for its 2011 thriller, The Mechanic, a remake of the 1972 action thriller that starred Charles Bronson.  The film follows an elite assassin named Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) "with a strict code and unique talen for cleanly eliminating targets." But when his mentor and close friend Harry (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, Bishop tracks down those responsible.

Have a hankering for some good noir movies to watch over the holiday season? Check out IMDB's best "Film Noir" titles.

Director Terry Gilliam and SFX artist Tim Ollive are teaming up for the movie 1884, described as a steampunk mixed-media adventure-espionage story set in an alternate timeline where the industrial revolution went a lot further and faster, resulting in a futuristic imperial metropolis. The story will mix animation, live-action puppetry and CGI while the backgrounds will blend period photography, miniatures and graphics.

TV

Looks like there's hope we may yet see a screen version (film or TV) of author Michael Connelly's popular Harry Bosch series. After years of being locked in a movie rights waste-land, Connelly was able to buy back the rights to his creation and says "Harry could have a life on TV."

If you missed the BBC's Nordic Noir TV special, keep your eye out for a rebroadcast. Here's an article with some background to tide you over. Also, part two in the series, Italian Noir: The Story of Italian Crime Fiction airs tonight in the UK on BBC Four.

FX will bring back the second season of Justified with 13 episodes beginning on February 9th.  The crime drama, based on novels by Elmore Leonard, stars Timothy Olyphant as a Kentucky-based U.S. marshal trying to balance his job and a complicated personal life.

CBS announced its mid-season schedule changes, which sees Blue Bloods moving to Wednesday for four weeks before returning to its Friday slot. The new spin-off crime drama Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, premieres Wednesday, February 16 and The Defenders moves to Fridays until April when its slot gives way to the new CIA-themed show Chaos. (Hat tip to Omnimystery).

For a behind-the-scenes look at the new AMC procedural show The Killing, check out ONTD's video clip.

TV Guide has an interview with long-time TV producer Leonard Goldberg, producer of such shows as Charlie's Angels, Starsky and Hutch, and Blue Bloods.

Comments

[Stephen D. Rogers]

Hmm. A huge part of the The Mechanic's success was that whole mentor\competition thing.

[BV Lawson]

I think they're keeping the mentor/pupil angle, with the son of the murdered man serving that junior role, if I understand the remake's plot correctly. Could be interesting; we'll have to see how Jason Statham does in the Charles Bronson role.