Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

Kevin Costner has signed a deal to star in not one, but two Tom Clancy pictures playing William Harper, the spy boss who recruits Jack Ryan (played by Chris Pine) into the CIA.

Writer-director Stephen Gaghan penned a script titled Candy Store, which is attracting actors Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington. The plot centers on a highly trained deep-cover operative who starts his life over in Brooklyn as a beat cop, only to discover the global organization he was dedicated to fighting is operating in his new backyard.

The Girl Who Played With Fire, the sequel to the American film version of  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, is still in the works—but since the script isn't finished, the film won't be shot any time soon, let alone released in 2013 as originally hoped.

Gary Oldman may have dropped out of the thriller Motor City (playing the villain against protagonist Gerard Butler), but the film's producers didn't take long to sign Adrien Brody in his stead. The story is about a man released from prison for a crime he didn't commit who goes on the hunt for the people who framed him.

Hugh Laurie (House, MD) has dropped out of the Robocop reboot, but Clive Owen is at the top of the list of possible actors to replace Laurie as the villain in the crime drama.

For the latest release times for upcoming fall movies, here's a handy list. Among the crime drama notables: Alex Cross, based on the James Patterson novels, in which a homicide investigator (Tyler Perry) squares off against a serial killer (Matthew Fox), coming in October and Jack Reacher, the film adaption of Lee Child's novels, scheduled for December. 

TV

The Specsavers Crime Thriller Award nominees for excellence in movies and television were announced and include several heavy-hitters, including Drive, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Tinker, Taylor Soldier Spy for Best Picture and Wallander and Sherlock for Best TV series.

The CW network has ordered the project Wrecking Ball, a case-of-the-week procedural drama from Richard Hatem (Grimm). The concept reported  involves "a John F. Kennedy Jr.-type character who teams with a young campaign strategist to solve underdog cases."

ITV has recommissioned three crime dramas to add to its schedule, including Vera, based on the novels of Ann Cleves, to once again star Brenda Blethyn as Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope; Scott & Bailey, starriang Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp as DS Ronnie Brooks and DS Sam Casey with the Manchester Metropolitan Police; and Law & Order UK, with a cast not yet specified. (Hat tip to Omnimystery News.)

NBC's procedural drama Hannibal, based on the novels by Thomas Harris, has added Hettienne Park to the cast as a forensic scientist. The series centers on FBI profiler Will Graham (played by Hugh Dancy) and the psychiatrist/serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelson). The cast also includes Laurence Fishburne as Senior Agent Jack Crawford.

AMC's upcoming police procedural Low Winter Sun has added Sprague Grayden (from 24) and David Costabile (Breaking Bad) to the cast of already-signed Mark Strong, Lennie James and James Ransone. The show is based on a 2006 British miniseries and is described as a story of murder, deception, revenge and corruption that starts with the murder of a cop by fellow Detroit detective Frank Agnew (Strong) that leads into the heart of the Detroit underworld.

CBS has given the go-ahead for a pilot by David Mamet that's a remake of the 1957 Western drama Have Gun – Will Travel. The original series starred Richard Boone as Paladin, a top-notch gunfighter who "preferred to settle problems without violence but stood his ground when provoked."

AMC's canceled show The Killing may find a new home on either Netflix and DirecTV, both of which are in negotiations to land the show for its third season.

ABC Family ordered a pilot from Gavin Polone titled Socio, about a charismatic 16-year-old alleged sociopath who reconnects with his two childhood best friends and becomes the prime suspect when a fellow student is murdered.

Fans of the BBC's Sherlock series waiting for the next trilogy of the series (sometime in 2013) will have to be content with the teaser that teven Moffat tossed out this past week, Tweeting three clue words for the themes of the episodes: Rat, Wedding, Bow. Last year Moffat did the same thing, with his cryptic clues, Woman/Hound/Fall referring to last season's triology of episodes based on "Scandal in Bohemia," "Hounds of the Baskervilles," and "The Final Problem."  Confused? Omnimystery News will fill you in.

The BBC is adapting a new TV series based on the novels of Benjamin Black featuring his one-name Dublin pathologist, Quirke. Gabriel Byrne, star of The Usual Suspects, is slated to star in the title role.

Producers of the HBO Hitchcock biopic drama The Girl, with a premiere in October, released a first trailer for the film.

PODCASTS

The Suspense Radio podcast this week featured Brian Knight, D.P. Lyle, Jaden Terrell & Michael Crisp. The previous week's show welcomed guest authors Karin Slaughter, Jeffrey Wilson and Allison Leotta.

THEATER

Actor/writer/director Chazz Palminteri will bring his play Human to New York in 2013. He'll play a Wall Street banker in the production, which has also signed actors Jeremy Shamos, Mira Sorvino and Australian pop singer Sophie Monk. The plot is described as "Wall Street meets Good-fellas."