Warner Brothers acquired film rights to the book Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery, by Robert Kolker. The story is based on a real-life seral killer case on Long Island, who has dumped his murder victims, all escorts advertising on Craigslist and similar websites, on Long Island’s South Shore.
Producer Andrew Lauren optioned film rights to the novel The Carrion Birds by Urban Waite, set in a Southwestern border town. The story follows a killer who is ready to put down his guns and reconnect with his young teenage son, when one final job goes awry and puts the killer in the crosshairs of his morally conflicted cousin and a new female sheriff. (Hat tip to Omnimystery News.)
Sylvester Stallone announced that Bruce Willis is out and Harrison Ford is in for Expendables 3. The film franchise stars various action-hero veterans as a group of elite mercenaries. The third installment is also adding Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, Nicolas Cage, Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas and Milla Jovovich to the cast.
Hugh Grant has joined the growing cast of the TV-to-film adaptation of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., playing the head of British naval intelligence.
Humphrey Bogart's estate, led by the actor's son Stephen Bogart, has formed an independent film company, Santana Productions. Robbert de Klerk, co-managing partner of the estate, added that "the estate aims to create the kind of well-told noirs, thrillers and crime movies that Bogie loved."
A teaser clip was released for Kill Your Darlings, which opens in limited released October 18. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) as Jack Kerouac, and Dane DeHaan as Lucien Carr in a premise that sees the three iconic figures arrested for murder when an outsider to their literary circle is found dead.
Sony Pictures released a trailer for Captain Phillips, based on the book A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and angerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty. The film, which is directed by Paul Greengrass and stars Tom Hanks, premieres at the New York Film Festival in September and in theaters October 11.
Two clips from Ridley Scott's upcoming thriller The Counselor were also released. The film stars Michael Fassbender as a lawyer who finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking, with Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz taking on supporting roles. The film hits theaters October 25.
TELEVISION
ABC bought an untitled police drama pilot from Shonda Rhimes' Shondaland production company. The potential series, from Made In Jersey creator Dana Calvo, is set in Miami and will follow "an unorthodox detective and his methodical new female partner as they solve cases that only seem to happen in the neon wilds of one of America’s most eclectic and vibrant cities."
Fox ordered a script commitment for a new show from the creator of Bones. Noone is described as a crime drama procedural with redemption, martial arts and romance, set in San Francisco and featuring a female police detective and her unlikely ally.
Various networks are eyeing a potential CIA drama starring Katherine Heigl, according to Deadline. The pilot was written by Alexi Hawley (co-executive producer on Fox's drama The Following) and focuses on how the CIA handles hotspots around the globe, with Heigl playing an advisor to the U.S. president.
PBS announced the return of The Bletchley Circle for a second season, with the four-part drama to air on Sundays beginning in the Spring. The series is based on the real-life stories of women who worked as codebreakers at Bletchley Park in the UK during World War II.
Omnimystery News reports that the drama based on PD James' Death Comes to Pemerbley will premiere next year on PBS in three one-hour installments. The miniseries stars Matthew Rhys as Mr. Darcy, Anna Maxwell Martin as Elizabeth Darcy, Matthew Goode as Mr. Wickham, and Jenna-Louise Coleman as Lydia Bennet.
Law & Order's Barry Schindel will serve as executive producer and showrunner for the CBS midseason drama series Intelligence, scheduled for a February 24th premiere. The series stars Josh Holloway and Marg Helgenberger and centers on U.S. Cyber Command unit which has been created around one agent (Holloway) who had a microchip implanted in his brain allowing him to access the entire Global Information Grid.
Connie Nielsen (Law & Order: SVU) will join the Fox thriller The Following as a series regular for the show's upcoming second season. Nielsen will play Lily Grey, a SoHo art dealer who turns to Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) for help and "forms an unexpected connection with him that could lead to problems down the road."
Juliette Lewis has joined Matt Dillon in the cast of M. Night Shymalan's Fox series Wayward Pines. The story centers around a Secret Service agent Ethan Burke (Dillon), who arrives in the small town to find two missing federal agents, only to find the anwers may keep him from getting out of Wayward Pines alive. Lewis will play Beverly, a bartender who provides a sympathetic ear for Burke. Also joining the cast is Greta Lee, playing a coffee shop barista who knows everyone else's business.
USA's spy drama Covert Affairs is adding English actress Seeta Indrani (Broken) and Richard Short (666 Park Avenue) for multi-episode arcs on the series. Indrani will play a sophisticated Indian woman whom Annie (Piper Perabo) befriends in the hopes she may be the key to bringing Henry (Henry Wilcox) down for good, while Short will play an Irish rocker-type who becomes entangled in Annie’s world.
Showtime released a teaser trailer for the upcoming third season of its hit TV series Homeland.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO
The latest Untreed Reads podcast features authors Alison Owings, Janet Majerus, Marsha Qualey, Tim Black, Augusta Trobaugh, Kathleen Gerard, Kaye George and Victor J. Banis talking about their new releases.
Suspense Radio is adding a new show to its lineup (which currently includes its normal radio show and Suspense Radio One on One, which is a tour stop for Partners in Crime authors). Starting with the first show on September 7th and twice a month on Saturdays, authors D.P. Lyle and Jan Burke will team up to bring you "Crime and Science Radio," an in-depth look into forensics, crime scenes, how authors get it right and wrong, and much more.
Ooh, I bought Lost Girls. I'll have to move it up the list.
Posted by: Kelly Robinson | August 15, 2013 at 09:31 PM
I have mixed emotions about a movie based on a series of unsolved (contemporary) murders. On the other hand, hopefully it will serve as a cautionary tale for women to be careful about who they trust online, and lead to tips that help solve the case.
Posted by: BV Lawson | August 15, 2013 at 11:22 PM