MOVIES
Studio 8 has preemptively acquired the rights to Patrick Hoffman's upcoming crime thriller Every Man a Menace, due to hit stores in October. The story centers on an ecstasy smuggling ring on the eve of the biggest shipment of MDMA to hit the U.S. and a global mix of criminal opportunists who scramble to leverage the chaos, eliminate their competition and make the big score. The globe-trotting thriller, which stretches from Bangkok to Miami to San Francisco, is said "to have elements of Traffic and Sicario, with a dash of dark humor from a Coen Brothers movie and the twists of The Usual Suspects." (How's that for a tagline?)
Netflix has a preemptive film rights offer for another yet-to-be-published manuscript by newcomer author Rimma Rose, described as The Godfather meets Eastern Promises (and billed as book one of a planned three-book series). The story is set in the world of the Russian Mafia, in which a "Vor" is an honor only given when the recruit shows loyalty beyond measure, with members of the Vor-world accepting the code of the "Thief within the Law."
Angelina Jolie is in talks to board Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s whodunnit Murder on the Orient Express. The classic Christie tale features the erstwhile Belgian detective of curly moustache and inquisitive demeanour Hercule Poirot (Branagh), who is called into action after an American tycoon is found murdered, stabbed multiple times, in his locked compartment from the inside on-board the luxurious Orient Express train.
Stephen Soderbergh's NASCAR heist thriller Logan Lucky had previously signed Daniel Craig and Channing Tatum as a pair of brothers who stage a daring robbery during a major NASCAR race. But the flick has recently filled out the supporting roles in the ensemble with an all-star roster including Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Katherine Heigl, Adam Driver, Seth MacFarlane, and Riley Keough.
Likewise, the female-led Ocean's Eleven remake, which had earlier announced Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett would play starring roles, has also padded its the cast with more stars including Elizabeth Banks, Helena Bonham Carter, and Mindy Kaling.
Focus Features announced August 11, 2017 as the release date for David Leitch’s The Coldest City. The film stars Charlize Theron as Lorraine Broughton, a top-level MI6 spy who heads to Berlin on the eve of the Wall’s collapse to take down an espionage ring that just killed an undercover agent. Lorraine is ordered to cooperate with Berlin station chief David Percival (James McAvoy), and the two form an uneasy alliance, unleashing their full arsenal of skills in pursuing a threat that jeopardizes the West’s entire intelligence operation.
The Hollywood Reporter had some fun taking a look at the possibility of a female version of James Bond and a list of "13 Stars With the 007 Chops."
TELEVISION
Pierce Brosnan is returning to television for the first time since the 1982 private eye show Remington Steele as the lead of AMC’s upcoming drama series The Son. The former James Bond is replacing Sam Neill who had been originally cast in the role but left for personal reasons. Based on the book by Philipp Meyer and written by Meyer, Lee Shipman and Brian McGreevy, The Son is a multi-generational epic tale of the story of America’s birth as a superpower through the bloody rise and fall of one Texas family.
CBS has come on board as the U.S. broadcaster of Ransom, a 13-episode suspense series starring Luke Roberts (Black Sails, Game Of Thrones), from Entertainment One and The X-Files alum Frank Spotnitz. Ransom follows crisis and hostage negotiator Eric Beaumont (Roberts), whose considerable powers of manipulation make him the best at what he does professionally but often complicate his relationships with family, friends and colleagues.
Amazon has picked up five new pilots, including A Killing on Carnival Row, set in the future in a city called the Burgue that's inhabited by humans and other legendary-logocreatures with a serial killer on the loose; and Tropicana, set in pre-revolutionary Cuba in and around the world of The Tropicana nightclub and its intersection of entertainers, the mob, Batista loyalists, Castro revolutionaries and the American CIA.
Adam Rodriguez (CSI: Miami) is coming back to CBS, joining Criminal Minds as a series regular in Season 12. He’ll play a special agent and member of the FBI Fugitive Task Force who joins the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Rodriguez is taking the place of cast member Shemar Moore who just departed the series after 11 seasons.
24: Legacy executive producer Howard Gordon has revealed there is a plan in place to bring Jack back if actor Kiefer Sutherland can make it happen with his schedule. Although the 24: Legacy spinoff features all-new characters led by a new hero (Corey Hawkins), Gordon has an arc in mind for the second part of 24: Legacy's 12-episode first season that could involve Bauer if a deal comes together.
Tom Riley, who played the title role on the Starz drama series Da Vinci’s Demons for three seasons, is set to play the title role in another drama series project, Wagstaffe, a two-hour pilot for UK’s ITV Encore. Based on the books by crime author Adam Creed, the character-driven dark drama centers on the life and work of Will Wagstaffe (Riley), a London detective who has suffered terrible personal tragedy with the murder of his parents and his team.
Former professional soccer player and Scottish actor Martin Compston is set to play a serial killer for ITV. Compton (who plays DS Steve Arnott in the BBC's Line Of Duty) will take on the role of American-born Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel, dubbed "the Beast of Birkenshaw," who was convicted of murdering seven people across Scotland between 1956 and 1958. Douglas Henshall, the star of BBC One’s Shetland, is also in the cast, playing the police officer on the killer's trail.
Netflix is putting the finishing touches on a deal to acquire the Paolo Bacigalupi short story "Mika Model." Described as an intelligent dystopic sci-fi story in the vein of Ex Machina, Mika Model is the story of a young woman—or is she a robot?—who walks into a police station and confesses to a murder, creating an unprecedented dilemma for the cop who must decide how to resolve the case. The story was first published by Slate in April.
CBS has put into development a new drama series based on the life of Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst, who was kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley in 1974 by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a terrorist organization. While the FBI and police searched for Patty Hearst, she was converted into an SLA sympathizer and ultimately arrested for aiding the organization in criminal activity.
NCIS: Los Angeles showrunner Shane Brennan is stepping down from his position, with fellow TV vet R. Scott Gemmill being ushered in to fill the role. Gemmill, who has written more than 30 episodes of NCIS: LA, already has some plans for the show's upcoming eighth season such as "a proper proposal" between Kensi (Daniela Ruah) and Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen).
Raymond J. Barry (Justified) has booked a recurring role on Season 4 of Showtime drama series Ray Donovan, playing a high-ranking Russian mobster. Ray Donovan stars Liev Schreiber as L.A.’s best professional fixer, with Jon Voight, Paula Malcomson, Eddie Marsan, Dash Mihok, Steven Bauer, Katherine Moennig, Pooch Hall, Kerris Dorsey and Devon Bagby rounding out the cast.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO
NY Times bestselling author Lisa Unger stopped by the 2nd Sunday Crime podcast to talk about her latest thriller, Ink and Bone.
NPR's Linda Wertheimer spoke with Iain Reid about his debut creepy psychological thriller, I'm Thinking of Ending Things.
THEATER
The Tony Awards were handed out last night at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The hip-hop musical Hamilton, which tells the story of one of America's founding fathers who was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, led all winners with 11 total nods.
Double Indemnity is being presented by the by Melbourne Theatre Company at the Arts Centre Playhouse until July 2. It's a stage adaptation by playwright Tom Holloway of James M. Cain’s 1943 novel, which in turn inspired the 1944 film. The stage show follows the story of the book, in which insurance salesman Walter (played by Leon Ford) becomes entangled in a murderous scheme when he falls for Phyllis (Claire van der Boom), who wants to kill her husband (Richard Piper) and live off the insurance.
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