It's Monday again and time for the latest roundup of crime drama news:
AWARDS
The Screen Actors' Guild announced their picks for the "Best of 2017" performances on film, giving Fox Searchlight’s crime comedy-drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri a leading four mentions including the Ensemble category, which is the closest thing the guild gets to a Best Picture designation. Frances McDormand also received a nomination for Best Actress for her work in Three Billboards, while Denzel Washington was honored in the Best Actor category for Roman J. Israel, Esq. On the TV side, Big Little Lies had four acting nods to Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Reece Witherspoon, and Alexander Skardsgard. Benedict Cumberbatch was also nominated for Sherlock and Robert DeNiro for his role as Bernie Madoff in The Wizard of Lies.
Likewise, the Writer Guilds of America released a list of its category nominees from the past year's best TV and radio shows (film nods to come), which include Best Drama honors to The Americans (written by Peter Ackerman, Hilary Bettis, Joshua Brand, Joel Fields, Stephen Schiff, Joe Weisberg, Tracey Scott Wilson) and Better Call Saul (written by Ann Cherkis, Vince Gilligan, Jonathan Glatzer, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Heather Marion, Thomas Schnauz, Gordon Smith). The New Series nominees also include American Vandal (written by Seth Cohen, Lauren Herstik, Dan Lagana, Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus, Jessica Meyer, Dan Perrault, Amy Pocha, Mike Rosolio, Tony Yacenda); The Deuce (written by Megan Abbott, Marc Henry Johnson, Lisa Lutz, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, Will Ralston, David Simon, Chris Yakaitis); and Ozark (written by Whit Anderson, Bill Dubuque, Ryan Farley, Alyson Feltes, Paul Kolsby, David Manson, Chris Mundy, Mark Williams, Ning Zhou, Martin Zimmerman).
MOVIES
Benny and Josh Safdie, the brother filmmaking team behind the Robert Pattinson crime thriller Good Time, are taking on the remake of 48 Hrs. for Paramount. 48 Hrs. was one of the movies that helped launch the big-screen career of Eddie Murphy as well as the buddy-cop genre. Murphy and Nick Nolte starred as a convict and cop, respectively, who must team up to catch a pair of cop killers within 48 hours.
Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence is attached to star in and produce the 19th century true-crime drama Burial Rites, which is being directed Luca Guadagnino (a front-runner in the Oscar race with his romance-drama Call Me by Your Name). Based on Hannah Kent’s debut novel and true events, the project tells the story of Agnes Magnusdottir (Lawrence), the last woman to be publicly executed in Iceland in 1830, after being sentenced to death for killing two men and setting fire to their home. The story takes place during the last winter of Agnes’ life while she awaits confirmation of her death sentence by the high court in Denmark. As she waits to die, she starts to live, reluctantly forging emotional and romantic attachments.
The Shaft reboot, Son of Shaft, has found another one of its headliner actors. Independence Day: Resurgence's Jessie Usher was already cast as the newest, youngest Shaft (the son of Samuel L. Jackson's returning character), but his mother was the last pivotal role to be decided on for this family affair, and the production has found her in the form of Regina Hall. The project centers on Usher's younger Shaft, who's not exactly the eye candy to all the chicks that his great uncle, or even his father were. However, he is a young and promising FBI agent, who is about to engage in the family business of detective work after a friend has died under mysterious circumstances.
Fox Searchlight released a new still from the upcoming Can You Ever Forgive Me? that sees Melissa McCarthy playing biographer and notorious faker Lee Israel. Israel was a successful biographer during her heyday in the ’70s and ’80s, writing tomes on cosmetics empress Estée Lauder and actress Tallulah Bankhead. Her career stagnated in the years following, with a resurgence in the ’90s after unearthing never-seen letters from icons like Dorothy Parker and Noël Coward. Except they weren’t from Parker or Coward - Israel forged them all. The lies led her to federal court in 1993 where she pled guilty to fraud. Israel outlined her criminal adventures in her final book, the 2008 memoir Can You Ever Forgive Me? on which the film is based. McCarthy steps into a role that previously had Julianne Moore attached.
TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES
Bridge of Spies writer Matt Charman has partnered with George Clooney and Clooney’s Smokehouse Pictures partner Grant Heslov for Watergate, an eight-part limited series for Netflix. Each episode of Watergate would focus on an individual surrounding the 1970s scandal such as former Attorney General John Mitchell and Richard Nixon counsel John Ehrlichman. It is styled after famous Japanese period drama Rashomon.
Showtime’s Boston crime drama City on a Hill has added several new actors to join Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge. Jill Hennessy, Kevin Chapman, Jere Shea and Lauren E. Banks have signed on as series regulars, while Cathy Moriarty, Michael O’Keefe, Amanda Clayton and Rory Culkin will guest star in the pilot and have recurring roles if the project is ordered to series. City on a Hill is a fictional account of what was called the Boston Miracle and centers on Decourcy Ward (Hodge), an African-American District Attorney who comes in from Brooklyn advocating change and the unlikely alliance he forms with Jackie Rhodes (Bacon), a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran who is invested in maintaining the status quo. Together they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to encompass and eventually upend Boston’s city-wide criminal justice system.
Prison Break is a good bet to return for a Season 6, which would serve as a follow-up to this year's big revival season. Although nothing supremely official has been revealed by Fox, Prison Break star Dominic Purcell took to Instagram to make the announcement.
USA Network has passed on Olive Forever, its comedic crime drama pilot from Insurgent writer Brian Duffield, AwesomenessTV and its former CEO Brian Robbins, although Universal Cable Prods., which produced the pilot, plans to shop it elsewhere. Olive Forever follows the exploits of Olive (Emily Rudd), a high school student, con artist, cat burglar and chameleon who’s mature beyond her years. She is a savvy survivor who knows she can “get away with anything.” A foster kid, Olive knows how to work the system, her tough exterior protecting a girl who’s just looking for a home.
The techno-thriller Mr. Robot, starring Rami Malek, will return for another season. Show creator Sam Esmail shared the confirmation that the show would return to USA for Season 4 via social media.
The Sopranos' alum Vincent Pastore is set for a recurring role opposite Scott Caan and Alex O’Loughlin on CBS’ Hawaii Five-O. Pastore will play Vito, Danny’s (Caan) "uncle" from New Jersey, a contractor and general Mr. Fix-It. Danny grew up thinking Vito was "connected," something Vito played up to, despite having no mob ties to speak of.
Hallmark released a a preview for Past Malice: An Emma Fielding Mystery starring Courtney Thorne-Smith and James Tupper. The show debuts in January and is based on the mystery novels by Dana Cameron.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO
The inaugural episode of the Crime Friction podcast featured hosts Chantelle and Jay with NYT bestselling author Reed Farrel Coleman as the special guest, to talk about pet peeves, craft, and meeting Elmore Leonard in an airport.
Beyond the Cover's special guest was physician-turned-author D.P. Lyle, chatting about his latest PI Jake Longly and Nicole Jamison installment, A-List, set in New Orleans amid a Hollywood scandal.
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