It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:
THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES
Black Bear is launching international sales on the crime-thriller, She Rides Shotgun, set to star Golden Globe winner Taron Egerton (Rocketman) in the lead role. Nick Rowland will direct the screenplay, written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski (The Night House) and based on the novel by crime author Jordan Harper (which won the 2018 Edgar Award for Best Debut Novel). The official synopsis reads: "After years in prison, Nate (Egerton) has made some dangerous enemies, including the powerful criminal gang he worked for on the inside. Desperate for a fresh start, Nate cuts ties with his old crew on his release from prison, but the gang retaliates by putting a hit on his family. Nate picks up Polly, the shy eleven-year-old daughter he hardly knows and goes on the run to keep her out of harm’s way. As they attempt to stay off the radar, it becomes clear their enemies won’t give up easily. Nate teaches Polly how to survive and watches her transform from a timid little girl into a force to be reckoned with. And Nate, in turn, learns what it is to love unconditionally as he bonds with his daughter and battles for their future."
Black Bear, along with BlockFilm, are also behind the new action thriller, Levon's Trade, starring Jason Statham (Fast & Furious franchise) and directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad) from a screenplay adapted by Sylvester Stallone. Based on a graphic novel by author Chuck Dixon, the book is the first installment in the popular Levon Cade thriller series, which centers on Levon Cade (Statham) who left his profession behind him to go straight and work in construction. He wants to live a simple life and be a good father to his daughter. But when his boss’s teenage daughter Jenny vanishes, he’s called upon to re-employ the skills that made him a legendary figure in the shadowy world of black ops. His hunt for the missing college student takes him deep into the heart of a sinister criminal conspiracy creating a chain reaction that will threaten his new way of life.
Paramount Pictures has delayed the next Mission: Impossible installment by nearly an entire year, from its original date of June 28, 2024 to its new spot on May 23, 2025. Like other films of its size and scale, the eighth "Mission" movie was forced to halt production amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike and won’t be completed in time to open next summer. As Variety noted, it’s a fate that faces many big-budget tentpoles if the actors union and studios don’t resolve their contract negotiations in the coming weeks. Mission: Impossible will arrive on the big screen with a new name as Paramount and Skydance are dropping the second half of its title, formerly Dead Reckoning Part Two, though the sequel will directly follow the events of 2023’s Dead Reckoning Part One.
Oscar-winner Halle Berry is set to star in the psychological thriller, The Process, with Tara Miele directing. The story follows a seemingly happily married couple, who attend the weekend seminar of Aiden, a renowned self-help guru, and are asked to examine their individual lives, careers, and ultimately their marriage, but when Kirsa resists Aiden’s "process" and his cult of committed volunteers, and her husband Peter buys in, their relationship and sanity are quickly put to the test. Levin Menekse penned the script.
The action thriller, The Bricklayer, starring Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) and Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries), has been picked up by Vertical for release in the U.S. early next year. An adaptation of the same-name novel by former FBI agent Paul Lindsay, using the pen name Noah Boyd, the film also stars Clifton Collins Jr. (Westworld), Tim Blake Nelson (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), and Ilfenesh Hadera (Billions). The story is that of a rogue insurgent blackmailing the CIA by assassinating foreign journalists and making it appear the agency is responsible. As other nations begin turning against the U.S., the CIA must lure Steve Vail (Eckhart), their most brilliant and rebellious operative, out of retirement. With an elite and deadly skill set, Vail is tasked with helping clear the agency’s name, forcing him to confront his checkered past while unraveling an international conspiracy.
TELEVISION/SMALL SCREEN
Swedish actress Lena Olin has been confirmed to play Icelandic policewoman Hulda Hermannsdóttir in the TV adaptation of Ragnar Jónasson’s Darkness trilogy, with Lasse Hällström confirmed to direct. The award-winning trilogy features 64-year-old Detective Inspector Hulda of the Reykjavik Police Department who investigates a shocking murder case while coming to terms with her own personal traumas. Faced with an impending early retirement and forced to take on a new partner, Hulda is determined to find the killer, even if it means putting her own life in danger. The Hollywood Reporter added that the English-language six-episode series will start shooting in Iceland later this year for local broadcaster Síminn.
Amazon's MGM Studios has won a competitive bidding war to adapt Vanity Fair’s story about a Texas serial killer, titled "True Crime, True Faith: The Serial Killer and the Texas Mom Who Stopped Him." Published in this September’s issue, the piece by Julie Miller walks through the 1981 abduction of Texas mother Margy Palm by serial killer Stephen Morin outside of a Kmart during the holidays. Following her abduction, Palm discussed her religious faith with Morin, eventually convincing him to let her go. While Morin was sentenced to jail time for the abduction, a friendly relationship lingered between the pair, with Palm visiting Morin in prison, and Morin, converting to Christianity after his conviction, before eventually dying at the age of 34 in 1985 via lethal injection.
Paramount+ is not going forward with second seasons of two crime series, Rabbit Hole and Fatal Attraction. Rabbit Hole was a spy drama that starred Kiefer Sutherland as John Weir, described as "a master of deception in the world of corporate espionage, who is framed for murder by powerful forces with the ability to influence and control populations." Fatal Attraction was a reboot of the 1987 domestic thriller of the same name, with Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson starring in the series as Alexandra Forrest and Daniel Gallagher, the roles originally played by Glenn Close and Michael Douglass in the film.
A trailer was released for the fifth installment of FX's Fargo. After an unexpected series of events lands Dorothy "Dot" Lyon (Juno Temple) in hot water with the authorities, this seemingly typical Midwestern housewife suddenly is plunged back into a life she thought she had left behind. Jon Hamm also stars as North Dakota Sheriff Roy Tillman, who has been searching for Dot for a long time.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO
Speaking of Mysteries spoke with Rebecca Hanover about her debut adult thriller, The Last Applicant, in which a parent desperate to secure her son’s admission to an exclusive Manhattan private school stalks the school’s admissions director.
Crime Time FM welcomed authors Lauren North, Lesley Kara, and Niki Mackay to discuss the enduring popularity of psychological thrillers and where the future lies for the genre.
The Red Hot Chili Writers chatted with screenwriter-turned-novelist Suk Pannu, a core writer on shows such as Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No 10. Suk discussed his debut novel, Dead and Scone, and the unstoppability of Indian aunties.
It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club spoke with Vanessa Riley about her new book, Murder on Drury Lane.
A new Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast is up featuring the Halloween mystery short story, "When a Prank Goes Bad," written by John R. Clark and read by actor Theodore Fox.