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
The French murder mystery film, Anatomy of a Fall, took the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Director Justine Triet won the Palme d'Or for her tense courtroom drama, which tells the story of a writer accused of her husband's murder. Triet becomes the third female director ever to win the prestigious prize, which was first awarded in 1955. Her thriller stars German actress Sandra Hüller, who also stars in the Cannes runner-up, The Zone of Interest.
Oscar-winner Mira Sorvino (American Crime Story: Impeachment) and Geza Rohrig (Son of Saul) have joined the spy thriller, Fog of War, which Michael Day is directing from a screenplay by Luke Langsdale. Also starring are Jake Abel (Walker), Briana Hildebrand (Lucifer), and John Cusack (Love & Mercy). Set during WWII, the story follows an injured American pilot Gene (Abel), and his OSS agent fiancée Penny (Hildebrand), who retreat to a remote estate in Massachusetts to visit her extended family (Cusack and Sorvino). Unbeknownst to Penny, the OSS has recruited Gene to spy on the family and the surrounding community, including Belgian immigrant Viktor (Rohrig), as top-secret documents related to the D-Day Invasion have been stolen, and an enemy mole is somewhere nearby preparing to turn these plans over to the Axis Powers.
TELEVISION/STREAMING
On June 24 at the Billy Wilder Theater, the UCLA Film & Television Archive will salute Ida Lupino's directing contributions to TV mystery and horror through the program "Directed by Ida Lupino: Macabre Television," showing the episodes "A Crime for Mothers" (Alfred Hitchcock Presents), "Guillotine" (Thriller; screenplay by Charles Beaumont, based on a story by Cornell Woolrich), and "The Masks" (Twilight Zone). One of the few women directors working in TV in the 1950s and 1960s, and the most prolific in primetime, Lupino defied barriers to helm over fifty network episodes in a wide variety of series across genres, from rugged westerns to the fantasy-themed sitcom Bewitched. But Lupino’s artistic mark on the medium is perhaps best illustrated by her directorial work in a trio of iconic crime/horror-tinged television series: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller and The Twilight Zone. (HT to Elizabeth Foxwell)
Amazon Prime Video has ordered the spy thriller, Butterfly, to series, with Daniel Dae Kim set to star and executive produce. Amazon has given the show a six-episode order, but production will not commence until all guild negotiations have been resolved. The show is based on the graphic novel of the same name created by Arash Amel, written by Amel and Marguerite Bennett, and illustrated by Antonio Fuso and Stefano Simeone. Per the official logline, the series centers on David Jung (Kim), "an enigmatic, highly unpredictable former US intelligence operative living in South Korea, whose life is blown to pieces when the consequences of an impossible decision from his past come back to haunt him, and he finds himself pursued by Rebecca, a deadly, sociopathic young agent assigned to kill him.”
AMC Networks’ Acorn TV and UK's Channel 5 are serving up a third season of The Madame Blanc Mysteries, including a Christmas special and six regular episodes. Filming is currently underway, with the Christmas special set to air on Acorn TV and Channel 5 in 2023, while the rest of the season will continue in 2024. Starring and created by Sally Lindsay, The Madame Blanc Mysteries see renowned and respected antiques dealer Jean White (Lindsay) return with her expertise in the world of antiquities, proving to be the key to solving a series of murders and mysteries against the backdrop of the beautiful French village of Sainte Victoire. Also reprising their roles are Sue Vincent, who returns as Gloria Beaushaw and as series co-writer, as well as Steve Edge, Robin Askwith, Sue Holderness, Alex Gaumond, and Tony Robinson.
Apple TV+ unveiled the trailer for Hijack, the upcoming thriller starring and executive produced by Idris Elba (Luther). Created by George Kay (Lupin; Criminal), who penned the script, and Jim Field Smith (Criminal; Truth Seekers), who will direct, the seven-part series also stars Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife; Blindspot). Told in real time, Hijack follows the journey of a hijacked plane as it makes its way to London over a seven-hour flight, and authorities on the ground scramble for answers. Elba stars as an accomplished negotiator in the business world who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers—but, his high-risk strategy could be his undoing. Panjabi will play the role of a counter-terrorism officer who is on the ground when the plane is hijacked and becomes part of the investigation.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO
The 100th episode of the Red Hot Chili Writers podcast featured a chat with crime writer, Robert Dugoni; a reflection on the British Book Awards; and a discussion of appropriate behavior at literary festivals.
Speaking of Mysteries welcomed Jordan Harper to talk about his latest crime novel, Everybody Knows, featuring black-bag publicist Mae Pruett, who doesn’t worry about the truth, only "The Story."
The Books & Looks podcast spoke with debut author Mary Ann Miller, who at age 63 has penned the enthralling murder mystery, Bones Under the Ice, set in a small Indiana town
On Crime Time FM, Paul Burke reviewed a selection of the April and May crime fiction releases.
Pick Your Poison tackled the topics of "what to know about the dangers of black-market butt lifts," and "what hotels and hardware stores have to do with health care."