Forget Judge Judy, Now We Might Be Looking At Sarah Palin’s Version Of Daytime Justice
Former Alaska governor is being eyed to host and star in her own daytime court TV series after signing a deal with Montana-based production company Warm Springs. Big Ticket Entertainment’s Larry Lyttle, whose credits include both Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown, is attached to the project as an executive producer. The project is still in the early stages, but the hope is to launch a daytime syndicated series in fall of 2017. (LF)
Taylor Kitsch Prepares To Get Behind the Camera, Will Make Directorial Debut With ‘Pieces’
Film is a crime drama which the actor will also write, produce, and star in. Peter Berg, who directed Kitsch in Friday Night Lights, Battleship, and Lone Survivor, will produce. The plot concerns three best friends in Detroit whose lives are forever changed when they intercept a drug run. It’s to be a longer version of Kitsch’s short film of the same title. (SF)
Miguel Arteta to Direct Fox Searchlight’s ‘Sorta Like a Rock Star’
Director will develop the project with Ol Parker penning the script. Laura Sandler and Amanda Harlib wrote the first draft. Based on the novel by Silver Linings Playbook author Matthew Quick, story follows a high school senior who secretly lives in the back of a school bus after being booted out of the house by her mother’s boyfriend. The bus is the same one that her mother uses to drive kids to school. Amber is then put to the test after a fatal tragedy. (VAR)
NBC Green Lights new Dance Competition Show From Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Tatum
The A-listers, who met while starring in the 2006 dance film Step Up, will executive-produce and appear the upcoming dance competition series. Dewan Tatum is will serve as a regular judge/mentor, while her husband will make occasional visits. NBC has given a six-episode pickup to the series, which is said to put a “fresh” spin on the (some might say tired) dance competition genre. (TVL)
Elijah Wood Snags the Lead Role In BBC America’s New ‘Dirk Gently’ Series
BBC America’s long-in-development adaptation of Douglas Adams‘ novel Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency got the straight-to-series greenlight earlier this year, and now the Max Landis scripted series is casting up. The comedic thriller, which will have eight hour-long episodes in its first season, follows the titular holistic detective and his reluctant assistant Todd as they investigate the supernatural, and now Wood has signed on to play Todd. (COL)
Bong-Joon Ho’s Latest, Creature Feature ‘Okja’ Adds Lily Collins To the Cast
Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton and Kelly MacDonald are already on board the project, the exact plot details of which are still under wraps. Collins is apparently set to be an anarchist named Red, a high-ranking member of the Animal Liberation Front. Bill Nighy was previously attached to the film, but had to drop out, while Paul Dano is still circling a role. Netflix is producing the project. (EMP)
What We Talk About, When We Talk About Batman and Superman
For the past 30 years, the relationship has been punctuated by a series of spectacular fights — a gruesome tussle over ideology in 1986’s graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, a dramatic dust-up due to mind control in the 2003 comic-book story line “Hush,” and, of course, an upcoming gladiator match in this weekend’s big-screen tentpole. Batman and Superman are both, of course, good guys, but what we so often want to see is them fighting. (VUL)
‘Daredevil’ v. ‘The Flash': What Makes a Good Superhero TV Show?
Netflix’s series seems aimed squarely at the drama side of things with its borderline-black visual palette, bloody battle scenes and serious subject matter. Over on The CW, The Flash is very much the opposite. With its bright color spectrum, stylized fights and fun overall tone, Greg Berlanti’s universe looks quite different than Drew Goddard’s. Yet both shows are consistently referred to as “superhero” shows, even though they’re so very, very different. (IW)
Trailer Buzz: ‘The Nice Guys’
Warner Bros. has released the latest look at the upcoming film from writer-director Shane Black. The 70s action-comedy-thriller stars Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Keith David, Matt Bomer, Beau Knapp, Angourie Rice, and Margaret Qualley, and opens May 20th. (CS)
Screenwriters: ‘Little Miss Sunshine’
The Oscar-winning, 109-page screenplay by Michael Arndt. Script is dated October 9th, 2003. (DS)