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Starz has put in development a drama project from feature producer Lawrence Bender (Inglourious Basterds) and Breaking Bad co-executive producer Moira Walley-Beckett. Written by Walley-Beckett, the untitled project is described as a dark and gritty series that unflinchingly explores the dysfunctional underbelly of the ballet world. 
It follows a young female ballet dancer, Claire, who has a distinctly troubled past as she joins a prestigious ballet company in New York.
Bender is executive producing with Kevin Brown (Roswell) through their Bender-Brown Prods, as well as Walley-Beckett. All three have strong connections to the ballet world. Bender and Walley-Beckett are former ballet dancers, and Brown’s family is made up entirely of former ballet dancers and was the basis for the 1977 feature The Turning Point, which earned 11 Oscar nominations. Walley-Beckett is repped by UTA, Bender-Brown by WME.
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Hmmmm…
I wonder if someone on this team really liked “The Black Swan”. But I would have expected a show like this to end up on the CW (“The Black Cygnet”).
At any rate, does anyone else see the resemblance between Bender and Christian Bale?
Is he the inspiration for “Ethan” in The Turning Point? Wow.
Please NEVER remake that movie. Arthur Laurents and Herbert Ross got it right the first time.
Bender is done now that his relationship with Tarantino is over.
He milked that Golden Goose for as long as he could.
@CynicalCritic Interesting. I was skimming the page, saw Bender’s photo, thought it was Steve Carell for a split-second, thought, damn, Carell in tights, and was very happy, briefly.
Bender was a professional ballet dancer until an injury, after which he segued into acting…then producing. “The rest is history”, as they say. This is why he’s interested in a show about ballet – it was his world.
Perfect match and a great opportunity for one of the good guys.
And who exactly from an audience that watches Spartacus is going to watch this on Starz? Interesting and perhaps misguided choice….
While this announcement is creating lots of giggling around town with Twitter feeds mocking the “dark and gritty” tone as well as comparing it to “Bunheads,” I’m guessing they’ll sex it up if it ever sees the light of day. It’s hard to know what STARZ’s future is.
Seems everyone commenting so far (negatively at least) has failed to take into account the Moira Walley-Beckett association with this project. Her work on BB has been superb. Especially the episode “The Fly” which was an excellent example of the kind of emotionally tense “pas de deux” she has the ability to create for characters.
Many of you are so cynical about this! As a former dancer myself, I can’t WAIT to see this. I hope it happens. LOVED Breaking Pointe on the CW and the recent “First Position” documentary about the Grand Prix of ballet. Giggle if you want, but dancers are ATHLETES. So much guts and glory goes into ballet; so much pain. It’s a shame that people don’t respect the art.
Actually Ethan is my younger brother and yes, he was the inspiration for that role in the film – Herb Ross graciously named the character after him. Alas, they wrote my character out after the first draft.
Not only that: the character of Shirley MacLaine’s daughter was played by my real-life sister, Leslie Browne,
And thank you, Sanity Clause, for reminding everyone that it is Moira Walley-Beckett who will be creating and writing the show – she is indeed amazing, her pitch is brilliant, and ‘dark and gritty’ doesn’t begin to describe it.
We are extremely grateful to Chris and the folks at Starz for the opportunity to develop the project.
They cancelled Boss, one of the best dramas on television, for a drama about ballet????
Well heck, I’m gonna throw my hat in the ring. Got to dance the lead in one of Leslie Browne’s ballets in the American Ballet Theatre summer program. Happy to see the Browne family involved in this (via Kevin Brown). Adds legitimacy from a true ballet family.
Been acting in LA for years. As someone who has lived in both the acting and ballet worlds intimately, I’m thrilled to see this announcement. There’s so much R rated drama in a ballet company that could be explored, especially on Starz. Exciting stuff. Merde!
The sharacter of “Ethan” is based on Ethan Browne, Leslie Browne brother. Their middle sib, Lizzie also danced with ABT but not for more than about 10 years. BTW, the story of Leslie and Ethan’s family 2 former ABT stars running a small studio in Arizona was entirely true. ABT ballerina Nora Kaye was the Browne family’s godparent and also married the the movie’s director.
It sounds like Showgirls mixed with ballet. Get Paul Verhoeven to direct the pilot.