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Frank Darabont’s Noir Drama For TNT Getting A New Title

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday January 26, 2013 @ 12:22am PSTTags: Frank Darabont, L.A. Noir

When TNT announced last fall it had ordered six episodes for Frank Darabont’s new pilot based on John Buntin’s book L.A. Noir: The Struggle For The Soul Of America’s Most Seductive City, the series was untitled. Darabont had been leaning toward L.A. Noir as a title, but he told the website io9 in an interview posted this week that the videogame company Rockstar squelched that idea with threats of litigation. The “company with the video game called L.A. Noire threatened to sue the shit out of me, TNT, every company that actually ever worked in Hollywood”. The series remains untitled because TNT hasn’t settled on one yet, but Darabont said “I do believe the title is going to be Lost Angels”. TNT’s head of programming Michael Wright described the project as “a sweeping tale of the battle for the soul of the city that was waged between the forces of the LAPD and the West Coast mob” — similar to territory covered by the feature Gangster Squad that was based on a different book. 

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UPDATE: Mary Parent Boarding ‘Godzilla’, Which Is Getting A Frank Darabont Rewrite And Losing Roy Lee And Dan Lin

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday January 7, 2013 @ 1:00pm PSTTags: Big Deals Film, Dan Lin, Frank Darabont, Godzilla, Legendary Pictures, Roy Lee, Warner Bros
Mike Fleming

UPDATE, 1 PM:: I can understand why Godzilla is trying to shed producers, because there are plenty. Mary Parent is about done with a deal to come aboard on the producer roster. Parent, whose Disruption banner is based at Paramount, takes the job after working closely with Legendary on the Guillermo del Toro-directed Pacific Rim.

PREVIOUS EXCLUSIVE, 8:42 AM: As it stomps its way toward a March production start, Godzilla has two significant developments in the offing. Frank Darabont, who veered into genre territory by launching the AMC series The Walking Dead, has been hired by producer-financier Legendary Pictures to do a final rewrite on the script that was written by The Seventh Son scribe Max Borenstein.

At the same time, Warner Bros-based producers Dan Lin and Roy Lee, who were among the producers who came into Legendary with a Toho rights deal for the iconic reptile, are in a huge battle with the financier-producer. Legendary, which now controls the rights, wants to drop the producers from the film. As it stands right now, the 3D picture will be produced by Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni, along with Brian Rogers, the latter of whom was on the ground floor of the Toho deal. The film will be directed by Monsters helmer Gareth Edwards and has been dated for May 16, 2014 release. Read More »

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Global Showbiz Briefs: Zurich Master Classes, Oliver Père To Arte France

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday August 27, 2012 @ 11:55pm PDTTags: Frank Darabont, Locarno Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, Zurich Film Festival

Frank Darabont, Michael Shamberg, Pietro Scalia Set For Zurich Master Classes
The Zurich Film Festival today announced this year’s headliners for its Master Class series. Instructors will include writer-director Frank Darabont (The Green Mile, The Walking Dead); producer Michael … Read More »

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‘Heroes’ Alum Milo Ventimiglia To Star In Frank Darabont’s TNT Pilot ‘L.A. Noir’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 4:52pm PSTTags: Frank Darabont, L.A. Noir
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: In his first cable series gig, former Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia is set to star in Frank Darabont’s TNT drama pilot L.A. Noir,  a fast-paced crime drama set in Los Angeles during the 1940s and ’50s. He is expected … Read More »

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‘Walking Dead’ Showrunner On Why Frank Darabont’s Season 2 Opener Idea Was Nixed

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday January 14, 2012 @ 7:25pm PSTTags: AMC, Frank Darabont, The Walking Dead

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s TCA coverage.

During AMC’s session for The Walking Dead, the producers of the hit zombie drama were asked about recent reports that ousted showrunner Frank Darabont had a different idea for the show’s second season premiere than the one that aired, but it was rejected.  “The story was one we discussed internally; that was Frank’s pitch and it was one of many ideas examined in the writers’ room,” said executive producer Glen Mazarra, Darabont’s successor at the helm of the series. “It just felt like a stall and we wanted to get to our characters. We have a lot of ideas like that. … That was not something that was rejected by another party. That’s not accurate.” Darabont’s plan was allegedly a flashback to the early days of the zombie apocalypse. It told the story of a zombie soldier The Walking Dead lead Rick (Andrew Lincoln) came across in the series’ pilot, ending with their encounter before the show were to pick up with Rick and his crew in Episode 2. Read More »

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TNT Orders Frank Darabont Noir Drama Pilot Produced By Michael De Luca

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday January 9, 2012 @ 12:30pm PSTTags: Frank Darabont, L.A. Noir, Michael De Luca, TNT
Nellie Andreeva

L.A. Noir, the spec script Frank Darabont started shopping shortly after his ouster from AMC’s The Walking Dead, has landed at TNT with a pilot order. The project is based on John Buntin’s book L.A. Noir: The Struggle For The Soul Of America’s Most Seductive City, which chronicles the epic battle between Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker and mobster Mickey Cohen. In addition to writing, Darabont is set to direct the pilot and will executive produce with Michael De Luca (The Social Network, Moneyball ) and Elliot Webb (Tall Time Tales). TNT Original Prods will produce. Read More »

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Phoenix Co-President Bradley Fischer Forms Mythology With Scribes Laeta Kalogridis And James Vanderbilt

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday November 18, 2011 @ 9:40am PSTTags: Alex Proyas, Antoine Fuqua, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, Eric Kripke, Frank Darabont, Laeta Kalogridis, Martin Scorsese, Suge Knight
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Longtime Phoenix Pictures co-president Bradley J. Fischer has formed Mythology Entertainment in partnership with screenwriter/producers Laeta Kalogridis and James Vanderbilt. With backing from private investors, Mythology will develop and package projects internally before taking them to studios and financiers. … Read More »

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After Getting Close On Several Big Jobs, Director Bryan Barber’s Taking His Next Meetings With ‘Gigantor’ In His Corner

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday October 20, 2011 @ 4:27pm PDTTags: Frank Darabont, Rob Reiner, Tate Taylor, Tom Cruise, Zack Snyder
Mike Fleming

As fewer movies get made these days, the hardest thing for a director or a writer is just getting hired. Bryan Barber, who went from helming videos for bands like Outkast to making his feature debut with  the stars of that group on the 2006 Prohibition Era musical Idlewild, grew so tired of getting close and losing out on big directing jobs that he hunted and secured a film-centric property to improve his odds. After the lengthy courtship of an 86-year old voiceover artist who controlled the rights, Barber will go to his next studio meeting flanked by Gigantor, the giant flying robot star of the 60s Japanese cartoon import with a catchy theme song and a family-friendly premise. Barber controls the movie, merchandise and videogame rights, and will shop a $60 million live action film he calls Transformers meets Goonies. And guess who’ll be attached as director?

Considering that robots remain hot—Hasbro told shareholders this week that another Transformers is in the offing and a Real Steel sequel is also a possibility—Barber figures there should be interest in this story of a 12-year old boy who ends up with the controls to the giant weaponized world-saving robot. Barber hopes to take the same proactive route that allowed Tate Taylor to direct the summer sleeper hit The Help (he optioned the book before it had a publisher) and years ago got Frank Darabont his directing debut on The Shawshank Redemption (Darabont had written a superb script and controlled the book, and refused to step aside even when Rob Reiner and Tom Cruise were ready to re-team after A Few Good Men). Read More »

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‘SOA’ Creator Kurt Sutter Quits Twitter

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday August 15, 2011 @ 9:30am PDTTags: Breaking Bad, Frank Darabont, Kurt Sutter, Mad Men, Matt Weiner, Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead, Twitter, Vince Gilligan
Nellie Andreeva

There was no Kurt Sutter reaction to AMC’s renewal of Breaking Bad yesterday. That’s because the refreshingly uncensored Sons of Anarchy creator had just pulled the plug on his Twitter feed, days after he blamed the protracted negotiations for the Vince Gilligan-created Breaking Bad and the firing of The Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont on Matt Weiner’s megadeal for Mad Men. “No one else wants to f**king say it, but the greed of Mad Men is killing the other two best shows on TV — Breaking Bad and Walking Dead,” Sutter wrote last week. “Why Darabont got fired — Weiner. He held AMC hostage, broke their bank, budgets were slashed, shit rolled down hill onto Gilligan and Frank. Those, along with the recent anti-TV Academy zingers, are now just a distant memory. Here is Sutter blog post on his exit from Twitter: Read More »

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AMC President On ‘Breaking Bad’ Order, ‘Walking Dead’ Budget & ‘Mad Men’ Deal

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday August 3, 2011 @ 8:40pm PDTTags: Breaking Bad, Charlie Collier, Frank Darabont, Mad Men, Matt Weiner, The Walking Dead
Nellie Andreeva

RELATED: ‘Breaking Bad’ Eyeing Two-Season Final Run

For a network that has only 5 shows on the air, AMC has been in the headlines with series-related issues an awful lot during the past 8 months, first over the difficult and very public negotiations with Mad Men creator Matt Weiner and more recently over the abrupt exit of The Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont and the ongoing negotiations for Breaking Bad. I caught up tonight with AMC president Charlie Collier who declined to discuss the specifics surrounding the Breaking Bad talks with producer Sony Pictures TV and Darabont’s departure but addressed several other issues that have been the subject of a lot of speculation, including rumored budget cuts on Walking Dead which some have linked to Darabont’s exit and reported AMC demands for a 6-8-episode fifth season of Breaking Bad.

Deadline: Did you cut the budget on The Walking Dead in Season 2?

Collier: If you look at pilot budgets vs. pattern budgets usually the pilot budget is much higher than what ends up being the pattern budget. With The Walking Dead, instead of doing a pilot, we went straight to 6 episodes because we believed in the team and the talent in front and behind the camera. Then we came back with a 13-episode second season, and amortization over 13 episodes is very different than over 6. But we settled into one of the highest pattern budgets for a basic cable series.

Deadline: So the overall budget for Season 2 is lower than the Season 1 because of the amortization factor?

Collier: We went straight to series, with the first season serving in many ways as a pilot, and then we have settled into a 13-episode pattern budget.

Deadline: Did AMC want to truncate season 5 of Breaking Bad?

Collier: There has been a lot reported about this negotiation, but we would never comment on an open negotiation in the press. There have been all sorts of scenarios about how to bring Breaking Bad back on our air, we proposed many scenarios not just one format. The truth is that we have productive negotiations with Sony in hopes of doing right by both companies and the fans of this great show. Read More »

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AMC Confirms ‘Walking Dead’ Showrunner Change, Addresses ‘Killing’ Controversy

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday July 28, 2011 @ 9:41am PDTTags: AMC, Frank Darabont, TCA Press Tour, Television Critics Association, The Walking Dead
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATE from Deadline’s TCA reporter Ray Richmond: AMC’s SVP original programming Joel Stillerman spoke briefly about the Walking Dead showrunner change at the top of the network’s panel for its upcoming period drama Hell On Wheels, which will premiere … Read More »

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Glen Mazzara To Succeed Frank Darabont As ‘Walking Dead’ Showrunner

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday July 27, 2011 @ 12:49pm PDTTags: AMC, Frank Darabont, Glen Mazzara The Walking Dead, showrunner
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: The Walking Dead executive producer Glen Mazzara is taking the reins of AMC’s  The Walking Dead following the exit of creator/executive producer/showrunner Frank Darabont. Deadline broke the news last night that Darabont is stepping down as showrunner of … Read More »

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Glen Mazzara Joins ‘Walking Dead’ As EP, Show Will Have Writing Staff After All

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday February 4, 2011 @ 7:16am PSTTags: Frank Darabont, Glen Mazzara, Glen Mazzara The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead Season 2, The Walking Dead Writing Staff, TV
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Glen Mazzara has closed a deal to join AMC’s breakout hit The Walking Dead as a writing executive producer and No.2 to creator/ executive producer/ director Frank Darabont for the show’s upcoming second season. He is in the process of putting together a staff of about 5 writers.

The move comes 3 months after the writing staff for The Walking Dead’s first season was disbanded, including then-No. 2 to Darabont, writing executive producer Charles “Chic” Eglee (most of the writers were let go, Eglee joined another project, FX’s Powers). At the time, Durabont was exploring the idea of forgoing a writing staff altogether in favor of using freelancers. In the end, the show is reverting to the traditional writing staff model with a staff comparable or a little bigger in size to Season 1 whose order was for 6 episodes vs. 13 for Season 2. One of the 6 episodes of Walking Dead‘s first season was written on freelance basis by Mazzara. Read More »

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‘The Walking Dead’ Lets Go Of Writers; Considers No Writing Staff For Season 2

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday December 1, 2010 @ 10:45am PSTTags: AMC The Walking Dead, Cable TV, Charles "Chick" Eglee, Frank Darabont, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead Season 2, The Walking Dead Writing Staff, TV
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATE WEDNESDAY 10:45AM: AMC just issued a statement confirming “that there will be changes to the writing staff” of The Walking Dead.

EXCLUSIVE TUESDAY 5PM: I hear The Walking Dead writer/ executive producer/ director Frank Darabont has let go of the … Read More »

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Big Debut For ‘Walking Dead’ On AMC

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 1, 2010 @ 12:21pm PDTTags: AMC, AMC The Walking Dead, Cable TV, Charles "Chick" Eglee, Frank Darabont, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead Promo, The Walking Dead Ratings, TV
Nellie Andreeva

Following AMC’s most expansive promotional campaign, the cable network’s new drama The Walking Dead launched with more that 5.3 total million viewers last night, the largest audience for an original series on AMC. In adults 18-49, Walking Dead garnered 3.6 … Read More »

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Hot Teaser: AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday August 24, 2010 @ 10:59am PDTTags: AMC The Walking Dead, Frank Darabont, The Walking Dead, Trailers, Video, Zombies
Mike Fleming

After the parade of vampire TV series, AMC is giving equal time to flesh eating zombies. Frank Darabont’s The Walking Dead starts its run on Halloween, October 31st, with a 90-minute premiere at 10 PM, but the cable network has put up a teaser.

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Comic-Con 2010 Preview: Friday, July 23

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday July 18, 2010 @ 3:18pm PDTTags: 2010 Comic-Con, AMC The Walking Dead, Caprica, Comic-Con, Comic-Con Convention, Comic-Con Schedule, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Drew McWeeny, Drive Angry 3D, Frank Darabont, Hawaii Five-0, James Gunn Super, New Comic-Con, Nicolas Cage, Roger Corman, Skyline, The Green Hornet 3D, The Other Guys


comicon 2010

FRIDAY, JULY 23

STAR WARS DAY (This is a meaningless appellation unless and until George Lucas sees fit to say or do anything regarding the proposed live-action TV series.)

Luke Y Thompson covers Hollywood events at the … Read More »

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