TV News: New Exorcist Remake and Gattaca TV Series Being Developed
William Peter Blatty, the author of the original novel The Exorcist, is supposedly reteaming with William Friedkin, director of the 1973 film for another version of the story. Though, according to Blatty, this new project won’t be going to theater screens. Instead, it will be a four-hour miniseries made for television.
Bloody Disgusting recently found this interview with the author, and when asked if he would change anything about the original film, Blatty stated:
“Yes and no. I would love to have been able to include the subplot involving Karl and his daughter Elvira which I did in my first draft, but that script ran to 172 pages, much, much too long. But I might have it my way in the near future, inasmuch as I’ve written an Exorcist miniseries script that not only faithfully includes all the main elements of the novel, but also some rather spooky new material and scenes, as well as a totally new (and perhaps much more satisfying) ending. I’ve also updated it. Billy Friedkin has agreed to direct.”
I was never a fan of the Exorcist but do think it is pretty cool that the original guys behind the best incarnation of the series want to return and develop a new story for TV. Mini series are becoming increasingly popular especially if they are well produced and have the right edge to them like with HBO’s Band of Brothers.
Another film to TV property is Gattaca, the popular sci-fi drama that starred Jude Law and Ethan Hawke. Now a TV version of Andrew Niccol’s sci-fi classic Gattaca is moving forward, and now the project’s writer has revealed some new details.
MTV Movies Blog recently spoke with writer-producer Gil Grant, who is writing the pilot for the series, about how he is opening up the world of the movie for this new police procedural.
“I came up with a world which is populated with Valids and Invalids, the same premise [as the movie], but taken into a police department where we’re… integrating, using the analogy of the ’60s Civil Rights struggle. Even though it’s technically illegal to discriminate against Invalids, just like in the ’60s people did,” Grant continued. “So it’s come to pass that [the government has] ordered the police department to hire their first token Invalid into the detective department. What we’re doing is we’re taking an Invalid and teaming him up with a Valid, a seasoned officer. You know, it’s oil and water.”
