Gawker
Because the studios have forgotten how to make good movies and indies don't pay shit, talented and interesting filmmakers continue to trot on over to television. The latest is Anthony Minghella, the auteur behind The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and the way underrated Breaking & Entering (among others), who has a pilot that's just been picked up by HBO. His The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, about crime solving women in Botswana (adapted from Alexander McCall Smith's books), has received a thirteen episode order from the cable network (which is producing in conjunction with the Weinstein Company and the BBC.)
Minghella joins other filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh (the boring K Street), Paul Haggis (the silly The Black Donnellys) and Lasse Hallstrom (the regrettable new series New Amsterdam) who have looked for some creative space in television, perhaps encouraged by the freedom that the Davids Chase (Sopranos) and Simon (The Wire) enjoyed at HBO. Though, Soderbergh's and Haggis' shows were both ugly failures, and Hallstrom's seems destined to be the same. Hopefully Minghella's effort, with its exotic and curious plot, can buck the trend and fulfill on its promise. Though, maybe it's too exotic and curious. [THR]
Comments
Is he any relation to Josef?
and the way underrated Breaking & Entering
lies! lies, i say!
Richard "Four Weddings + A Funeral" Curtis was supposed to be writing "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" as a film . . . when did it turn into a mini-series?
@SuperBien: Yeah, he's working on it with Minghella.
His The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, about crime solving women in Botswana (adapted from Alexander McCall Smith's books)
How could this not be a huge hit?
Ohhh, I liked the Black Donnellys. That is to say, I found the lead actor on that show attractive, so I was able to ignore the fact that the storyline was kind of silly.
I only saw one episode of The Black Donnellys. Irish boys were hosing each other down with water after they'd murdered someone. The boys were naked. I thought that was a good show.
Actually, Minghella started out in television. Maybe he is returning to that medium because the vogue for overlong adaptations of so-so works of fiction is better served by breaking it up into forty-minute portions over several weeks. And does no one remember Elaine's reason for not liking the English Patient?: "Because it sucked."
Does this mean he is going to stop trying so hard to pimp his talentless sons acting career?
Hmm... That's actually a good idea for a series, although it might have been smarter to try to get it on the air amidst all of the buzz about the books five or six years ago.
I'm not a fan of his movies, but I would not too be surprised if he were actually able to put together a smart and entertaining series.
You're way, way off as usual. He did the pilot, as most name directors do, because it's easy money for easy work, and the studios get to throw his name around in promoting it. It's not his show in any way, and highly unlikely he'd direct additional episodes.
Thanks again for the outside scoop, Gawker!
@urnidiot: Well, he is getting an exec-producer credit.
Will one of the charecters get killed in a boat?
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