I remember when a common trope in Hollywood was to adapt
classic TV series for the big screen. Now it appears we’re entering a period
where more movies will be adapted for TV. Just recently the adaptation
of the Coen Brothers’ Fargo (which
they executive produced) was met with critical acclaim. Just this past week two
new movies inspired- TV series were announced; and both have the respective
directors of those films as part of the series.
Steven Spielberg is developing a series based on his 2002 film
Minority Report. The film starred Tom
Cruise as a police officer in a distant future where people known as precogs
can see murders before they happen. Martin
Scorsese is also set to direct a pilot for HBO based on his 2010 film Shutter Island, entitled Ashecliffe. In the film Leonardo DiCaprio played a US
Marshall in 1954 who is sent to investigate the disappearance of an inmate at
Ashecliffe mental hospital . He then discovers not everything is what
it seems and there may be a sinister conspiracy against him. The series will
explore the origins of Ashecliffe in the early 20th Century. The
pilot will be scripted by Dennis Lehane, who authored the book upon which the
film was based.
It’s not surprising we’re getting more films adapted in TV
series. We’re living in a second Golden
Age of Television. TV is the now the place where talented artists experiment in
dense and nuanced long form storytelling. Instead of a sequel or remake for the
big screen, it’s now a option to explore of a film world’s mythology through
TV.
Full disclosure: I love Shutter
Island and it’s actually a favourite film of mine. I also like Lehane’s
original novel. The fact that both he and Scorsese are involved in this project
lends it certain amount of legitimacy. I loved how Scorsese visualized that
film so seeing him return to that world is a big deal for me. I’m intrigued by
the idea of exploring how mental institutions were run in the early parts of
the 20th Century, when mental illness and how to treat it wasn’t
completely understood. I think we’re looking at a potentially compelling
psychological horror/period piece series.
However, I’m still scratching my head over how they’ll
approach making Minority Report in to
a series. I don’t think it can be a sequel to the film- since the film ended
with the government not using precogs anymore- unless the series wanted to
explore how Washington’s police force- the only
city where the “Pre-crime Unit” operated- went about adjusting to
investigating murders and other crimes without the use of precogs. Maybe it’ll
also go the prequel route- maybe they’ll recast the role of Chief John Anderton.
They could also go the Prometheus route, with the series taking place in the same universe but telling a different kind of story. Spielberg’s involvement- similar to Scorsese and Lehane’s with Ashecliffe- does lend
the project some legitimacy. And ideally, once we learn more details about the
show’s premise, it'll make perfect sense how the film’s mythology will work as a TV series.
Both these projects, based on films I admire, are definitely
ones which to look forward. The internal mythologies of both Minority Report and Shutter Island provide potential for intriguing science fiction and
horror story telling. Count me in for both series.
