Fox Buys Thriller From Chernin’s Company Based On Upcoming Warren Ellis Novel
EXCLUSIVE: Fox has put in development Gun Machine, a drama based on the upcoming novel of the same name by top comic book writer Warren Ellis. The TV series adaptation, a thriller about a beleaguered New York City detective who stumbles upon a cache of hundreds of guns that trace back to a wide array of seemingly unrelated unsolved murders, will be written by Trauma creator Dario Scardapane and produced by 20th Century Fox TV and studio-based Chernin Entertainment. Chernin and the studio made an offer on Gun Machine, which will be published in January by Mulholland Books, sight unseen. “Chernin and Fox pursued Gun Machine with great passion and intelligence, and I couldn’t be happier to be making this show with them,” Ellis said. He will executive produce the potential TV series with Scardapane, Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope.
Ellis’ graphic novel Red was turned into a successful movie produced by Summit and Lorenzo di Bonaventura. A sequel is slated to go into production at the end of the year. Additionally, Tim Miller is attached to direct the feature film adaptation of Ellis’ graphic novel series Gravel which is set up at Legendary, and Ellis is collaborating with Joss Whedon on the Wastelanders webseries. Ellis is repped by Angela Cheng Caplan, with attorney George Davis handling his deal, and Lydia Wills negotiating the book agreement. Scardapane is with WME. This is Chernin Entertainment’s second drama sale for Fox so far this season, along with a premium script deal for a project from writer Chris Levinson.
So glad Hollywood has finally learned to appreciate the twisted genius of Warren Ellis. Can’t wait to see more adaptations of his work in the near future.
Buying and putting it on the air are two completely separate things. This is the time of the year when interesting TV projects are sold… never to be heard from again.
Any adaptation of Warren Ellis that uses more than the bare bones will tank for sure. The kind of people who are his fans – almost exclusively male, sub-arty would-be writer/filmmaker types – just aren’t that much of an audience.
That assessment is lovingly devoid of fact.
Dario’s a very talented writer and this is perfect material for him. He’s also a good guy. Look forward to reading this.
Wow guys. Thank you. I’m just humbled to be working on material like this. Jo… I think Ellis and any writer of quality can always have a very broad appeal. Television tends to sometimes go too broad. We’re gonna try real hard not to do that with “Gun Machine.” And… Trust me, this book rocks.
Dario’s a fantastic writer and this sounds right up his alley. Smart move.
There are lots of Warren Ellis fans that have no pretensions to writing – this one for instance is a geologist, and not creative in the slightest.
Joe; that’s quite a bold claim to make. There are surely numerous Warren Ellis fans that doesn’t fit that description – I’m one – and thousands and thousands of people who’d watch a show based on his work, no matter if they’re fans or not.
Ellis’s Planetary is still his best work. Is it filmable? Who knows? (Anyone…?)
Actual (as opposed to ‘would-be’) male author and Ellis fan here–and I should point out that I’ve been a fan of Warren’s work for almost twenty years, and only an author for the past six. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Joe. >_<
I agree, Dario is AMAZING!!!