Reminder: Every single motion picture that’s ever existed will become a TV show at some point. We didn’t make this law (although it has its perks), we’re merely reporting on how the latest film-to-TV gold rush is playing out.
Deadline reports that The Italian Job is the latest film to be tapped for a glitzy episodic makeover. NBC is the network aiming to make this project a hit, pulling from a recognizable film “brand™” that was debuted to audiences in 1969 (with Michael Caine as the lead) and updated in 2003 (with Wahlberg as the main attraction). Considering that Lethal Weapon, The Exorcist and Frequency are among this fall’s new TV crop, small screen versions of recognizable films are still a hot commodity.
Entourage writer/producer Rob Weiss and Bollywood Hero writer Benjamin Brand will be working as writers and executive producers on the Paramount TV backed project. What should we expect? Here’s how Deadline sums up the job laid out for The Italian Job.
“(A) noisy, sexy, thrill-ride that follows a make-shift family of expert criminals, who are forced out of retirement when an opportunity arises to get their beloved “patriarch” out of jail. At the core of this dysfunctional family is Charlie Croker — played by Caine and Wahlberg in the movies — a handsome and charming ex-con, who tried to go straight, but like the rest of his crew, can’t resist the adrenaline rush of the high-stakes heist world. The idea is for the series to preserve the action, humor, romance and picturesque international locales from the movies.”
That’s the idea, but can they pull it off? We’ll find out when/if The Italian Job: Now With Commercials! makes its way to primetime.
(Via Deadline)
