Gary DeVore, the screenwriter of movies including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Raw Deal and Back Roads, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field, went missing in June 1997, sparking a major manhunt.
DeVore’s mysterious disappearance has never been truly solved and there have been a number of conspiracy theories surrounding the subject including one that the CIA may have played a role in whatever happened to him.
This story is the subject of Witnessed: Fade to Black, an eight-part podcast from Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment, in association with Stowaway Entertainment, which premieres its season finale next week. There’s also been an interesting revelation since the show debuted; Gary’s wife Wendy DeVore recently discovered over 50 scripts and treatments, written by DeVore, and Wendy and Stowaway’s Jeff Singer are now working to see if there’s a second life for these scripts.
Titles include Hurricane Chaser, Deadlocked and Hard Rock,...
DeVore’s mysterious disappearance has never been truly solved and there have been a number of conspiracy theories surrounding the subject including one that the CIA may have played a role in whatever happened to him.
This story is the subject of Witnessed: Fade to Black, an eight-part podcast from Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment, in association with Stowaway Entertainment, which premieres its season finale next week. There’s also been an interesting revelation since the show debuted; Gary’s wife Wendy DeVore recently discovered over 50 scripts and treatments, written by DeVore, and Wendy and Stowaway’s Jeff Singer are now working to see if there’s a second life for these scripts.
Titles include Hurricane Chaser, Deadlocked and Hard Rock,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Nick Hakim seems to inherently understand the value of silence, of sparseness. The child of a Peruvian father and a Chilean mother, Hakim was born in Washington, D.C., and now resides in a quiet pocket of the Ridgewood neighborhood in Queens, New York, along the Brooklyn border. When we catch up over Zoom recently, he’s calm and composed, occasionally plinking his piano as he speaks. Near the end of our interview, the conversation veers toward legendary experimental composer John Cage. Hakim goes to his bookshelf, and shows me his copy of Silence,...
- 1/23/2023
- by E.R. Pulgar
- Rollingstone.com
If you were paying attention to HBO during the pay-cable giant’s breakthrough stretch at the turn of the century, it became a running gag that all the best shows came from a David. There was of course David Chase with The Sopranos, and David Milch with Deadwood. And in between, there was David Simon with The Wire. If not for its Seinfeld pedigree, one could be forgiven for assuming Curb Your Enthusiasm only got on the air because its creator and star was named Larry David.
In the years...
In the years...
- 9/5/2019
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
Timely six-part Philip Roth adaptation imagines alternate fascist America.
The Wire creator David Simon is returning to his regular home at HBO to write and serve as executive producer on The Plot Against America, a miniseries adaptation of Philip Roth’s novel about an alternate fascist America.
HBO has given a production commitment to the six-part screen version of Roth’s 2004 novel, which imagines an American history told through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family that witnesses the political rise of Charles Lindbergh, an aviator-hero and xenophobic populist who becomes president and turns the nation toward fascism.
Simon will...
The Wire creator David Simon is returning to his regular home at HBO to write and serve as executive producer on The Plot Against America, a miniseries adaptation of Philip Roth’s novel about an alternate fascist America.
HBO has given a production commitment to the six-part screen version of Roth’s 2004 novel, which imagines an American history told through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family that witnesses the political rise of Charles Lindbergh, an aviator-hero and xenophobic populist who becomes president and turns the nation toward fascism.
Simon will...
- 11/8/2018
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Writers of Hell or High Water, La La Land, Arrival and Deadpool are among the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards.
Writers of Hell or High Water (pictured), La La Land, Arrival and Deadpool are among the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards, set to be presented at ceremonies hosted by the West and East branches of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on Feb 19.
Also nominated in the WGA’s original screenplay category are the writers of Loving, Manchester By The Sea and Moonlight. Fences, Hidden Figures and Nocturnal Animals produced the other nominations in the adapted screenplay category.
Documentary nominations went to Author: The Jt Leroy Story, Command And Control and Zero Days, while dramatic TV series getting nods were The Americans, Better Call Saul, Game Of Thrones, Stranger Things and Westworld.
Full list of feature nominees and selected TV nominees:
Original Screenplay
Hell or High Water Taylor Sheridan
La La Land [link...
Writers of Hell or High Water (pictured), La La Land, Arrival and Deadpool are among the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards, set to be presented at ceremonies hosted by the West and East branches of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on Feb 19.
Also nominated in the WGA’s original screenplay category are the writers of Loving, Manchester By The Sea and Moonlight. Fences, Hidden Figures and Nocturnal Animals produced the other nominations in the adapted screenplay category.
Documentary nominations went to Author: The Jt Leroy Story, Command And Control and Zero Days, while dramatic TV series getting nods were The Americans, Better Call Saul, Game Of Thrones, Stranger Things and Westworld.
Full list of feature nominees and selected TV nominees:
Original Screenplay
Hell or High Water Taylor Sheridan
La La Land [link...
- 1/4/2017
- ScreenDaily
Writers of Hell or High Water, La La Land, Arrival and Deadpool are among the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards.
Writers of Hell or High Water (pictured), La La Land, Arrival and Deadpool are among the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards, set to be presented at ceremonies hosted by the West and East brances of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on Feb 19.
Also nominated in the WGA’s original screenplay category are the writers of Loving, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight. Fences, Hidden Figures and Nocturnal Animalsproduced the other nominations in the adapted screenplay category.
Documentary nominations went to Author: The Jt Leroy Story, Command and Control and Zero Days, while dramatic TV series getting nods were The Americans, Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things and Westworld.
Full list of feature nominees and selected TV nominees:
Original Screenplay
Hell or High Water Taylor Sheridan
La La Land [link...
Writers of Hell or High Water (pictured), La La Land, Arrival and Deadpool are among the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards, set to be presented at ceremonies hosted by the West and East brances of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on Feb 19.
Also nominated in the WGA’s original screenplay category are the writers of Loving, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight. Fences, Hidden Figures and Nocturnal Animalsproduced the other nominations in the adapted screenplay category.
Documentary nominations went to Author: The Jt Leroy Story, Command and Control and Zero Days, while dramatic TV series getting nods were The Americans, Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things and Westworld.
Full list of feature nominees and selected TV nominees:
Original Screenplay
Hell or High Water Taylor Sheridan
La La Land [link...
- 1/4/2017
- ScreenDaily
James Mattis, the retired Us Marine Corps general who this week was appointed as Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense, may be familiar to viewers of HBO’s “Generation Kill.”
That’s because he was portrayed in multiple episodes of the 2008 miniseries by actor Robert Burke. Based on the award-winning book by Evan Wright, the seven-part show followed the highly trained Marines of First Recon Battalion through the first 40 days of the Iraq war.
Read More: Sean Penn Writes Essay About Donald Trump’s Win and Fidel Castro’s Death
Mattis is a war veteran who has led expeditionary forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was once named “the most revered Marine in a generation” by Marine Corps Times.
The clip below is an excerpt from “Generation Kill” that shows General Mattis making his appearance on the Msr and sharing some colorful words with the other men.
“You got seven...
That’s because he was portrayed in multiple episodes of the 2008 miniseries by actor Robert Burke. Based on the award-winning book by Evan Wright, the seven-part show followed the highly trained Marines of First Recon Battalion through the first 40 days of the Iraq war.
Read More: Sean Penn Writes Essay About Donald Trump’s Win and Fidel Castro’s Death
Mattis is a war veteran who has led expeditionary forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was once named “the most revered Marine in a generation” by Marine Corps Times.
The clip below is an excerpt from “Generation Kill” that shows General Mattis making his appearance on the Msr and sharing some colorful words with the other men.
“You got seven...
- 12/4/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Former Rolling Stone contributing editor Evan Wright says Sean Penn‘s recent interview with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is symptomatic of a magazine in “decline,” and that it felt to him like Penn was “doing the ‘Tropic Thunder’ version of a Hunter S. Thompson story.” Wright is best known as the author of “Generation Kill,” which was based on a series of articles Wright penned for the magazine and for which he earned the National Magazine Award. He was active with the publication from 2000 to 2005, and remained on the masthead for years following. TheWrap reached out to him to talk.
- 1/12/2016
- by Matt Donnelly
- The Wrap
As nominated by our writers, here are the books of 2014 we can’t recommend highly enough…
Closing the final page on the very best books leaves you with a single urge: to share it. We’re talking about the kind of books that make you want to follow strangers down the road, tugging at their elbow and saying “seriously, you’ve got to read this”.
Here then, is our equivalent of doing that. These are the books published in 2014 that our writers felt compelled to share. If there’s one that you feel similarly enthused about, feel free to recommend away in the comments section...
Half A King – Joe Abercrombie
Unless you’ve been living in hermit-like seclusion recently, you can’t help but notice that Young Adult fiction is having its moment. Not even a genre a few years ago, it burst into the public consciousness with a flurry...
Closing the final page on the very best books leaves you with a single urge: to share it. We’re talking about the kind of books that make you want to follow strangers down the road, tugging at their elbow and saying “seriously, you’ve got to read this”.
Here then, is our equivalent of doing that. These are the books published in 2014 that our writers felt compelled to share. If there’s one that you feel similarly enthused about, feel free to recommend away in the comments section...
Half A King – Joe Abercrombie
Unless you’ve been living in hermit-like seclusion recently, you can’t help but notice that Young Adult fiction is having its moment. Not even a genre a few years ago, it burst into the public consciousness with a flurry...
- 12/22/2014
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
The Bridge Season 2, Episodes 6 & 7 “Harvest of Souls”/”Lamia”
Written by Evan Wright (“Harvest of Souls”) and Dre Alvarez & Anna Fishko (“Lamia”)
Directed by Guy Ferland and Adam Arkin
Airs Wednesdays at 10pm Et on FX
There have been unfair comparisons made in the past between The Bridge and The Wire, but there’s no way not to invoke the latter during the last two episodes of The Bridge, which have seen various characters from both sides of the border crossing paths, at times seemingly at random. And like it often did with The Wire, The Bridge‘s use of this narrative device serves a useful purpose outside the plot: it narrows the show’s scope a bit, adding a bit of focus to a sprawling world rich with diverse characters that would otherwise feel like a random collection of stories only related by geography. The more characters on The Bridge enter each other’s lives,...
Written by Evan Wright (“Harvest of Souls”) and Dre Alvarez & Anna Fishko (“Lamia”)
Directed by Guy Ferland and Adam Arkin
Airs Wednesdays at 10pm Et on FX
There have been unfair comparisons made in the past between The Bridge and The Wire, but there’s no way not to invoke the latter during the last two episodes of The Bridge, which have seen various characters from both sides of the border crossing paths, at times seemingly at random. And like it often did with The Wire, The Bridge‘s use of this narrative device serves a useful purpose outside the plot: it narrows the show’s scope a bit, adding a bit of focus to a sprawling world rich with diverse characters that would otherwise feel like a random collection of stories only related by geography. The more characters on The Bridge enter each other’s lives,...
- 8/22/2014
- by Randy Dankievitch
- SoundOnSight
Failure is inevitable. Success is elusive.
Steven Spielberg
As HBO’s CEO, Michael Fuchs, who’d come up through the company’s programming side, had spent 11 years working to transform the service from a movie channel with some pleasant original filler into a true programming platform. Ironically, Fuchs’ vision wouldn’t come to full fruit until after he’d left the company in May 1995, and it would happen under a guy who had no programming experience at all: Jeff Bewkes, who took over the CEO’s slot after Fuchs’ departure.
A friend of mine in the company who’d worked with Bewkes once explained his programming philosophy while we were talking about some of the company’s big dollar extravaganzas, like Band of Brothers. Bewkes didn’t interfere with the creative side. “If you can make it make business sense to him, Jeff’ll say, ‘Go ahead.’ If you can...
Steven Spielberg
As HBO’s CEO, Michael Fuchs, who’d come up through the company’s programming side, had spent 11 years working to transform the service from a movie channel with some pleasant original filler into a true programming platform. Ironically, Fuchs’ vision wouldn’t come to full fruit until after he’d left the company in May 1995, and it would happen under a guy who had no programming experience at all: Jeff Bewkes, who took over the CEO’s slot after Fuchs’ departure.
A friend of mine in the company who’d worked with Bewkes once explained his programming philosophy while we were talking about some of the company’s big dollar extravaganzas, like Band of Brothers. Bewkes didn’t interfere with the creative side. “If you can make it make business sense to him, Jeff’ll say, ‘Go ahead.’ If you can...
- 1/17/2014
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg are reuniting for a second movie -- before their first one is even out. The two collaborated on the Afghanistan war drama "Lone Survivor," which will hit theaters later this year (in time for awards contention). Now, Deadline reports that they're teaming up again for "American Desperado," from "The Departed" writer William Monahan.
The script is based on a memoir from super criminal Jon Roberts (featured in the documentary "Cocaine Cowboys") and writer Evan Wright ("Generation Kill"). Roberts was born into the mafia, smuggled drugs for Colombian cartels, and and even worked for the CIA. He counted Jimi Hendrix, Richard Pryor, and O.J. Simpson among his many acquaintances. Sounds like a killer story, right?
Paramount hopes to shoot the movie sometime next year. Both Wahlberg and Berg have full plates right now, with the former shooting "Transformers 4" and possibly "Ted 2" later this year.
The script is based on a memoir from super criminal Jon Roberts (featured in the documentary "Cocaine Cowboys") and writer Evan Wright ("Generation Kill"). Roberts was born into the mafia, smuggled drugs for Colombian cartels, and and even worked for the CIA. He counted Jimi Hendrix, Richard Pryor, and O.J. Simpson among his many acquaintances. Sounds like a killer story, right?
Paramount hopes to shoot the movie sometime next year. Both Wahlberg and Berg have full plates right now, with the former shooting "Transformers 4" and possibly "Ted 2" later this year.
- 6/29/2013
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) has scripted an adaptation of the book American Desperado, and according to Deadline, Peter Berg is set to direct the film, and Mark Wahlberg is set to star. They just got finished working together on an Afghanistan war drama called Lone Survivor. The film is set up at Paramount Pictures, and they hope to start shooting next year.
The book that the film is based on is subtitled My Life — From Mafia Soldier To Cocaine Cowboy To Secret Government Asset, and it comes from super-criminal Jon Roberts, star of the documentary Cocaine Cowboys, and Evan Wright, who is best known for his book and HBO series Generation Kill.
It will tell the compelling history of Roberts, "a New York City gangster running guns for the CIA and smuggling tons of cocaine and cash for the Medellín Cartel at the height of America’s War On Drugs during the 1980s.
The book that the film is based on is subtitled My Life — From Mafia Soldier To Cocaine Cowboy To Secret Government Asset, and it comes from super-criminal Jon Roberts, star of the documentary Cocaine Cowboys, and Evan Wright, who is best known for his book and HBO series Generation Kill.
It will tell the compelling history of Roberts, "a New York City gangster running guns for the CIA and smuggling tons of cocaine and cash for the Medellín Cartel at the height of America’s War On Drugs during the 1980s.
- 6/28/2013
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
After teaming up for the Universal Pictures war drama Lone Survivor, director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg are looking to collaborate again, this time on a crime thriller called American Desperado. Deadline reports the script comes from William Monahan (The Departed) and is based on Jon Roberts (the focus of Cocaine Cowboy) and Evan Wright's non-fiction book of the same name. The book comes from a series of conversations taking place over three years, chronicling Roberts' time as a gangster in New York City, working for the CIA and also smuggling drugs and cash for the infamous Medellín drug cartel. Whoa! Here's the official description of the book: American Desperado is Roberts’ no-holds-barred account of being born into Mafia royalty, witnessing his first murder at the age of seven, becoming a hunter-assassin in Vietnam, returning to New York to become -- at age 22 -- one of the city’s leading nightclub impresarios,...
- 6/28/2013
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Or, well, Mark Wahlberg will play an American desperado, while Peter Berg will direct him in an adaptation of the non-fiction book “American Desperado” by Jon Roberts and Evan Wright. The project would re-team the boys, who recently adapted the Navy SEALs tale “Lone Survivor”, based on the book by Marcus Luttrell. (By the way, I am dying to see the red carpet pics from “Lone Survivor” when the real-life Luttrell, who stands a monstrous 6’5″, stands next to Wahlberg, who is playing him and is a generous 5’8″.) Written by Wright over a three-year span from interviews with Roberts, “American Desperado” tells the history of Roberts, “a New York City gangster running guns for the CIA and smuggling tons of cocaine and cash for the Medellín Cartel at the height of America’s War On Drugs during the 1980s.” Sounds like a swell guy. Don’t think so? How about this:...
- 6/28/2013
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
After going off and making Lone Survivor together, Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg will be teaming up once again for the true crime flick American Desperado. Based on a novel by Jon Roberts and Evan Wright, the story revolves around “super criminal” Jon Roberts, a man who worked in the mafia, with drug cartels and then somehow, found a job with the American government.
Oscar-winning writer William Monahan (The Departed) will be penning the script and Paramount Pictures is hoping to move into production sometime next year.
Check out Amazon‘s plot summary of the book for even more details.
American Desperado is [Jon] Roberts’ no-holds-barred account of being born into Mafia royalty, witnessing his first murder at the age of seven, becoming a hunter-assassin in Vietnam, returning to New York to become — at age 22 — one of the city’s leading nightclub impresarios, then journeying to Miami where in a few...
Oscar-winning writer William Monahan (The Departed) will be penning the script and Paramount Pictures is hoping to move into production sometime next year.
Check out Amazon‘s plot summary of the book for even more details.
American Desperado is [Jon] Roberts’ no-holds-barred account of being born into Mafia royalty, witnessing his first murder at the age of seven, becoming a hunter-assassin in Vietnam, returning to New York to become — at age 22 — one of the city’s leading nightclub impresarios, then journeying to Miami where in a few...
- 6/28/2013
- by Matt Joseph
- We Got This Covered
Mark Wahlberg has been cast in American Desperado.
The Transformers 4 star has joined Paramount Pictures' movie about an infamous drug baron, reports Deadline.
Director Peter Berg has also signed on for the adaptation of Jon Roberts and Evan Wright's American Desperado: My Life - from Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset.
The book was based around a series of interviews between journalist Wright and former drug baron Roberts.
It charts the incredible life of the man born into a top Mafia family and how he has joyfully broken countless laws.
Wahlberg and Berg recently finished working together on Lone Survivor.
The actor will next be seen in 2 Guns with Denzel Washington.
Paramount is tentatively hoping to begin shooting American Desperado in the new year.
Watch a trailer for 2 Guns below:...
The Transformers 4 star has joined Paramount Pictures' movie about an infamous drug baron, reports Deadline.
Director Peter Berg has also signed on for the adaptation of Jon Roberts and Evan Wright's American Desperado: My Life - from Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset.
The book was based around a series of interviews between journalist Wright and former drug baron Roberts.
It charts the incredible life of the man born into a top Mafia family and how he has joyfully broken countless laws.
Wahlberg and Berg recently finished working together on Lone Survivor.
The actor will next be seen in 2 Guns with Denzel Washington.
Paramount is tentatively hoping to begin shooting American Desperado in the new year.
Watch a trailer for 2 Guns below:...
- 6/28/2013
- Digital Spy
Mark Wahlberg is set to star in the film adaptation of Jon Roberts and Evan Wright's book "American Desperado" at Paramount Pictures.
The story is based on Jon Roberts' life as a New York City gangster who ran guns for the CIA and smuggled cocaine and cash for the Medellín Cartel.
Peter Berg is helming the project from a script by William Monahan ("The Departed"). Berg and Wahlberg recently wrapped work on the war drama "Lone Survivor.
Source: Variety...
The story is based on Jon Roberts' life as a New York City gangster who ran guns for the CIA and smuggled cocaine and cash for the Medellín Cartel.
Peter Berg is helming the project from a script by William Monahan ("The Departed"). Berg and Wahlberg recently wrapped work on the war drama "Lone Survivor.
Source: Variety...
- 6/28/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
• According to Deadline, Julianne Moore may be among the top candidates for the role of President Coin in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, the third and fourth films in the series. A rep from Lionsgate had no comment. [Deadline]
• Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to the unfinished book Mean Business on North Ganson Street as a vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx, who starred together in Django Unchained. The story finds a disgraced detective (DiCaprio) sent to a fictional Missouri town (Victory) to investigate its rise in crime. There, he teams up with another detective played by Foxx as...
• Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to the unfinished book Mean Business on North Ganson Street as a vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx, who starred together in Django Unchained. The story finds a disgraced detective (DiCaprio) sent to a fictional Missouri town (Victory) to investigate its rise in crime. There, he teams up with another detective played by Foxx as...
- 6/28/2013
- by Lindsey Bahr
- EW - Inside Movies
Peter Berg will direct MarK Wahlberg in ‘American Desperado’, William Monohan has written the script
Deadline is reporting that Peter Berg has signed on to direct Mark Wahlberg in the film adaptation of American Desperado. The script has been written by Oscar winner William Monohan (The Departed).
Here’s the synopsis of American Desperado: My Life – From Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset by super-criminal Jon Roberts and Evan Wright courtesy of Barnes & Noble:
In 2008 veteran journalist Evan Wright, acclaimed for his New York Times bestselling book Generation Kill and co-writer of the Emmy-winning HBO series it spawned, began a series of conversations with super-criminal Jon Roberts, star of the fabulously successful documentary Cocaine Cowboys. Those conversations would last three years, during which time Wright came to realize that Roberts was much more than the de-facto “transportation chief” of the Medellin Cartel during the 1980s, much more than a facilitator of a national drug epidemic. As Wright’s tape recorder whirred...
Here’s the synopsis of American Desperado: My Life – From Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset by super-criminal Jon Roberts and Evan Wright courtesy of Barnes & Noble:
In 2008 veteran journalist Evan Wright, acclaimed for his New York Times bestselling book Generation Kill and co-writer of the Emmy-winning HBO series it spawned, began a series of conversations with super-criminal Jon Roberts, star of the fabulously successful documentary Cocaine Cowboys. Those conversations would last three years, during which time Wright came to realize that Roberts was much more than the de-facto “transportation chief” of the Medellin Cartel during the 1980s, much more than a facilitator of a national drug epidemic. As Wright’s tape recorder whirred...
- 6/28/2013
- by Philip Sticco
- LRMonline.com
So, you might not remember this, but a few years ago, David O. Russell and Mark Wahlberg were looking to make a feature adaptation of the critically acclaimed documentary "Cocaine Cowboys." The 2006 film centered on the notorious '70s drug dealer Jon Roberts who moved from New York, where he was involved in gangland takeovers of the city's nightclubs, to Miami, where he was set up with a powerful drug cartel. And it seemed like the Russell/Wahlberg project was really coming along. "We’ve the rights of those guys, Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday, and set it at Paramount as well. Evan Wright did a pass on the script and will have somebody else doing another," Walhberg said at the time. But the filmmaker and actor fell out, with both moving on to other separate things, but it seems Wahlberg really wants to make the movie about this story.
- 6/27/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Exclusive: I’ve learned that Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) has done a fresh adaptation of the book American Desperado. Now Mark Wahlberg is attached to star and Peter Berg to direct the film. Paramount Pictures is hoping for a start early next year, but it’s still too early to tell as Bill’s draft just came in.” Wme represents all three talents and was instrumental in the project getting together. Wahlberg and Berg just worked together on the Afghanistan war drama Lone Survivor set for a 2014 release by Universal. Latest pic is based on the tell-all with the subtitle My Life – From Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset by super-criminal Jon Roberts, star of the acclaimed documentary Cocaine Cowboys, and Evan Wright, best known for his bestselling nook and HBO series Generation Kill. Their collaboration began with a series of conversations over three years...
- 6/27/2013
- by NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief
- Deadline Hollywood
Paramount Pictures has set Mark Wahlberg to star in American Desperado , an adaptation of Jon Roberts and Evan Wright's "American Desperado: My Life--From Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset." Peter Berg will direct the film based on a script by William Monahan. The book is officially described as follows: In 2008 veteran journalist Evan Wright, acclaimed for his New York Times bestselling book Generation Kill and co-writer of the Emmy-winning HBO series it spawned, began a series of conversations with super-criminal Jon Roberts, star of the fabulously successful documentary Cocaine Cowboys. Those conversations would last three years, during which time Wright came to realize that Roberts was much more than the de-facto .transportation chief....
- 6/27/2013
- Comingsoon.net
After Ridley Scott’s production company, Scott Free Prods, went into development with AMC back in February for a drama series project based on Dan Simmons best-selling novel The Terror, it seemed like AMC wanted to keep Scott Free around for a while longer. That notion has now turned into a two-year deal, giving AMC first-look at all scripted projects developed and produced by Scott Free. This is the first time Scott Free has done anything like this, as the company is mostly known for their feature films. On top of The Terror, Scott Free has two more projects in development for AMC.
The Terror is set in 1847, when the crew of a Royal Naval expedition is in search of the Northwest Passage in the Arctic. What they actually find is a monstrous predator that stalks the ship. The other two projects are, according to Deadline, an untitled futuristic, dystopian sci-fi saga and Raiders.
The Terror is set in 1847, when the crew of a Royal Naval expedition is in search of the Northwest Passage in the Arctic. What they actually find is a monstrous predator that stalks the ship. The other two projects are, according to Deadline, an untitled futuristic, dystopian sci-fi saga and Raiders.
- 5/3/2013
- by Brody Gibson
- Boomtron
Exclusive: Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Prods has signed a two-year, first-look deal with AMC to develop and produce scripted cable projects for the network. The pact, Scott Free’s first such first-look agreement with a cable network, stems from the production company’s collaboration with AMC on The Terror, a drama series project based on the 2007 best-selling novel by Dan Simmons, which was taken in for development by AMC in February. The Terror is joined by two other Scott Free drama projects developed under the first-look deal. One is an untitled futuristic, dystopian, sci-fi saga from executive producer and writer Jason Cahill (Fringe) and producer and Emmy-winning prosthetic makeup artist and The Walking Dead co-executive producer Greg Nicotero, who also has a deal at AMC. The other, Raiders, from executive producer and writer Evan Wright (Generation Kill), was among the finalists at this year’s AMC pilot script showcase held this month.
- 5/1/2013
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
I hear top AMC brass will be in Los Angeles next week for the network’s annual round of producer meetings where the writers/producers behind scripts identified by the cable network as its strongest pilot contenders are invited to present their projects. The pilot script showcase, nicknamed by agents and producers “bake-off,” includes a series of presentations, in which the auspices of the selected projects lay out their vision for their show beyond the pilot with the help of visual aids, including demo reels. I hear the scripts that made it to this year’s event include dramas Raiders, from writer Evan Wright (Generation Kill) and Scott Free; and Line Of Sight, from Brotherhood creator Blake Masters and Fox TV Studios; and comedy We Hate Paul Revere, from writer-actors Ethan Sandler and Adrian Wenner (Whitney). Raiders, exec produced by Wright, Ridley Scott and David Zucker, takes place during World War II.
- 3/28/2013
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
William Monahan, best known for writing the Academy Award-winning script for Martin Scorsese's The Departed, has found his next project. He has been selected as the latest writing to work on American Desperado, the long-gestating, Mark Wahlberg-produced adaptation of the book American Desperado: My Life As A Cocaine Cowboy by Evan Wright and Jon Roberts. Wright, who also wrote the book that the miniseries Generation Kill was based on, wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay, but Monahan will be going back to the book for his rewrite. Deadline says that the story follows the life of Roberts as he worked as a cocaine smuggler as part of the Medellin Cartel. In 2006 a documentary titled Cocaine Cowboys chronicled the same story and a miniseries is currently in development at HBO as well. In addition to Wahlberg, Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey of Film 44 as well as...
- 12/14/2012
- cinemablend.com
William Monahan ("The Departed," "Kingdom of Heaven") has been brought onboard to rewrite the Mark Wahlberg vehicle "American Desperado" at Paramount Pictures.
The story follows notorious '70s drug dealer Jon Roberts who moved from New York, where he was involved in gangland takeovers of the city's nightclubs, to Miami where he was set up with a powerful drug cartel.
The film will be based on the book "American Desperado: My Life As A Cocaine Cowboy" by Roberts and "Generation Kill" author Evan Wright. Wright penned the most recent draft of the script, while Monahan is expected to incorporate more of the book back into the script.
Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey are producing.
Source: Deadline...
The story follows notorious '70s drug dealer Jon Roberts who moved from New York, where he was involved in gangland takeovers of the city's nightclubs, to Miami where he was set up with a powerful drug cartel.
The film will be based on the book "American Desperado: My Life As A Cocaine Cowboy" by Roberts and "Generation Kill" author Evan Wright. Wright penned the most recent draft of the script, while Monahan is expected to incorporate more of the book back into the script.
Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey are producing.
Source: Deadline...
- 12/14/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
William Monahan ("The Departed," "Kingdom of Heaven") has been brought onboard to rewrite the Mark Wahlberg vehicle "American Desperado" at Paramount Pictures.
The story follows notorious '70s drug dealer Jon Roberts who moved from New York, where he was involved in gangland takeovers of the city's nightclubs, to Miami where he was set up with a powerful drug cartel.
The film will be based on the book "American Desperado: My Life As A Cocaine Cowboy" by Roberts and "Generation Kill" author Evan Wright. Wright penned the most recent draft of the script, while Monahan is expected to incorporate more of the book back into the script.
Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey are producing.
Source: Deadline...
The story follows notorious '70s drug dealer Jon Roberts who moved from New York, where he was involved in gangland takeovers of the city's nightclubs, to Miami where he was set up with a powerful drug cartel.
The film will be based on the book "American Desperado: My Life As A Cocaine Cowboy" by Roberts and "Generation Kill" author Evan Wright. Wright penned the most recent draft of the script, while Monahan is expected to incorporate more of the book back into the script.
Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey are producing.
Source: Deadline...
- 12/14/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Exclusive: Paramount has set Oscar-winning The Departed scribe William Monahan to rewrite American Desperado, the film that is being shaped as a star vehicle for Mark Wahlberg. The film, based on the book American Desperado: My Life As A Cocaine Cowboy, focuses on the criminal exploits of Jon Roberts, who made a fortune smuggling cocaine into the U.S. for the Medellin Cartel. Roberts wrote the book with Generation Kill author Evan Wright, the latter of whom wrote the most recent draft of the script. Monahan will go back to the book for his script. Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson are producing with Film 44′s Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey. Leverage’s Michael Garnett has been overseeing the project. The exploits of Roberts and Mickey Munday were first chronicled in the 2006 Billy Corben documentary Cocaine Cowboys, which is in the process of being developed at HBO as a series that...
- 12/13/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING JR.
- Deadline
Since 2008, Mark Wahlberg has been developing an adaptation of American Desperado: My Life as a Cocaine Cowboy from authors Jon Roberts and Evan Wright. The story focuses on, "the criminal exploits of Jon Roberts, who made a fortune smuggling cocaine into the U.S. for the Medellin Cartel." Wahlberg will more than likely play the role of Roberts. The Departed's William Monahan is stepping in to rewrite the original draft of the script from Wright. Roberts and Wright last paired...
- 12/13/2012
- by Niki Stephens
- JoBlo.com
Paramount had to look no further than Magnolia Pictures for their latest project – an adaptation of Billy Corben’s documentary Cocaine Cowboys. Optioned awhile back with names like Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg attached, it is now World Trade Center writer Andrea Berloff who'll take over script duties from Generation Kill writer Evan Wright, whose book on the subject, American Desperado: My Life — From Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset, will be published in November. Gist: Cocaine Cowboys is the true story of Jon Roberts, a wounded Vietnam vet who went on to be a cocaine kingpin in Miami in the 1970′s before becoming a government prisoner. Corben’s documentary version chronicled the rise of cocaine and resulting crime epidemic that swept through Miami in the 1970’s and 80’s. Worth Noting: Berloff’s stock is definitely on the rise as her name is currently attached to a...
- 3/26/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
World Trade Center screenwriter Andrea Berloff has been tapped to write the feature version of Cocaine Cowboys, Paramount’s narrative adaptation of the documentary by Square Grouper director Billy Corben. [THR]
Cocaine Cowboys is the true story of Jon Roberts, a wounded Vietnam vet who went on to be a cocaine kingpin in Miami in the 1970′s before becoming a government prisoner. The documentary chronicles the vast tapestry of the drugs, crime and vice that forever linked the words “coke” and “Miami.”
Berloff – who also has the Nwa bio Straight Outta Compton in development – takes over the project from Generation Kill screenwriter Evan Wright, whose book on the subject (co-written with Roberts), American Desperado: My Life — From Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset, will be published later this year.
Having written Oliver Stone‘s fairly tepid World Trade Center, let’s hope a little of Stone’s old-school...
Cocaine Cowboys is the true story of Jon Roberts, a wounded Vietnam vet who went on to be a cocaine kingpin in Miami in the 1970′s before becoming a government prisoner. The documentary chronicles the vast tapestry of the drugs, crime and vice that forever linked the words “coke” and “Miami.”
Berloff – who also has the Nwa bio Straight Outta Compton in development – takes over the project from Generation Kill screenwriter Evan Wright, whose book on the subject (co-written with Roberts), American Desperado: My Life — From Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset, will be published later this year.
Having written Oliver Stone‘s fairly tepid World Trade Center, let’s hope a little of Stone’s old-school...
- 3/23/2011
- by Anthony Vieira
- The Film Stage
A Best Director nomination, to no one’s surprise, gets you a lot of offers. David O. Russell is experiencing this right now, with Uncharted, Two Guns, Old St. Louis and, as we’re just learning now, Cocaine Cowboys being in his sights. Focusing on that last one, the director recently talked to ThePlaylist, and revealed that he’s considering (among many other things) a narrative version of Billy Corben’s documentary of the same name which was released in 2006.
In what shouldn’t come as a big surprise, Mark Wahlberg is the rumored lead for the potential film; this should be expected, as he was in O. Russell’s films Three Kings, Huckabees, The Fighter, and is planned to be his lead in Uncharted. He spoke with Sgt.Film last fall, and was quoted as saying about the project:
“We’ve the rights of those guys, Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday,...
In what shouldn’t come as a big surprise, Mark Wahlberg is the rumored lead for the potential film; this should be expected, as he was in O. Russell’s films Three Kings, Huckabees, The Fighter, and is planned to be his lead in Uncharted. He spoke with Sgt.Film last fall, and was quoted as saying about the project:
“We’ve the rights of those guys, Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday,...
- 2/22/2011
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
How did I miss this article that came out in 2007? Conor Friedersdorf, filling in for Andrew Sullivan at his blog, linked to an old Vanity Fair article today as an example of “Slow” (i.e. long) journalism he especially likes. I read the piece over dinner. Normally when I read an article that I think will be of interest to Filmmaker readers, I’ll offer a quick summary and then excerpt a couple of particularly interesting paragraphs that capture the flavor of the piece. When it comes to “Pat Dollard's War on Hollywood,” by Evan Wright in the March, 2007 Vanity Fair, such an approach is impossible. I would have to quote every paragraph, so compelling and impossibly sprawling is this tale of Hollywood...
- 8/17/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Alexander Skarsgard kept his military background hidden from his co-stars in TV war drama Generation Kill, because he didn't want to brag about his prior experience at bootcamp.
The True Blood star played Sergeant Brad Colbert in the HBO mini-series, based on reporter Evan Wright's experiences with U.S. soldiers during the 2003 invasion of Iraq - and he chose to keep quiet about his 15 months service in the Swedish coastal artillery when he arrived in Namibia to undergo army training with castmates like Twilight star Kellan Lutz.
He says, "I didn't want to show up for bootcamp being like, 'Yeah, I know this guys, I was in the Swedish marines for 15 months, so I can tell you all all about it.'"...
The True Blood star played Sergeant Brad Colbert in the HBO mini-series, based on reporter Evan Wright's experiences with U.S. soldiers during the 2003 invasion of Iraq - and he chose to keep quiet about his 15 months service in the Swedish coastal artillery when he arrived in Namibia to undergo army training with castmates like Twilight star Kellan Lutz.
He says, "I didn't want to show up for bootcamp being like, 'Yeah, I know this guys, I was in the Swedish marines for 15 months, so I can tell you all all about it.'"...
- 8/17/2010
- WENN
This is a blu-ray competition for Generation Kill, created by David Simon (The Wire) and Ed Burns, starring Alexander Skarsgård, James Ransone, Lee Tergesen, Jon Huertas, Stark Sands and Billy Lush. This is a first-hand narrative account of the young Marines of the First Reconnaissance Battalion – the beginning of the American military’s march into Iraq. Based on the best-selling and award-winning non-fiction account of the same name by Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright, the journalist embedded in the lead Humvee of First Recon’s Bravo Company’s Second Platoon, the miniseries is a precise retelling of the early weeks of the military campaign from the point of view of the guys on the ground: the non-commissioned officers and platoon-level commanders who led the way to Baghdad.
- 7/1/2010
- by Dan Higgins
- Pure Movies
Danish filmmaker Ole Bornedal will direct the thriller 'Death of a Hostess'. We're rather fond of him around these parts having spoken fondly of his films like Deliver us From Evil and The Substitute.
Project was inspired by a Time magazine article by Evan Alan Wright and focuses on a young woman who enters the dangerous underbelly of Japanese nightclubs in order to find her missing sister.
Bornedal wrote and directed last year's Danish thriller "Deliver Us From Evil." He helmed the original "Nightwatch" in 1994 and the English language remake, starring Nick Nolte, Ewan McGregor and Patricia Arquette.
James D. Stern's Endgame Entertainment, Taka Ichise's Ozla Pictures and Aram Tertzakian's Xyz Films will produce the picuture. Endgame's Doug Hansen, Ozla's Erin Eggers, and Xyz's Nate Bolotin and Nick Spicer are exec producing. Ozla's Ben Shiffrin will co-produce.
Project was inspired by a Time magazine article by Evan Alan Wright and focuses on a young woman who enters the dangerous underbelly of Japanese nightclubs in order to find her missing sister.
Bornedal wrote and directed last year's Danish thriller "Deliver Us From Evil." He helmed the original "Nightwatch" in 1994 and the English language remake, starring Nick Nolte, Ewan McGregor and Patricia Arquette.
James D. Stern's Endgame Entertainment, Taka Ichise's Ozla Pictures and Aram Tertzakian's Xyz Films will produce the picuture. Endgame's Doug Hansen, Ozla's Erin Eggers, and Xyz's Nate Bolotin and Nick Spicer are exec producing. Ozla's Ben Shiffrin will co-produce.
- 3/20/2010
- Screen Anarchy
I watched Generation Kill on DVD a few months ago, and lucky old terrestrial viewers can catch the whole thing from Wednesday 7th of October on Channel 4. Since it’s on at 11.20pm and each episode is over an hour long, many people will have to record or 4Od it. Whatever you do I urge you not to miss this superlative military mini-series. Generation Kill is based on a book by Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright who went into Iraq in 2003 with a front line Recon Marine squad. The interviews and articles Wright published were turned into a 7 part mini-series for HBO in 2008 by David Simon and Ed Burns, creators of The Wire. The result is a staggeringly realistic portrayal of modern warfare and the people involved in the combat. The dialogue and characterisation is excellent, with most scenes feeling like verbatim transcriptions of the interviews and opinions Wright was exposed to.
- 10/1/2009
- by Joe West
- t5m.com
Chicago – If you haven’t seen HBO’s “Generation Kill” or “John Adams,” then you haven’t seen two of the best mini-series of the last several years and the absolute best of 2008. These are both pieces of amazing television, must-sees for fans of intense, adult drama and now available on Blu-Ray.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0 The brilliance of “Generation Kill” was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that HBO produced one of the most critically-acclaimed mini-series of all time in the stunning “John Adams” in the same year. With both titles finally available on Blu-Ray, now viewers who may have seen only one of the two or not had a chance to catch up with either can see both in the format most people watch HBO in nowadays - HD.
“Band of Brothers” has long been one of the most successful DVD (and now Blu-Ray releases) on the market and anyone who...
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0 The brilliance of “Generation Kill” was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that HBO produced one of the most critically-acclaimed mini-series of all time in the stunning “John Adams” in the same year. With both titles finally available on Blu-Ray, now viewers who may have seen only one of the two or not had a chance to catch up with either can see both in the format most people watch HBO in nowadays - HD.
“Band of Brothers” has long been one of the most successful DVD (and now Blu-Ray releases) on the market and anyone who...
- 6/15/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Friday night sees Bill Maher entertaining the commentary of David Simon, showrunner of HBO's "The Wire." Maher has as panel guests journalist Richard Brookhiser, commentator Amy Holmes and gay activist columnist Dan Savage. Maher's New Rules segment was punctuated by an amusing "commencement speech" delivered by Maher in Grad cap, who told graduating students to "give up," and prepare to move in with their parents, after going through "the American educational system." Maher also used humor to comment on the Wanda Sykes recent hosting duties, the Miss USA debacle and Lysol's futile war on germs. Simon also recently completed "Generation Kill" for HBO, a true story and gritty drama based on the eponymous book by Evan Wright. Simon...
- 5/16/2009
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Opinion is divided among certain members of the Empire office about whether The Wire is the greatest TV show ever or simply the greatest thing ever. Either way, it's pretty darn good - so colour us excited about the DVD release of the follow-up from creators David Simon and Ed Burns, Generation Kill. And here's a world exclusive clip from the show.Generation Kill is a mini-series following the fortunes of the 1st Recon Marines during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, based on the book by Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright. It's got the same microscopic attention to detail as The Wire but, y'know, with bigger guns.The series is out on DVD on Monday March 9.
- 3/3/2009
- EmpireOnline
"The Dark Knight," "Slumdog Millionaire," "Doubt," "Frost/Nixon," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" are among the nominees in the Adapted Screenplay category for the WGA's (Writers Guild Awards) 61st Anniversary awards show.
Winners will be announced February 7th, and will be held simultaneously between two ceremonies -- West Coast at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, and the East Coast at the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.
What about "Milk" or "The Wrestler?" Click Read More to see full list of nominees!
Original Screenplay
Burn After Reading, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Focus Features
Milk, Written by Dustin Lance Black, Focus Features
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Written by Woody Allen, The Weinstein Company
The Visitor, Written by Tom McCarthy, Overture Films
The Wrestler, Written by Robert Siegel, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Screenplay...
Winners will be announced February 7th, and will be held simultaneously between two ceremonies -- West Coast at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, and the East Coast at the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.
What about "Milk" or "The Wrestler?" Click Read More to see full list of nominees!
Original Screenplay
Burn After Reading, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Focus Features
Milk, Written by Dustin Lance Black, Focus Features
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Written by Woody Allen, The Weinstein Company
The Visitor, Written by Tom McCarthy, Overture Films
The Wrestler, Written by Robert Siegel, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Screenplay...
- 1/7/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
As an heir to the wartime realism of Combat! and Band Of Brothers, the HBO miniseries Generation Kill shares a fascination with how the big gears of military campaigning affect the small gears on the front. Based on Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright's book of the same name—about a U.S. Marine reconnaissance battalion in the early days of the 2003 Iraq invasion—Generation Kill is partly a critique of how the Iraq war has been mishandled, and partly a matter-of-fact depiction of soldiering in the 21st century, a few generations removed from the succession of wars that defined so much of American history. As depicted in Generation Kill, the Marines of First Recon arrive in Iraq simultaneously overtrained and underprepared, supplied with cutting-edge technology and no batteries, and led by commanders they openly distrust—often with good reason. So they do what grunts have done for as long as there've been wars:.
- 1/7/2009
- by Noel Murray
- avclub.com
Chicago – David Simon and Ed Burns, two of the television geniuses behind “The Wire”, turned their eyes and ears from the gang-ridden streets of Baltimore to the bullet-strewn bodies of Iraq in the incredible seven-part HBO mini-series “Generation Kill”, now available in a box set from HBO Home Video.
All the buyers who turned HBO’s “Band of Brothers” into a massively successful DVD release (especially around Father’s Day and Christmas) should put “Generation Kill” on their shopping list this year. It’s easily the best fictional document that has yet to be produced about the nightmare in the Middle East. While films like “Lions For Lambs” and “Redacted” and shows like Steven Bochco’s “Over There” tried to be blanket statements for the entire war and the Bush administration’s bungling of it, Simon and Burns focus “Generation Kill” on the people on the ground. It’s incredible...
All the buyers who turned HBO’s “Band of Brothers” into a massively successful DVD release (especially around Father’s Day and Christmas) should put “Generation Kill” on their shopping list this year. It’s easily the best fictional document that has yet to be produced about the nightmare in the Middle East. While films like “Lions For Lambs” and “Redacted” and shows like Steven Bochco’s “Over There” tried to be blanket statements for the entire war and the Bush administration’s bungling of it, Simon and Burns focus “Generation Kill” on the people on the ground. It’s incredible...
- 12/17/2008
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Filed under: Politics, War, Fan Rant
Sometimes cinemaniacs get rewarded for stepping outside the theater. Scott Weinberg, his tongue possibly in cheek, thinks a viral 4-minute internet video is the best movie of the year. I am convinced that the year's best fiction-on-film (so far -- though I have trouble imagining anything topping it) is currently airing on HBO. That would be Generation Kill, the seven-part, eight-hour Iraq War miniseries from David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire). I know, I know: this is Cinematical, not TV Squad. But Generation Kill is something no movie lover should ignore.
Fans of The Wire already know of Simon and Burns's uncanny, unparalleled ability to weave together hyper-realism, trenchant commentary and riveting drama, but even they may be stunned, as I was, by what this smaller-scale project has to offer. It is, quite simply, the deepest and most sympathetic portrayal of the military...
Sometimes cinemaniacs get rewarded for stepping outside the theater. Scott Weinberg, his tongue possibly in cheek, thinks a viral 4-minute internet video is the best movie of the year. I am convinced that the year's best fiction-on-film (so far -- though I have trouble imagining anything topping it) is currently airing on HBO. That would be Generation Kill, the seven-part, eight-hour Iraq War miniseries from David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire). I know, I know: this is Cinematical, not TV Squad. But Generation Kill is something no movie lover should ignore.
Fans of The Wire already know of Simon and Burns's uncanny, unparalleled ability to weave together hyper-realism, trenchant commentary and riveting drama, but even they may be stunned, as I was, by what this smaller-scale project has to offer. It is, quite simply, the deepest and most sympathetic portrayal of the military...
- 8/23/2008
- by Eugene Novikov
- Cinematical
- For those of you who have been enjoying HBO’s enthralling Iraq War miniseries Generation Kill, this will be welcome news. Evan Wright, who penned the book on which the series is based, has been brought on to adapt Billy Corben’s 2006 doc Cocaine Cowboys for Paramount. If you missed it (get on that by the way), the film is a high-energy exposé into the inner workings of the Columbian drug trade that hit Miami like a tidal wave in the ‘80s. Told primarily through the eyes of major player Jon Roberts, an ex Vietnam vet turned mob gangster, who not only slung a mountain of rock for the infamous Medellin drug cartel but also acted as middle man for America’s arms dealings with the Contras. Stories of the era inspired both Scarface and Miami Vice for better and for worse (respectively). The doc drew major plaudits from
- 7/24/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
Gonzo journalist-screenwriter Evan Wright has moved from American cowboys on the Iraqi frontier to the cocaine cowboys of 1970s Miami.
Wright, who wrote the nonfiction book on which the HBO miniseries "Generation Kill" is based, has closed a deal to write the feature "Cocaine Cowboys" for Paramount. The deal grew out of his work on a parallel book that Crown will publish next year.
Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg have been attached to star in and direct, respectively, the story of Jon Roberts, an injured Vietnam vet by age 20 who ended up involved in gangland takeovers of New York City nightclubs in the early '70s (his uncle was the consigliere to Carlo Gambino). By the end of the decade, Roberts landed in Miami, dealt billions of dollars worth of coke for the Medellin drug cartel and ultimately spent 10 years in prison.
Billy Corben's popular documentary of the same name, released by Magnolia in 2006, covered a slice of Roberts' history.
"It's really an exciting story about the secret history of America," Wright said. "It's also a story that outwardly seems familiar, but the more you get into it, it's never really been told this way. It's about a guy who was a cocaine smuggler in a mafia -- we kind of know those stories -- but he also worked closely with the government to smuggle arms for the Contras."
Berg and Film 44 cohort Sarah Aubrey are producing with Wahlberg and "Entourage" executive producer Stephen Levinson.
Wright had already been meeting with Roberts, who's now in his late 50s, and his partner Mickey Munday in Florida since February, but he only recently decided to pitch the producers on his "burning desire" to adapt his in-the-works book into a film.
Wright, repped by Endeavor and attorney Alex Kohner, was a Rolling Stone reporter embedded with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion Marines for two months during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He went on to co-write the HBO miniseries airing this month, and he's adapting his March 2007 Vanity Fair article, "Pat Dollard's War on Hollywood," for Fox and Scott Free Prods.
Wright, who wrote the nonfiction book on which the HBO miniseries "Generation Kill" is based, has closed a deal to write the feature "Cocaine Cowboys" for Paramount. The deal grew out of his work on a parallel book that Crown will publish next year.
Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg have been attached to star in and direct, respectively, the story of Jon Roberts, an injured Vietnam vet by age 20 who ended up involved in gangland takeovers of New York City nightclubs in the early '70s (his uncle was the consigliere to Carlo Gambino). By the end of the decade, Roberts landed in Miami, dealt billions of dollars worth of coke for the Medellin drug cartel and ultimately spent 10 years in prison.
Billy Corben's popular documentary of the same name, released by Magnolia in 2006, covered a slice of Roberts' history.
"It's really an exciting story about the secret history of America," Wright said. "It's also a story that outwardly seems familiar, but the more you get into it, it's never really been told this way. It's about a guy who was a cocaine smuggler in a mafia -- we kind of know those stories -- but he also worked closely with the government to smuggle arms for the Contras."
Berg and Film 44 cohort Sarah Aubrey are producing with Wahlberg and "Entourage" executive producer Stephen Levinson.
Wright had already been meeting with Roberts, who's now in his late 50s, and his partner Mickey Munday in Florida since February, but he only recently decided to pitch the producers on his "burning desire" to adapt his in-the-works book into a film.
Wright, repped by Endeavor and attorney Alex Kohner, was a Rolling Stone reporter embedded with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion Marines for two months during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He went on to co-write the HBO miniseries airing this month, and he's adapting his March 2007 Vanity Fair article, "Pat Dollard's War on Hollywood," for Fox and Scott Free Prods.
- 7/24/2008
- by By Jay A. Fernandez and Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Okay, so I know the Screening Log is usually dedicated strictly to film news, but I thought we could make an exception for the upcoming HBO miniseries “Generation Kill.” Based on the book by Evan Wright, the seven part miniseries follows the Marine First Recon battalion through the early days of the Iraq War with an unprecedented representation of the reality these soldiers lived.
So, get ready for what is sure to be a landmark event. Visit the official website and watch the trailer here, and be sure to watch the premiere of “Generation Kill” tonight at 9 p.m. on HBO.
So, get ready for what is sure to be a landmark event. Visit the official website and watch the trailer here, and be sure to watch the premiere of “Generation Kill” tonight at 9 p.m. on HBO.
- 7/13/2008
- by Aaron Osborne
- screeninglog.com
The naked hunger for bloodshed that was the driving for behind an elite group of Marines during the very earliest days of the Iraq War is the focal point of "Generation Kill," a seven-episode HBO dramatic miniseries that plays like a documentary. Based on an award-winning book of the same name by Evan Wright, the series gives a graphic account of seemingly endless war that has grown increasingly unpopular with Americans. Last year, when Hollywood studios release a series of films on this theme, they all tanked.
The folks at "Generation Kill...
The folks at "Generation Kill...
- 7/13/2008
- by By ROBERT RORKE
- NYPost.com
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