Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

Thriller writer Jeffery Deaver doled out some hints on his upcoming James Bond novel. "What I'm doing is taking the Bond character that Ian Fleming created – the complex, dark, somewhat cynical yet curiously optimistic and patriotic man who lived a very fast life yet was devoted to his mission – and updating him. Set in 2011, he will be around 30 years old…My books are cinematic and fast-paced. If you've seen the Daniel Craig
film version of Casino Royale – it moved very quickly with lots of twists, turns and surprises. In the same sense, I think it'll please everybody."

Film producer Elliott Kastner has died at the age of 80. He was known for getting authors and others to adapt novels into screenplays including Raymond Chandler classics (The Long Goodbye in 1973, Farewell My Lovely in 1975 and The Big Sleep in 1978) and Ross Macdonald (The Moving Target, 1966).

Director Brian Miller ("a huge fan of crime thrillers when I was a kid growing up") participated in a Q&A about his recent gritty cop film, Caught in the Crossfire, in which two detectives investigating a gang-related find themselves targeted by both gang members and crooked cops.

Jack Bender (Lost) is on the "short list of directors" to helm the Tom Clancy-created Jack Ryan franchise, with Chris Pine playing the character in a prequel story with Ryan before he joined the CIA. The film is scheduled to start shooting in February.

TV

The Investigation Discovery network has a new eight-part series for the fall titled "Hardcover Mysteries" featuring best-selling authors David Baldacci, Sandra Brown, Harlan Coben, Linda Fairstein, Sara Paretsky, Kathy Reichs, Lisa Scottoline and Joseph Wambaugh discussing the real-life cases that compelled their fascination and inspired their page-turners.

NPR Online looks at new network shows worth checking out, including The Defenders, "a light, peppery legal drama set in Las Vegas, starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell as criminal defense attorneys;" Lone Star featuring father-and-son con artists; Hawaii Five-O; The Undercovers; and a particularly enthusiastic thumbs up to the mid-season replacement Ride-Along (from The Shield's Shawn Ryan) about Chicago cops. Kate Atkinson's private detective Jackson Brodie character (to be played by Jason Isaacs) is coming to the BBC next year via a six-part series. (Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)

On August 13, ABC's news magazine 20/20 will air a one-hour special about The Murder Room
and the Vidocq Society (based on the book The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases by Michael Capuzzo). ABC hopes to make the stories into a series. The pilot for a TV series based on Ken Bruen's fictional creation Jack Taylor is in the can and recently premiered in Ireland. Crime Watch has a trailer.

ScreenRant pinned down Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci at Comic-Con to talk about the remake of Hawaii Five-O debuting on CBS this fall. Kurtzman said "Hopefully what you’ll find with this show is that the spirit of the original is very much alive and well."

Jeff Goldblum is leaving Law & Order: Criminal Intent, although allegedly the split is amicable. USA Network hasn't yet decided whether or not to even renew the drama, although the decision may be made soon.

Sherry Stringfield (ER) will star in the new as-yet untitled Josh Berman/Lifetime drama pilot, playing San Diego police detective Molly Collins. Her character is a married mother of two on the verge of divorce who investigates the city's most high-profile crimes along with her partner Brooke Kross.

Oscar nominee Terrence Howard has joined the cast of the new NBC drama Law & Order: Los Angeles, portraying a district attorney, although he'll share the position with Alfred Molina (who plays Deputy District Attorney Morales), as they alternate episodes.

RADIO/PODCASTING

Carl Hiaasen appeared on the Today show to talk with Al Roker about Hiaasen's latest novel Star Island.

Best-selling authors Andrew Gross and Brett King appear on the next installment of Suspense Radio on August 10th.

The latest Thrilled to Death installment from NPR features attorney/novelist Richard North Patterson talking with NPR's Michele Norris about why a writer's career is less about talent and more about persistence, about how his writing has changed over the years, and he explains why it's great to surprise your readers, but a sin to surprise yourself.

On her 90th birthday, crime fiction author PD James spoke with Sarah Crown about the James' best-loved character, detective Adam Dalgliesh, her science fiction book, The Children of Men, and why she's worried about starting a new book.