Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

Producer David Barron and Fork Films are planning a film adaptation of Bulldog Drummond, based on the 1920s-era books featuring the British action hero by Sapper, the pen name of author Herman Cyril McNeile. Drummond has been named as one of the inspirations for James Bond.

Director Oren Peli has been attached to the film Eliza Graves, based (loosely, apparently) on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe in which a Harvard Medical School graduate takes a job at an insane asylum, unaware of the fact that it has been taken over by its occupants.

Warner Bros. picked up the rights to develop Brad Thor's Scot Harvath novels for the big screen, starting with The Lions of Lucerne, with the hopes of building a Bourne-style franchise. Harvath is a former Navy Seal involved in Counterterrorism Ops in the world of underground intelligence. Thor's movie deal also includes The Athena Project, based on a book due to be published
later this month, first in a series about a team of female agents trained in black ops.

TV

TV icon Bob Newhart is set for a guest-starring role on NCIS, playing Dr. Walter Magnus, an "eccentric-but-charming" medical examiner who comes out of retirement to help the NCIS team, working closely with ME Ducky.

Producer Gale Anne Hurd and Sony TV are teaming up for an action thriller movie for Lifetime, known more for its softer romance-style films. Catherine Bell (Army Wives) stars as a happy suburban wife and mother with a dark past as a military-trained special-ops agent. When her husband is mysteriously kidnapped, Abby's past returns to haunt her and she risks everything to protect her daughter and save the man she loves.

Steven Weber (Wings) and D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys) will star in the as-yet untitled TNT pilot based on The Rabbit Factory novel by Marshall Karp, following recently widowed police LAPD Detective Mike Lomax (Weber) and his newly married partner, Terry Biggs (Hughley), who delve into "a world of mystery, intrigue and occasional hijinks."

Tisha Campbell-Martin, Chris Payne Gilbert and Ally Walker are set to star in the Lifetime drama pilot Exit 19, about single mother Gloria Shepherd (Walker) as she juggles her demanding personal and professional lives raising two children while working as a New York Police Department homicide detective. Campbell-Martin will play Gloria’s smart and vivacious partner, while Gilbert will play Gloria’s younger brother, a recovering alcoholic.

PODCASTS/RADIO

Minnesota Public Radio featured Troy Patterson and Sarah Weinman answering the question "Why do we love anti-heroes" like Lisbeth Salander?

Dennis Lehane visited NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday to talk about his latest book Moonlight Mile, the first addition to his Kenzie-Gennaro detective series in 12 years.