Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

Director Christopher McQuarrie is spearheading a film adaptation of the ITV miniseries Unforgiven, about a woman who completes a prison stint for the murder of two policemen who'd come to evict her family from their farmhouse and soon unwittingly becomes a target for revenge.

Warner Bros. is in negotiations for movie rights to the Encyclopedia Brown children's book series by author Donald J. Sobo. The books followed the exploits of the son of a local police chief, who runs his own detective agency out of the family's garage. The studio and producers working with writers for ideas in hopes of turning the books into a film and potential franchise.

Philip Seymour Hoffman has joined the cast that includes Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace in the upcoming Soviet Union-based thriller Child 44, adapted from the bestselling novel by Tom Rob Smith.

Kate Walsh (Private Practice, Gray's Anatomy) will co-star opposite Joseph Morgan, Ron Perlman, Walton Goggins and Nicole Badaan in Dermaphoria, the psychological suspense film based on the novel by Craig Clevenger. 

The film adaptation of the novel Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon has added another member to its cast. Law & Order regular Peter McRobbie has signed on to play loan shark Adrian Prussia.

Ryan Reynolds has replaced Jake Gyllenhall in the lead role in Mississippi Grind. The story following a gambler on a losing streak (Ben Mendelsohn) who teams up with a younger gambling addict (Reynolds) to take a road trip through the South, hoping to rake in money and leave their bad luck behind.

20th Century Fox released a trailer for the crime thriller Runner Runner set for a September 2013 release. The film follows a grad student (Justin Timberlake) who gets caught between the FBI and a gambling tycoon in Costa Rica. (Hat tip to Omnimystery News.)

TELEVISION

USA Network has greenlighted two additional episodes for Psych's upcoming eighth season, bringing the episode order up to 10. For one of the extra episodes, the network is letting fans choose from three episodic storylines, with the winning premise to be announced at the Psych Comic-Con panel on July 18 hosted by returning guest star Cary Elwes.

Hallmark Channel is producing a two-hour backdoor pilot titled The Mystery Cruise, based on the book The Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark. The program will star Gail O'Grady (NYPD Blue, Boston Legal) and Michelle Harrison (Emily Owens M.D.) as two best friends and unlikely business partners who team up and use their talent for detection and unorthodox ways to solve crimes.

Sky Atlantic released a first-look teaser and stills from its upcoming drama Fleming. It's set against the backdrop of war-torn London and explores the early life of the charming, enigmatic creator of 007, Ian Fleming. Dominic Cooper plays James Bond's creator, and Lara Pulver stars as the author's future wife Ann O'Neill.

Via Omnimystery News comes word that Ineffable Pictures plans to adapt Declan Hill's bestselling non-fiction book The Fix into a crime drama for television. The book focuses on the multi-billion dollar illegal Asian gambling industry.

Fox not only announced its fall schedule—including its crime drama fixture Bones and the new show, Sleepy Hollow—it indicated it would be premiering its shows a week earlier than the other networks.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

Former district attorney, Emmy-winning judge and debut author Jeanine Pirro appeared on The View to talk about her book, Sly Fox: A Dani Fox Novel.

THEATER

If you are lucky enough to be in London tonight, get tickets to the one-night-only performance of The Audience at the Apollo Theatre. Doctor Who's Matt Smith and Sherlock's Andrew Scott are to star in a new one-off play as the Doctor meets Professor Moriarty. Skyfall's Ben Whishaw will also appear as James Bond's gadget-master Q, while Helen Mirren will play the Queen.
The production is part of A Curious Night at the Theatre, a charity gala aiming to raise money for charities Ambitious about Autism and The National Autistic Society.

Tony winner Rupert Holmes' stage adaptation of John Grisham's best-selling novel A Time to Kill will begin previews September 28 at the John Golden Theatre in New York. This is the first-ever Grisham work to be adapted for the stage