Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

Anonymous Content and Campanario Entertainment have acquired rights to the Federico Axat novel La Ultima Salida (Kill The Next One), which Craig Rosenberg will adapt for film. The story centers on Ted McKay, who's about to put a bullet in his brain when his doorbell rings and a stranger makes him an offer worth a temporary stay of self-execution: a last heroic act that would protect his family from the pain of his suicide, but puts him at the center of a grisly game of manipulation and death.

It seems Expendables 4 is closer to being a reality - Splendid Film has picked up the rights to screen the action franchise sequel across German-speaking Europe, with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising their respective roles - however it appears this will be the last film in the series.

French director Francois Ozon (The Swimming Pool) has hired Jacqueline Bisset to team with French stars Marine Vacth and Jeremie Renier in the French language erotic thriller L’Amant Double. The project began filming last week in Paris with Ozon directing from his own script, although plot details are being kept under wraps.

Bestselling crime writer Harlan Coben French adaptation of No Second Chance will finally be available for viewing in the U.S. on Netflix (with subtitles). No Second Chance is about a doctor who is shot in a home invasion in the serene fictional Jersey suburb of Kasselton and whose baby daughter is kidnapped.

Dax Shepard, who is writing, directing, and starring in the film reboot of the buddy cop action comedy CHiPS for Warner Bros, admitted that the film is going to have an R-rating due to the more "adult" material of language, violence, and the amount of nudity and sexual situations.

The final poster and trailer were released for John Wick 2, which once again stars Keanu Reeves as an ex-hitman who came out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.

TELEVISION

Jason Egenberg's new production company is teaming up with Alec Baldwin's production company for an adaptation of Crooked Brooklyn, the 2015 book by Michael Vecchione, former chief of the Rackets Division in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.

USA Network’s breakout new drama series Shooter, which only premiered on November 15, has already been renewed for a second season. The show stars Ryan Phillippe as a former Marine and decorated sniper who is on the run trying to clear his name and save his family.

Former Harry Potter star David Thewlis has signed on for a role as a regular in the third season of Fargo, playing V.M. Vargas, a dedicated capitalist who teams up with the folks who employ Ewan McGregor's Emmit Stussy, known as the "Parking Lot King of Minnesota." Other new cast hires also include Boardwalk Empire alum Michael Stuhlbarg, who joins in a recurring role as Sy Feltz, Emmit’s right-hand man and consigliere, as well as Scoot McNairy, Shea Whigham, Karan Soni, Fred Melamed and Thomas Mann.

The CW offered up an extended look at Season 1 of the CW’s new drama series Riverdale from Warner Bros. TV. Set in present day and based on the iconic Archie Comics characters, Riverdale is a subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends, exploring the surrealism of small-town life — the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome façade, including a murder mystery.

Fans of the cancelled series Hannibal, who've been hoping for bread crumbs about a possible revival of the show, may be happy to hear that director Bryan Fuller is toying with the idea of bring it back as a mini-series with occasional runs, similar to the BBC's Sherlock. The producers evidently came close to a deal with Amazon but didn't believe they could produce a Season 4 in the timeframe that Amazon wanted, so a miniseries format might have more appeal.

Criminal Minds cast member Damon Gupton, who plays newbie Stephen Walker, teased that there are surprises in store for the second half of season 12, including "some twists and turns. There are some things you wouldn't expect from a particular team member."

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

Blog Talk Radio welcomed author David Morrell, the award-winning author of First Blood, the novel in which Rambo was created, whose latest novel is the Victorian mystery/thriller, Ruler of the Night.

The Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast featured Andy Martin (of Reacher Said Nothing fame) and bestselling author Lee Child himself.

In the final episode of a three-part mini festive special on the A Stab in the Dark podcast, Mark Billingham was joined by Silent Witness' William Gaminara, who played Professor Leo Dalton in the pathology crime drama alongside a couple of stints on the classic long-running police show.