Media Murder for Monday

It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Bridgerton's Regé-Jean Page looks to have found his first major starring role since his breakout part in the Netflix series. He's been tapped to executive produce and star in a "new, reimagined version" of The Saint for Paramount Pictures. Based in part on Leslie Charteris’s 1920s book series and subsequent 1960s UK TV series starring Roger Moore, The Saint follows Simon Templar, better known as "The Saint," a Robin Hood-esque criminal and thief-for-hire who goes on a globetrotting adventure. While plot details for this pic are being kept under wraps, insiders say this will be a completely new take that reimagines the character and world around him.

Searchlight Pictures has titled its previously untitled murder mystery as See How They Run, and released its first image from the project with stars Saoirse Ronan and Sam Rockwell. Besides Ronan and Rockwell, the all-star ensemble includes David Oyelowo, Adrien Brody, and Ruth Wilson, with Tom George directing. The film is set in the West End of 1950s London, where plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.

Alexis Ostrander, who has directed episodes of the M. Night Shyamalan series, Servant, is set to direct Screen Gems’s Delilah, from the writing team of Harrison Query and Tommy Wallach. The psychological thriller is said to be in the spirit of Gone Girl, with Movie Insider adding the tagline, "To escape her violent past, a young woman takes on the identity of a family's long-lost daughter, only to discover the dangerous truth behind the girl's disappearance."

 

MGM has unveiled the first official trailer for House of Gucci, an anticipated crime pic from director Ridley Scott, which United Artists will release in the U.S. on November 24. The film stars Lady Gaga and Adam Driver and tells the story of how Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga), the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci (Driver), plotted to kill her husband, the grandson of renowned fashion designer Guccio Gucci. The script is based on the book, The House Of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden. The all-star cast also includes Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, Jack Huston, and "an unrecognizable" Jared Leto. (On a side note, Leto has long been associated with the Guccis, having featured in a number of their ad campaigns, starting in 2016.)

Focus Features released the trailer for The Card Counter, the latest from writer-director Paul Schrader. Oscar Issac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan, and Willem Dafoe star in the revenge thriller, which hits theaters September 10. The story follows William Tell (Isaac), a military interrogator-turned-card player haunted by his past. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk (Sheridan), a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel (Dafoe) from both of their pasts.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICE

Producers Heather Mitchell and Jenna Bans have boarded a one-hour drama in the works at Fox based on Joshilyn Jackson’s bestselling suspense novel, Never Have I Ever. The project, from Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson’s Appian Way and Universal Television, centers on Amy Whey, who is living the life of an average-if-unfulfilled housewife in suburban Florida when a female grifter named Roux drifts into town…and wastes no time infiltrating the network of local women. As Deadline notes, "When Roux learns that Amy’s the Big Fish she needs for her last big score, the hustler and her mark become locked in a deadly battle: How far is Amy willing to go, to keep her secrets hidden in the past? How dangerous is Roux when she zeroes in on her prey? And how could either of these women ever have known that this swindler picked the wrong suburban housewife to mess with."

Disney+ has greenlit the genre-busting marriage murder series, Wedding Season. The project is penned by Oliver Lyttelton, the breakout writer behind BBC Studios’ upcoming short-form scripted series Cheaters, and centers on Katie, a beautiful bride whom we meet on her wedding day surrounded by the dead bodies of her new husband and every member of his family. The police think Katie’s lover Stefan did it. Stefan thinks Katie did it. Katie thinks her ex-husband did it. No one knows what the truth is.

Anonymous Content is partnering with Robert Baer to develop a Cold War series based on research by the author, himself a former CIA case officer. Baer is known for penning See No Evil, the 2002 book which was later adapted into Syriana. That geopolitical thriller from director Stephen Gaghan starred George Clooney, Matt Damon and more, winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (Clooney), among other accolades.

Jai Courtney is set for a key recurring role opposite Chris Pratt on Amazon’s conspiracy-thriller series, The Terminal List, based on Jack Carr’s bestselling novel. Riley Keough, Constance Wu, Taylor Kitsch, and Jeanne Tripplehorn also star in the series. The Terminal List follows James Reece (Pratt) after his entire platoon of Navy SEALs is ambushed during a high-stakes covert mission. Reece returns home to his family with conflicting memories of the event and questions about his culpability. However, as new evidence comes to light, Reece discovers dark forces working against him, endangering not only his life but the lives of those he loves.

Matt Bomer is set as a male lead opposite Michelle Monaghan in Echoes, Netflix’s limited series from 13 Reasons Why showrunner, Brian Yorkey. Echoes is a mystery thriller about identical twins Leni and Gina, both portrayed by Monaghan, who share a dangerous secret. Since they were children, Leni and Gina have swapped lives, culminating in a double life as adults: They share two homes, two husbands and a child, but everything in their perfectly choreographed world is thrown into disarray when one of the sisters goes missing. Bomer will play Jack Beck, Leni’s husband. When his wife disappears mysteriously, it’s Jack who has the most to lose as her secret life comes to the surface.

Bodyguard and Line Of Duty star Keeley Hawes has been set to headline and executive produce Crossfire, a major BBC One miniseries about a hotel shooting from the producer behind The Salisbury Poisonings. The three-part series is set in a luxurious resort in the Canary Islands and centers on Jo (Hawes), who is enjoying a dream vacation with her family and friends. Sunbathing on her balcony, the tranquility is thrown into turmoil when shots ring out across the complex from gunmen wreaking revenge. With the unsuspecting and vulnerable holidaymakers and hotel staff forced to make split-second life or death decisions, regrets will linger long after the final shots are fired.

Dylan McDermott has closed a deal to reprise his role in a major recurring arc in the upcoming second season of Dick Wolf’s crime drama, Law & Order: Organized Crime, which is headlined by Law & Order: SVU alum Chris Meloni. McDermott originally signed on as a series regular with a one-year deal to play Stabler’s (Meloni) Season 1 nemesis. McDermott’s Richard Wheatley is a businessman with close ties to the Mafia. In the Season 1 finale, Wheatley is last seen being taken into custody to await trial for the murder of Stabler’s wife, Kathy.

Joe Cobden is set for a recurring role opposite Bill Pullman and Jessica Hecht on the fourth season of USA Network’s crime anthology series, The Sinner. In Season 4, still reeling from the trauma of a previous case a year ago, the now-retired Harry Ambrose (Pullman) travels to Hanover Island in Northern Maine for a recuperative getaway with his partner, Sonya (Hecht). When an unexpected tragedy occurs involving the daughter of a prominent island family, Ambrose is recruited to help the investigation, only to be thrown into a mystery of mounting paranoia that will turn this sleepy tourist island, and Ambrose’s life, upside down. Cobden will play Lou Raskin, the beloved Chief of Police on Hanover Island who enjoys the simple life and knows most residents by name.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

The new Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast features the mystery short story, "Killer Clue," written by Guy Belleranti and read by actor Paddy Myers

Read or Dead looked at mystery reads for Disability Pride Month.

Meet the Thriller Author chatted with Eva Lesko Natiello, the award-winning author of The Memory Box.

Queer Writers of Crime welcomed Garrick Jones, a former opera singer turned author of a crime series featuring private eye, Clyde Smith.

My Favorite Detective Stories spoke with Mark Edward Langley, whose novel, When Silence Screams, the third installment in the Arthur Nakai Mystery Series, will be released in August of 2021

On CrimeTime FM, Chris Whitaker (We Begin at the End) & Dominic Nolan (After Dark) discussed creating strong characters, getting dialogue right, and the importance of place.

The CozyInk podcast featured an interview with mystery author Martha Geaney, discussing her Star O’Brien cozy mystery series.