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

Billy Bob Thornton, Robin Wright, and Hopper Penn are set to star in Where All Light Tends to Go, which will be directed by Ben Young (Hounds of Love; Extinction). The screenplay was written by Robert Knott and is based on the novel by David Joy. Set in the Appalachian Mountains, Where All Light Tends to Go is described as "a tense thriller about a family dominated by a crime lord who controls his family and his business with his fists. When his son meets the girl of his dreams, desperately wanting to escape the life he is expected to lead and freeing himself from the clutches of his father, he is forced to go head to head with the terrifying man who will stop at nothing to ensure loyalty from all of those around him."

Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver are attached as the leads in Master Gardener, a crime thriller that Paul Schrader (The Card Counter) is directing from his original screenplay. It follows a meticulous horticulturist (Edgerton) who is devoted to tending the grounds of a beautiful estate and pandering to his employer, a wealthy dowager (Weaver). When she demands that he take on her wayward and troubled great-niece, it unlocks dark secrets from a buried violent past.

Tom Berenger and Cam Gigandet are set to lead the cast of the action thriller, Black Warrant, directed by Tibor Takács. Based on a story by Michael Paré and D. Glase Lomond, the project follows a semi-retired special ops assassin (Berenger) and a DEA agent (Gigandet) who cross paths on separate missions to stop a cyberterrorist group in possession of a dangerous machine that could attack the power grid and threaten global catastrophe. Jeff Fahey also co-stars in the film, which heads into production next month.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

Alfred Molina is set to star in Amazon's police drama series, Three Pines, which comes from The Crown producer, Left Bank Pictures. The project is based on Louise Penny's novels featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec (played by Molina), who investigates a spate of murders in Three Pines, a seemingly idyllic village where he discovers long-buried secrets and faces a few of his own ghosts. The cast also includes Rossif Sutherland, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Tantoo Cardinal, Clare Coulter, Sarah Booth, Anna Tierney, Julian Bailey, Frédéric-Antoine Guimond, Pierre Simpson, Tamara Brown, Marie-France Lambert, Frank Schorpion, Marcel Jeannin, Georgina Lynn Lightning, Crystle Lightning, Isabel Deroy-Olson, and Anna Lambe.

HBO Max has given a pilot order to Dead Boy Detectives, a series based on the DC Comics characters created by Neil Gaiman, from The Flight Attendant creator Steve Yockey, Doom Patrol creator Jeremy Carver, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Brothers TV. Written by Yockey, the one-hour series would follow the Dead Boy Detectives (Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine) who decided not to enter the afterlife in order to stay on earth and investigate crimes involving the supernatural.

Joseph Russo has been tapped to play "Crazy" Joe Gallo opposite Miles Teller and Matthew Goode in The Offer, Paramount+’s upcoming limited series about the making of The Godfather. The project is based on Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy’s (Teller) experience of making the iconic 1972 film that Francis Ford Coppola directed and adapted with Mario Puzo from Puzo’s bestselling novel. The movie starred Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, John Cazale, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and Talia Shire; it was nominated for 11 Oscars and won three, including Best Picture for Ruddy.

Rainn Wilson is set as a lead opposite Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon in Dark Winds, AMC’s Western noir thriller series based on Tony Hillerman’s popular Leaphorn & Chee book series. Dark Winds, which has a six-episode order, is a psychological thriller that follows two Navajo police officers, Leaphorn (McClarnon) and Chee (Gordon), in the 1970s Southwest as their search for clues in a grisly double-murder case forces them to challenge their own spiritual beliefs and come to terms with the trauma of their pasts. Wilson will play Devoted Dan, a "pious" missionary who recruits followers to the gates of his used-car lot—all the while being a degenerate practitioner of every biblical sin he decries.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

The new episode of Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast features the mystery short story, "Water Fall," written by Merrilee Robson and read by actor Teya Juarez.

Debbi Mack interviewed crime writer, Samantha Downing, for the Crime Cafe podcast. Downing's third novel, For Your Own Good, was recently optioned by a production company.

Speaking of Mysteries welcomed Karen Cleveland to discuss her new thriller, You Can Run, which follows a CIA analyst who makes a split-second decision that endangers her country but saves her son—and must now team up with an investigative journalist she’s not sure she can trust.

Suspense Radio chatted with Chuck Wendig about his latest novel, The Book of Accidents. Wendig also writes the Miriam Black thrillers, the Atlanta Burns books, the Wanderers series and more.

Matthew FitzSimmons stopped by Meet the Thriller Author. He pens the bestselling Gibson Vaughn series, which includes The Short Drop and Poisonfeather.

Criminal Mischief: Episode #47, hosted by Dr. DP Lyle, tackled the topic of "Amnesia and Trauma Amnesia," used in such novels as The Bourne Identity, and which may have even affected Agatha Christie...or not.

This month's Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine podcast offered something new: A reading by Canadian journalist, author, and professor Dean Jobb of his true crime piece "Arthur Conan Doyle and the Mutineers," which was published in the September/October 2020 issue.

Queer Writers of Crime spoke with award-winning author, C. L. Brees, who holds degrees in Police Studies and Cyber Forensics and writes the DS Anderson series.

Crime Time FM chatted with Simone Buchholz about Hotel Cartagena, featuring Public Prosecutor Chastity Riley who's dropped unwittingly into the middle of a tense hostage situation.

The Red Hot Chili Writers podcast welcomed indie publisher Orenda Books, along with founder Karen Sullivan and authors Awais Khan, Will Carver, and Lilja Sigurdardottir chatting about their terrific new novels.

The Cozy Ink podcast featured a look at cozy mysteries that include cats. 😼