TV SALES
Fox is developing the unreleased novel GUN MACHINE, from comic book writer Warren Ellis, into a television series. The series would follow a NYC detective who finds hundreds of guns that trace back to seemingly unrelated and unsolved murders. Dario Scardapane will adapt the novel, with Chernin Entertainment producing for 20th Century Fox Television. Ellis, Scardapane, Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope will exec produce.
SYFY is developing CLANDESTINE, a swash-buckling space adventure drama that follows mercenaries masquerading as part of an intergalactic fleet. John Shiban is supervising the script, written by Todd Stashwick and Dennis Calero, with all three exec producing. Universal Cable Productions will produce.
TV DEALS
Robert Zemeckis has signed an overall deal with Fox TV Studios to develop and produce original programming for cable through their banner ImageMovers. Formed in 1998, ImageMovers has only “The Borgias” as a series credit. Zemeckis has previously executive produced “Tales From the Crypt” and “Perversions of Science”. Zemeckis is repped by CAA.
Nina Jacobson, producer of “The Hunger Games”, and her husband, Brad Simpson, have signed a first-look deal with FX Productions to develop TV series through their Color Force banner. Color Force will also secure the rights to published material in order to turn them into television shows. This deal marks Color Force’s entry into television. Their first feature was “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, which has launched a successful film series.
Universal TV has signed a two-year overall deal with Betsy Thomas. Under the deal, Thomas will develop new projects and act as a consulting producer on “Guys with Kids”. Thomas was the creator of “My Boys”, the single-camera comedy that ran on TBS for four seasons. She also acted as showrunner for the NBC multi-camera show “Whitney”. Thomas is repped by WME.
TV PICK-UPS
BET is picking up the pilot for BEING MARY JANE (formerly titled “Single Black Female”) with Gabrielle Union to star. Salim Akil directed the pilot from a script by his wife Mara Brock Akil, which centers on a successful talk show host who hopes to become the number one nightly news anchor while still searching for love. This marks the second show on the air as a writer/director team, after “The Game”. They also wrote and directed the upcoming feature “Sparkle”, starring Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks. The Akils are both repped by ICM.
