Tony and Ridley Scott's Scott Free are to produce a mini-series adaptation of Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain. Mikael Solomon is to direct - if you want to acquaint yourself with his style, copies of Hard Rain are in bargain bins everywhere. Just one pound in Woolworths, last I saw.
I like the idea of Scott Free throwing some muscle behind miniseries. I'm not sure this will the best one they ever kick start, but I look forward to seeing how it turns out nonetheless.
Tony Scott has dipped into the Scott Free discretionary fund to secure a project he seems very keen on. Pat Dollard's War on Hollywood was an article published in Vanity Fair that told of a Tinsel Town agent turning his back on coke-dusted razzle dazzle to join Marines in Iraq and has since, according to his website, learnt 'the joys of killing'.
You can read the Vanity Fair article online.
Dollard's ambition now is to become a 'conservative icon, the Michael Moore of the right'. He's hawking a documentary series, Young Americans, and according to Dollard's website, Scott is involved in that now too. I'll leave you with his latest announcement, which pretty much speaks for itself:
I’ve working with director Tony Scott on Young Americans. Tony and I are working on the current series and hope to have distribution shortly. Of course it could all blow up if we don’t see eye to eye on everything or end up hating each other for no particular reason, but he’s a bad-ass, visionary motherf***er who counts Sonny Barger among his boys, so it’s all good. We will also be working together on the next round of the series, to be shot on the next trip to Ramadi, for what will hopefully be the final phase of the showdown with Al Qaeda. The plan for that trip is to edit closer to real time, while still in Ramadi, and have episodes aired as close to days or weeks after being shot as we can. It promises to be a very exciting and groundbreaking venture which will be very insightful for the nation.
And, I’ve closed a deal with Tony, his crew, and Twentieth Century Fox to make a movie about my experiences. I’ve been hired to co-write the script. More on that later.
If I get whacked in Ramadi, you’ll all the know the ending, but go see the movie anyway. Besides, that’ll be the best ending, right? And please go in your Jihadikiller t-shirts.
If you want to see Hot Fuzz slightly before most folk (but a long time before the US) and would like an added Q&A with Simon, Edgar and other associated Fuzz folk, then the ICA are your new best friend.
Tickets are available by phone now, by online purchase shortly and probably won't last long. Rich Johnston, are you reading this? Two please.
There's also a two-week Hot Fuzztival on the cards, in which a number of big action films and cop thrillers will be paraded across the ICA's humble screens, including a Point Break and Bad Boys 2 double bill - and as a 'special' attraction, this season will also include a Tony Scott Q&A. Sharpen your questions now.
That Tony Scott, eh? Just yesterday he was describe to me as 'the last of a rare breed' and 'an artist... channelling a great deal of personal vision". Not the typical appraisal of his work, is it?
[EDIT: Reportedly, tickets are not on sale until this Wednesday, 10th January]
