NBC Orders Crime Thriller Adapted from Thomas Harris's Red Dragon

NBC is bypassing the whole "let's make a pilot and then decide if we want a series"-process and ordering a 13-episode crime drama based on Thomas Harris's 1981 novel Red Dragon.

Though Hannibal Lecter is probably best known as a character in the multi-Academy Award winning film The Silence of the Lambs, he was actually introduced seven years earlier in Red Dragon. Indeed, the official log line from NBC for its series is, "One-hour contemporary thriller series featuring the classic characters from Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon — FBI agent Will Graham and his mentor Dr. Hannibal Lecter — who are re-introduced at the beginning of their budding relationship."

Here's a synopsis of the book from the publisher: Will Graham stands in a silent, empty house communing with a killer. An FBI instructor with a gift for hunting madmen, Graham knows what his murderer looks like, how he thinks, and what he did to his victims after they died. Now Graham must try to catch him. But to do it, he must feel the heat of a killer's brain, draw on the macabre advice of a dangerous mental patient, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and follow a trail of microscopic clues to the place where another family has already been chosen to die — and where an innocent woman has found the Dragon first.

Jonny Lee Miller to play Sherlock Holmes in CBS's Elementary

Way back in 2008 when we reported that BBC had ordered a "contemporary update of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classics" we were — to say the least — not thrilled. This series turned out to be Sherlock and in our review of its first season, we called it "superb", adding that it was "creative and innovative with well written scripts and a great look yet still respect[ed] the characters originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle more than 100 years ago."

Now CBS wants to do the same, and we're once again not thrilled. Last month the network ordered a pilot for Elementary, calling it "modern take on the cases of Sherlock Holmes, with Sherlock now living in New York City." Our response: "Ugh."

Yes, we know we're being hypocrites on the subject.

But CBS seems determined to move forward, announcing today its choice for Sherlock Holmes: Jonny Lee Miller. All things considered, and despite our reservations about the series as a whole, not a bad choice. He most recently appeared as a major character in the fifth season of Dexter (as Jordan Chase) and plays the role of Roger Collins in the upcoming film Dark Shadows.

There's still no guarantee that the pilot will convert to a series, but based on our experience with the BBC production, we're at least willing to keep a somewhat, sort of, open mind.

Teaser Poster for Second Season of Game of Thrones

This scarcely merits a post given how minimal it is, but HBO has released a teaser poster for the second season of Game of Thrones (right; click for larger version).

Adapted from the series of "A Song of Ice and Fire" epic fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin — we believe this second season will generally follow the storyline of A Clash of Kings, the second book in the series — Game of Thrones returns on April 1st, 2012.

Since there isn't much news here, we thought we'd close with a replay of the splendid opening credits, a sublime combination of visual and audio that sets a perfect tone for the series.

Annotated Trailer for Gyakuten Saiban, based on the Ace Attorney Video Games

Last year we saw a trailer for Gyakuten Saiban (逆転裁判), a Japanese film based on the Ace Attorney character from a series of Nintendo DS video games. We didn't understand a word of it, but thought the visuals striking.

The film opened this past weekend in Japan — apparently to packed theaters — and while poking around we came across that very same trailer, but one where someone had annotated it, translating the text, dialog and voice-over. We've embedded that trailer below.

Gyakuten Saiban loosely follows the storyline of the first game in the series, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Hiroki Narimiya stars as Ryūichi Naruhodō, a defense attorney also known as Phoenix Wright, who finds himself in the middle of a 15-year-old murder mystery.

We think the film looks amazing. The director, Miike Takashi, has indicated he is looking for a worldwide release of the film but we have no specific information on when, or even whether, it will be available in the US.

New International Trailer for Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

Yesterday, we posted the first trailer Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, adapted from the alternate history thriller of the same title by Seth Grahame-Smith.

Today, the studio has released the international trailer, which we've embedded below. Though similar in content with several shared scenes, the two trailers do depict different elements of the film.

Benjamin Walker stars as Abraham Lincoln, whose mother is killed by a supernatural creature, feeding his passion to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter opens in US theaters on June 22nd, 2012.

The Road Rage Comics Series by Stephen King and Joe Hill

The "Road Rage" series of four comics is in stores tomorrow, Wednesday February 15th.

Adapted from the short story "Throttle" by Stephen King and Joe Hill, which itself was inspired by "Duel", a short story by Richard Matheson, the comic series features The Tribe, a motorcycle club that acts as a family unit.

Club leader Vince rides alongside his son Race, as well as fellow Vietnam vet Lemmy and a passle of others. They've been together a long time, these two generations of riders. But never before have they seen the kind of trouble they're about to run up against.

War is easy—lines are drawn, sides are chosen. But when the club is attacked on a lonely highway road by a trucker with unknown but quite murderous intent, their hard-scrabble existence becomes one of pure survival. And not all of 'em are going to make it through.

If all this has a familiar ring to it, it's likely because you've seen the 1971 made-for-television movie Duel, which stars Dennis Weaver as a motorist being stalked by an unseen truck driver. With a screenplay adapted from the same Matheson short story that inspired King and Hill, it was Steven Spielberg's first turn as a director and remains one of the most suspenseful films we've ever seen. (We watched it once decades ago … and it is one of the few films that we are too terrified to watch again.)

The covers of the four comics are shown below. Look for them in your favorite comic book store tomorrow.

Watch over 7 Minutes of NBC's New Crime Drama Awake

NBC's new suspense thriller Awake doesn't premiere for another couple of weeks but the network has posted the opening scenes from the first episode online, nearly 8 minutes worth. We've embedded it below.

Jason Isaacs — who was brilliant in the made-for-television adaptations of Kate Atkinson's novels, Case Histories — stars as Detective Michael Britten, who wakes up from a car accident with his wife and teenage son, and he learns the devastating news that his wife died in the crash. Trying to put the pieces of his life back together, he wakes up a few days later to realize that his wife is very much alive and his son died in the accident! Did he lose his wife or his son? Or neither of them?

Michael goes back to work solving crimes while trying to put things back on a "normal" track, but alternating between realities provides some challenges — one moment he and his wife are grappling with having another child to replace their loss, and the next moment he's finding himself attracted to his son's tennis coach to fill the void from the loss of his wife. At the same time, he is solving crimes in each world which sometimes overlap in fascinating and inexplicable ways. Is he dreaming or going mad? Michael begins seeing two different therapists to help him sort things out, but then again why would he want either "reality" to go away when the totality of both means having his family complete?

Catch the series premiere of Awake on Thursday, March 1st, 2012.

Noir Classic Black Wings Has My Angel to be Adapted for Film

Elliott Chaze's 1953 noir classic Black Wings Has My Angel — one of only two crime novels he wrote — is being adapted for film. Anna Paquin (True Blood), Elijah Wood, and Tom Hiddleston (Wallander) are set to star in a screenplay by Barry Gifford (City of Ghosts).

The storyline follows escaped convict Tim Sunblade (expected to be played by Hiddleston), who teams up with a call girl named Virginia (Paquin) in a backwoods Mississippi motel, where they plan a daring heist. Wood's role is unknown at this point.

Filming is expected to begin later this year.

(As of the date of this post, the Kindle edition of Black Wings Has My Angel is available to download for only 99 cents. Prices can and do change without notice, so check the current price before 1-clicking.)

(Related article: Screen Daily.)

The Mystery Bookshelf: Gone with a Handsomer Man by Michael Lee West, A Teeny Templeton Mystery

The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a world of mystery and suspense, is pleased to feature a new crime novel we recently received from the publisher.

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Gone with a Handsomer Man by Michael Lee West
A Teeny Templeton Mystery (1st in series)
Minotaur Books (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: February 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1-250-00377-5

About Gone with a Handsomer Man (from the publisher): Teeny Templeton believes that her life is finally on track. She's getting married, she's baking her own wedding cake, and she's leaving her troubled past behind. And then? She finds her fiancé playing naked badminton with a couple of gorgeous, skanky chicks.

Needless to say, the wedding is off. Adding insult to injury, her fiancé slaps a restraining order on her. When he's found dead a few days later, all fingers point to Teeny.

Her only hope is through an old boyfriend-turned-lawyer, the guy who broke her heart a decade ago. But dredging up the past brings more than skeletons out of the closet, and Teeny doesn't know who she can trust. With evidence mounting and the heat turning up, Teeny must also figure out where to live, how to support herself, how to clear her name, and how to protect her heart.

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About the author: Michael Lee West is the author of five previously published non-mystery novels. She lives with her husband on a farm in Lebanon, Tennessee, with three bratty Yorkshire terriers, a Chinese crested, assorted donkeys, chickens, sheep, and African Pygmy goats. For more about the author, visit her website at MichaelLeeWest.com. For more about the series, visit The World According to Teeny Templeton.

Purchase Options for Gone with a Handsomer Man:

Greg Rucka's The Punisher

Greg Rucka began a new series of comics featuring Frank Castle — The Punisher — last August, with the first six issues now being collected into the graphic novel The Punisher. The character first appeared in 1974 in an issue of Amazing Spider-Man.

For Frank Castle death comes easy … life is where things gets complicated. The streets of New York City are teeming with more methodical criminals than ever and a police force doing it's best to keep its head above water. The Punisher has returned to serve his own brand of justice with everything's he's got … but can he survive the darkness stored in his own arsenal?

On the Mulholland Books website this morning, Rucka talks about the character and what he seeks to explore with him. [H]ow is it that Frank can continue, can survive, so long after his initial revenge has been exacted? How is it that he hasn't gone mad, committed suicide, come off the rails and started murdering at random? How is it that he has maintained this position as an extraordinary anti-hero and general bad-ass in a universe with Captain America and Spider-Man?

We're a bit confused about the publication date of The Punisher. Most sources list it as March 15th, 2012, but Mulholland Books promises to have an excerpt tomorrow, which it says is the on-sale date.

The Punisher continues to be published as a monthly comic, with issue number eight coming out this month. Greg Rucka, who also writes crime novels, will start a new series retired Delta Force operator, Master Sergeant Jad Bell, this May with Alpha, published by Mulholland Books.

Paramount Plans Remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion

If you aren't familiar with the 1932 psychological thriller Before the Fact by Francis Iles — a pen name used by Anthony Berkeley — you might recognize the film adapted from it: Suspicion (1941), directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine, who received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in 1942.

Today we're learning that Paramount wants to remake the film, with The Killing's showrunner Veena Sud writing the screenplay.

Often called one of the finest studies of murder ever written, Before the Fact tells the tale of wealthy but plain Lina Mclaidlaw, who marries the charming and feckless Johnny Aysgarth against the advice of her father. Lina is certain she can change him for the better, until she is forced to acknowledge that he is a compulsive liar, a crook and a murderer. But still she loves him, while fearing she will inevitably become one of his victims.

Sud disappointed fans of The Killing by not revealing "Who killed Rosie Larsen?" at the end of the the series first season, as was widely expected and all but promised … especially given the promotional poster released by the network. Let's hope that if a remake of Suspicion moves forward she does a better job not only meeting, but exceeding, our expectations, something she spectacularly failed to do with The Killing. (For those viewers who may have forgiven Sud, the second season of The Killing begins April 1st, 2012 on AMC, with an explicit promise by the network to identify Rosie Larsen's killer, though not until the end of the season.)

(Related article: The Hollywood Reporter.)

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Twilight by Stephenie Meyer as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $2.99 is valid only for today, Tuesday, February 14, 2012.

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Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Twilight Saga
Publisher: Little, Brown

This is the first book of the four in the series, which introduced star-crossed lovers Bella and Edward.

About Twilight (from the publisher): Bella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear.

Important Note: Amazon.com updates its Kindle book deal every day at approximately midnight PT. The title referenced above is available at a discounted price for Tuesday, February 14, 2012 only.

Download Link(s):

Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

New Cover for Snow White & the Huntsman: A Novel

We often post about films adapted from crime novels, but it's relatively rare that we come across a novel adapted from a feature film.

But that's what we have here. Universal Pictures is set to release Snow White & the Huntsman on June 1st but about two months before that a novel based on the film hits bookstores. The cover for the book is depicted right (click for larger version; it is basically a variation on the poster for the film released last year) but curiously omits the author. Amazon, which has the book available to pre-order, lists Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, and Hossein Amini as the co-authors with Lily Blake as adapter. (Daugherty and Amini are credited as screenwriters of the film.)

This is not your Disney-esque Snow White. In this adventure, Kristen Stewart ("The Twilight Saga") plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron), who is out to destroy her. But what the ruler never imagined was that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), who was dispatched to kill her.

Watch a teaser trailer for the film below. And look for Snow White & the Huntsman: A Novel on April 17th, 2012.

New Trailer for Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

A new trailer has been released for Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter; we've embedded it below.

Adapted from the alternate history thriller of the same title by Seth Grahame-Smith, the film stars Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln, whose mother is killed by a supernatural creature, feeding his passion to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov from a screenplay co-written by Grahame-Smith and Simon Kinberg, the film also stars Dominic Cooper as Henry Sturgess, Lincoln's mentor; Anthony Mackie as William Johnson, Lincoln's valet; Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Mary Todd Lincoln; Rufus Sewell as the principal vampire villain Adam; and Marton Csokas in a role we have been unable to identify.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter opens in theaters June 22nd, 2012.

Paul Cleave's Crime Novel The Cleaner Optioned for Film

Paul Cleave's debut crime novel The Cleaner has been optioned for film by new French production company Stone Angels. Originally published by Random House New Zealand and Random House Australia in 2006, it has not yet been picked up by a US publisher. (Cleave's fourth and fifth novels, however, have recently been published in the US by Atria Books.)

In The Cleaner, Joe is in control of everything in his simple life, including both his day job at the police department and his "night work". He isn't much bothered by the daily news reports of the Christchurch Carver, who, they say, has murdered seven women. But Joe knows the Carver only killed six. He knows that for a fact. And Joe is going to find the copy-cat killer, he's going to punish him for the one, then frame him for the other six. It's perfect plan because he already knows he can outwit the police.

All he needs to now is take care of all the women who keep getting in his way; his domineering mother for one. Then there is Sally, the maintenance worker who sees him as a replacement for her dead brother; and the mysterious Melissa, the only woman to have ever understood him, but whose fantasies of blackmail and torture don't have a place in Joe's investigation.

Stone Angels intends to produce films for the middle ground between edgy mainstream and accessible arthouse, along the lines of the recent film adaptation of James Sallis's Drive, an aesthetic that's now yielding strong commercial results on both sides of the Atlantic.

(Related articles: Variety via In Reference To Murder.)