As TV becomes ever more complex and cinema turns an envious eye on its ability to play out lengthier stories and develop deeper characters, bigger films are becoming TV shows. Hot on the heels of the Terminator series getting the greenlight comes word that The Conversation has been picked for tellyfication.
A powerhouse team consisting of 24 producer Tony Krantz, Usual Suspects scribe Chris McQuarrie and Band Of Brothers TV writer Eric Jendresen are combining their efforts to turn Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 paranoia thriller into a show for Lost network ABC. The plan is to modernise the film’s premise – surveillance expert Harry Caul on the run from the government after overhearing confidential chatter – to make the hero a present-day digital snooper. The series will revolve around a procedural plot system, with close-ended mysteries each week that also tie in to a bigger arc with Caul tracked by the authorities.
"The absolute simplicity and elegance of the movie lends itself quite nicely to an ongoing series," McQuarrie told Variety. "The challenge for us was staying true to the original movie and yet evolving the work Caul was doing at the end of the movie for a series.”
"It's relevant to our times," Krantz told the trade mag, adding that the show would explore the individual’s relationship with the establishment. In these times of wire-tapping and spyware, it seems all too relevant, though Krantz has spent 10 years trying to get it going.
And for those of you worried what Coppola will think – he’s involved, at least, as far as he feels like, according to Krantz: "The four of us are equal partners. We want him to do as much as he wants.”