No stranger to the small screen—he’s directed quite a few ads this year along with Arcade Fire’s cool TV special—Roman Coppola is helming a comedy pilot for Amazon and he’s found his leading man. Deadline reports Gael García Bernal—who stars in Jon Stewart’s forthcoming directorial debut, “Rosewater”—will lead the Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and Jason Timbers-written project as “an enfant terrible who’s utterly devoted to his art as a conductor – but also to his image.” Based on the Blair Tindal memoir, “Mozart In The Jungle” will feature “sex, drugs and classical music and shows that what happens behind the curtains at the symphony can be just as captivating as what happens onstage.” Sounds like a spiritual successor to his last feature, “A Glimpse Inside The Mind Of Charles Swan III.” At this point, Amazon has only ordered a pilot, which will presumably be released in the same fashion as the crop of pilots the online shopping giant released last year.
With the end of “Breaking Bad,” many expected to see the actors—finally free of their commitment to the series—make more appearances on both the big and small screen. Few, however, could have expected this: EW reports “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan will appear on NBC’s critically-acclaimed and criminally underseen comedy “Community.” In what will be his acting debut, Gilligan’s role will be “a smooth-talking gold digger who winds up exacerbating a fight between Annie (Alison Brie) and Abed (Danny Pudi).” The heralded showrunner is the third ‘Bad’ veteran to appear on the show, following Giancarlo Esposito in the past two seasons and Jonathan Banks (aka Mike) in the upcoming season. Season five of “Community” premieres on NBC on January 2nd.
“Once Upon A Time” and its unimaginatively titled spin-off “Once Upon A Time In Wonderland” are big hits for ABC, so it’s no wonder that the network would like to stay in that wheelhouse while simultaneously trying to find a new hit comedy. According to Deadline, ABC has cast tough-guy character actor Vinnie Jones as a rough and scary henchman in the “comedy fairytale” “Galavant.” The Dan Fogelman-scripted pilot will feature music from famed composer Alan Menken and center on “Galavant and his quest for revenge over the king who stole his one true love.” No word on a production timeline or the actors being sought for the titular prince.
Fred Durst—yes, that Fred Durst, of Limp Bizkit infamy—is developing an autobiographical show with The CW. The AV Club reports (via TV Guide) “The Noise” will follow “the rise of a young artist in the 1990s who escapes a tumultuous home life and forms a wildly popular band with a unique sound.” So, a douchier “Entourage,” if that’s possible?
Although he’s made a couple of cameo appearances on the small screen over the years—his uncredited appearance in a season one episode of “Community”—Owen Wilson hasn’t had much to do with the television world, but THR is reporting that’s about to change. Wilson and “Law & Order” vet Rene Balcer are developing a 1980s-set FBI drama for Starz, titled “WonderWorld,” that centers on “two straight-arrow agents as they infiltrate the Mob-controlled porn industry of the 1980s, facing dire consequences for both themselves and their families.” For now it looks like Wilson will just be producing.