Updated: “The Offer,” Paramount’s limited series about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather,” came and went in 2022 to barely any fanfare. But instead of another making-of series, Indiewire confirms reports that MRC, the studio behind the series, wants to do a series remake of Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation.” What’s more, there’s a director attached, J.C. Chandor, known for many acclaimed indie films, including “A Most Violent Year.” Erin Levy, known for her work on “Mad Men” and “Mindhunter,” will be the showrunner for this new version of “The Conversation,” which could also be an ongoing series rather than a limited series.
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Despite rumors that Aubrey Plaza is in talks to star, IW says no actors are attached, nor is a distributing streamer or cable series. MRC optioned the TV remake rights directly from the Coppola estate, so they will take it to market.
“The Conversation” is a classic of ’70s U.S. cinema, but its influence still looms large fifty years after its release. And in a post-Patriot Act country, where social media and mass surveillance have made privacy pretty much an irrelevant concept, a remake doesn’t feel prescient or pressing like Coppola’s original. But who knows, maybe there’s a new spin.
“The Conversation” is arguably a strange pivot for the director as a next project after “Kraven The Hunter,” and doesn’t exactly line up with previous films of his like “Margin Call,” “Triple Frontier,” or “A Most Violent Year.” Why follow up a Spidey-verse standalone blockbuster for Sony with …this? Maybe Chandor has a fresh take on Coppola’s movie that isn’t apparent yet. Or perhaps this series offers some creative freedom Chandor hasn’t had in a while.
“The Conversation” stars Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a wiretapping expert hired to record two lovers talking. But Caul soon realizes the couple he’s eavesdropping on may be in grave danger, leading him on a paranoic odyssey. “The Conversation” is a classic and one of Coppola’s best films. But just because a movie is a masterpiece doesn’t mean a series based on it will be one, too.
