Remember when big-screen talent lining up work on television was big news? Now it's frankly surprising if a Hollywood director or actor hasn't got a project on TV. Here's the latest list that will be working on pilots this year.
After the relative failure, both critically and commercially, of "Cowboys & Aliens," and presumably before he gets to work on (*shudder*) Disney's "Magic Kingdom", Jon Favreau will direct the pilot for J.J. Abrams' "Revolution" at NBC. Written by "Supernatural" creator Eric Kripke, the show is described by Deadline as "high-octane action drama following a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist." Favreau also has a self-penned comedy pilot, "Tweaked," lined up at CBS.
Hopefully Nick Nolte's Oscar nomination for "Warrior" will finally get the film some of the attention it deserved (because heaven knows barely anyone saw it in theatres). Gavin O'Connor's film had a tough time at the box office, but he'll be hoping for more popular success for his latest project, a cold war period drama pilot he'll direct for FX called "The Americans." The project was created by Joe Weisberg ("Falling Skies") and will focus on two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington, DC. "Justified" showrunner Graham Yost will exec produce, and we like the sound of this one.
After the success of "Limitless," Neil Burger had his pick of future projects, and it looks like the one he settled on was "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" after David O. Russell left the project. That project is still at the script stage though so Burger has plenty of time to go off and make a TV pilot, and that's exactly what he'll be doing over at Fox where he'll direct Josh Friedman's ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") spy drama pilot, "The Asset."
Finally, Ellen Barkin looks set to star in the pilot for "The New Normal," a comedy pilot over at NBC. The pilot was written by "Glee" duo Ryan Murphy (who will also direct) and Allison Adler, and is described by Deadline as "a heartwarming comedy about a blended family of a gay couple and the woman who becomes a surrogate to help them start a family." Barkin will play the surrogate's mother.
